L. COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Foreign and Colonial Trade. Coasting Trade. Registered Shipping. Exports and Imports.
On account of the burning of the records at the custom-house, and the absence of regular parliamentary returns, it is impossible to give a continuous summary of the progress of the shipping before 1816, but the following table (XV.) gives the returns of the shipping engaged in the foreign and colonial trade in various years from 1693 to that date, and the yearly average for subsequent periods:-
TABLE
Since 1873 vessels with ashes and manure have been included in the coasting trade, and therefore the figures after that date show much greater progress than has actually taken place. In 1750 the number employed was 6396, and in 1795 it was 11,964 of 1,176,400 tons. The followings table (XVI.) gives details from 1855:-
TABLE
The following table (XVII.) gives the number of vessels registered in the port of London in various years from 1701:-
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Declared values of the exports from London have been made at various periods, and are now made annually in the statement of the trade of the United Kingdom. Since 1840 the value has more than quadruple, being in that year 11,586,037 pounds, from which it gradually rose almost without intermission till it was 60,232,118 pounds in 1874, but from that year it declined till in 1879 it was 47,335,753 pounds. In 1880 it again rose to 52,600,929 pounds, considerably above the average of the four year 1876-79, which wa 49,884,673 pounds, but as much below the average of 1872-75, which was 57,144,480 pounds. No return of the value of the imports is given before 1872, when they were 124,174,141 pounds. The value for 1880- 141,442,907 pounds, exceeds that of any previous year, the next being that for 1877, 140,332,773 pounds, while the average for 1872-75 was 129,449,956 pounds, and for 1876-79 132,754,772 pounds. the following table (XVIII) gives details of the principal imports for 1860 and 1880, and also a comparison with the United Kingdom in regard to the same articles: -
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