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Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 5319, 8 September 1888, Page 2

A ektuiin recently issued by the Board of Trado concerning the progress of British merchant shipping conclusively proves that tho British Hag is rapidly increasing its proportion of tho world's shipping. Tho six leading countries, in their order as regards shipping aro British Empire, Norway, Germany, Unite i States, Franco, and Italy. How the world may be _aid to depend on

the British Empire for its foreign commerce may be inferred from the fact that the tonage possessed by it exceeds that of the five countries combined by sixty per cent. The return with which we are dealing makes comparisons between the years ISB3 and 1886, and we learn that while the tonnage of the British Empire increased by 115,370 i°- n i,_ Uriug that P eriod > Germany added * rt! t( i. nS to its merciilltile marine". Each ot the other countries exhibited decreases. The largest decrease was shown by the United States, which, in the three years, had a falling off of 190,910 tons. "Why freights have advanced, and aro likely still further to advance, need not be wondered at, when we find that the six leading nations havo 120,000 tons less shipping in 188G than they had in ISS3. During all that period the commerce of the world was growing, doing moro than keeping pace with the growth of population, while the carrying facilities for foreign trade wero becoming less. Since the date covered by the return it is known that the world's shipping has still further decreased, for the tonnage lost by wrecks and misadventures has exceeded the output of builders. A few years ago there was a cry-out that the mercantile marine had more than overtaken the trade of tho world, but once moro the law of supply and demand has been shown, and the demand now exceeds the supply. Under these circumstances, and with a still further closing up of the " brokers' ring," lower freights are not likely to be got for sorao years. Should the present prices for wool, frozen mutton, grain, and other colonial produce be maintained—and the chances of advances aro very much more likely than a fall—a small increase in freights will not be severely felt.