other indications, that this branch of commerce will continue to develope with equal, if not greater, rapidity. Again, it should be remembered, when considering the falling off in the numerical strength of the coasting vessels trading here, that those now plying are of much greater carrying capacity than formerly, and consequently the actual exports and imports have not suffered diminution in anything like the same proportion as the ships themselves. A series of tabular statements of all the most important and interesting matters connected with the harbour from the earliest obtainable dates has been prepared from the official returns made to the custom-house during each twelve months, and subjoined will be found a list of the vessels retained on the register as belonging to the port at the end of the years indicated, with their tonnages and the number of hands forming the crews:—
Steam Sailing
Year. Vessels. Tonnage. Hands. Vessels. Tonnage. Hands.
1850 3 739 49 15 560 54
1851 3 739 49 21 856 77
1852 3 739 49 24 1495 104
1853 4 806 54 31 4002 196
1854 2 560 32 41 5337 261
1855 3 586 35 49 4933 267
1856 4 978 52 51 5458 280
1857 3 952 49 71 7839 391
1858 4 968 54 79 8168 427
1859 4 968 54 76 6930 392
1860 4 968 54 84 12075 570
1861 5 1508 74 93 14760 640
1862 4 1249 62 89 13957 602
1863 4 1249 62 85 12147 567
1864 5 1355 71 81 10338 513
1865 6 1372 74 83 9757 479
1866 6 1372 74 80 8831 454
1867 6 1779 90 77 9265 451
1868 6 1779 90 85 11226 515
1869 5 1239 70 99 12601 587
1870 7 1797 93 104 12546 609
1871 7 1571 81 115 13642 690
1872 7 1571 81 133 15161 789
1873 7 1994 92 150 19379 947
1874 7 1994 122 162 22598 1045
1875 9 2671 160 165 22655 1061
The foregoing tables, taken by themselves, would seem to
