Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1921.djvu/887

 SHIPPING, ETC. — COMMUNICATIONS — BANKING. F.TC. 8S5

Shipping and Navigation.

Number of vessels entered and cleared in 1918 : —

K-

ltered

Cleared

Xo.

fr^s

Xo.

Tons

Finnish Foreign

1,M1

- tn

448,879 850,056

I^M6

■ 457,619

Total.

I a)

1

The Finnish commercial navy numbered on December 31, 1919, 1,127 sailing reacts of 148,587 tons," 810 steamers, 150,770 tons, 110 motor vessels of 15,828 tons, and 3,311 prams, 804,605 tons ; total, 5,358 vessels of 619,790 tons.

Internal Communications.

For internal communications Finland has a remarkable system of lakes connected with each other and with the Gulf of Finland by canals. The number of vessels which passed along the canals in 1918 was 45.985 : the receipts from vessels, 1,174,399 marks ; and expenditure, 1,303,129 marks.

On December 31, 1920, there were 19,000 miles of main roads and 12,500 miles of secondary roads.

On December" 31, 1920, there were 2.6S5 miles of railways, all but 186 miles belonging to the State. The gauge is 1524 metres (4'9 feet). The tr.iffie upon the State's railways in 1919 was 13,078,200 passengers and 3,900,000 tons of goods. The total cost of the State railways to the end of 1919 was 650 million marks. The total revenue in 1919 was 294,856,000 marks, and. the total expenditure 212,854,500 marks.

Finland had 2,518 post-offices in 1919, and revenue and expenditure were respectively 27,906,052, and 32,058,112 marks ; the number of letters and postcards, 59,251,527 ; samples and printed packets, 7,992,987 ; newspapers, 126,868,413 ; parcels, 1,485,810 ; monev-orders, 1,394,614 ; total, 196,993,351.

There are 8,720 miles of telegraph and 2,891 miles of telephone wires in Finland. The telegraph system and part of the telephone system is State property.

The 979 savings-banks had on December 31, 1919, deposits amounting to 31,634,911 marks.

Banking, Money, Weights, &c.

The Bank of Finland (founded in 1811) is the State Bank and the only bank of issue. Finland bad in 1919, besides the State bank, 22 bank's and 7 land mortgage banks. On October 5, 1920. the Svenska Finlands Andelsbank (Co-operative Bank of Swedish Finland) was established in Hrlsingfors The paper currency of the Bank of Finland in 1919 was 1,123 "9 million marks. The deposits of all private banks on August 31, 1920, were 3,332,456,000 marks.

The markka of 100 penni is of the value of a franc, 9£d. The standard is gold, and the markka, though not coined in gold, is the unit.

Gold coins are 20 and 10-markka pieces. They contain "2903225 grammes of fine gold to the markka.

Silver coins are 2, 1, i, and \ -markka pieces.

Copper coins are 10, 5, and 1 -penni pieces.

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