TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION F. 



817 



:ivc States under 



Thus we have for the whole empire an average of one policeman to every 571 

 of the people, and to every 16 square miles. 



It is never to be forgotten that one of the main reasons why the British Empire 

 is able to keep its land forces at a comparatively low scale, is its preponderance 

 lit sea, Owing to the astonishing difference of power between the diSerent kinds 

 iif ship.'*, iiiul in the preparedness of ships to put to sea and fight, the difliculty of 

 ixhibiting the strength of a navy by figm'os is becoming greater and greater. 



The predominance which we hope to find in the British navy will hardly be 

 >hown by the enumeration of ships. With this caution, however, it may be stated 

 that there are 240 British war vessels afloat, or in commission, of which 72 are 

 ailing ships, and 174 have steam power. There are now 63 ironclads, either com- 

 iilete or nearly complete. The number of officers and men amounts to 57,000. 

 The number of ironclads ready for action at the shortest notice is now 44, of 

 wliich L'o are at sea. These facts will probably ^je found to indicate a naval pre- 

 Miieduess fit to cope with such foreign combinations as could reasonably be antici- 

 pated. 



In respect to mercantile shipping a statistical exposition is more applicable. 

 The British merchant navy consists of 30,000 ships, with 8^ millions of tons, 

 iiKinned by 270,000 sailors. The seagoing tonnage under the British flag amounts 

 to 3 millions of tons in steamers, and 5| millions of tons in sailing vessels. Now 

 under the flags of other nations there are 2| millions of tons in steamers and 9^ 

 millions in sailing vessels. In other words, the British Empire surpasses all other 

 cations together in respect of steamers, and nearly equals them in respect of sailing 

 vessels. In respect of carrying power in the world by sea, 49 per cent, belongs 

 totlie British Empire, and 51 per cent, to other nations. Again, out of 55,000 

 ships in the world over 100 tons, 21,000 are British. The comparison remains in 

 similar terms in respect to the earnings of shipping. Out of 129 millions of tons 

 canied yearly by the shipping of the world, 63 millions are under the British flag. 

 Out of 133 million pounds sterling earned from freight and passengers by the ships 

 of the world, 73 millions are earned by British ships. A similar proportion is 

 shown by the port entries of the world, represented yearly by 125,000 tons, of 

 which o7,000 (or nearly half) pertain to the British Empire. 



In shipbuilding the proportion is still more favourable to the British Empire. 

 Out of 1,800,000 tons built annually, 1,200,000 are built in Great Britain. 



Tlie total trade of the British Empire cannot be exhibited statistically because 

 the component parts of the empire are separated by oceans. Consequently, much 

 of the trade is between these parts, and it would be meaningless to sura up the 

 several items into one grand total. 



Still it is well to summarise the separate items, each of which is a mighty 

 fiictor in the prosperity of tlie empire. As is well known, then, the United 

 Kingdom in 1882 exported 241 millions sterling worth of British produce with 05 

 millions worth of foreign and colonial produce, and imported 413 millions: the 

 total value of the trade being thus 719 millions sterling. The ocean-borne trade 

 (if India is valued at 143 millions sterling annually, that of the Colonies and 

 dependencies amounts to 302 millions ; truly an astonishing amount in comparison 

 with their population. 



If the aliquot parts of the trade of the principal nations be computed, then 

 ahtiit one-fifth, or 21 per cent, of the whole, belongs to the United Kingdom, and 

 13 per cent, to the Colonies and dependencies. Thus 34 per cent., or one-third uf 

 the world's commerce, pertains to the British Empire. 



The ratio of seaborne commerce per inhabitant yearly is 20/. in the United 

 Kingdom, 31/. in Australia, 9/. in Canada, and 6/. in the United States. In Europe 

 the British ratio is exceeded in Holland and equalled by Belgium, but in other 

 European countries the ratio is far less. 



In respect to banking, the United Kingdom is known to be the busiest on 

 P'lrtli, and transacts one-third of the business of the world. The total of capital 

 ond deposits used in the banking of all nations amounts to 2,508 millions sterling, 

 of which no less than 965 millions belong to the British Empire, representing a 

 proportion of 39 per cent. But there is a considerable amount of capitsl employed 

 1884. 3 Q 



