CONSTITUTION AND RESOURCES OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE. 



Another fact bearing on this matter is, that in 

 1842-43, the gross amount of income and profits 

 assessed in Great Britain was ^25 1,013,003. In 

 1870-71, it was ^442,188,798. This shews that 

 the national income has in 28 years increased 

 76-14 per cent. Though British commerce extends 

 all over the world, its dealings on a large scale are 

 with comparatively few countries ; half the total 

 import trade being with six countries, viz. United 

 States, France, India, Russia, Germany, and Aus- 

 tralia ; half the exports going to United States, 

 Germany, India, France, Netherlands, and Aus- 

 tralasia. British trade with America and Germany 

 is increasing at the greatest rate. 



The chief imports, cotton, corn, sugar, wool, silk 

 manufactures, and tea amount to nearly one-half 

 the value of the total British imports. Two- 

 thirds of the total exports are represented by 

 cotton fabrics, woollens, iron, linen manufactures, 



>al, machinery. The total imports and exports 



r 1880 were valued at ,697,644,031. 



The progress of textile industry in Britain is 

 illustrated by the fact, that whereas the quantity of 

 raw cotton imported in 1815 was only 99,000,000 

 pounds, it rose to 891,751,952 pounds in 1855, and 

 to 1,256,984,736 in 1861. Owing to the convulsion 

 in America, it fell the following year to 523,973,296 

 pounds, and slowly rose to something like its 

 proper quantity in 1866, after the effects of the 

 American war had ceased to operate injuriously. 

 In 1880 it was 14,541,648 cwts. The import of 

 wool has been steadily on the increase. In 1880 

 it was 463,508,963, of which 226,129,887 pounds 

 are retained for home use. In the cotton, woollen, 

 and worsted trades we find, in 1870, 684,774 

 persons employed, an increase of 189,067 hands 

 since 1850. In 2483 cotton factories there were, in 

 1 870, 300,480 horse-power in form of steam, 8390 

 in form of water, and 450,087 hands employed in 

 the trade. There were 1 2 5, 1 30 persons employed in 

 1829 factories of woollen goods in 1870. There were, 

 in 1870, 109,557 persons employed in 630 worsted 

 factories. Minor branches of textile industry 

 employed in 1870 upwards of 60,000 persons, of 

 whom 40,000 were workers in silk, and 22,000 in 

 flax the rest being engaged in the hosiery and 

 lace trade. 



MINES. 



The rich mineral wealth of England has done 

 much, as already remarked, to make it so pros- 

 perous. There are 30 coal-fields in the United 



Kingdom of which the Yorkshire one is the largest, 

 having 505 pits in 1880. Stafford had 598; 

 Scotland, 651 ; Lancashire, 535 ; Durham and 

 Northumberland, 380; South Wales, 344; Mid- 

 land group (Derby, Nottingham, Leicester, and 

 Warwick), 335 ; Gloucester and Somerset, 139. 

 Ireland has a large number of pits, but their out- 

 put is trifling. As regards output, Durham and 

 Northumberland stand highest, with 34,000,000 tons 

 in 1880. Scotland comes next, with 18,200,000 

 tons. The total output of the United Kingdom in 

 1881 was 154,000,000 tons from 3813 collieries. 

 In 1872 there were 393,344 persons employed in 

 the mining trade. Within the last thirty years 

 our exports of coal have increased almost eight- 

 fold, as this table shews. 



In 1871, the Cornish mines yielded 21,948 tons 

 of iron ore ; the Devonshire, 14,125 tons ; Somer- 

 setshire, 32,884 tons ; Gloucestershire, 207,599 

 tons; Wiltshire, 159,894 tons; Oxfordshire, 

 28,330 tons ; Northamptonshire, 779,314 tons ; 

 Lincolnshire, 290,673 tons; Shropshire, 415,972 

 tons; Warwickshire, 34,075 tons; North Staf- 

 fordshire, 1,513,080 tons; South Staffordshire, 

 705,665 tons ; Derbyshire, 492,973 tons ; Lan- 

 cashire, 931,048 tons ; Cumberlandshire, 1,302,704 

 tons ; York (North Riding), 4,581,901 tons ; 

 York (West Riding), 407,997 tons ; Northumber- 

 land and Durham, 285,297 tons ; North Wales, 

 51,887 tons; South Wales and Monmouthshire, 

 969,714 tons ; Isle of Man, 75 tons : Scotland, 

 3,000,000 tons : Ireland, 107,734 tons. The total 

 iron ore produced in the United Kingdom came to 

 18,026,049 tons in 1880, the value being ,6,585,806. 



Since the discovery of gold in California, 

 Australia, &c. a large amount of bullion has 

 been imported from gold-producing countries to 

 Britain. A certain quantity of it, both gold and 

 silver, seems to be exported again. The value of 

 the bullion and specie imports and exports was as 

 follows : 



In order to conduct this enormous national 

 traffic, we have a large carry ing- trade both by 

 land and sea. The land carrying-trade is now 

 chiefly by means of 



RAILWAYS. 



The first railway was opened in 1825; and from 

 that year to 1850, 6621 miles of railway were laid 

 in Great Britain and Ireland, being 265 miles a 

 year. 



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