The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1888-07-05
es. .45o, ,Ooo ,OoO ls47, ,25O ,006,0o1 in 1857,

al debt has been paid Of, and imperial
taxation has risen from EGO, 100000 to
EGO, ,O0O,000 per annum, snd local expen-
diture from s9O,oO0,0o0 to 96o,0oo,0OO
sterling. Furthermore there has been q
net depreciation in the value Of land of
s11O,0O0,0O0 sterling. In spite of all
this, the public fortune has niore than
doubled in fifty years.
Following Mr.. Mu1hall, SIC may note
the increase of d few Of the items of this
national wealth. The figures are for
1870 and 1887 respectively, and are given
in millions sterling. Railways increased
in valte fr5hninI Ell, 100000 to 1881, ,o0O,.
900; houses and furnitdffod from FL, ,115,-
900 to sS,s6O,OOO; and sundries from
s71O,O 100000 to s1,S69,000,OO0. An
immense amount of capital has been
invested abroad in loans, railways, etc.
These investments bring s4O,OOO,OO0 to
ESQ, 100000 in the shape Of interest into
the country every year. The annual
Income from all sources is now set down
at e1 ,260, 100000, as against 954o,ooo,.
900 in 1s4O. Every time the SUN rises
the country is s25o,OO0 (s1,25o,ooo)
richer than the day before.
How is this wealth distributed? The
number of income taxpayers has con.
stantly increased. On the average each
capitalist Is only 15 per cent. richer than
he was forty yeats ago, whereas the
average wages Of the working classes
have risen 30 to 60 per cent. in the half
century. Though the population has
increased, pauperism has decreased.
The total number of paupers for the
whole kingdom from thirty to forty years
ago was 100000; nov it is only
1,035, 100. The dwellings of the people
show also great improvement in Eng.
land, Scotland and Ireland. I am glad
to see savings banks increasing with us.
They have done great things in the
United Kingdom. Depositors in the
savings banks of the United Kingdom
have increased from 100000 in 1881 to
100000 and deposits from s14,00O,OOO
to EOS, 100000. The latest returns show
ESQ, 100000 in the building societies of
England and Wales alone, and more than
s9,5OO,OOO of share capital in the CO.
operative societies of Great Britain !;
these latter societies have done busi-
nes, of 936O, 100000 in twenty-five years,
and saved to the working classes in that
time nearly s3O,OoO,oOo or 100000.
In other words, there has been total
increase in the savings and investments
ofthe people of no less than slSO, 100000.
Time would fail to tell of the foreign
trade, which fifty years ago was that of a
small state and is now that of o great
empire. Imports then were 66,O00,0OO,
now they are 374,oOo,ooo; exports then
5s,OOO,OOO, now 271,OOO,oOO. 1t is use.
less to say that this great trade is carried
on in English vessels. During the
reign the tonnage of British steamships
has risen from less than 100000 to about
100000 tons. A ton of tea can now be
sent from China to London at the cost OF
ton Of goods from Manchester to the
metropolis fifty years ago.
Internal trade and industry have
shown a like expansion. Take, for
instance, coal and iron, articles which
depend largely for their consumption on
tho prosperity Of other industries. The
output of coal has risen from an estima.
ted total of 100000 tons in 1887 to
total of 16O,OOO,OO0 at the present time.
Fifty years ago the production of iron
was estimated at little more than
100000 tons, now it averages about
100000 a year. Science has stepped
in, and by improved methods and
machinery effected great saving in
coal; for example, the quantity of coal
which was formerly required for three
tons will now smelt FIVE tons of iron'
Electricity and petroleum have effected
further saving. It is not little inter
esting to see what science and skill can
do with raw material. A ton of pig iron
costing $40 (ten dollars) when turned
into railway chairs wou d be worth only
$13.75. The same iron if converted into
needles for home use would sell fol
$4,000; if into fish hooks for $4,000
and if into hair springs for watches fol
| about $2,0O0,0OO-above three times the
value of gold. But then it requires
! nearly 100000 hair springs to weigh
| ton. I shall mention only one or tWc
other industries. The consumption o.
cotton in the mills of Lancashire hat
| risen from 4O0,00O,000 pounds in 1887 to
| 1, ,457, 100000 pounds in 1887. The
manufacture and consumption of beer
and spirits has also enormously increased
Whereas only 64O,OOO,OOO gallons Of bee1
we're brewed in 1870, no less thar
| S91, 100000 were brewed in 1885, and
the consumption had risen from "a to q
gallons per head. The increased use Of
spirits is still more to be deplored. The
number of gallons distilled has risen
from 65,OOo,OOO in 1910 to 3O1, 100000
in 1885, and the consumption per hun
dred inhabitants from "a to 81 gallons
During the last decade, however, the
consumption has slightly decreased fol
beer three gallons head, aud for spirits
| % gallons per 100 of the population.
The increase in the manufacture O
paper is indeed gratifying. In 1910 only
100000 pounds were used by the press
and 100000 in other ways; in 1885,
the press alone consumed 214,00O,0o(
pounds, and 218,ooo,ooo of pounds were