Clare was questioned by a writ of quo warranto moved for on behalf of a labourer who was a defendant in civil proceedings before him, on the ground that he had ceased to practise as a barrister and was therefore disqualified. The Attorney-General opposed the grant of a conditional order on the ground that the warrant of appointment could not be questioned in proceedings raised by a private individual; but the applicant made a second affidavit repudiating his first, and the case therefore broke down, so that the interesting constitutional question raised was not pursued further.

The report of the Registrar-General published in August showed that the rates of births, deaths and marriages were practically stationary, as were the deaths from tuberculosis. The emigrants during the year numbered 39,082, 21,124 being male and 17,958 female.

In trade and industry the year was generally gloomy, though a striking exception was presented by the great shipbuilding yards at Belfast. The total tonnage output was 156,826 tons against 138,260 in 1907, and five steamers were launched by Messrs. Harland and Wolff exceeding 14,000 tons. They were the Rotterdam of 23,980 tons, and the Lapland of 18,565 tons, for the Holland-Amerika and the Red Star (Antwerp) line respectively; the Laurentic and Megantic, the former with combined triple-expansion and turbine engines, for the White Star Canadian service, and an Atlantic Transport liner. The other great shipbuilding firm, Messrs. Workman, Clark and Co., also launched large steamers for Italy, New Zealand, and the Holt (Far East) line, besides large "fruiters" for service in the West Indian trade, two for Dutch and three for American owners, a speciality of the firm. The other staple trades of Belfast suffered seriously, chiefly through the depression in the United States. The Irish flax crop generally was very poor, owing to unfavourable weather conditions; the linen trade was in very low water for the first three months, but there was then a recovery, and a hopeful view was taken of the prospects for 1909. The whisky trade was affected, partly by the attack on the patent-still product, a Belfast staple, before the Commission, which, however, declined to refuse it the name of whisky, and partly by the Licensing Bill. The potato crop was a record, and almost wholly escaped disease. Hopeful results were given by the experimental culture of tobacco. A considerable trade had arisen between the South of Ireland and England in wild fruits-blackberries, bilberries, crab-apples and sloes-and the Congested Districts Board thought it worth while to issue instructions as to careful packing.

SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER.

FINANCE AND TRADE IN 1908.

IN 1908 trade followed the course forecasted by those who had studied its movements in recent years. After nearly three years of steady expansion a decline was apparent in the second half of 1907 and continued unchecked throughout the year just closed. The reaction was marked and was observed in varying proportions in practically all industrial countries, and at home was disclosed in an unmistakable way by such tests as the Clearing House returns of the London banks, traffic earnings, insurance premiums, and statistics of foreign trade. In the United States financial conditions steadily righted themselves from the state of chaos into which they had fallen in the previous autumn; excellent crops were harvested in both Americas, and assisted largely in the recovery, but though commerce received encouragement from the election of Mr. Taft to the Presidency in November, trade generally was very dull. In Germany almost all forms of industry were marked by depression without the occurrence of any great disasters. Australia and New Zealand were affected by the lower values received for their products, but in South Africa several of the industries of the different colonies made progress and the note at the end of the year was one of cheerfulness. In China the import trade was crippled by currency troubles; exports however showed some increase. But if 1908 has no claims for remembrance as a time of expansion, there are very good reasons why it will stand out as a notable year at home. Unfortunately, its history was marred by two great labour disputes (pp. 194, 220) resulting from the necessary slackening of machinery and the stand made by the workers against the consequent reduction of wages. The strike in the North of England engineering yards affected all works dependent on the shipbuilding and engineering trades on the northeast coast, and lasted seven months before the men yielded. The lock-out in the cotton trade extended for seven weeks and really was not unwelcome to the spinners, who found the stoppage of work a useful means of reducing the stocks of cotton goods with which, as a result of a too rapid increase in the rate of mill-building, the market was over-supplied. The point for which the masters had held out, namely, that as wages were advanced in good years so they should be reduced when bad times occurred, was maintained, and the operatives postponed. until March the reduction of wages by 5 per cent. which the masters had originally insisted should take effect in September.

Direct results of these troubles were the formulation in October of a profit-sharing scheme by Sir Christopher Furness (see post, Chronicle, Oct. 7), accepted by the workmen in his company's shipbuilding yards, and, later, the very important

formation by the Board of Trade of a Court of Arbitration to which labour disputes will in future be submitted (p. 194). Another important feature of the year was the tendency towards combination and elimination of unnecessary competition among the great railways. A far-reaching agreement was come to between the Great Central, Great Northern and Great Eastern Companies and was followed later by an announcement that the London and North-Western and Midland Companies proposed also to obtain Parliamentary powers for a working agreement. In Scotland, the Railway Shareholders' Association was active in making its influence felt upon the direction of railways, and south of the border the formation of a Shareholders' Association has probably had not a little to do with the infusion of new energy into the solution of railway problems. Other examples of the movement towards combination are found in the amalgamation of colliery companies, the most important fusion of the kind being in South Wales, where the Cambrian Colliery Company acquired a controlling interest in companies which should enable it before very long to control an output of over 5,000,000 tons. As followed naturally from the state of trade money was liberated in the manufacturing districts and was in abundant supply, and members of the London Stock Exchange, building on the principle that slack trade is good for the City, expected great things from investment and speculation in stocks. To a certain extent business improved and would have been able to give a much better account of itself but for certain influences which will be referred to later when some of the principal movements of prices are noticed. The production of gold in the Transvaal mines and the reduction of working costs made great progress; the total amount we received from South Africa was 31,814,000l., though the bulk of it did not stay in this country. Prices of commodities which reached a very high level in the preceding year showed an almost general decline, but exports of coal-usually one of the last of the commodities to feel the effects of industrial expansion or contraction-mark only a very slight falling off in volume and value.

Returns of foreign trade compare with figures for an exceptionally good year and were affected by lower prices, but the total value exceeded the 1,000,000,000l. dealt with for the first time in 1906. Compared with 1907 imports declined by 52,667,2197. or 8.2 per cent. to 593,140,7231.; exports of the produce and manufactures of the United Kingdom declined by 48,815,5047. or 11.5 per cent. to 377,219,579.; and the re-exports of foreign and colonial merchandise declined by 12,276,515l. or 134 per cent. to 79,665,5691. In the imports, 72 per cent. of the reduction was in raw materials and articles mainly unmanufactured, shipments of various textiles and of iron ore being considerably lighter, while in the exports over 92 per cent. of the reduction was in articles wholly or mainly manufactured, and of this reduction more than half was accounted for by textiles. Dur

ing the year all manufacturers in the Kingdom received from the Board of Trade schedules in connection with the Census of Production Act of 1906, and when the schedules are returned with the details required for the year 1907, there should, for the first time, be material available for trustworthy calculations as the real value of our home trade.

Although abundance of money was one of the features of the year, January opened with an abnormally high Bank rate in force in London. The 7 per cent. rate which had been imposed in November as a consequence of the crisis in the United States was continued until January 2, but a reduction was then made per cent, and by the end of the month the official minimum stood at 4 per cent. The rate remained at this figure until March 5 when it was reduced to 3 per cent., and on March 19 a further reduction was made to 3 per cent., and finally at the end of May the rate was lowered to 2 per cent. All this time money had been very scarce in Germany, but by the end of April the Reichsbank rate had slowly descended from 74 per cent. to 5 per cent., and on June 18 a 4 per cent. rate took effect. In the United States confidence was quick to return; gold, which many of the banks had found impossible to obtain in the autumn, was put into free circulation and large issues of bonds were made -principally for railroad requirements-and were readily absorbed. In France the position was altogether exceptional. The Bank received enormous supplies of gold through this country, which had the effect of building up its reserve to a record figure; the phenomenon created a certain amount of discussion, but the large additions to the Bank's vaults really represented metal which France had lent to this country and the United States in the past years, a large proportion of which had been allowed to remain here for years and had been interrupted in its return during 1907 by the exceptional events of the autumn. In spite of the heavy imports of gold to this country and the remarkable decline in the Bank rate, these liberal repayments had the effect of leaving the reserve of the Bank of England in a rather weaker condition than it had been twelve months before.

On the Stock Exchange, as has already been hinted, business hardly justified those prophets who looked to see money flowing back at once from trade for investment in stocks and shares. In the first place, this process did not act very quickly, and then in the second half of the year when the public had at last begun to take an active interest in markets, politics in the Near East interfered and prices dropped badly. In certain departments, however, very substantial advances were made, but Consols, which only rose, were a notable exception; they were undoubtedly depressed by the influence of home politics, for the recognised difficulty of providing the means for old age pensions, the probability of a large issue of Irish Land Stock, the falling off in revenue, and, lastly, the competition of other gilt-edged securities, were all points which tended to keep the price down.

1908.]

Finance and Trade.

[263

Home railways were scarcely affected by the proposals for cooperation, and, with traffics against them, were generally quite out of favour, but a rise of 7 in Central London Deferred and of 4 in Metropolitan District are signs of increased traffics due to the Franco-British Exhibition and of the greater use made. of the many facilities for underground travelling in London. Foreign Government bonds, which can be bought to yield 5 per cent., offer very fair security, and are easily negotiable, have come into fashion, and the tendency in this market was generally upwards. Great increases of capital were made during the year, a large proportion of which were for foreign Governments, foreign railways and other enterprises. Loans much discussed, but not issued until after the close of the year, were a big Russian issue (55,580,000l.) and one for 15,000,000l. by the San Paulo Government in connection with its coffee valorisation scheme. The American market, in spite of bad trade, was very strongly supported, and such advances were made as 64ğ in Union Pacifics, 44 in Chicago, Milwaukee, and 32 in New York Central. Grand Trunk securities fell, and until the Licensing Bill was rejected nearly all Brewery stocks were greatly depressed.

Some interesting insurance developments occurred, and among them was the settlement by the British companies of claims connected with the earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1907. After a judgment had been given by the Privy Council the companies agreed to pay 85 per cent. of the claims, which, with law costs, amounted to about 1,000,000l. Several of the offices announced their intention of issuing policies to cover indirect loss following fire-a useful class of business hitherto only conducted on a very small scale. Marine underwriters, together with shipowners, experienced a most disastrous year, and shipbuilding was greatly curtailed (p. 259).

Prices of commodities, which began to decline in May of the previous year, generally continued to fall in accordance with the lessened demand. In the metal group an exception was Cleveland pig-iron warrants, which closed a few pence higher, but Scotch warrants opened at 57s. 6d. and closed at 55s. 3d.-the lowest price touched in the year. Copper and tin, subject to great speculation, closed higher, but silver-also largely manipulated

was unusually weak, partly owing to a great falling off of the Indian demand. Cotton and wool showed substantial falls and prices of coal were no exception to the general rule. In foodstuffs English wheat was lower by over 2s. per quarter and Canadian 4s. lower; slight advances were marked in maize and English barley, but oats declined. This general downward tendency from the very high level reached in the early part of 1907 well indicates the slackening of industrial activity throughout the world. At the end of the year depression was general; but some observers expected early signs of an active revival.

CUTHBERT MAUGHAN.