SUBSIDIES.

The following statement from a parliamentary report embodies important facts regarding payments by foreign governments in aid of shipping. Much further information upon the subject can be found in previous reports of the Bureau :

BOUNTIES PAID IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES ON THE CONSTRUCTION AND RUNNING OF SHIPS.

In answer to an address of the House of Commons, dated the 19th December last, a return has been issued of the various European countries giving bounties or subsidies for the construction or running of ships. It consists of replies made to a circular issued by the Marquis of Salisbury to Her Majesty's representatives in European countries, asking for information as to this subject. The following is a statement of the bounties granted in the various countries:

ITALY.

Chapter 1 of the Italian Law of the 6th December, 1885 (No. 3547, series 3), respecting the merchant navy, treats of the bounties to be allowed to ship-builders.

Article 1 provides that for a term of ten years from the passing of the act a bounty on the construction of the hull of steam-ships and sailing vessels of iron or steel, and of sailing vessels of wood, shall be paid for such vessels when built in Italy and registered in the first class of the Italian registry, or of such foreign registries as may, for the purposes of the article, be assimilated to the Italian registry by a royal de

cree.

The bounty on the construction of steam-ships and sailing vessels built of iron or steel is fixed at the rate of 60 lire (488.) per ton of gross measurement.

The bounty on the construction of sailing vessels built of wood is fixed at the rate of 15 lire (128.) per ton of gross measurement.

The bounty on the construction of "floating material," ("Galleggianti") built of iron or steel, is fixed at 30 lire (248.) per ton of gross measurement.

[NOTE. For the purposes of the present law, the term "ships" or "vessels" signifies merchant vessels provided with a certificate of nationality; all others, whether navigating along the Italian seaboard, or on rivers, canals, or lakes, are considered as "floating material" ("Galleggianti"].

Article 2 declares that no bounty will be granted for the construction of vessels in which the framework is wholly of iron and steel and the outer covering of wood, and lays down that any increase in the length of a vessel shall be considered as repairs. Article 3 provides that for a term of ten years from the passing of the act a bounty shall be paid for the construction in Italy of marine engines and boilers.

The bounty on engines is fixed at the rate of 10 lire (88.) per horse of indicated horse-power.

The bounty on boilers is at the rate of 6 lire (4s. 10d.) per quintal (212 pounds) in weight.

The above bounty is extended to repairs, executed in Italy, upon boilers of Italian manufacture.

Article 4 provides that the bounties on the construction of hulls, engines, and boilers shall be increased by from 10 per cent. to 20 per cent. in favor of steam-ships so constructed as to be adapted to military purposes.

This special bounty is extended to steam-ships purchased abroad during the term of ten years mentioned in article 1.

[NOTE. In order to qualify for the above special bounty, steam-ships must fulfill the following conditions: (1) Division into a sufficient number of water-tight compartments, for the vessel to continue afloat with one compartment invaded by the sea. (2) A speed on trial of not less than 14 miles per hour, and protection of engines and boilers by coal-bunkers. (3) A sufficient space available for stowage of coal for steaming 4,000 miles at a reduced speed of 10 miles per hour.]

Article 5 suspends, during the term of the act, certain provisions of former laws respecting the free importation of, and repayment of, duties charged on materials for ship-building, as well as premiums on naval construction established in 1866.

Such provisions are, however, continued in force in the case of repairs to wooden and iron ships until the settlement of a fixed scale of rates for the bounties on repairs. Article 6 provides for the payment of the bounty on new ships, engines, or boilers to the ship-builders and of repairs to the ship-owners.

Article 7 forbids the sale to foreigners of vessels on the construction of which bounties have been paid, without the express permission of the Government, which is also empowered, in case of necessity, to prohibit them from being chartered abroad.

1

The report on the Italian merchant navy during 1887, published by the ministry of marine, gives the following comparative statements of the work done and expenditure incurred under the provisions of the above-mentioned law in 1866 and 1887:

No expenditure has yet been incurred on account of the special bounty payable to steam-ships adapted to military purposes.

1

In consequence of the increase of customs duties under the new tariff law of the 14th July, 1887, a royal decree (No. 5372, series 3) was published on the 22d March, 1888, establishing additional bounties on the construction and repairs of vessels, engines, and boilers in Italian yards and work-shops.

Article 1 provides that, in addition to the bounties established by the law of the 6th December, 1885, the following extra rates of bounty shall be paid:

measurement

(a) For hulls of steam or sailing ships, built of iron or steel, per ton of gross
(b) For hulls of wooden sailing ships, per ton of gross measurement
(c) For "floating material" ("Galleggianti"), built of iron or steel, per ton

of gross measurement

(d) For marine engines, per horse of indicated horse-power

(e) For the construction of marine boilers, and for repairs to those previ

ously constructed in Italy, per quintal.

The same bounties shall be payable for the construction of "floating material" in iron and steel, for the use of the royal navy and other Government departments. Article 2 establishes the following bounties for the construction, in Italian yards or workshops, of ships of war, and of sundry apparatus and subsidiary engines for use on board:

(a.) For the hulls of vessels of war, built of iron or steel, per ton of gross

measurement

(b.) For the marine engines of ships of war, per horse of indicated horse-
power

(c.) For the construction of the marine boilers of ships of war, and for re-
pairs to those previously constructed in Italy, per quintal
(d.) For the construction of sundry apparatus and subsidiary engines for use
on board, per quintal.

[NOTE. By the term "sundry apparatus and subsidiary engines for use on board" are meant windlasses, cranes for hoisting goods, capstans for weighing anchor, condensers for distilling, fire engines and draining pumps and ventilating apparatus, steam-steering gear, motors for the production of electric light, and the like.l

Article 6 provides for the presentation of the decree to Parliament for its conversion into a law.

Chapter 2 of the Italian law of the 6th December, 1885, above referred to, “On the merchant navy," establishes premiums or bounties for the import of coal into Italy, and for the encouragement of merchant vessels to undertake distant voyages.

Article 8 provides that, for a term of ten years from the passing of the act, a bounty of 1 lira (9.60d.) per ton weight of coal imported shall be paid to Italian sailing vessels or steamers for conveying cargoes of coal to Italian ports from places situated beyond the Straits of Gibraltar, provided such cargoes of coal shall amount to not less than three-fifths of the vessels' carrying capacity.

Article 9 provides for explanatory regulations for ascertaining the actual weight of coal thus delivered in Italian ports.

Article 10 provides that, for a term of ten years from the passing of the act, a bounty on navigation at the rate of .65 centimes (6+d.) per ton of gross measurement for every 1,000 miles run shall be granted to Italian sailing vessels or steam-ships, which, starting from any port within the Mediterranean (including the sea of Marmora, the Black Sea, the sea of Azoff, and the navigation of the Danube), shall pass through the Suez Canal or the Straits of Gibraltar, bound for ports outside of Europe, as well as to such vessels returning to Italy, through the Suez Canal or the Straits of Gibraltar, from ports situated outside of Europe.

A like bounty is granted to Italian vessels navigating between one continent and its adjacent islands and any other continent and the islands belonging to it, excepting as regards voyages within the Mediterranean and the above-mentioned seas (Black, Marmora, Azoff, etc.).