Manchester Memoirs, Vol. xli. (1897), No. 11. 17 



referring to freights actually paid on cotton from America 

 and on corn, tea, sugar, timber, &c, from (apparently) 

 other countries for twenty years preceding that date 

 showed that 8J% to I2j% was added to the value by the 

 freight, and estimated that 11% might be considered a 

 fair average. Also, from ascertained import freight lists 

 of ships for a series of years, an average freight of 89s 

 per ton was deduced. 



In 1878 Mr. Newmarch supposed that, to make a 

 fair comparison between exports and imports, 10% should 

 be added to the former, 5% subtracted from the latter 

 for all charges of conveyance. He also quoted a letter 

 from Mr. McKay, of Liverpool, estimating the freights 

 earned in British bottoms at 30s. per ton on imports and 

 20s. per ton on exports. 



Another shipowner, quoted by Sir Robert Giffen in 

 a paper read in 1882, calculated that on the actual 

 weights of goods imported and exported in the American 

 trade the freights would come to about 27s. 6d. and 20s. 

 respectively. Sir Robert Giffen himself expresses the 

 view that freights might be estimated at not much below 

 those quoted by Mr. Bourne, spite of the lapse of seven 

 years, and estimated that, though some freights might 

 fall, the cost of working ships would not bear any con- 

 siderable all-round deduction. He places the earnings 

 of steamers, including their income from the passenger 

 traffic, probably now more important even than then, at 

 not less than £15 per ton, net register, and for sailing 

 ships at £y per ton per annum. 



Insurance, commissions, and other charges, should, on 

 the same authority, count for fully z\ %. In a case of a 

 Manchester shipment quoted by Mr. McKay, these totalled 

 up to 4 %. 



We may remember, too, that the records of imports 

 and exports may themselves be in error to the extent of 1 



