TONNAGE OF THE WORLD. The statistics of the world's tonnage show an increase in the last year of about 283,000 tons, the total tonnage of vessels over 100 tons in burden being about 21,048,704. The year before, there was a decrease of 564,206 tons, it being principally in British ships. In the two years before the last there was a decrease of 769,611 tons. The United States is next in tonnage to Great Britain. During the last year there has been considerable activity in ship-building, both in this country and in Great Britain. The tables of tonnage, as they are usually published, are rather unfair to this country, they giving only the sea-going vessels. The proportion of tonnage in the United States to the aggregate tonnage of the world is considerably larger than those tables show, the coasting fleet forming a large part of our shipping. The number of vessels afloat has decreased during the present year, the tendency being, especially in Great Britain, to build larger ships than formerly. The average tonnage of shipping owned in the United Kingdom in 1886, was 907 tons. It is now about 1,055 tons. A similar increase is shown in the building of sail and steam vessels upon our coasts and upon the great lakes, although our vessels do not usually attain the size of the great iron steam-ships built on the Clyde, at Belfast, and elsewhere in Great Britain. Some reason exists for supposing that certain trades in which small vessels can be more conveniently used will pass, to some extent, to the smaller craft of Norway, Sweden, and Germany, and of the United States. The proportion of tonnage owned by the United States as compared with that of the world increases, and so does that of Great Britain, which owns about 51.4 per cent. of the world's tonnage, and a still larger proportion of the steam tonnage. The German Government has recently published a comparative statement of the number of river, canal, and coasting vessels of the Empire at the close of the years 1877, 1882, and 1887, comprehending all vessels of 10 tons and more, regularly engaged in carrying freight, as well as the passenger ships. According to this statement there were at the close of 1877 of such vessels 17,083 sailing ships and 570 steamers; at the end of 1882, 17,885 sailing vessels and 830 steamers; and at the expiration of 1887 a total of 19,237 sailing vessels and 1,153 steamers. There thus appears to have been a remarkable increase in steamers from 1877 to 1887-102.3 per cent.-while the sailing vessels showed an increase of only 12.6 per cent. The percentage of increase among all the vessels taken together was 155 per cent. The figures show how rapidly steam-power is taking the place of sail. The carrying capacity of the German vessels is put at 2,057,000 tons for 1887, or an increase of 50 per cent. since 1877. It is argued that the slight falling off in the shipping built in France and Italy during the past year shows that the bounty system is not having the effect expected. Other causes, however, may have led to the decline. The proportion of increase of tonnage in the Argentine Confederation is quite large. The same remark applies to the tonnage of Japan. A slight decline is noticed in the tonnage of Belgium, Portugal, Sweden, Russia, the Netherlands, and Austria. The United States would undoubtedly be added to this list were it not for the protection the laws afford to vessels engaged in the coasting trade. A considerable amount of tonnage has been sold by Great Britain to foreign countries during the past year, some of it, no doubt, consisting of vessels which would be excluded from navigation by the rules of that country regulating free-boards, deck-cargoes, etc. The amount is 209,866 tons for sailing vessels, and 261,412 tons for steam-vessels, aggregating 471,278 tons and 585 vessels. It would be interesting to know how much of such tonnage would be unloaded on the United States, should there be a repeal of the existing restriction laws. The chief tendencies of ship-building at the present time are an increase in the size of the vessels, the use of iron and steel rather than of wood, of steam rather than sail, and to increased speed and reduced cost by the employment of triple expansion engines, double screws, forced draught, and improvements in machinery. A steel sailing vessel of 6,000 tons is reported to be building in Great Britain, and one of wood not quite so large as being completed in Maine. The recent production of ships includes the Majestic, of 10,000 tons, the Teutonic, of 10,000 tons, the City of Paris, of 10,500 tons, the Puritan, of 4,650 tons, and other large vessels and oil-tank steamers. Government work has formed a large part of the world's ship-building for the past year. In the United States, building during the season has been brisk, and including work done on Government vessels, and on vessels for the coasting trade, the yards have been reasonably busy. Many contracts for new vessels are awaiting the completion of vessels already on the stocks. The iron and steel business will be benefited by this activity in our yards and it is to be hoped that a permanent revival in our ship-building industry has come. If this hope should be fulfilled relief would be given to hundreds of other industries not excepting even that of the agriculturist. The wooden fleets of the world still, and probably will continue to, form a very large proportion of the tonnage, and sailing vessels will as heretofore be used to a very large extent. In our own country the three and four masted fore and aft schooners of large size are increasing.. In 1888, out of about 9,500,000 tons of sailing vessels in existence, 7,100,000 tons were built of wood, they constituting over a third of the world's tonnage. Excluding the coasting steamers of the United States, the proportion of steamers in the world, of wood, is comparatively small. A decrease is shown in the building of iron sailing and steam vessels as compared with vessels built of steel. The tonnage of the war vessels built in the United States would add considerably to the figures in the tables, so far as they show the aggregate tonnage built in this country. The increase in effective tonnage is much larger than that indicated by the tables, it consisting to some extent of steam-vessels which are capable of transporting more freight in a given time than are sailing vessels. The following table shows this increase approximately : TONNAGE OF STEAM-VESSELS BELONGING TO THE MERCHANT NAVIES OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE, THE UNITED KINGDOM, THE OTHER PRINCIPAL MARITIME COUNTRIES OF EUROPE, AND THE UNITED STATES, IN EACH OF THE YEARS 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, 1875, AND 1879-'88.* * Years ended June 30. The tonnage for 1870 and subsequent years is all new admeasurement. The "enrolled and licensed" tonnage of the United States is confined to the home and river trades, and is prohibited by law from going on a foreign voyage. In consequence of steps taken to clear the British Register in and since 1854, and of alterations in the system of measurement, the British tonnage since 1854, as compared with the previous vears, is a great deal less than would have appeared if the old plan of taking the figures had continued. The following table shows the small proportion of merchandise imported and exported in our own vessels: Total. 1857 101, 773, 971 1858 203, 700, 016 78, 913, 134 1859 216, 123, 428 122, 644, 702 Dollars. Dollars. 259, 116, 170 Dollars. Dollars. Dollars. 251, 214, 857 243, 491, 288 249, 617, 953 Dollars. Dollars. Dollars. Dollars. Dollars. 1860 228, 164, 855 134, 001, 399 279, 082, 902 1861 201, 544, 055 134, 106, 098 179, 972, 733 1862 92, 274, 100 113, 497, 629 125, 421, 318 111, 745, 825 510, 331, 027 447, 191, 304 213, 519, 796 723, 850, 823 70.5 607, 257, 571 73.7 229, 816, 211 695, 557, 592 66.9 507, 247, 757 255, 040, 793 762, 288, 550 66.5 381, 516, 788 203, 478, 278 584, 995, 066 65.2 217, 695, 418 218, 015, 296 435, 710, 714 50.0 1863 109, 744, 580 143, 175, 340 132, 127, 891 199, 880, 691 241, 872, 471 343, 056, 631 584, 928, 502 41.4 1864 The following table shows the different classes of vessels of the United States according to their mode of propulsion, etc.: Total ...... 23, 534 4, 131, 135.83 23,063 4, 105, 844.84 23, 281 4, 191, 915.77 23, 623 Tons. 2,099, 178. 69 1,765, 551.06 108, 461.67 334, 283.82 4, 307, 475. 24 The registered tonnage of the country has increased 6,032 tons in two years and increased 77,811 tons in the past year, while the enrolled and licensed tonnage has increased 195,598 tons in two years and increased 37,749 tons during the past year. The sailing tonnage has decreased 25,172 tons, while the steam tonnage has increased 117,482 tons as compared with the tonnage of last year. The tonnage of vessels lost at sea and wrecked is less than that lost last year by 5,641 tons. The tonnage abandoned at sea was less than that abandoned last year by 3,472 tons, and the tonnage of vessels sold to foreigners was less by 1,245 tons than that so sold in 1888. The coasting fleet in the United States far exceeds that in the foreign trade. The total number of vessels engaged therein is 20,401, their tonnage being 3,211,416. The total number of vessels employed in the coast and river trade in the country, including the fisheries of the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, but not the vessels on the Northern lakes, was 18,530, and aggregated 2,313,609 tons on June 30, 1889. The total number of vessels engaged in the coastwise trade, excepting those engaged in the fisheries and upon the Northern lakes and Western rivers, is 15,742, and their tonnage 1,939,717. VESSELS BUILT. The following table shows the class, number, and tonnage of the vessels built in this country during the last four years. This table shows that the amount of shipping constructed during the past year was 13,047 tons more than the amount built the previous year. |