THE TRAFFIC OF THE SEAS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXII, Issue 224, 16 November 1900, Page 1

THE TRAFFIC OF THE SEAS.

Gbut Bbitai>*i utlqu positional Ibe world Voartiar has mt<* perhapi beea more oonspioooosly dbutrskad Ifan at tbe beginning of lbs trtnble la Ohlna. The Great Bvrop*att Power* tat* wy willing to eend troops to tbe Par Vast —fcui bow ooold they g«* tbem tfaml In tbe Madagascar campaign JPeeaoa had to tend bar grata army » B'itisk bottomland had British abipa beee unavailable only a bwe fragment of her army oorfg wou'd tbe island at the apfo'nted tm* Ia the present icstenoe belli Germany and France appear to hate relitd epos tbe assifonre of British ehip-iwaant on'ytofisd, htvevcr, tbai rat ova neote itice in regard totofioatfc Africa and Obina made any striking? larje help ail bat impossible Hence, perhap», tbe delay ia petting large foreign ron indents to tbe Far Gait, and henoe, also, tbe rumours tbat Germany hod been seeking pwmia*ii,i» from Russia to transport acme of bar 'r< op# tbe Siberian Railway. Wben British tbips are rtquisiuoi.cd foreign Governments are ia difficulties. Apart from mi'itary uaisport, bow. evtr, Eoglatd i 4 tbe word's oarricr for a vt ry large amount of foreign produce at welt aa the bnlk of our own manufactures. BrtUb steamers aui tailing vrswli nod unload in almost every fort throughout tbe world. There ia riot a singlo tirade area of any magnitude tbae-is not servsd exclusively or very largely by British transport. Nor is there a single oaean route that ia not mom frequeued by Bri ith vessels than by tuose of any other nation. Oar gigantic foreign trade is equal io value, if not in volume, to one-fifth cf the i entire oemmete of the wfr.d—aa | astounding fact, when, mi against Bng« land you place the trade of popsloae I and aotive maritime and oomaareial countries, inch aa the Uoited State* Geamany, Franoe, and the bqgp aggregate trade of the leea important tustnees oountries. . AecodHl «» Lloyd's ftegUter of Snipping, 19001, 7020 steamers of 11,513 799 feu .od 1894 sailing vrsssls of 1,728,687 ton* are owned in the United Kingdom. It to these we add those b*Lm«iag to our colonies—9lo ataamera at 639.331 ions and 1014 aailing veeaeU of 384,477 tons, we obtala a grand total of 7930 steomets ol 12,149,090 tons asuUmaailiskg wwA*-*! 9l)«,l«4 tons, ss formi»g tbe British mnthaafe navy. 0' o Lor cauotriw, Getaway stands fir»G a* sceausjip o»ma. Germany owes 1209 sooamers ot o**r two million toja. America tones nest in tbe list) vith 932 steunsbif* of one an faa f militia tons. Franee follows with 662 aieamere, of 1,052,193 bona. Norway oomfs foarth in toinage, Spain fifth, Italy sixtkt Jit pan fereotb, Holland ointb, Sweden tenth, Denmark eleventh, and Austria - Htn<»ry twelfth. The eai'ing vessel owiers? litt is somewhat uflkrent. England •id her oolonies in tonnage again c.mee fint, American noond, Norway third, Germany fourth, Italy fifth, UniDOb sixth, Haasia oevontb, Sweden eighth. Dinn ark ninth, Japan tenth, Greece eleventh, Holland twelfth, and Spain thirteenth, Tbe worlda shippeg tolas 15893 steam*ri of 22 369,358 tons, of which 7930 tt nosers of 12 149 0901* ni aw British ><nd 12,524 taling wmois of 6,674,370 'oris, of which 2908 vesatls of 2 112,164 tons are British. Taking < tiling and steam vtsieta together, but pot including numerous small nailing vtsso'a belonging chiefly to Tutk-.y, Southern Baaaia, snd tha Dutoh East India, satisfactory par* tieulars of which even aea trade ia carried on in 28,422 vtatels, L<oya'« caanot secure, the world's over, total carrying capacity of 29,043,72) toss. Of tbese 10,838 ves«< 1« of 14 261,250 tons are Whiah being iaterpretei, means Great Bi itain first, all natiens nowhere.