Page:The World's Famous Orations Volume 5.djvu/242

 THE WORLD'S FAMOUS ORATIONS

the foreign trade of a country by looking only at the exports. Why, if you look at what Mr. Chamberlain says, as between 1872 and 1900, there has only been a paltry rise of between 20 and 30 millions in exports; but if you look at the whole foreign trade and exports and imports together, you find a very different state of things. Take the three decennial periods. From 1873 to 1882, the oversea trade averaged 662 millions; from 1883 to 1892, the average was 696 millions ; from 1893 to 1902, the average was 771 millions. In other words, if you take our trade as a whole, the annual average is consid- erably over 100 millions in thirty years.

But that does not complete the account of the matter. If you want to look at exports alone, even then you must not confine your attention to goods that are exported; because, in order to pay for our imports, we do a great deal more than send to foreign countries our goods. We perform services for them, and, in particular, we do services in performing the carrying trade of the world. Imagine a man coming before the public with the responsibility of a great states- man and telling them that trade is in a stagnant condition, when he has not even taken the trouble to bring into account the amount that we are earning every year by our shipping throughout the length and breadth of the world ! I will just give you one figure with regard to that. The Board of Trade estimate of the annual earnings of our shipping comes to 90 millions a year, a 206

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