No steamship line perhaps has been more closely related to the commercial development of Cuba than has the New York & Cuba Mail Steamship Company. This line had its origin in a carrying trade between Cuba and the United States started by the firm of James E. Ward & Co. The members of the firm were Mr. James E. Ward, Mr. Henry B. Booth and Mr. Wm. T. Hughes. The Company was incorporated under the laws of the State of New York and formally organized in July, 1881, with Mr. Ward as President, Mr. Booth as Vice President and Mr. Hughes as Secretary and Treasurer. When first organized the Company had only four ships, the _Newport_, _Saratoga_, _Niagara_ and _Santiago_, with a gross tonnage of 10,179. Between the date of its organization and its transfer to the Maine Corporation, or during a period of 26 years, the company acquired 19 vessels, with a total gross tonnage of 84,411. In addition to the above the company has operated under foreign flags eight other ships aggregating a tonnage of 26,624. The four original steamers mentioned above were owned in part by the builders, Messrs. John Roach & Son, and a few other individuals. The original firm however sold its ships to the Company at the time of its reorganization. Of the vessels acquired by the company, the majority were built under contract by Messrs. Roach & Son, and Wm. Cramp & Sons’ Ship and Engine Building Company. Among the ships that were purchased and not built especially for this company, were the two sister ships _Seguranca_ and _Vigilancia_, built in 1890 for the Brazil Line. The steamships _City of Washington_ and _City of Alexandria_ were originally owned by the Alexandria Line, and passed into the hands of the Ward Line after its organization. The _Matanzas_, formerly the Spanish steamer _Guido_, that had left London with a valuable cargo of food, munitions and money with which to pay off Spanish troops in Cuba, was captured by the American forces during the early part of the war with Spain, in an attempt to run the blockade that had been established, and was afterwards sold by the American Government to the Ward Line.