Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1871.djvu/122

 86

FRANCE.

fishing vessels — ' bateaux de la peche cotiere' — is shown in the fol- lowing table, which gives the number and tonnage of the vessels, classed according to tonnage, on January 1, 1866 and 1867 : —

1S66

1867

rds.

Vessels

Tons

Vessels

Tons

Of 800 tons and npwa

58

69,524

66

83,403

„ 700 to 800 tons.

37

27,338

39

28,971

„ 600 to 700 „

53

34,178

63

40,350

„ 500 to 600 „

116

63,572

122

66,315

,, 400 to 500 „

253

113,404

250

112,019

„ 300 to 400 „

292

103,435

301

106,526

„ 200 to 300 „

636

154.999

640

155,886

„ 100 to 200 „

1,274

179,389

1,342

187,217

60 to 100 „

1,437

109,630

1,482

113,577

„ 30 to 60 „

1,457

62,930

1,567

66,627

Under 30. Total

9,646

89,685

9,765

81,940

15,259

1,008,084

15,637

1,042,811

The above statement comprises both sailing vessels and steamers. Of steamers, France possessed, on January 1, 1867, 96 of 200 horse-power, and above; 87 of between 100 and 200 horse-power; the same number of between 60 and 100 ; 76 of between 30 and 60, and 61 of less than 30 horse-power. The total number of steamers on January 1, 1867, was 407, of 129,777 tons, and 55,160 horse-power. There were 207 steamers belonging to the ports of the Mediterranean, and 200 to those on the Atlantic. Of the total mercantile navy, enumerated in the preceding table, under date of 1867, there belonged 3,698 vessels, of 251,166 tons, to ports on the Mediterranean; and 11,939 vessels, of 791,645 tons, to ports on the Atlantic.

The growth of the railway system of France dates from the year 1840, previous to which there were but few lines in France. For a time, the idea was entertained of making all the railways which were to be built State property ; but in the end it was determined, and settled by the law of June 11, 1842 — modified in 1858, 1859, and 1863 — that the work should be left to private companies, super- intended, however, and, if necessary, assisted in their operations, by the State. Under thie arrangement, the whole of the railways, already made, and about to be. constructed, were classed under two divisions, called ' aneien reseau,' or Old net-work, and ' nouveau reseau,' or New net- work ; the former, as implied by the name, representing the first-built main arteries of traffic, and the latter the by-roads, laid down, in most instances, with a view to public utility rather than to profit. On this account, the hues coming under the designation of New net-work received the grant