Rensselaer Republican, Volume 22, Number 51, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 August 1890 — How Great Britain Subsidizes. [ARTICLE]

How Great Britain Subsidizes.

N, Y. Press. Some of the readers of the Press in Western Massachusetts have written asking us if the Springfield Republican misrepresents Consul General New in quoting him as saying that England “does not grant subsidies in the general sense of that term to any steamship company.” The words quoted are from the opening sentence of Mr. New’s report printed in Consular Re.ports No. 112 in January last, which volume was a sort of consular symposium on subsidies. It does not appear that the Republican ever printed the remainder of the sentence: at least, not iri the extract furnished us. That remainder is: “but the postoffice authorities make contracts for tho conveyance of mails to the different parts of the world with the steamship company having steamers sailing to those ports.” The Mugwump enemies of our marine development ngver condescend to notice the fact that the British foreign mail subsidies average much larger per piece of mail than ours; nor do they in general, nor the Springfield Republican in particular, allow their readers to see the ppint of the fact that in this very volume of consular reports quoted, Consul General New gave the results of an inquiry set on foot by tho British government to ascertain to what extent other nations are employing the subsidy policy. Readers of the Press know that this inquiry was made with a view of increasing British subsidies if necessary. Witness the recently established lino from British Column bia to China and Japan, and the proposed new subsidized line from England to Canada, and the cable line from Halifax to Bermuda for the development of communication and British trade.

Since 1830 Great Britain has spent, over $250,000,000 in such subsidies, and her recent investigations as to what other nations are doing show that her experiment of reduction has not worked as well as was expected, and that if she stands still she will go backward. She must keep up the policy if she is to maintain her hold on commerce. Besides her postal subsidies she pays subventions to merchant steamefis for purposes of a naval reserve, eyen when the mails are not carried by them. Great Britain’s past and present go to show that the postal subsidy and tonnage bounty bills before the House of Representatives \ should be enacted into laws at the earliest possible date.