3U 



GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 



American, and 491,222 tons Austrian. The ton- 

 nage entered and cleared at the principal ports 

 of the United Kingdom was as follows: London, 

 16,700,527; Cardiff, 12,769,240; Liverpool, 11,677,- 

 708; Tync ports, 8,791,299; Hull, 4,940,735; Glas- 

 gow, 3,681,597; Southampton, 3,009,389; New- 

 port, 2,603,451; Blyth, 2,487,217; Swansea, 2,446,- 

 051; Kirkcaldy, 2,039,433; Leith, 2,037,600; Mid- 

 dlesbro, 1,978,286; Sunderland, 1,959,932; Dover, 

 1,937,550 ; Grimsby, 1,891,474 ; Grangemouth, 

 1,728,641; Manchester, 1,383,254; Harwich, 1,366,- 

 021: Gools, 1,179,604; Bristol, 1,121,245; Hartle- 

 pool, 999,036; Folkestone, 777,813; Belfast, 685,- 

 750. 



The British registered shipping at the beginning 

 of 1901 comprised 10,773 sailing vessels, of 2,096,- 

 498 tons, and 9,209 steamers, of 7,207,610 tons. 

 There were engaged in the home and foreign trade 

 7 iso sailing vessels, of 1,989,731 tons, and 7,455 

 steamers, of 7,405,476 tons; total tonnage, 9,395,- 

 207. The total number of men employed in the 

 commercial navy was 247,448, including 36,893 

 foreign sailors and 36,023 lascars. Of the total 

 number of vessels engaged in trade 6,203 sailing, 

 of 378,957 tons, employing 23,734 men, were in 

 the home trade; 134 sailing vessels, of 15,936 

 tons, employing 719 men, were engaged both in 

 the home trade, including ports between Brest 

 and the Elbe, and in the foreign trade; and 1,143 

 sailing vessels, of 1,594,838 tons, employing 

 25,856 men, were engaged exclusively in the for- 

 eign trade; 3,545 steam vessels, of 508,359 tons, 

 employing 40,288 men, were engaged in the home 

 trade; 267 steam vessels, of 201,542 tons, employ- 

 ing 4,930 men, were engaged both in the home 

 and the foreign trade; and 3,648 steam vessels, 

 of 6,695,575 tons, were engaged exclusively in the 

 foreign trade. The numbers of vessels built and 

 first registered during 1900 were 504 sailing ves- 

 sels, of 38,576 tons, and 667 steamers, of 698,330 

 tons. Besides these, 66 sailing vessels, of 7,546 

 tons, and 196 steam vessels, of 199,815 tons, were 

 built for foreigners, including 20 war-vessels, of 

 which 2, of 112 tons, were sailing vessels and 18, 

 of 11,630 tons, were steamers. The total number 

 of vessels belonging to the United Kingdom was 

 19,982, of 9,304,108 tons. The total number be- 

 longing to the British Empire in 1900 was 34,875, 

 of 10,751,392 tons, the sailing tonnage being 

 3,011,594 and steam tonnage 7,739,798 tons. 



Shipping Trust. In the spring of 1902 a 

 trust of British and American lines of steam- 

 ships engaged in the north Atlantic shipping 

 trade was formed with American and British 

 capital amounting to $170,000,000. The com- 

 pany, which acquired a majority of the stock 

 of the British lines and entered into an agree- 

 ment for the division of traffic and establishment 

 of equal rates with the two great German lines, 

 was domiciled in New York, but the British ships 

 retained their nationality, and the obligation to 

 serve England as auxiliary naval vessels in case 

 of war that had been assumed for some of them 

 was not canceled. For some years previous to 

 the combination the steamships engaged in pas- 

 senger transportation between American and Eu- 

 ropean ports had in competition provided more 

 and more luxurious accommodation, and freight 

 rates had declined, owing to the extraordinary 

 activity in ship-building which began in 1898 

 after a period of quiescence and continued till 

 the close of 1901. Dividends and profits shrank or 

 ceased in consequence of the competition, so that 

 Kntflixhinen largely interested in shipping were 

 willing to enter or sell out to the trust formed 

 to koep up rates and reduce expenses by J. P. 

 Morgan. British lines which did not enter the 



American combination formed an alliance among 

 themselves and sought subsidies from the Brit; 

 ish and Canadian governments to enable theni 

 to compete with the other syndicate and develop 

 trade with Canada and with the East through 

 Canada. The Australian Government was asked 

 also to assist an all-British combination that 

 would promote commerce between the different 

 parts of the British Empire. In the United 

 States the American syndicate controlled rail- 

 roads and various facilities that gave it an ad- 

 vantage over the rival combination. 



Railroads, Posts, and Telegraphs. The 

 total length of railroads open to traffic in the 

 United Kingdom on Jan. 1, 1901, was 21,885 

 miles, of which 15,187 miles were in England and 

 Wales, 3,485 miles in Scotland, and 3,183 miles in 

 Ireland. The total share and loan capital was 

 1,176,001,890. The number of passengers con- 

 veyed in 1900 was 1,142,276,686, paying 45,383,- 

 988; freight receipts, 53,470,564; total gross 

 earnings, 104,801,858. The capital of English 

 railroads was 970,147,581, and receipts were 

 89,392,501; the capital of Scottish railroads was 

 166,088,736, and receipts were 11,603,010; the 

 capital of Irish railroads was 39,765,573, and 

 receipts were 3,806,347. The total operating 

 expenses were 64,743,520, being 62 per cent, of the 

 gross earnings. The length of street-railroads in 

 the United Kingdom on July 1, 1900, was 1,177 

 miles; the capital expenditure was 20,582,692; 

 receipts for the previous year, 5,445,620; ex- 

 penses, 4,075,352 ; net earnings, 1,370,277 ; 

 number of passengers carried, 1,065,374,347. 



The post-office in 1901 delivered 1,970,000.000 

 letters in England and Wales, 202,400,000 in 

 Scotland, and* 144,200,000 in Ireland ; total, 2,323,- 

 600,000. The number of postal cards was 359,- 

 400,000 in England and Wales, 41,600,000 in Scot- 

 land, and 18,000,000 in Ireland; total, 419,000,000. 

 The number of book packets was 619,300,000 in 

 England and Wales, 77,800,000 in Scotland, and 

 35,300,000 in Ireland; total, 732,400,000. The 

 number of newspapers was 127,800,000 in Eng- 

 land and Wales, 19,300,000 in Scotland, and 

 20,700,000 in Ireland; total, 167,800,000. The 

 number of parcels was 67,200,000 in England and 

 Wales, 8,600,000 in Scotland, and 5,200,000 in 

 Ireland; total, 81,000,000. The total number 

 of inland money-orders was 11,375,518, for 

 34,454,859, of which 9,638,474, for 29,213,- 

 745, were issued in England and Wales, 1,094,431, 

 for 3,344,691, in Scotland, and 642,613, for 

 1,896,423, in Ireland. The total number of post- 

 al orders was 85,390,029; total amount, 29,881,- 

 726. The British postal authorities, having in 

 vain endeavored to establish a parcel post with 

 the United States by agreement with the Post- 

 Office Department at Washington, although such 

 a service has been in operation between Great 

 Britain and British colonies since 1885, arranged 

 with a private corporation, the American Express 

 Company, to deliver anywhere in the United 

 States and receive for delivery by the British post- 

 office in the United Kingdom parcels under 3 

 pounds for 2s. or 50 cents, from that to 7 pounds 

 for 3s. or 75 cents, from 7 to 11 pounds for 4s. 

 or $1. For New York and adjoining cities the 

 rates are Is. or 25 cents, 2s. or 50 cents, and 3s. 

 or 75 cents, but for all parcels entering the Uni- 

 ted States an additional charge of 25 cents goes 

 to the Government for clearance at the custom- 

 house besides import duties at regular rates, and 

 another fee of 25 cents to the custom-house 

 broker. 



The British postal telegraphs on March 31, 

 1901, had a total length of 46,295 miles, with 



