a false sentiment, hurtful to the United States government and damaging to every interest of the American people, but helpful to Great Britain in gaining a monopoly of our foreign trade. Where is our natural pride of country? Where is our boasted love of liberty? Where is our sense of fair play, of independence, and economy?

Let it be noted that the American wooden ships carried larger and more valuable cargoes than their British iron rivals; and if paid at equal rates would have received for their four years' work $940,759 more freight money than they did. On the other hand, if the British iron fleet had accepted the average rate paid the American fleet, the sum saved to California would have amounted to $1,455,184 on the business of the four years. Either way the loss was American, and the gain was British. But the American loss was far greater than these figures represent, as, with fair play in chartering, our fleet engaged in the trade might easily have performed five voyages in place of four, and added one fourth more, or $2,786,455, to its gross earnings.

The four-year table, part first, given above, shows that the average American ship in the California trade is superior to all others in points of size, weight, and value of cargo, and cheapness of freight. Wood vessels constituted about 48, and iron vessels 52, per cent. of all the tonnage in the trade. Of the entire tonnage 32 per cent. was American wood, and 48.33 per cent. was British iron.

In general terms, the trade was nearly equally divided between wood and iron, with the latter on the increase, owing mainly to the protective policy of the British Lloyds, which for more than thirty years has promoted and sustained the building of iron ships, as a British industry, and as the only style of ship that Britain can build to her own safety and advantage. The following tables show the motion of trade from 11 to 7 years ago. Such, however, has been British success in strangling our competition, that, of 93 ships from San Francisco to Europe with grain, in the past 7.5 months, 77 have been British iron, and only 6 American wood. October 14, 1892. Of 35 ships chartered and loading, 32 were British, but not one American. Of 56 ships disengaged, 16 were American and 37 British.

THE MOTION OF TRADE.

A FOUR-YEAR STATEMENT SHOWING THE PROPORTION AND THE INCREASE OR DECREASE OF AMERICAN AND FOREIGN SHIPPING IN THE GRAIN TRADE OF SAN FRANCISCO,1 1881 To 1885.

In the second and third years of the period, the proportionate number of American ships nearly equaled the percentage of the first year; and in the fourth year there was a gain of 2.59 per cent.; but there was a loss of tonnage in the second and third years to the extent of 2 per cent., which was more than recovered in the fourth year by 1.46 per cent. of the year's traffic. So we fully held our own.

The number and tonnage of the British wood in the trade

1 Five descriptions of smaller fleets and sailings omitted.

decreased heavily in the second and third years, recovering slightly in the fourth. The falling off in tonnage in three years amounted to 51.28 per cent. of the first year's supply, a rate of decline exceeded only by British iron steamers, which was 82 per cent. of first year's tonnage in the same period.

The greatest proportionate increase in number and tonnage of fleets accrued to British iron sailing ships, the dearest carriers, but their freights the cheapest insured at Lloyds. In the second year the augmentation amounted to 24 per cent. for number, and 22 per cent. for tonnage, computed on the year's traffic. The third year added 5.39 per cent. to the second for number, and 8.76 per cent. for tonnage; but most of the third year's gain was lost in the fourth. The net gain in three years was 10.17 per cent. for number of ships, and 9.85 per cent. for aggregate tonnage, which was 6.74 times the increase of American shipping. But the British gain in iron vessels was at the expense of wood and steam under their own flag. Taking the tonnage of wood and iron, sail and steam, under the British flag, and comparing it with the wood and iron of our own, we find there was a British loss of .56 per cent., and an American gain of 1.35 per cent., in a period of three years. However, all of our comparative gain, with more besides, was lost to the British fleet during 1886; that fleet for six months averaging engagements in the ratio of 5 to 1 of ours.

The Italian wood seems to have gained a part of what the German, French, and Norwegian wood lost, although the Italians sail the slower and less efficient ships. We will now examine another section of the main table.

CARRIAGE, SPEED, AND EFFICIENCY. A FOUR-YEAR TABLE OF THE COMPARATIVE PERFORMANCE OF FLEETS IN THE GRAIN TRADE OF

CALIFORNIA, TERM ENDING JUNE 30, 1885.

In computing this table the whole number of each description of vessel has been taken as constituting a fleet, and the figures in the different columns express the results for the average ship. In determining the "carriage," in centals, per ton, a distinction has been made between the fleet or the average ship that sailed, and the fleet or the average ship that arrived. Out of several of the fleets that sailed, some vessels were lost, and others jettisoned a portion of their cargoes. The column headed "Laden" shows the centals per ton which all tried, but some failed, to carry with certainty. The column headed "Delivered" exhibits the weight per ton really carried and delivered by the fleets that survived the voyage. In cases where less was delivered than was laden, a presumption arises that the disasters to the fleets, or the losses of cargo suffered by certain ships on the voyage, were more or less due to overloading. The instances are very few, indeed, where the disas

ters and jettisons happened to vessels laden below the average carriage of the fleet to which they belonged. The rule is plainly indicated that over-average loading leads to long and perilous voyages.

In the case of American wood, the fleet that arrived carried more to the ton than the fleet that sailed; as the two ships lost, one by striking shore in a fog, and the other by springing a leak, were under, rather than over, the average fullness of loading. This was not the case, however, with American iron. One of these, on her first voyage, attempted to put our wooden ships to shame, by starting with 3,532.85 pounds to the ton, but had to jettison in a gale of wind, and was glad to arrive with 3,501.16 pounds to the ton, in the time of 140 days, performance which has been beaten many times by the deeply laden wooden ships of the British Provinces.

a

The Consequence of Deep Loading. It will be noticed that out of eight fleets carrying more to the ton than American wood ships, five fleets had jettisons and three had missing ships. Also, that three fleets and three single ships, 103 in all, carrying less to the ton than our wooden vessels, escaped rather better than they did from disasters presumptively due to overloading. The three British and the French and Italian wood fleets suffered most proportionately from disasters and perils of all kinds, and it will be seen the ships of these fleets, especially those of the British flag, were those that attempted to carry the largest loads in proportion to registered tonnage. British grain vessels are loaded by "Liverpool rules," which permit iron ships to sink deeper into the water than wooden vessels by about seven inches on the average ship. This discrimination amounts to about one and a half centals per ton in favor of iron. There is no justification for it either in reason, evidence, or experience. It is an appreciation without a difference, one of the many protective distinctions set up for the advantage of iron shipbuilding as a vital British industry. American ships are loaded by "New York rules," which make no distinction between iron and wood vessels; and do not allow so deep loading as the British rules even for wood, to say nothing of iron, by one, two, or three inches on the average ship. It is due mainly to lighter and safer loading, together with the condition that American wooden vessels are generally heavier in