show the state of the trades before the repeal was completely carried out for British and, partially so, to foreign ships, and that, in order to estimate the full effect of the measure on British shipping, it is necessary, also, to show the number of British ships built and registered during the respective periods.'

There are two features in these returns deserving special notice.

1st. According to the opinion of the Board of Trade this account shows a larger relative increase than that of the previous returns relating to the employment of tonnage, while it, at the same time, confirms the hypothesis that many British ships now find an employment in the indirect trade of foreign countries, which, of course, does not appear in the accounts rendered in England. Indeed, during the

1 Table showing the total number and tonnage of Sailing and Steam Vessels built and registered in the United Kingdom in each year, from 1842 to 1857 inclusive.

From this it will be seen that the total of such tonnage was in

Sailing

vessels and

period of protection, there was an actual decrease in the amount of tonnage built and registered, while a large increase took place in the second period of open competition.

The next account shows the number and tonnage of registered sailing and steam vessels of the United steamers Kingdom employed in the home and foreign trades respectively (excluding repeated voyages).1

and

foreign trades.

On this return it is to be observed that there has been a greater progress in the tonnage engaged in the foreign trade, where competition exists, than in the home trade, where, although that competition

1 Table showing the number and tonnage of registered SAILING and STEAM VESSELS (exclusive of river steamers) of the United Kingdom employed in the Home and Foreign Trade respectively in each year, from 1849 to 1857 inclusive.

is also allowed by law, it is only carried out to a trifling extent in practice, the latter having only advanced from 719,815 to 860,406 tons, while the former has advanced from 2,089,037 to 3,168,105.

accounts,

It now remains to consider the shipping accounts Shipping for 1858. These exhibited a decline as compared 1858. with those of the preceding years, and to this extent gave indications of the depression of which Shipowners so much complained.

The accounts of December 1858 and January 1859,2 if taken separately, showed that a favourable reaction had already commenced, and that British shipping

1 Tonnage entered and cleared with cargoes and in ballast at ports of the UNITED KINGDOM, in 1857 and 1858 respectively.

Number and tonnage of SAILING and STEAM VESSELS built and registered in the United Kingdom, in 1857 and 1858.

2 Total tonnage of BRITISH VESSELS entered and cleared with cargoes (including repeated voyages) in the months of December 1858, and January 1859, as compared with corresponding months of 1856-7-8.

and

was, in the spring of 1859, recovering from the depression it had suffered; and this fact was, naturally, much dwelt on by the champions of repeal, confirming, as it was supposed to do, the opinion expressed on the temporary and accidental character of this depression. This account, also, illustrates the state of the merchant shipping of England at a period preceding a continental war.

It was pointed out with a certain degree of triumph, that these three accounts, when taken together, afforded satisfactory evidence that, down to the close of 1857, the progress of British shipping Foreign had suffered no check nor reverse, and that the great Colonial development of the foreign tonnage, employed in the trade of the United Kingdom during recent years, was only partly attributable to the repeal of the Navigation Laws in 1849, the progress of foreign shipping in British trade having been nearly as rapid in the period of eight years prior to 1850 in consequence of the increasing requirements of British

trades.

commerce.

The reason of the decline exhibited in the accounts for 1858 must, therefore, be sought from other causes; and, probably, the commercial history of the previous few years is amply sufficient to afford the required explanation; moreover, any loss we might, thereby, have sustained was more than counterbalanced by the extraordinary development of the foreign and colonial trades of the United Kingdom during the ten years preceding 1859.1

As an indication of this progress, it is enough to show how vastly the exports of British produce had advanced in value in that period.

causes of

in Eng

America.

The commercial crisis, however, which occurred on Probable both sides of the Atlantic, at the close of 1857, ne- the decessarily operated injuriously upon the progress of pression English trade, and consequently on English shipping. land and It must be also remembered that the Russian war, and, subsequently, the disturbances in British India, created a large and abnormal demand for tonnage, which ceased with the termination of those temporary causes; and, as tonnage employed exclusively in the Government transport service, does not appear in the preceding account, it is probable that, during 1858, there was a still greater check to the demand for tonnage than is therein expressed.

The temporary depression was, however, by no means confined to the shipping of the United Kingdom, as we have shown; similar symptoms had manifested themselves in other maritime countries.1

jealousy

Although the competition of British shipping in American steam navigation had been the subject of loud com- and complaint in America, it will be found that the decline in petition. the building and employment of British shipping in 1858 was not so great in proportion as that which was indicated by the annual accounts of the imports

Thus the Foreign Trade rose from 39,163,4077. in 1847, to 85,039,9917. in 1857, and the Colonial Trade from 13,686,0387. in 1847, to 37,115,2577. in 1857.

1 The shipping accounts of the United States of America for the year ended 30th June, 1858, showed a corresponding decline in the employment of United States tonnage.

The total tonnage entered and cleared of United States ships in the two years 1856–7, and 1857-8, having been

1856-7, 9,302,021 tons.

1857-8, 8,885,675 tons; Decrease 416,346 tons.