The Sun.
London, England, 1865-06-14 00:00:00

Merchant Shipping of France.

report has been lately presented to the Legis-
lative Body on the state of the Merchant Shipping
of France and the best means of improving its
position. The member who has drawn up the
document is avowedly a man of great experience
in such matters—M..Arman, the great shipbuilder,
Deputy for the Gironde—and his statement repre-
-nuts the French mercantile navy in a very unsatis-
factory condition. The Presse remarks at consider-
able length on the report, and after an analysis of
M. Arman's statements, declares that the Council
of State is unwilling to go as far as the committee
suggests in providing for the evil. The following
passages from our contemporary contain some statis-
tical information of interest on the question :
" From 1858 to 1863 the movement of the
French flag in our colonial relations was reduced
to the extent of 71 voyages ;—navigation with
other French possessions out of Europe was
diminished by 52 ships ; the deep sea fishery laid
aside 121 vessels ; and we made 22 foreign voyages
less. In 1864, on the entries and clearances of
French vessels between our ports, our colonies, and
our possessions out of Europe, we suffered a reduc-
tion of 11,000 tons; and we ceased to employ
8,000 in the deep sea fisheries. It is true that our
relations with the countries of other continents,
under our own flag, have increased 90,000 tons.
The foreign merchant shipping everywhere sup-
plants us, both for our imports and exports. In
1864 it furnished as 2,710,000 tons, when we im-
ported only to the extent of 1,587,000 ; it cleared
out with 1,723,000 tons, while we expected only
1,022,000; In 1858 our flag loaded 703,000 tons
against 1,983,000 under the English flag ; in 1863
we preserve only 650,000 tons, and the freight of
England has risen to 2,350,000. The following
tabular statement also proves that our intercourse
with the greater part of the other countries is car-
ried on to the detriment of our marine :
Preach Ships. Foreign Ships.
Russia 52,000 tons. 125,000 tons.
Sweden
Zollverein
Netherlands 9,000 „
Spain
Austria *ooo „
United States... 22,000 „
If we deduct, by a, calculation which is liable to no
uncertainty from the Custom House tables, the
figurer of our principal imports and exports in 1865,
we find—importation under foreign flags, 12,590,721
quintals ; under the French flag, 5,746,160 quintals,
leaving a difference to the loss of France, 6,844,561
quintals ; exportations under foreign flags, 1,039,930
quintals; under the French flag, 529,470, or a
difference against France of 510,460 quintals.
If we compare the number of ships loaded, en-
tered, and cleared in 1837 and 1863, we find for
1837, 337,095 ships; for 1863, 327,940 ships, or a
decrease for France of 9,155 ships. Our long voy-
age foreign trading vessels at this moment comprise
538,000 tons, and we have only 73 vessels of 700
tons and upwards. England has a merchant ma
rine of 5,228,073 tons, and she reckons 1,353 ves

sels of more than 700 tons. Her development, corn

pared to ours, is as 130 to 1. In 1863 she possessed
2,298 steamers, guaging 596,856 tons ; France had
only 84,919 tons, divided amongst 345 steamers.

In that same year England was increasing her
packet-boats by 59,600 tons, and we only by
5,000." Such an inferiority, the writer
observes, must be considered as extremely
grave, particularly when free trade tends to
continually develope the naval intercourse be-

tween countries. The fault he attributes to the
nature of the existing legislation, which aims at pro-
tecting without due reason a great number of
branches of business which would be infinitely more
prosperous without any such interference. In par-
ticular, it has inflicted such heavy duties on the in-
troduction into France of matters required for ship-

building, and rendered the cost of transport by sea
so excessive, that French vessels cannot compete
with those of other countries. Another cause of

decay is also specified :--
" The maritime inscription," says the writer, " on
its side, weighs so heavily on the merchant navy,

by depriving it of young and able seamen, that our

crews always present an effective numerically
greater to those of foreign vessels, a state of things
which involves a much greater expense. Thus

when, for every ten men, France embarks 177 tons

Russia embarks 239 ; this difference in the case
of Sweden amounts to from 190 to 257 tons ; in
the case of England, from 120 to 141 tons ; of Aus-

tria, from 190 to 206 ; and of the United States,
from 268 to 407. The remedies, therefore, are very

clearly indicated. The costs of construction should
be lightened ; all the necessary materials admitted
duty free ; the primes awarded to machinery of
French manufactures to be received by our vessels

suppressed ; and the naturalisation, at the lowest
possible rate, of vessels constructed abroad should

be promoted. The tonnage and differential duties

must be suppressed, and the same benefits assured
to French vessels in the ports of other nations.

Above all, the maritime inscription should be re

placed by a system of recruiting analogous to that
of the army ; and we leave the moral side of this

great question to regard its practical side only.
The committee, we are bound to admit, desired all
these things; but the Council of State objected to
the last reform being provided for by the bill, as
the Government is yet studying the question. Let
us hope that it will soon yield to the reasons so

strongly expressed in the work of M. Arman, and
on which the committee, of which he is the organ,
nsists with so much energy."

Railway Traffic Returns for the Week,

Mlles Opened. Receipts.

Railways.

18C5.

1861.

Belfast and N. Counties lO3
Belfast and County Down 49
Blyth and Tyne 2B
Bristol and Exeter l2li
Caledonian 284
Cambrian

Cockermouth K & Penrlth
Cockermouth and Workin 9
Cork and Bandon 2O
Cork, Blackrook, & Passage 6j
Cornwall 654
Deeside • 17
Dublin & Belfast Junction.... 63
Dublin and Drogheda 75
Dublin and Meath

121}
I,}

Dub. & Wicklow and Wcxld. 1071
Furness, &o

91f
6)
198
6433
305

Glasgow & South-Western l9B
Gt. Easternairfk.,&E.Union 675&
Great Northern lO4
Great North of Scotland t9
Northn. & Westn. (Irel.) 7lt
9t.Southn. & Westn.(lrlnd.) 3B7i
Great Western 1268
Hull & Hornsea

Inverness & Aberdeen June 1171
Inverness & Perth Junction 119}
Irish North-Western 145
Kent Coast 27
Lancashire & Yorkshire 403
Limerick and Ennis... 241
Limerick and Foynes 264
Llanelly 46•
FOREIGN AND COLONIAL.
Austrian B2B
Bahia and San Francisco
Belgian Eastern Junction 266
Bombay, Baroda, & Cen. India 308
Detroit and Milwaukie lB9
Dutch Rhenish lOBl
Eastern of France ll7O
Eastern Bengal .• • llO
East Indian
Grand Trunk of Canada 1377
Great Central of Belgium 2ss
Great Indian Peninsula 593
Great Luxembourg 134
Great Southern of India
Great Western of Canada 345
Madras . • • •
Madrid, Saragossa &Alicant (80
Northern of Canada
Northern of France 728
Norwegian Trunk
Ottoman
Paris, Lyons, & Mediterrn 1967
Paris and Orleans 1616
Recife and San Francisco, &c 776
Sclnde. . lO5

711
873 i
1225

1171
1191
145

402
24
26
46

761
264
184

Do. Punjab, ,to 3t
South Austrian, Jto . 195_1

southern of France 623
Victoria
Welland 25

'eat do N-Wn. of France .. 1011

18C5 1864.
1,935 1.702
850 708
2,454 2,031
7,299 6,836
19,E61 18,6 5
1,320 1,450
244 -
3 )3 849
351 43L
209 201
2,003 2.i00

-524 433
1,344 1,317
/,758 1,73

3.53 264
3,282 3,621
3,353 3.262
10,01 9,189
34,5 i 7 22,380
37.011 32,562
3,673 3,583
427 521)
8,823 8.824
78,103 69,167
165
1,653 1,480
2,014 1,567
1,521 1,5 9
1,850 1,380
41,733 39,212

197 244
24 9 146
724 774

31,221 31,058

398 353
5,077 2,180
6,623 4,79
6,1,82 5,432
70,8!2 67,158
3,087 1,613

1063 -
133.5 25,252 21,031
272 6,'.03
5531 21,981 13,520
134 5,187 4.422
79 789 517
315 12,378 11,225
448 6,545 4 947
650 17,433 23.456
91 2,632 2,512
724 57,811 56,466
44 775 952
181 828 4''2
178/ 139,667 135,8 4
1611 72,1 7 6,,117
774 1,557 1,165
105 1,414 2,599
32 288 260
1527. 59,318 54,102
770 28,9:9 26,803
196 10,990 11,024
25 888 374
011 50,751 41,350

REPRESENTATION OF THE COUNTY OF HERTFORD.

—A large and very influential meeting of Conser-
vative electors was held on Saturday last, June 10, at the
Euston Hotel. Abel Smith, Esq., and H. E. Sluices, Esq.,
were present, and stated in the most positive terms their
intention of again contesting the county at the forthcoming
election, and a letter was read from Sir E. B. Bulwer
Lytton, Bart., expressing his determination to adopt a
similar course. There are, therefore, three candidates in
the field, and from the enthusiasm manifested by all pre-
sent, no doubt can be entertained of their triumphant re
turn. We understand that the addresses of the three Con-
servative candidates will be published in the course of a
few days; but from a natural reluctance prematurely to
disturb the peace of the county they do not contemplate
commencing an immediate canvass. No addresses have at
present been issued by their Liberal opponents.