Rensselaer Republican, Volume 17, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 December 1884 — British Mercantile Marine. [ARTICLE]

British Mercantile Marine.

The British mercantile marine is composed of some 21,500 vessels, including 3,650 steamers, with an aggregate measurement of about 0,200,000 tons, while that of France consists of about 2,900 vessels, including 700 steamers, with an aggregate measurement of 1,055,000 tons. The number of steam vessels of war, including transports, dispatch boats, etc., which are available for the protection of the merchant navies, is 337 vessels, with 2,058 guns, for that of England, and 317 vessels, with 1,680 guns, for that of France. It will thus be seen that, whereas the French mercantile marine is protected in the ratio of one ship of war to nine merchantmen, no less than sixty merchantmen are allotted to the care of each British war vessel. In order to place the British merchant navy on an equal footing with that of France as regards man-of-war protection it would be necessary to add 2,053 vessels to the royal navy.