THE TRADE OF PLYMOUTH. 399 
These figures show a progressive increase in the tonnage, with a 
smaller increase in the number of ships, indicating that the ships 
employed are larger as the trade increases. 
Comparing these figures with corresponding ones at other ports, 
we rank tenth in importance in England and Wales; London and 
Liverpool having by far the largest trade of all, and three ports in 
Scotland and three in Ireland exceeding ours. 
I have already given our trade with each nation with respect to 
our imports, showing from what countries our imports came, and I 
now give the shipping of each nation entered at Plymouth during 
the year 1876. There were— 
No. of Ships. Tonnage. 
British . : . 644 : : ; 130,801 
Russian : : : : 4 ; : P 1,219 
Swedish : : : : 6 : ; : 1,314 
Norwegian . : , : 61 : ‘ ‘ 18,358 
Danish ; F ‘ ‘ 1l , ‘ é 1,498 
German . ; . : 25 ; ‘ 7 6,195 
Dutch F F ? - 3 : : : 332 
French : : : yield 1}: ; : : 8,077 
Italian . : : : 26 ‘ : - 12,508 
Austrian. , : ‘ 9 ‘ : 3,196 
Greek ’ ‘ - 4 ' ’ 1,221 
United States of America . 4 R : F 2,031 
Others : : 1 345 
The shipping belonging to Plymouth is not so large now as it used 
to be before wooden ships were superseded by iron ones, and before 
sailing ships had steamships to compete with them. Plymouth 
still, however, stands well. There were in 1876, belonging to 
Plymouth, 371 ships of 43,405 tons. According to these figures 
Plymouth ranks seventh in England and Wales, and twelfth in 
Great Britain, in the number of ships belonging to the port; but 
thirteenth in England and Wales, and twentieth in Great Britain, 
in tonnage. The tonnage of the great steamship-owning ports 
being very heavy, London and Liverpool in this respect, as well as 
in every other, take the lead far away from any other ports. 
Bristol owns fewer ships than Plymouth, with but a slightly larger 
tonnage. 
As a shipbuilding port Plymouth has naturally declined since 
iron has been so much used in building ships. Plymouth used to 
have a high and well-deserved reputation for the ships built here, 
when the wooden walls of England were launched from the Dock- 
