The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-08-22

Present State Of British Commerce." and Tho
Trade Of Great Britain with Her Colonies" Tho
compilation Of these statistics has imposed a
great deal Of labor. and 1t is satisfactory to OBJ
servo that their value has been widely recog.
nized. We cannot here undertake to give more
than a birdseye view Of tho purport oven OF
the specially imDortant sections to which We
have referred by NAME.
4.
Mir. Gastrell avowa in his Introduction that
the Overwhelming supremacy OF Englishmen.
commercially and industrially, Is not tho assured
fact that IL once was. They are no longer in the
enviable position Of former days, when they mad
no serious competitors In the worlds markets
for manufactured products. with the evolution
and progress OF other nations Englishmen have
new conditions to face and contend with. What
some Of these arc 1t Is the authors purpose to
point out In these pages. We are reminded, for
example, that the great industrial rise of Britain
was mainly due to the extensive discoveries and
rapid development OF coal in the northern coun.
tics, where British manufactures arc now prin.
cipally settled. Upt to thirty years ago Great Bri.
tain had practically no rival in tho production
OF coal. In 1850 her mines yielded about co..
00O, 900 tons, or two-thirds of the whole output
Of the world. The development OF fuol resources
Of the United States and of the Continent Is com.
paratively recent. Now, however. they are sup.
plying large amounts of the combustible. and
even Japan and India now furnish considerable
quantities. Englnnd's coal production stood at
ITO, 100000 tons in 1870 and at 1873, OOO. 900 in
1894; that of the United States in tho same
years was 80, 600. 900 and 1862, 0Oo, 900 re-
spectively; while, on the Continent. in tho
former years. the production OF German and
French coal reached 90. oOO.O OO and 13. Co.,
n0N ZACH AND In tha haitian "a 900 nnn
and 27.OOO, 600 tons. Austria was credited with
25, 100000 in 1891. Belgium with 10000. 900 in
1892, and Russia with 100000 In 1890. In
view of the daily increasing output of foreign
fuel, the immense advantage formerly afforded
Englishmcn by this all.powcrful factor in
the economic development Of their indus.
tries is getting less and less. This seems
to be a point sometimes overlooked when foreign
competition is considered in relation to Eng.
lands industrial future. 1t is pointed out by
Mr.. Gastrell that the German empire is now be.
coming England's rival even in exporting coal
to a distant country like Roumania. In 1896.
for instance. 10000 tons was delivered in
Galatz via the Rhine and Rotterdam. Here
was unexpected competition in a new direction
1t Is an example OF the indoInitahle energy OF
her rivals in pushing trade. The fact that Ger
many gets such a commission. though more dis
tant than is England from the mouths of the
Danube, is proof enough that sne is able to ex-
ecute IL more cheaply. Here. then. Mr.. Gastrell
sees fresh ground for anxiety. as it is understood
that Germany new canal system Is particularly
designed TO bring the rich industrial northwest
sea. which will greatly facilitate the export of
Westphalian coal even to Great Britain. France
already consumes ZOO 900 tons of German
coal a year. while Belgium and England ench
supply 100000 to complete the 10000, 900
tons still required in excess OF Frances local
production. Two other interesting facts arc
mentioned in connection with this topic. The
first is that Japan. having already more coal
than she requires, now exports about ! 800. 900
is rs good as Indian. and cheaper than English
coal. The second Is that Germany is sending
large quantities of coke to Australia. where it
now completes with that from England.