As distance is the greatest enemy to human industry, whatever reduces the time and cost of freight is a benefit to mankind—" It blesseth him that gives and him that takes." Much advantage has, therefore, resulted to all nations from the fact that the carrying-power on land and sea has grown in a higher ratio than commerce. In 1850, for every million sterling of international commerce, there were in the world 52 miles of railway, and a maritime carrying power of 9900 tons; and in 1880 the respective ratios had risen to 77 miles and 12,000 tons. The improvement has not only led to a saving of one-fourth in freight, but also brought producers and consumers into such contact that few, if any, of the earth's products are now wasted. We no longer hear of wheat rotting in La Mancha, of wool being

Ports of

United Kingdom...
Continent..
United States.
British Colonies.

used to mend highways in the Argentine Republic, nor of sheep being burnt for fuel in making bricks. It is to Great Britain in especial manner that mankind is indebted for bringing all nations within reach of a market for their products. English engineers and English capital have made most of the railways built since 1850; and English and Scotch dockyards have turned out steamers with such rapidity* that the carrying-power on sea has been quadrupled.

TRAFFIC ON THE HIGH SEAS.

The shipping of the United Kingdom constitutes 49 per cent. of the naval carrying-power of the world, and actually carried, in 1879, about 52 per cent. of all sea-borne merchandise; the port entries of all nations showing as follows:

56,100,000

117,200,000

Pessimists are in the habit of saying that we send our ships to sea shorthanded; but if such were the case our ratio of wrecks would not be (as shown hereafter) less than in French, Dutch, German, or American shipping. If we work with fewer sailors, it is probably for the same reason of skill and efficiency that our cotton-mills have fewer hands per thousand spindles than in other countries. It is indisputable that as our preponderance of steamers increases, so must our economy in sailors. Only ten years ago the average of tons

carried by each British seaman was no more than 278; so that, in fact, two men do now the same work that three did in 1870. The French have at present reached the same degree of efficiency that our men possessed ten years ago. France, moreover, comes next after Great Britain in steam-tonnage on sea, with Germany and Spain following closely upon her. If we examine the relative position of Great Britain in this respect towards the world, we shall find our predominance has grown in every decade-viz.,

British.

1850.. 1860. 1870.

1880..

own.

It is commonly said that our superiority in the carrying trade is due to the facility with which we can build steamers, more than other nations; but the books of the shipbuilders of the Tyne and the Clyde show that they build vessels as readily for other flags as for our If the Americans had ten years ago repealed their suicidal Navigation Law, and got our builders on the Tyne to launch an American steamer for every British steamer built on the Clyde, they would be to-day in some position to compete with us in the carrying trade, instead of having to deplore their present state of destitution. At the beginning of the nineteenth century," says Yeats, "the commerce of the world seemed

64

We

This simultaneous rise has been stimulated by the opening of the Suez Canal, the books of which show that the average of steamers passing through rose from 995 tons in 1871 to 2,146 in 1880. The total of vessels that passed through last year was a little over 4 million tons; and as the canal has reduced the voyage between Europe and the East by fully one-half, it is plain that but for this great work the steamers and men trading last year could only have carried two million tons. It is likewise worthy of remark that if Great Britain has the largest ships, she has also done more than any other country in the construction of docks and harbors. It is notorious that the docks of Southampton have created the trade of that port. have only to look across the Channel, at the wretched port of Calais, to be reminded how much our neighbors have yet to do in this matter. Frenchmen may doubt it, but it is true, that if France were to restore Calais to England on condition of our building a harbor there, she would gain more every year than the market value of Calais as it stands. Instead of bounties on French bottoms, instead of arsenals like Cherbourg and Toulon, France requires better ports for her merchant-shipping; and French statesmen could not do better than see what we have done on the Clyde, at Holyhead, Liverpool, and our other great ports. Capital is now abundant, the railways of the world are almost completed, and let us hope statesmen in all countries will now turn their NEW SERIES.-VOL. XXXIV., No. 6

attention to improving the seaports, upon which depends the easy and secure flow of commerce.

Let us now turn to what may be termed the "vital statistics" of shipping-the death-rate, birth rate, and increase annually. These vary, just as among men; but the average life of a ship is only half that of mankind. Some are lost by the action of wind and waves, some by fire or collision, some are never heard of, and about one-eighth are broken up after long service. The ordinary life of a ship, allowing for all the above contingencies, is 18 years in the United States, 20 in France, 22 in Holland, 25 in Germany, 26 in Great Britain, 28 in Italy, and 30 in Norway. I am indebted to Mr. Kiaer, the Norwegian statist, for the following annual average of wrecks, for seven years, ending 1879:

Assuming three voyages yearly for sailing vessels, and fifteen for steamers, it appears that a sailing vessel is lost once in seventy-two voyages, and a steamer once in 490 voyages; so that the latter has only one-seventh of the risk of the former. The fewest wrecks occur to Italian vessels, perhaps because (as is notorious) in all long voyages every sailor has a share in the ship. Norwegians have likewise a very low ratio of losses, which may arise from the fact that they are a nation of navigators; for Norway has almost a ton of shipping per inhabitant, or five times as much as our ratio in Great Britain.

Between vessels lost and broken up the annual death-rate of the world's shipping is 4 per cent, or 750,000 tons nominal. On the other hand, the birthrate is 5 per cent-the average of new vessels built being 950,000 tons. But this does not convey an exact idea of the increase of shipping, since the substitution of steamers for sailing-vessels gives an augmentation of 4 per cent in carrying power. The vessels lost or broken up represent a carrying power of 1,200,

54

same reason, if one half of the population of Dublin were to do like the Jersey people, go to sea, their death-rate would be just 10 per 1000, or I per cent. per annum less than the half who remained by the pestilential shores of the Liffey. If the sea levies a toll of 3 per 1000 annually, it shows, indeed, that there are dangers to which the landsman is not exposed, but by no means compar able with the extra harvest of death that neglect of sanitary measures inevitably entails in cities.

The shipping of the United Kingdom earns about 60 millions yearly, and employs 200,000 seamen, whose industry, therefore, is equivalent to £300 per man, as compared with £190 for each of our factory operatives. The net profit of the shipowners will hardly reach 10 millions; but we treat of the value of the industry, not the individual gains. And here it is necessary to distinguish that our sea-going navy earns only 48 or 50 millions, the rest being the share that belongs to coast-trade. The freight earned by all flags, for seaborne merchandise, is a little over 100 millions, or 8 per cent of the value of same. On comparing the imports and exports of all nations (which are composed of the same merchandize), it will be found the difference is gradually diminishing, as freight becomes less the present average is 15 or 16 shillings a ton on all goods carried over sea, taking the world in globo. The toll which all nations pay us for the carrying trade is equal to nearly 4 per cent of the ex

ported value of the earth's products and manufactures. Pessimists will still be heard to say that our shipowners are losing money, or making an insignificant profit; but, if that were the case, our merchant navy would not go on expanding, as it does, every year.

In conclusion, let me be permitted to recapitulate the points which the English people should impress upon its mind, viz.:

1. That the increase of carrying-trade has been beneficial to mankind, and has been mainly promoted by Great Britain.

2. That steamers have 5 times the carrying-power, and 7 times less risk than sailing-vessels.

3. That British preponderance on sea increases every year, and that the shipbuilding trade is mainly in our hands.

4. That British sailors carry most merchandise per man, and that we can work cheaper than any other flag.

5. That maritime disasters are relatively diminishing every year, and that the ratio of British vessels lost is much below the general average.

These are facts almost unknown in England, although everything regarding this subject ought to be duly appreciated, for there are few things that ought to give us greater satisfaction than the knowledge that we possess the greatest merchant-navy that the world has yet seen, and that its power and efficiency, increasing year by year, are a lively emblem of the commerce, wealth, and farextending influence of Britain.-Contemporary Review.