- 8 -
The 310 British ships carried 2,790 British officers and 27 Foreign officers, the latter consisting of 5 American, 4 Dutch, 7 Swedish, and 11 Norwegian.
Thus the proportion of Foreign officers in British ships was 090 per cent. comprising 4 nationalities, an increase of 058 per cent., with a decrease in number of officers and of ships.
The 414 Foreign ships carried 3,312 officers, of whom 66 were British as follows:
In Chinese ships
1914. 84
1915.
55
J
Japanese ships-
6
7
United States ships
4
+
0
0
94
66
French ships
Thus 199 per cent, of the officers serving in Foreign ships were of British nationality, with a decrease in number of officers and of ships.
The nationality of the crews in British and in Foreign ships was as follows:-
1914. 1915. 1914. 1915.
VESSELS.
BRITTOR CREW.
EUROPEANS AND AMERICANG.
ASIATICS.
1914. 1915.
1914. 1915.
British... 385
Foreign.. 440
310 24,264 20,253
414 1,571 | 1,155 24,428 10,791 118,268 114,516
866 901 135,214 128,160
Total
--
825
724 25,835 21,408 23,294 11,692 353,482 242,676
Hence in British ships:
And in Foreign ships :-
1914. 1915.
15-13%
1914.
1915.
13:57% of the crews were British,
1.08 %
0.91% of the crews
were British.
0-54 %
0-60% of the crews 16-98 %
were other
8-53% of the crews
were
other
Europeans.
Europeans.
84.33%
86-83% of the crews were Asiatics.
81.98 %
90.56% of the crews were Asiatics.
— 9 —
TRADE,
The figures and statistics which here follow are not necessarily strictly accurate as they are derived from the reports by masters of ships, and not from ship's manifest, as they would be in the case of a port that was not free, and where all cargo would have to pass through a Customs House.
IMPORTS.
The Imports decreased by 280,750 tons or 67% which is of course due to the war entirely. This decrease is almost all a shortage from European countries as the local trade has been quite up to the normal, except in the case of Coal. Increases are shown in the following:-Beans, Rice and Timber; whilst decreases are shawn under the following:-Coal, Cotton, Flour, lemp, Kerosene both Case and Bulk, Liquid Fuel and General.
Beans. Here the increase is very slight and shows that the tracte being a local one has kept normal.
Coal. A very large decrease of coal has perurred and this is naturally due to the falling off in large ceau Vessels taking banker coal, and with less demand there has been less importa- tion. No coal has been imported from Chreat Britain but an increase is shown from Chinese ports.
Flour. A decrease is shown here of 56,597 tous. Again this is oving principally to the large stocks which were imported towards the latter part of 1014 and held over for a higher price. Also the Chinese did not use as much flour as in 1914 owing to the apprecia- ble cheapening of the rice market. It is also due to high freights ruling and high cost of wheat in America.
Hemp. Here again a decrease is shown of 17,161 tons, Most of this shortage is probably transhipment cargo, as often hemp is transhipped here into Home boats.
Kerosene Oil-Hulk Oil shows a decrease of 5,036 tons and Case Oil of 25,101 tons. The decrease shown in Bulk Oil is only a nominal one and means that the trade has maintained an even balance but Case Oil shows a heavy decrease due undoubtedly to the high freight rates ruling and the difficulty of getting tonnage, which would have the effect of considerably increasing the cost per case. Importers who had large stocks in hand at the beginning of the year did not import hoping for more normal times. One cargo for Hongkong was lost off the coast of Japan, and owing to the tempo- rary blocking of the Panama Canal, cargo destined to arrive in 1915 did not arrive until January, 1916.
Liquid Fuel.-A decrease is shown of 14,945 tons which is due entirely to the war, the withdrawal of the fleet and consequently small demand for this commodity outside merchant shipping. The fleet were practically the only consumers of liquid fuel out of this port.
Rattans. Here a decrease is shown, but in reality the im portation has been about normal, the decrease shown being due to this cargo being classed as General.
6.
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