OUR GROWING PROSPERITY.
Having now shown, both generally and in detail, how absolutely void of
foundation are many of the most gloomy statements in "Made in Germany,"
we can dismiss Mr. Williams and his fanciful forebodings, and examine
instead the direct and abundant evidence of the growing prosperity of
our country. The first point to notice is the immense development of our
shipping industry. In the last quarter of a century the tonnage of
shipping engaged in foreign trade entering our ports has more than
doubled, and this increase has been steady and persistent, with no
retrogression worth noticing in any year. But that is not all. Twenty
years ago the proportion of British ships engaged in this foreign trade
of ours was only 67 per cent. of the total; it is now well over 72 per
cent. In the same period the number of tons of shipping per hundred of
the population, taking entries and clearances together, has risen from
130 tons to 200 tons. No other country can point to such figures.
Germany, starting from small beginnings, has improved rapidly, but her
totals are insignificant compared with our own. Only 43 per cent. of her
foreign trade is carried in her own ships, as against nearly 73 per
cent. in our case, while per hundred of the population the shipping to
and from her ports is less than a quarter of ours. If we turn to France
we find that while the total shipping to and from French ports has
increased as rapidly as with us, the proportion carried under the French
flag has appreciably fallen. In the case of the United States there has
been a still greater fall. Twenty years ago 33 per cent. of the foreign
trade of the United States was carried in United States ships, now the
proportion is only 23 per cent. The following table shows the growth of
shipping of all kinds to and from British ports:--
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS' SHIPPING TO AND FROM PORTS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM.
Entries and Clearances together, in Millions of Tons.
------------+---------------------------+-----------------------------
| FOREIGN TRADE. | COASTING TRADE.
Average of +-------------+-------------+-----------------------------
Five Years. |Under British| |In this Trade practically all
| Flag. | Total. | the Shipping is British.
------------+-------------+-------------+-----------------------------
1870-74 | 28 | 42 | 38
1875-79 | 35 | 51 | 46
1880-84 | 43 | 61 | 50
1885-89 | 49 | 67 | 54
1890-94 | 55 | 75 | 58
Year 1895 | 59 | 81 | 61
------------+-------------+-------------+-----------------------------
In order to further compare our progress with the progress of other
countries the following table has been prepared to show the relative
position of the principal countries now and twenty years ago. If we
consider merely the rate of progress, the German percentage of increase
is undoubtedly better than ours. But in national life, as in individual,
it is not percentages but amounts that are important, and the table
shows that while Germany has added 6,000,000 tons to her shipping, we
have added 27,000,000 tons to ours. As long as anything similar to that
proportion is maintained we have no need to fear German rivalry.
BRITISH AND FOREIGN SHIPPING.
In Millions of Tons.
---------------------------------------------------------+-------+-------
Average Annual Entries and Clearances. |1870-74|1890-94
---------------------------------------------------------+-------+-------
British tonnage engaged in the foreign trade of the U.K. | 28 | 55
German " " " " " Germany | 4 | 10
French " " " " " France | 5 | 9
United States " " " " the U.S. | 7 | 9
---------------------------------------------------------+-------+-------
The figures for 1890-94 may be illustrated diagrammatically as on
opposite page.
It must be noticed that this comparison takes no account of the enormous
carrying trade done by this country for foreign countries or British
Colonies trading with one another; nor are there figures available for
showing how in this matter we compare with our rivals. The figures, if
they existed, would show that in this international industry Great
Britain is first, and the rest of the world nowhere.
[Illustration]
Before passing to another point it is worth while to call attention to
the enormous development of the coasting branch of our shipping trade,
as shown in the figures given above. This branch of shipping is really
of the nature of internal traffic, as distinguished from foreign trade.
That it should have increased so steadily and so rapidly is by itself a
striking proof of the commercial activity of the country.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR RAILWAYS.
Proof even more convincing is apparent in the enormous development of
our railway system. It is difficult to know from which side first to
approach the tremendous figures in which this development is portrayed.
Taking, at hazard, mileage first, we find within the last twenty-five
years an increase of 6,000 miles in our railway system--namely, from
15,000 in 1870, to 21,000 in 1895. Of this increase, 2,000 miles are due
to the last decade. Looking next at the capital expenditure, we find
that in the ten years from 1885 to 1895 the total capital of the various
railway companies of the United Kingdom rose from 816 millions sterling
to 1,001 millions. Part of this immense increase was, it is true, only
nominal, being due to consolidation of stock, etc. But when all
allowance has been made on that score, we are left with a real net
increase in the ten years of 170 millions sterling. During the same
period of ten years the receipts from passenger traffic rose from 30
millions sterling to 37 millions, while the receipts from goods traffic
rose from 36 to 44 millions. In the last quarter of a century the number
of passengers carried by the railways, exclusive of season-ticket
holders, has risen from 337 millions to 930 millions. Were it possible
to record the number of journeys made by season-ticket holders, we
should obtain an even more striking picture of the development of
passenger traffic on our railways. Such figures as are available are
given in the next table, and illustrated by the accompanying diagrams:--
THE RAILWAYS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM.
Ten Years' Work and Receipts.
-----------------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----
|1886|1887|1888|1889|1890|1891|1892|1893|1894|1895
-----------------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----
Goods carried:-- | | | | | | | | | |
Million Tons | 255| 269| 282| 297| 303| 310| 309| 293| 324| 334
| | | | | | | | | |
Passengers carried: | | | | | | | | | |
Million persons | 726| 734| 742| 775| 818| 845| 864| 873| 911| 930
-----------------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----
Goods receipts:-- | | | | | | | | | |
Million £'s |36·4|37·3|38·7|41·1|42·2|43·2|42·9|41·0|43·4|44·0
| | | | | | | | | |
Passenger receipts: | | | | | | | | | |
Million £'s |30·2|30·6|31·0|32·6|34·3|35·1|35·7|35·8|36·5|37·4
-----------------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----
The figures may be illustrated diagrammatically as follows:--
[Illustration]
[Illustration: RAILWAY PASSENGERS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM (exclusive of
season-ticket holders). 1870--337 Millions, 1895--930 Millions.]
These diagrams and the figures they illustrate hardly look as if the
nation were on the verge of decay, ruined by German cheap goods. If such
be the signs of national collapse, no country in the world can be called
prosperous. For there is this feature about our railway development
which entirely differentiates it from the railway expansion of newer
countries--that every pound of capital required has come out of our own
pockets: we have borrowed from no one. Instead, while planking down in
ten years 170 new millions to add to our own railways, we have been
lending with large hands to railway builders in every part of the globe.
LENGTHENING TRAM LINES.
From railways we pass to tramways. Here the figures are less
considerable in amount, but they are striking enough. In 1876 there were
only 158 miles of tramway open for public traffic; by 1885 that number
had risen to 811 miles, and by 1895 to 982 miles. In the same periods
the paid-up capital had increased from 2 millions sterling to 12, and
thence to 14 millions. Lastly, between 1885 and 1895 the number of
passengers carried upon tramways has risen from 365 millions to 662
millions. These figures are principally interesting because the tramcar
is essentially a popular means of conveyance. If the working-classes of
this country are being reduced to starvation, as the Protectionists say,
by the invading Teuton, it is astounding that they should be able to
afford so many pennies to pay for tram fares.
POST OFFICE EXPANSION.
From this last comparatively limited but not unimportant test of the
general prosperity of the country, we pass to the Post Office returns.
Next to the test of railway traffic, already dealt with, no better
evidence of the prosperity and commercial activity of a country can be
found than is furnished by the growth of post office business. A nation
whose trade is being filched from it by foreigners, whose blast furnaces
are cold, and whose looms are silent, as Mr. Williams would have us
believe, does not add every year forty million letters to the amount of
its correspondence. Yet this is what we have been doing in the United
Kingdom for a good many years past. Starting from the year ending March
31st, 1878, when a slight alteration was made in the method of
presenting the statistics, we find that in the nineteen years that have
since elapsed the number of letters delivered annually has increased
from 1,058 millions to 1,834 millions. In the same period postcards have
increased from 102 millions to 315 millions; newspapers and book
packets, from 318 to 821 millions. Moreover, the increase has been
steady, with one significant exception. In the year 1894-95, which was
notoriously a year of bad trade, there was a drop in the number of
letters delivered. The drop was more than made good in 1895-96. Turning
to telegrams, we find a similar story. Here we are compelled to start
with the year 1886-87, the first complete year after the introduction of
sixpenny telegrams. In the ten years that have since elapsed the number
of telegrams delivered has steadily increased from 50 millions to 79
millions.
EVER-GROWING INCOMES.
Another test of our national prosperity is furnished by the income tax
returns. When the annual value of the property and profits assessed for
income tax exhibits a steady increase, it is hard to believe that our
manufacturers, and all the classes that depend upon them for support,
are being ruined by Germans or by anybody else. Here are the figures:--
INCOME TAX ASSESSMENTS.
In Millions Sterling.
-------------+-------------+-------------
Five Years' | Schedule D. | All
Average. | | Schedules.
-------------+-------------+-------------
1870-74 | 210 | 490
1875-79 | 263 | 575
1880-84 | 268 | 601
1885-89 | 292 | 634
1890-94 | 350 | 699
-------------+-------------+-------------
The return from which the above figures are taken stops with the year
1894; but a somewhat similar comparison was brought up to date in the
last Budget speech of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The following
table is taken from the "explanatory memorandum" that accompanied that
speech:--
YIELD PER PENNY OF THE INCOME TAX.
-------------+------------+-----------------------------------
| | Ten Years' Growth,
| | after allowing for alterations in
Year | Yield | the incidence of the tax.
Ending | per +-----------------+-----------------
March 31st. | Penny. | Amount of | Percentage of
| | Growth. | Growth.
-------------+------------+-----------------+-----------------
| Thousand | Thousand | Per Cent.
| £ | £ |
1876 | 1,978 | -- | --
1886 | 1,980 | 62 | 3·23
1896 | 2,012 | 207 | 11·47
-------------+------------+-----------------+-----------------
With such figures as these available it is difficult to understand how
people can continue to pour forth nonsense about the ruin of our
national industries. During the very decade in which the blight of
German competition was supposed to have destroyed the profits of our
manufacturers, it is clear from the above infallible test that the
incomes of our commercial, professional, and property-owning classes
have been growing with increasing rapidity.
REDUCTION OF NATIONAL DEBT.
Passing from taxation to the question of what has been done with the
taxes, it is sufficient to select one fact for comment--the enormous
reduction in the National Debt. Here are the figures:--
THE INDEBTEDNESS OF THE NATION.
----------+------------------------------+------------------------
| Aggregate Gross Liabilities. | Per Head of Population.
----------+------------------------------+------------------------
1876 | £776,000,000 | £23 13 9
1886 | £745,000,000 | £20 13 8
1896 | £652,000,000 | £16 13 2
----------+------------------------------+------------------------
That is to say, that within the past ten years--the years of alleged
depression and blight--we have reduced our national indebtedness by over
90 millions sterling. During the same period it is worth while to point
out that we have expended enormous sums in the almost complete
reconstruction of our navy. Meanwhile Germany--the hated rival--has,
since the war, added as many millions to her debt as we in ten years
have taken from ours.
SOME STAPLE COMMODITIES.
In case the pessimists and the Protectionists should be still
unconvinced by these proofs of national prosperity, let us turn to a new
series of tests, the test of consumption. The great staple commodities
which we will first take (cotton, wool, and coal) are partly required
for manufacturing purposes and subsequent export, and partly for home
use. The word "consumption" covers both uses, and we cannot, except in
the case of wool, readily ascertain to which use the greater effect is
attributable. In the case of wool it so happens, as was previously
pointed out, that our export trade in manufactured goods has declined.
But since the total consumption of raw wool by the United Kingdom has
gone on increasing, it is clear that the decline in woollen exports has
been more than made good by the increased home demand, unless, indeed,
it be imagined that woollen manufacturers go on weaving an endless web
which nobody wears. Nor is that all, for the figures of our import trade
show that in addition we are importing considerable and increasing
quantities of foreign woollen manufactures. So that not only have the
home consumers more than recouped the British woollen manufacturer for
the decline of his export business, but so great is their purchasing
power that they can, at the same time, afford to send abroad for fresh
woollen stuffs to please their fancy. Here are the figures showing the
consumption by the inhabitants and manufacturers of the United Kingdom
of three staple articles referred to:--
CONSUMPTION OF COTTON, WOOL, AND COAL IN THE UNITED KINGDOM.
+-----------------+--------------+--------------+---------------+
| Average of Five | Cotton (Raw) | Wool (Raw) | Coal |
| Years. | Million lbs. | Million lbs. | Million Tons. |
+-----------------+--------------+--------------+---------------+
| 1870-74 | 1,178 | 342 | 108 |
| 1875-79 | 1,221 | 353 | 118 |
| 1880-84 | 1,445 | 354 | 136 |
| 1885-89 | 1,467 | 416 | 141 |
| 1890-94 | 1,590 | 475 | 151 |
| Year 1895 | 1,635 | 510 | 157 |
+-----------------+--------------+--------------+---------------+
With regard to the figures for cotton in the above table, it is only
necessary to remark that the British manufacturer, whether for sale
abroad, or for sale at home, is clearly working up more stuff than ever
before. The figures for wool have already been explained. With regard
to coal, the figures necessarily include both domestic and industrial
consumption; but whichever be the more important element, the totals are
remarkably healthy.
PERSONAL AND DOMESTIC EXPENDITURE.
An even better test of the increased spending power of the nation is
furnished by the figures giving the rate of consumption of such articles
of everyday use as tea, sugar, and tobacco. It will be seen from the
following table how rapidly our national consumption of these staple
articles has increased during the past decade--the decade of alleged
ruin:--
TEA, SUGAR, AND TOBACCO.
-------------------------+--------------------------
| Lbs. consumed by every
| 100 persons.
Year ending March 31st. +--------------------------
| Tea. | Sugar. | Tobacco.
-------------------------+------+--------+----------
1876 | 451 | 6,078 | 147
1886 | 465 | 7,028 | 144
1896 | 574 | 8,916 | 169
-------------------------+------+--------+----------
It is useless to worry the reader with further figures. Evidences of the
prosperity of the country are around us on every side for those to see
that have eyes to see--a higher standard of dress in every class of the
community; better built and better furnished houses for artisan and
labourer, as well as for millionaire; new public buildings, new
libraries, new hospitals; improved paving, improved water-supply,
improved drainage; more newspapers, more theatres, more lavish
entertainments; in a word, a higher standard of comfort or of luxury in
every domain of life.