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coal, which is excellent. There is abundance of coal in China, and Labuan coal is of good quality (1490, 1491).
Merchant-ships as Cruizers.-It is of great import- ance that a certain number of first-class steamers should be ready for employment as armed cruizers on the outbreak of war (1466, 1478-1480).
Powerful steamers now building should be strengthened for this purpose whilst under construction (1505).
February 24, 1880. ROBERT GIFFEN, Esq., Chief of the Statistical Depart- ment of the Board of Trade (1512).
Value of British Shipping.—The value of the shipping of the United Kingdom, taking steamers at 20% a-ton and sailing-vessels at 10%. a-ton, is 88,000,0007.
The value of the shipping of British Possessions and Colonies, on the same basis, is 20,000,0007., making a total, exclusive of cargoes, of about 110,000,000%. (1514-1518).
Value of British Trade.-The annual value of the imports and exports of the United Kingdom is about 620,000,0007., and of British Possessions, exclusive of trade with the United Kingdom, about 190,000,0007. This includes inter-colonial trade, and trade with foreign countries, but not the coasting trade (1515- 1522). In this calculation the same trade is sometimes counted twice, as it appears in the Returns of trade between Colonies; but correction on this account would make little deduction from the total of 190,000,0007. (1523-1524).
Foreign Trade.-Much of the trade between foreign countries is carried in British vessels. French foreign trade, exclusive of trade with the United Kingdom, amounts to about 6,000,000 tons per annum, of which about 1,300,000 is British tonnage. About four-ninths of the United States foreign trade, exclusive of trade with the United Kingdom, is carried in British vessels. Thus about 90,000,0007, sterling of the trade of France and the United States is in British ships. It is difficult to obtain figures for a similar estimate regarding other foreign countries (1525–1520).
British Mercantile Interests.-Summary:-
Shipping of British Empire
60,000,0007., which represents about 1,000,000,000Z. of capital. The amount of private capital is probably also very large. Our shipping and trade alone would require à capital of at least 300,000,000l. The total amount of British capital invested out of the country must be at least 1,500,000,000. Probably two-thirds of the whole trade of the world is British owned, and is carried on at British risk (1588–1599, 1537).
It is difficult to ascertain the amount of British shipping and trade afloat at any one time: the probable amount of trade (Memorandum No. 1) is 111,000,0007., and the value of the shipping engaged in carrying that trade about 33,000,0007.; giving a total of 144,000,0007. A larger proportion of trade is afloat on long than on short voyages; and the property afloat on long voyages is more exposed to danger in any sudden outbreak of war. Hence protection to trade should be concentrated on the short voyages, where less property, in proportion to its value, is exposed (1562-1564).
British Shipping.-The British Empire has more tonnage than the rest of the world put together, and more than twice the steam-tonnage, as shown by the following figures:--
In 1878 tonnage (registered) of United Kingdom, 8,329,000; tonnage of all other nations (excluding river and lake tonnage of United States), S,160,000.
In 1878 steam tonnage of United Kingdom, 2,492,000; steam tonnage of all other nations (exclud- ing river and lake tonnage of United States), 1,020,000 (1532, 1533).
Of all the Colonies, Canada has by far the most tonnage (1534). Much of our Colonial shipping and trade is owned in the United Kingdom (1535, 1536).
Supersession of Sailing-vessels by Steamers.—The recent improvements in engines, which reduce the con- sumption of coal, have resulted in the gradual super- session of sailing-vessels by steamers (1601-1604).
The registered tonnage of sailing-vessels and steamers employed in 1870 and in 1879 were:-
Sailing-vessels Steamers
£ 110,000,000
•
Imports and exports of United King-
dom
620,000,000
Imports and exports of British Pos-
sessions and Colonies Foreign trade in British ships
190,000,000
90,000,000
Total
..
1,010,000,000
1870.
1879.
Tons. 4,519,000 1,039,000
Tons. 3,916,000
2,331,000 (1549),
This total is rather under than over the mark, as the duplication in inter-colonial trade Returns is more than compensated for by the incompleteness of the Returns of foreign trade in British ships.
The amount of foreign shipping in the foreign trade of the United Kingdom is about 31 per cent., so a deduction should perhaps be made from the foreign trade of the United Kingdom of one-third, or 200,000,0007., but a large amount of this is pro- bably British-owned. Deducting 200,000,0007., about 800,000,000% would still remain, as the value of British property embarked in British vessels, including the value of the vessels themselves (1527-1580). The coasting trade is not included in this estimate for want of Returns showing its value. It is very large, and employs 26,000,000 tons annually, as compared with 22,000,000 tons in the foreign trade of the United Kingdom (1531).
A great part of the trade of European countries and of the United States is overland, but British sea-borne trade is undoubtedly more than equal to that of the rest of the world. Moreover, a large proportion of what seems to be purely foreign trade is really British property (1585-1587).
A vast amount of British capital is invested out of England; the annual income from capital invested in public securities in foreign countries is 50,000,000%, or
Sailing-ships have somewhat diminished, while steamers have enormously increased. Since 1860 our steam-fleet has more than doubled every ten years (1552). Twenty years ago steamers comprised one- ninth of the total tonnage; now they represent more than one-third, and the difference in effectiveness is of course enormous (1553). Steamers are now almost exclusively employed in the coal-carrying trade on the coast, and to some extent in the foreign coal trade; they are even beginning to invade the timber trade. The trade of the world will in time be carried by steam (1605-1610).
Food Supply.-The stock of food in this country varies. In the autumn there would generally be about six months' provision; at present (February 1880) there is not more, than sufficient for two or three months' consumption, which is partly the result of the bad harvest of last year (1560, 1561).
The greater part of our food supply comes from the United States and Canada. Next, besides the neigh- bouring continental countries, come Russia and Roumania, India, and to some extent Australia.
There
is a constant import from France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, and Germany (1555, 1556). It is difficult to define the relative importance of various imports; some raw materials are as important as food, for trade cannot go on without them, and drugs are important as affect- ing the health of the people (1558). The total annual importation of meat and bread-stuffs into this country, according to the latest Returns, is as follows :~~
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