American Vs. Foreign Shipping Interests

The Boston Journal han preparad a very careful and interesting suinmary of 'acts about the various methods by which the great maritime nations of the earth have mauaged to establish and maintain the earrying trade of their respectivo flas. Subsidy it is, in one wayand another. Protectionit is, however named, and whether practicad by France, Germany, Italy, or Free-Trade Ëngland. We condense from tlie Journal's article a statement of the shipping policies of some of the European nations whose flags are oftenest seen in the finest harbor on the globe. With an established commerce, Great BritaiB still pays heavy lxiunties, in one form or another, for the encouragenient and support of her merehant marine The Peninsular and Oriental Line to India, for example receives about $1,200,000 a year from the British Government for earryiug the mails to.India. This is from twice to three times as much as the French and Germán Unes have repeatedly ofFered to perform the same service for." Last year the mail subsidies paid by Great Britain amounted to more than $3,000,000. The crack Atlantic liners, such as the Majestic and Teutonic, the City of New York and the City of Paris, receive each $50,000 aunually in time of peace as a retaining fee for their servici 's as auxiliarv naval vessels in case of war. The ships of the new British line across the Paciflc receive Í75,O(K) annuallv as an Adniirality subvention, sides $:X),000 a year trom tne post omee. France has paid a shipping bounty sinee 1881. Itamounts in the aggregate to about $2,090,000 yearly, and' is paid both for construction and lor navigation. The navigation bounty amounts to about 29 cents a ton for every thousand miles run in foreign voy ages, Besides this, in lieu of it in the case of the mail Bteamers, tliere is a liberal subsidy frotn the post office. The Compagne Générale Transatlantique, for iustance, receiyes $864,254 a year for carrving the mails to the West Indios and Mexico. Germany pursues the same policy as Great Britain. Since 1885 she has paid $1,047,619 a year to the North Germán Lloyd for its Mediteranean and East Indian service. Last spring an annual subsidy of $225,000 for ten years was granted to establish a new Germán line from Iiamburg to the east coast of África. Italy's shipping policy is more like that of France, but her bounties for construction are considerably heavier. She paya about $14 a ton for Italian built ships of iron or steel, and she paya also a considerable bounty on Italian built steam engines and boilers. The navigation bounty is 13 cents a ton of gross measurenient for every 1000 miles run, aad the large Italian steamship lines receive in small subsidies about $2,090,000 yearly. Spain is making efforts in the same wav to increase her carrving trade. The Government paye a construction bounty ot ?í.íL' a ton on vesseis uuut ín npaiu. The mail subeidy to the West Indian liue is $1,500,000 a year; to the line to the Phillipine Islands $700,000 a year. Che Spanish line between Cuba aüd ev ork, whose ships are docked at he foot of Veaey street, gets not less than $8,000 froni the Spanish government for every round yoyage sailed in the attempt to kill off the American steamship business betwecn New York and Cuba and Mexico. The present session of Congress yill írobably dispose of the two shipping neasures which Senator Frye of Maine las done so much to promote. It is easy denounce as subsidy legislation, and ;hrerefore robbery of the United States Treasury, for the benefit of private citizen8 auy bilí destgned to revive the noble industry that was once the pride and ixast of