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

NGs 3 ITN E :14, 1865.

Merchant Shipping of France.

A 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-
sents 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 Courcil
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 us 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 :
French Ships. Foreign Ships.
Russia 52,000 tons.
Sweden

Zollverein
Netherlands
Spain
Austria 2,000 „

United States... 29,000 „
If we deduct, by a calculation which is liable to no
uncertainty from the Custom House tables, the
figures of our princ;pal 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, com-
pared to ours, is as 130 to 1. In 1863 she possessed
2,298 steamers, gauging 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,
insists with so much energy."

Railway Traffic Returns for the Week,
',,
• • '•• Miles Opened. 4 Receipts.
1 •
Railways. ~.A..____.....„---_,A..______
1865. 1804. 18(5 1864.
£ 6
Belfast and N, Counties 10) 10) 1,935 1.702
Ilk:Bast and County Down 49 49
850 708
[Myth and Tyne 2B 28 2,453 2,031
Bristol and Exeter l2ll 1211 7,299 0.83 a
Caledonian
Cambrian

Cockermouth K & Penrlth 3li 24
Cockermouth and Workin 9 9 3)3 349
Cork and Bandon 2O 20 331 431
Cork, Blackrock, & Passage 6} 6i • ?CO 201
Cornwall O5l 631 2,003 2., 00
Deeside l7 17 524 433
Dublin & Belfast Junction.— 63 63 • 1,344 1.317
Dublin and Drogheda 75 75 1,758 1,713
Dublin and Meath
Dub. & Wicklow and Wextd lO7l 911 3,282 3.621
Furness, &c
Glasgow & South-Western
at. Eastern,Nrfk.,&E.Union
Great Northern 4Ol 865 37,011 32,562
.., .

Great North of Scotland t9
99 3,673 3.883
0 L.Nortlin, & Westn. (Irel.) 7ll 711 127 520
1 t.Southn. & Westn.(lrlnd.) 3B7} 3731 8,825 8.824
Great Western 1268 1225 78,103 60,167
HtVl & Hornsea - 161 -
Inverness & Aberdeen June Sin 1171 1,653 1,480
Inverness & Perth JunAion 119} 119} 2,011 1,567
Irish North-Western 145 145 1,521 1.5 9
Kent Coast 27 27 1,860 1,380
Lancashire & Yorkshire 403 402 41,731 39,212
Limerick and Ennis..
Limerick and Foynes 261 26 249 148
Llanelly 461 461 721 774
FOREIGN AND COLONIAL.
Austrian B2B 828 31,221 31,058
Bahia and San Francisco
Belgian Eastern J unction 2d 26i 398 353
Bombay, Baroda, & (;en. India 306 185} 5,077 2,480
Detroit and 3lilwaukie lB9 189 5,823 4,793
Dutch Rhenish lOBl 1(.81 8,682 5,432
Eastern of France 1176 1128 70,8 2 67,158
Eastern Bengal ... . 110 110 3,097 1,613
East Indian - -
Grand Trunk of Canada 1377 1.135 25,252 21,(31
Great Central of Belgium 295 272 6, t 63 -
Great Indian Pepinsula 690 553} 21,981 13,520
Great Luxembourg 134 134 5,187 4.422
Great Southern of India
Great Western of Canada 345 3,5 12,378 11,225
Madras 571 418 6,545 4 947
"Madrid, Saragossa &Aiicant .
Northern of Guiana
Northern of France 728 723 57,811 56,466
Norwegian Trunk
Ottomen
Paris, Lyons, & Mediterrn 1967 1781 139,867 135,8 4
Paris and Orleans 1616 1611 72,1 7 6 .117
Recife and San Francisco, &c 77} 771 1,557 1,465
Sc.nde.
Do. Punjab, &a 32 32 288 2CO
South Austrian, Ac .. . 1651 1527 53,318 54,1(2
Southern of France 123 770 28,979 26,8,3,
Victoria
Welland 25 2.5 888 374
West,& N-Wn. of France

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
Enston Hotel. Abel Smith, Esq., and H. E. Surtees, Esq.,
were present, and stated in the most positive terms their
intention of sgain 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 bo 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 lotted by their Liberal opponents.