Sessional_Paper_1906 — Page 314

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4. For Ocean vessels under the British Flag, this Table shows a decrease of 320 ships of 36,410 tons. This decrease loses any significance it may at first sight appear to possess when viewed in conjunction with my report for 1904, where an increase appears of 352 ships of 930,300 tons, which is shown to be practically due to special circumstances connected with the late war. These special circumstances being removed with the advent of the Baltic Fleet in Far Eastern waters in April, 1905, the shipping tended to return to its normal state, and we are left with a net increase over the figures for 1903 (neglecting those for 1904) of 32 ships of 893,890 tons. This seems to show a continuance of the general increase in size of British ships trading to the Far East.

In British River Steamers there is an increase shown of 1,616 ships, which is due to the additional small steamers put on to the West River run, and to two small craft plying be- tween here and Mirs Bay, which have been treated as River steamers, though they do not strictly satisfy the definition. The decrease in tonnage, of 143,338 tons, is accounted for by the fact that three moderate sized vessels were taken off the run early in the year, and much smaller craft substituted.

For Foreign Ocean Vessels an increase of 149 ships of 469,938 tons is shown. Here, again, reference to my 1904 report is necessary in order to properly appreciate the signifi- cance of the figures. During that year, on account of the war, there was the enormous decrease, of 1,149 ships of 1,910,589 tons, of which Japanese shipping accounted for 834 ships of 1,809,000 tons. The causes militating against the employment of Japanese ships were not removed until late in 1905, indeed, they are not completely removed even now, so that the increase now shown is but the partial restoration to normal conditions, and should really be read as a net decrease, on the figures for 1903, of 1,000 ships of 1,440,951 tons.

In Foreign River Steamers the decrease of 61 ships is due to the fact that two small Chinese vessels have become British, and the increase in tonnage to the more frequent run- ning of two moderate sized French Steamers.

The remaining increases and decreases do not present any points of importance, with the exception of the large increase in Steam-launches plying within the waters of the Colony, which affords good evidence of the enhanced internal traffic in the Colony.

5. The actual number of ships of European construction (exclusive of River Steamers and Steam-launches) entering during the year was 889, being 506 British and 383 Foreign.

These 889 ships entered 3,926 times and gave a total tonnage of 6,756,600 tons. Thus, compared with 1904, 4 more ships entered 81 less times, and gave a collective ton- nage increased by 212,890 tons..

Steamers.

No. of Times

entered.

Total Tonnage.

Flag.

1904. | 1905. | 1904. | 1905.

1904. 1905.

British,

498

Austrian,

13

10 32

490 2,151 1,983 3,843,355|3,806,792 26 102,349 88,326

Belgian,

1

1

1

1

Chinese,

15

14

180

165

2,047 241,085 214,720

1,791

Danish,

4

7

13

18

26,817 24,206

Dutch,

9

10

44

35

84,379 77,205

French,

36

39

238

207

234,977 288,911

German,

147

163

861

887 1,268,835 1,394,255

Italian,....

6

8

20

56 38,212 51,492

Japanese,.

30

10

51

29

114,951 34,573

Norwegian,

60 $5

253 346

276,211 381,479

Portuguese,.

Russian,

Spanish,

452

53 69

1

5

2

12,167 11,800 14,578 2,903

6,017

Swedish,

12

19

8,582

20,210

United States,..

24

22

64

62

232,857 314,101

No Flag,

1

1

2,500

Total,

859

867 3,981 3,904 6,509,919 6,712,767