Page:History of merchant shipping and ancient commerce (Volume 3).djvu/584



I have endeavoured to show how much progress has been made during the last quarter of a century—a progress eminently due to the repeal of our Navigation Laws and to many of the earlier measures of the Board of Trade, in confirmation of which I may point to the magnificent ships now produced, to the enormous extent of our mercantile fleets,[1] as compared with those of all other nations, and to the superiority of our officers to what they were before the repeal of the Navigation Laws.

There is, nevertheless, a wide and noble field in which the statesman might employ his power and genius to great advantage, and earn for himself an imperishable name. The means are now in a great measure at his disposal. But he must decide between two principles. He must not, on the one hand, give way to the question of sentiment or to the popular cry that merchant ships and their cargoes shall be under Government survey, and, at the same time, hold Shipowners responsible for acts which legislation has placed beyond their control. If he adopts the former course, he must double or treble the existing staff of officials; but I venture to warn him that, in so doing, he will place a canker-worm at the root of

[Footnote: 1

++ Years.| Ships belonging to the British | British Steam Vessels Entered and | Empire at the end of each Year,| Cleared in the Foreign Trade in the |   1850 to 1874 inclusive. | United Kingdom, 1850 to 1874 inclusive. ++-++-     |    Number. |    Tons        |   Number. |     Tons. 1850 |    34,281    |    4,232,962    |     8,350    |     1,802,955 1852  |    34,402    |    4,424,392    |     7,059    |     1,980,473 1860  |    38,501    |    5,710,968    |    12,777    |     4,186,620 1862  |    39,427    |    6,041,358    |    15,201    |     5,239,493 1870  |    37,587    |    7,149,134    |    29,369    |    13,341,058 1872  |    36,804    |    7,213,829    |    35,570    |    17,430,029 1873  |    36,825    |    7,294,230    |    37,175    |    18,943,653 1874  |    36,935    |    7,533,492    |    37,606    |    19,408,527 ++-++

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