ENGLAND 603 ARTICLES. 1870. 1871. 1S72. Cotton, raw Corn and flour Sugar, raw and refin'd Wool, sheep and oth'r Silk manufactures... Tea . 53,469,753 34,169,644 17,184,868 15,812,598 15,171,291 10,097,619 55,907,070 42,502,252 18,188,417 17,940,639 8,397,324 11,635,644 53,380,670 51,228,816 21,187,601 18,523,350 9,141,873 12,933,143 The six principal articles of export are : ARTICLES. 1870. 1871. 1872. Cotton manufactures Woollen and worsted manufactures Iron and steel Linen manufactures. Coals, cinders, and culm Machinery 71,410,131 26,821,217 24,038,090 9,485,835 5,506,S90 5,286,503 72,821,411 88,283,112 26,124,134 9,741,664 6,267,047 5,966,941 80,164,155 88,498,411 85,996,167 10,956,761 10,442,321 8,201,112 The total number and tonnage of sailing and steam vessels that entered and cleared at the ports of the United Kingdom in 1872 are ex- hibited in the following statement : COUNTRIES. ENTERED FROM. CLEARED FOB. No. Vessels. Tons. No. Vessels. Tons BRITISH POSSESSES. Channel islands East Indies Australia 1,623 968 242 1,840 039 107 350 248,650 877,944 225,716 1,302,972 211,978 47,090 265,656 1,609 1,126 411 1,599 504 206 1,278 226,160 1,075,031 390,955 1,078,544 174,529 76,802 727,215 North America West Indies British Guiana All other possesses Total British pos- sessions FOREIGN COUNTRIES. Eussia: Northern ports... Southern ports. . . Sweden Norway Denmark Germany Holland Belgium France 5,769 3,180,006 6,733 8,744,236 3,399 1,224 4,441 4,018 1,566 8,019 5,369 4,155 15,041 827 2,873 418 656 49 197 583 593 2,726 106 654 834 170 1,541 1,024,406 624,029 1,092,573 824,258 208,878 2,557,329 1,471,067 1,124,646 2,769,573 213,254 843,379 153,370 277,854 40,832 110,131 262,504 424,698 2,480,741 87,592 247,720 248,559 88,801 718,715 2,563 370 2,721 8,109 4,091 9,186 4,305 3,050 14,769 938 2,353 532 1,811 812 157 467 883 2,652 84 950 690 257 2,040 771,892 204,195 743,376 677,427 700,530 2,542,679 1,139,221 814,075 2,616.901 271,167 668,776 235,580 768,345 154,222 63,384 287.223 542,518 2,602,737 34,844 438,048 522,138 132,856 814,745 Portugal Spain Spanish W. Indies. Italy Austrian territories. Greece Turkey Egypt United States Mexico Brazil Peru and Chili Argentine Republic. All other countries . Total foreign coun- tries 58,959 17,835,409 53,150 17,741,374 Total foreign and colonial 64J28 21,015,415 64,883 21,485,610 Coasting trade Aggregate 186,394 18,099,150 136,130 17,922,897 201,122 89,114,565 201,013 39,408,507 Of the total number of vessels that entered, 36,822 of 14,173,289 tons were British, and 27,906 of 6,842,126 tons were foreign; and of those that cleared, 37,149 of 14,545,801 tons were British, and 27,734 of 6,939,809 tons were foreign. The above statistics are for the United Kingdom. For England, the entrances were 49,150 vessels of 15,331,948 tons in the foreign, 4,821 of 2,582,485 tons in the colonial, and 91,831 of 11,105,245 tons in the coasting trade; clearances, 49,340 vessels of 15,662,006 tons in the foreign, 5,743 of 3,134,855 tons in the colonial, and 100,613 of 11,789,499 tons in the coasting trade. In addition to the above, 1,501 vessels of 107,556 tons in the colonial and foreign trade, and 1,344 of 114,354 tons in the coasting trade, entered the Channel islands and isle of Man, and 1,510 of 86,235 tons in the foreign and colonial, and 707 of 77,211 tons in the coasting trade cleared. The total number of vessels registered for England under merchant ship- ping acts in 1872 was 20,097, with a tonnage of 4,510,556, including 17,290 sailing vessels of 3,290,025 tons, and 2,807 steam vessels of 1,220,531 tons. The total number of vessels built at ports of England, exclusive of vessels built for foreigners, was 687 of 236,871 tons, of which 345 of 34,159 tons were sailing, and 342 of 202,712 tons steam vessels. The ocean steam navigation of England is incomparable, and her lines of steam packets may be said to perform the mail service of the world. Steam vessels of iron are now extensively built. The means of internal communication are superior to those of any other country. It is about a century since the English began to make good roads, though turnpikes were set up 100 years earlier. The total length of all roads in Eng- land and Wales, exclusive of paved streets and roads in towns, is about 100,000 m. ; of the lat- ter, 30,000. The canals of England are next in importance to those of Holland, and were com- menced in the last century. The first railway was begun in 1825 and opened in 1830, and 6,621 m. of lines had been constructed in the United Kingdom in 1850, being at the rate of 265 m. per annum. At the end of 1860, 10,433 m. were open ; at the end of 1872, 15,814. These lines had a total capital paid up at the end of 1872 of 569,047,346, had conveyed 422,874,- 822 passengers, besides season-ticket holders, and had received during the year 51,304,114. Of these lines there were in England and Wales 11,136 m., in Scotland 2,587 m., and in Ire- land 2,091 m. The number of post offices in the United Kingdom at the beginning of 1873 was 12,200. The gross revenue of the post office department in 1872 was 5,208,922; cost of management, 2,754,764. The postal savings banks received 7,567,034, and paid out 5,402,644. The post office department was authorized by act of parliament, July 31, 1868, to buy up all the telegraph lines, and _ to charge the public a uniform rate irrespective of distance. A supplementary act was passed in 1869 making the telegraph a government monopoly like the post office. The purchases
