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REVIEW OF BRITISH SHIPPING. John White, 23a Great St. Helen's, London E. C., in his annual review of British shipping, says: It is unfortunately the fact that the past year has closed with the shipping' industry, both for the ship builder and ship owner, in a more unsatisfactory condition than it commenced. The high. cost of production caused a de- crease in ordefs for new tonnage in the latter part of the previous year, and owners, realizing that freights were not commensurate with the cost of ships, and that working expenses continued to increase, have wisely withheld from further building, there- fore the number of contracts for or- dinary cargo steamers were very few and far between throughout the year. This abstention from building does not materially affect the output of ton- nage for the past year, but will be markedly shown in this year's returns. The production of merchant steamers from British yards has been about 1,600,000 tons, which is a reduction of about 200,000 tons on the record to- tal of the previous year. None of our builders have equalled the output of 1906, which from two yards alone was over 100,000 tons each. The largest total last year was by Messrs. Dox- ford, of 91,254 tons, while four other yards have produced about 300,000 tons, so that one-quarter of the total large production is accounted for in five yards, and then not engaged to their full capabilities. The following figures show the variation of the Brit- ish register during the past year: Added of new steamers and bought from foreigners, about 1,301,500 tons. Removed, which includes steamers lost, broken up and sold to foreigners, about 657,700 tons. Added of sailing ships, about 75,900 tons, of which about 47,500 tons were to the colonial register. Removed of sailing ships about 185,- 600 tons, of which about 55,800 tons were colonial. There were under construction on Sept. 30, last, according to the records of Lloyd's Register, steamers of 1,068,- 422 tons, which is a reduction of about 200,000 tons of the tonnage building 12 months previously. The net addition to the British reg- ister, after deducting losses, broken up and sold to foreigners, for the 10 years 1897 to 1906, was 5,488,938 tons steamers, and the net reduction of sailing ships 1,230,641 tons. The in- crease of the effective tonnage is large, being of steamers, but a very large amount is represented in the leviathan passenger liners, and the very consid- baudo (of Italy), home orders. "TAE Marine. REVIEW erable total of meat, oil, fruit car- riers, trawlers, railway steamers, etc. 'The extension of commerce in the same period has also been very great. The export of coal alone increased from 34,000,000 tons in 1896 to 55,- 500,000 tons in 1907. The carriage of grain from long distances -- River Plate, Australia and west coast "of America--to countries of quickly in- creasing populations such as our own, instead of as formerly from nearer sources--America, Russia, etc., which now have so much need for their own production--has created lengthened voyages for the present large mer- chant fleet. At the same time, it has to be borne in mind that increased foreign tonnage takes much of the trade, especially of the coal exports. The contracts of the past year to our ship building yards include sev- eral steamers for the P. & O. Co.'s mail services; a steamer for the Ham- burg-American Line, reported to be larger than the Cunarder Mauretania, although not so fast; a steamer of 23,000 gross tons for the Holland- America Line; steamers for the Nav- igazione Generale Italiana, Lloyd's Sa- Chargeurs Reunis, the Pacific Steam Navigation Co., the Booth Line, and several large oil car- riers. At the commencement of the past year it was 'reported there was a large demand for steel and iron at home and from America and Japan, but by the end of the first quarter the reports in regard to raw material were very different, and later news came from America that there was no demand. Owing to the high price of hematite, Scotch steelmakers increased their price of plates in May from ei l2Se Ode tom das) eDMt Soom =aiber-- wards the reduced orders forced prices down, and by repeated small reduc- tions plates are now down to £6 12s 6d. Further decline in price appears likely: and warranted by the changed condition of the demand from other sources as well as ship building, and from the knowledge that ship builders have that our steel makers have been supplying foreign customers at a price stated to be 15s per ton lower than Copper is now nearly half the price it was 12 months since, which enables engineers to substan- tially reduce their prices. Prices of new tonnage to build are about 10 per cent lower than a year since. Build- ers have requested a reduction of wages of their men, which is necessary from the changed condition of trade. The amalgamation of Messrs. Harland & Wolff, of Belfast, with Messrs. John Brown & Co., of Glasgow, is an ad- - chinery. 17, dition to the strong combinations of ship builders that have been made of late years. Another step in the de- cline of the Thames interest in man- ufacturing for this industry has oc- curred in the retirement from business of the old engineering firm of Messrs. Humphreys, Tennant & Co. WAGES AND STRIKES.--Increased wages were demanded by engineers and other workmen in the first quarter of the past year, which the masters, with the knowledge that further orders to fol- low the current work were scarce, declined to concede, and an agree- ment was made with the men post- poning any increase until the state of trade warranted such; but in Septem- ber, when the prospects of work were still more unfavorable, the men re- peated their demands, causing the em- ployers to threaten a lock-out, which _ speedily made the men withdraw their request, and a joint agreement was made which should preclude strikes in the future. The men have evinced a disinclination to abide by agreements entered into by their leaders, and to be dissatisfied with the financial state of their unions, of which many of the branches are reported to be insolvent. Sectional strikes of workmen, such as calkers, carpenters, joiners, molders, patternmakers, and blast furnace men, etc., have caused much interruption with work. Strikes continue prevalent in almost every branch connected with shipping, causing serious losses to em- ployers and men, and in scarcely one instance securing any benefit to the men. There have been strikes of sea- men in British and many foreign ports; laborers, prominently the long- shoremen, for many weeks in New York, which necessitated some liners having to bring back part of their cargoes to this country and back again so as to maintain regular sailings. The Pend d'Oreille Navigation Co., Newport, Wash., is about to let a con- tract for the construction of a stern- wheel steamer to operate on the Pend d'Oreille river, which will in all proba- bility be built at a Spokane yard. The steamer is to be 130 ft. long, 26 ft. wide and of less than 3 ft. draught. It will be necessary to ship the vessel knocked down to Newport, where it will be erected and run in conjunction with the two other steamers owned by this company. The Skinner Ship Building & Dry Dock Co., Baltimore, Md., is repairing the Maryland, Delaware & Virginia Railway Co.'s steamer Essex she having been dry docked for attention to her outboard ma-