GEEAT BRITAIN. 



361 



home consumption. The reports of the number 

 of cotton, woollen, and worsted factories, the 

 number of spindles and horse-power, and the 

 number of persons employed, is not later than 

 that of the census, and has reference to the 

 state of affairs at the close of 1870. At that 

 date there were in the United Kingdom 2,483 

 cotton-factories, driven by an aggregate motive 

 horse-power of 308,870 horses, running 38,218,- 

 758 spindles, and 441,276 power-looms, and 

 employing 450,087 persons ; there were 1,829 

 woollen-factories, with 62,302 horse-power, 

 running 2,692,761 spindles, and 48,140 power- 

 looms, and employing 125,130 persons; 630 

 worsted-factories, with 51,035 horse-power, 

 running 2,131,442 spindles, and 64,659 power- 

 looms, and employing 109,557 persons. The 

 minor textile industries, as silk, flax, hosiery, 

 and lace, employed over 80,000 persons ; and, 

 in all departments of textile industry, more 

 than 760,000 persons were employed. 



Minerals and Metals. The quantity of coal 

 mined in the United Kingdom in 1871 was 

 117,439,251 tons of 2,240 pounds. Its value 

 was 30,121,347=$150,606,735, of which 12,- 

 816,434 tons were exported, of the declared 

 value of 6,267,047=131,335,235. In 1872, 

 owing in part to the colliers' strike, and in part 

 to the belief that several of the best mines 

 were becoming exhausted, or too deep for 

 profitable working, the price of coal advanced 

 from 200 to 500 per cent. In 1871, 6,627,179 

 tons of pig iron were produced (about three 

 times the production of the United States), and 

 its value was declared at 16,667,947=$83,- 

 339,735. 



Railways. At the end of 1871 there were 

 open railway lines of the length of 15,756 miles 

 (about one-fourth the length of the lines in the 

 United States), whose total paid-up capital 

 (shares and loans) amounted to 552,680,107= 

 $2,763,400,535. These railways transported 

 375,250,754 passengers, and passed over 179,- 

 075,894 miles. Their traffic receipts were 

 48,892,780 = $244,463,900. Of these rail- 

 ways, 11,043 miles belonged to England and 

 Wales, 2,538 to Scotland, and 1,988 to Ireland. 



Post-offices and Telegraphs. The number 

 of letters delivered in England and Wales, in 

 1871, was 759,329.000 ; inScotland, 85,696,000; 

 in Ireland, 72,166,000. In the London district 

 alone, 220,421,000 letters were delivered, more 

 than three times as many as in Ireland. The 

 game year, 8,717,972 money orders were issued 

 for England and Wales, 838,942 for Scotland, 

 and 674,611 for Ireland, of the total amount of 

 19,993,987=$99,969,935. There were nearly 

 12,000 post-offices in the United Kingdom in 

 1871, and upward of 8,000 road and pillar 

 letter-boxes. The number of persons employed 

 was 29,344. The telegraphs of Great Britain 

 are now the property of the Government, and 

 in 1871 there were sent 11,760,000 messages. 

 On March 31, 1872, there were 5,098 telegraph- 

 offices in the United Kingdom. 



The capital authorized in Great Britain in 



the year 1872 for new companies, amounts to 

 60,000,000, of which 44,000,000 have been 

 offered for subscription, and the deposits there- 

 on amount to 14,000,000. The analysis shows 

 the number of and capital required for each 

 class of companies. The larger proportion are 

 manufacturing, trading, and mining companies. 

 Out of a total of 234 companies there are 88 

 manufacturing and trading, with a total capi- 

 tal of 16,000,000 ; 81 mining, with a total 

 capital of 8,000,000; and 10 banking, with a 

 capital of 12,500,000. 



The new issues of capital in behalf of pre- 

 viously existing companies amount to 3*1,- 

 750,000, of which the amount actually called 

 up is 23,750,000. 



Foreign Loans. The loans negotiated in Lon- 

 don, for the year 1872, amount to 227,000,000 

 nominal capital, and the amount actually called 

 up, to 95,000,000. Included in this, is the 

 French National Loan of 160,000,000 (45,- 

 500,000 called up), which was not all issued in 

 England. 



Of the previously-existing companies above 

 noted, there were seventy in behalf of which 

 the contributions of fresh capital, during the 

 year, amounted to 23,000,000 sterling. The 

 greater part of these were railway companies, 

 and the contribution to them was about 18,- 

 000,000. 



In addition to the contributions of 60,000,- 

 000 for new organizations, and 23,000,000 for 

 old ones in Great Britain, the enormous sum. 

 of 95,000,000 was raised for new loans to 

 foreign nations. The following is an analysis 

 of the loans negotiated. 



Tlie Foreign Loans negotiated in the Yearl8 f 72. 



The numerous negotiations and enterprises 

 of the year were accompanied by frequent 

 fluctuations and panics, whereby the rates of 

 interest ranged at one time over 7 per cent., 

 while at other periods the rate was reduced to 

 3 per cent. The following is a statement 

 showing the fluctuations in the value of money 

 during the year 1872, amount of bullion held 

 by the Bank of England, notes in circulation 

 and reserve, and price of consols at date of 

 each alteration of bank minimum rate of dis- 

 count : 



