enormous value of the large fleets of the ocean steam navigation companies. The subsidies granted for the conveyance of letters during peace will, provided we make proper bargains beforehand, secure for the Government an invaluable fleet of cruisers and transports in time of war.
The following figures are taken from the tables showing the progress of merchant shipping, issued by the Board of Trade, for 1874. They prove the strength of our position in this respect by comparison with all the other naval powers.
The aggregate tonnage of the merchant navy of the British Empire in 1874 was 7,213,000 tons; while that of the United States, excluding river steamers and home trade, was 1,410,000 tons, and that of France, 1,677,000 tons.
The tonnage added to the register in 1872 was, for the United Kingdom, 471,518 tons; for the United States, 209,052 tons; and for France 87,000 tons. The steam tonnage of the British Empire, in 1872, was 1,640,639 tons; that of the United States (oversea trade) 177,666 tons, and that of France 177,462 tons. Of steamers, there were built in the United Kingdom, in 1872, 416,000 tons.
The merchant navy of North Germany, in 1872, comprised a total of 5,082 ships, of 1,308,988 tons, of which 2,090, of 165,178 tons, and 29,139 horse-power, were steamers.
The Russian merchant service was composed of
