EMPIRE FIGURES

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 6488, 7 April 1908, Page 7

EMPIRE FIGURES

(From Our Special Correspondent.) LONDON, February 21. Some figures snowing the va&tucss or the British Empire are given in a statistical abstract issued by the Board of Trade this week. The volume relates to the year 1906, and in the absence of a census of the United Kingdom since 1001, contents itself/with the figures of the latter year bo far as the population ia concerned. The total number of people living under the .protection of the British flag at that date was 885,000,009. New figures are, however, furnished from the great towns of the Motherland and colonies, based upon an estimate made in 1908, and they disclose some interesting variations since 1901, the most striking fact being that Bombay has superseded Calcutta as the second largest town of the British Empire, it may be interesting to set oht the six biggest towns of the Empire in their new order, giving the populations in 1901 by way of contrast with the latest returns i

Next in order come Birmingham (553.000) Madras (548,000), Sydney (538.000) and Melbourne (526,000). The total import and export trade of the British Umpire in 1906 was of a value of <£1,666,018.000—an enormous increase over the .£926,000.000 recorded in 1892. The division a a between foreign and inter-Iranerial trade is shown in the following table:

Of the entire trade of the Empire, <4 per cent, was with foreign oountriee, and 26 per cent, was of an inter-im-perial character.

returns i 1996, 1901. London 4,758.000 4,533,000 Bombay 982.0:10 776,000 Calcutta 955,000 847,000 Glasgow 847.000 761.000 Liverpool 746,000 681.000 Manchester... 643,000 543,000

Foreign. 1892. 1906. JB. X ... 39S.337.000 610.079.000 Exports .. 302,253,000 519,699,000 Totals ... 697,590,000 1,129,778,000 Inter-Im/perial. 1892. .1906. £. £ ... 137,731.000 243.647,000 Exports .. '... 91 251,010 152,593.000 Totals ... 228,982,000 396,2400,000