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ship even when fully insured. The Cunard Company partly insure themselves; but would not do so in war time (579-582). A high rate of war insurance would stop trade (558).

Telegraphs. The telegraph is habitually used by ship-owners. All instructions are given by telegraph, and confirmed by letter. Damage to telegraph cables would cause confusion, but merchants would suffer more than ship-owners (416-421).

February 12, 1880. JAMES POOLE, Esq., Chairman of the Liverpool Ship- owners' Association (representing the interests of the sailing trade only), (593–595).

Sailing Trade.-Liverpool has more sailing tonnage than any other port in the kingdom, and sends ships-up to 2,000 tons--to San Francisco, Australia, Bombay, Cal- cutta, and Burmah (596, 597, 602). The North Atlantic timber trade is carried on in sailing-vessels (604). There is no sailing trade with the Mediterrancan (603).

Some

590

Supersession of Sailing-ships by Steamers. South American trade of value is still carried by sailing- ships, but it is rapidly passing into steamers, as are all other valuable trades, with the exception of guano, which is said to damage iron ships (597, 605-608, 612, 613, 619, 670, 673-675). Sailing-ships will ultimately be almost entirely superseded by steamers, except in long-voyage trading, in which sailing-ships compete successfully, and in the carriage of bulky articles (598, 609). Sailing-ships are larger than formerly, and the tendency is to increase the tonnage, as the expenses of working a ship do not increase in proportion to her size (598, 611). They are built almost exclusively of iron (600, 601), and combine carrying and sailing qualities (610). They are sometimes preferred to steamers when the state of trade offers no inducement to the producer or merchant to bring goods quickly to market (671). The use of auxiliary steam-power is not on the increase (672).

Effects of War upon Sailing Trade.-If only a few hostile cruizers were at large, the sailing trade would probably not be much affected, as underwriters would accept the risk of some captures (621, 653, 654, 661). In a war with one or more first-class naval Powers the sailing trade would be suspended entirely (614-617, 666, 667), chiefly on account of the competition of steamers (648, 649). War with the United States would not stop trade with India and Australia (G43, 644). War with Russia would not seriously affect the sailing trade (651).

Protection required. Sailing-ships require more protection than steamers, as they are liable to be be- calmed. Hence during war they would require convoy, unless the sea were kept clear of hostile cruizers (617, 618, 620, 640, 641). On the Indian line it would be necessary that the track should be well guarded by armned cruizers (652). In all cases secure harbours of refuge are of the utmost importance (622, 623).

On the Indian line, the Cape of Good Hope and Mauritius are of great value (629-631). St. Helena and Ascension are useful on the homeward voyage, both having good anchorages (624-626). A defended harbour in Australia would be necessary for the protection of Australian trade (655), Singapore is little visited by sailing-ships owing to the calms and strong currents which prevail there during a part of the year (632). Galle is a bad port for sailing-ships, on account of the risks of collision, and the danger of the passage out (635). Sierra Leone and the Gambia do not lie on the sailing track. St. Vincent is important only in emergencies (627). The Suez Canal is of no use to the sailing trade (650). Fiji would be useful only for ships on the line from Australia to San Francisco (639). Grain-ships from San Francisco do not touch anywhere on the homeward voyage unless crippled, when the Falkland Islands are serviceable (662-665).

Transfer to Neutral Flag.-In the event of stoppage of trade by war, British shipping would probably be

transferred to a neutral flag rather than remain inactive (668, 669).

Telegraphs.-Business is carried on almost wholly by telegraph, and any disturbance of telegraphic com- munication would paralyze trade (637, 038).

Insurance. The test of war risk is the rate of insurance; 10 or 15 per cent. would be prohibitory. In old wars, the rate reached 12 per cent. for ships with convoy, and 20 per cent. without convoy, but in those days freights were very high, and there was no competition by steamers (645-647).

February 13, 1880. T. II. ISMAY, Esq., Ship-owner. Is principal partner in the White Star Company, who carry mails between Liverpool and New York; run steamers between San Francisco, China, and Japan, and load a large number of sailing-ships to the west coast of America, Australia, and the East Indies (677-680). Tonnage and Speed of Ships.-The steamers range up to 5,000 tons (698); and some of them have an average speed at sea of 16 knots (717). They are built of iron exclusively (693).

Sailing-ships. The sailing-ships vary from 500 to 1,800 tons, and are chiefly built of iron (681, 682), but some are composite (694). First-class sailing-ships are cheapest in the long run, and pay best (686). Sailing-ships bring grain from San Francisco and Chile (763, 803-806); grain and rice from India; wheat and wool from Australia; copper from Chile; sugar from Havana, Manila, and Mauritius; and coffee from Ceylon (688, 815-819). Sailing-ships will con- tinue to be employed on long voyages, but will be replaced by steamers in the coasting trade. They are indeed being everywhere superseded by steamers, but the change is gradual, and will continue to be so (683-685, 687, 820, 821).

Steamers. Owing to recent improvements in machinery, steamers can now proceed to Japan, China, or San Francisco without coaling on the way (703-708). A steamer capable of lifting 3,000 tons in addition to machinery and stores could run 5,000 miles at a speed of 11 knots without coaling, and reserve two-thirds of her carrying power for cargo. In time of war, the reduction of cargo would be made up for by higher freights (708, 709).

Tracks. The tracks of steamers are well defined, but could be varied without much inconvenience (785, 786). The grain trade of San Francisco and Chile, and the greater part of the Australian export trade, come round Cape Horn. The expense of trans- shipment at Panamá prohibits the use of that route (764, 765, 842). Sailing-ships rounding the Cape of Good Hope go straight to their destination without calling at any port (845). Steamers do not coal on the voyage between San Francisco and Japan (847).

Coal.-British coal is used exclusively in the White Star steamers, except in the Pacific, where Nanaimo coal is used (710, 711). Nanaimo and New South Wales coal is of good quality, but a larger quantity is required to yield a high speed (712-714).

Food Supply.The principal foreign sources of British food supply are North America, Egypt, Russia, San Francisco, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, and India (761, 762). Much of the grain from Canada comes through the United States (800-802).

Telegraphs.-Telegraphs are not so relied upon by the shipping trade that serious injury would result from their interruption (787-790).

Effect of War. - War with a Power possessing swift cruizers would stop the sailing trade. Sailing- ships would not be safe without convoy, but convoy would be more a danger than a security to power- ful steamers (717, 748, 753-755, 864, 879, 880, 896, 897). If there were only a few hostile cruizers, the larger sailing-ships might still run, though at con- siderable risk (749, 756). The bulk of our trade would be carried in steamers with speeds of 10 to 12 knots (885, 886). If a hostile Power held the Channel, all

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