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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 72

Great Britain's Stake on the Seas. — Mercantile Marine of the World. — Value of British and Colonial Shipping and Commerce

Great Britain's Stake on the Seas.

Mercantile Marine of the World.

Value of British and Colonial Shipping and Commerce.

When the shipping and commerce of the Empire are compared with those of other nations, those of the British Isles far transcend in magnitude and value, in ships and their freights, those of all other Powers. There are, according to [unclear: Lia] Register, 32,010 steam and sailing merchant vessels of 100 tons and upward, with a tonnage of 24,258,375 tons, owned by the different nations of the world. Of then the flag of the United Kingdom floats over 9,333, whose tonnage is 11,563,997 tons to which have to be added 2,526 vessels of 1,224,285 tons belonging to the British Colonies, making a total of 11,859 vessels, employing nearly 250,000 persons. and with a tonnage of 12,788,282, or more than all the tonnage owned by eve[unclear: ry] country.

The annual imports and exports of the Kingdom exceed in val[unclear: ue] millions sterling. Of this last-named sum the Australasian Colonies, in their British imports and exports, supply close on 63* millions. The total imports and exports of these seven Colonies (apart from the value of the large intercoicial trade) amounted in the last year reported on by Mr. Coghlan to over £84,651,000 In the same year that intercolonial trade reached no less a sum than £30,057,000 that is to say commodities worth one hundred and fifteen millions of pounds sterling were produced, and purchased in one year by a population of less than four million souls.

These figures, compiled from the latest sources, are specified here in order the it may be seen at a glance what an enormous amount of the marine commerce if the world is produced, owned, and conducted by the people of the British Empire. They all demonstrate, as a natural corollary, that Englishmen in every clime lock to the British Navy as the safeguard of the vast interests, the existence and in portance of which those figures display.