to anything like that amount. However, that is a question we can leave to the ship- 

 owners to settle. What concerns the nation at large is that we are paying ten times as 

 much for trans-Atlantic carriage on American wheat as we were doing before the war. 



Two years ago the <ftfference between the price of wheat at Winnipeg and c.i.f. 

 London and Liverpool was little more than 5s., now it is round about 20s. The Cana- 

 dian and United States transport companies may be making a little extra out of carry- 

 ing it to the seaboard, but if so the amount is very small. It might be interesting to 

 know what our Government is paying for the ships they have requisitioned for carrying 

 military supplies. This requisition has resulted in a considerable shortage of tonnage 

 for ordinary commerce, and it is a question of supply and demand which is being 

 answered in favour of the suppliers at the expense of the public. 



The excessive freights amount in any case to a tax on breadstuffs, but if the Chan- 

 cellor of the Exchequer could annex the whole of it we should not so very much object, 

 though the knowledge that he will obtain a share of it is something. If all the shipping 

 concerns were British the remedy would be simpler, but a considerable portion of the 

 tonnage employed in the grain trade does not fly the Union Jack, and so is not within the 

 control of our Board of Trade. The matter is further complicated by the fact that more 

 than half of the grain is being carried to continental states. 



We quite agree with Mr. Runciman that it is difficult to find a solution that will 

 not do more harm than good, but whatever the difficulty, it should not be insurmountable. 



CANADA'S OCEAN FREIGHT 



Sir Robert Borden said in the House recently that he had taken up with the British 

 authorities the question of transportation. More than a year ago the Government 

 had arranged for the services of A. H. Harriss, of the C.P.R., to organize the transpor- 

 tation of supplies. Mr. Harriss in a recent report said that there had been an uninter- 

 rupted outlet for orders. The regular service established had proved to be of great 

 advantage to the export trade. Between August, 1914, and April, 1915, 144,913 gross 

 tons had been shipped. In the next seven months this had been increased to more than 

 400,000 tons. In February last arrangements had been made to secure the service 

 of eighteen transports from the Admiralty. During the last seven months this had been 

 increased to forty transports, twenty plying from Halifax and twenty from St. John. 

 Representations had been made to the Admiralty for more, it being pointed out that a 

 larger portion of ships had been taken from the North Atlantic services than from any 

 other. It had to be borne in mind, however, that the paramount necessity of the 

 Admiralty is for vessels for the transport of troops and munitions. 



WORLD'S MERCANTILE MARINE 



Upon the outbreak of war the merchant shipping of the world, according to the 

 figures of "Lloyd's Register of Shipping," which includes only vessels of 100 tons and 

 upwards, consisted of 30,836 vessels, of 49,089,552 tons, of which 24,444 of 45,403,877 

 tons gross were steamers and 6,392 of 3,685,675 tons net were sailing vessels. 

 The shipping owned by belligerent countries on that date was: — 



Steamers Gross Tons. 



Great Britain and Colonies 10,123 20,523,706 



Germany 2,090 5,134,720 



France 1,025 1,922,286 



Austria-Hungary, 433 1,052,346 



Russia 747 851,949 



Belgium 173 341,025 



Japan 1,103 1,078,386 



Italy 637 1,480,475 



16,331 32,334,893 

 232 



