ENGLAND'S GROWTH IN A CENTURY.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XVI, Issue 270, 12 November 1881, Page 4

ENGLAND'S GROWTH IN A CENTURY.

Thi . ia the title of an article in St James' Gazette which rau. interest our •readers. Our eonff*--.potary say 5 . The coromprohi and in ■'usfn'sl history -of Gre^t Brit.ia ia «s ji\ unwritten. For the last twenfy-iix years ample statistics are accessible; but the, become more find mor-> rare as tva travel backward from 1854 isomo fact« however, of primary importance pVv be graced, aod tbess serve r !9 ro j./_ eton-s iq tho ais'oty of the pnef Wr can trace .h.iccreas^ of cur populMbn with r recUioo from 1801 . WeCjntra(je IW Littery of our commerce, n«; •measnrei hy imports and exports, ha-k to 1G96; anr! it t i, e q., esf i on |„ ap . proa-hpt in the temper of «he impartial historian— takirg no rcrom. of pariv movemput or politic ii theory. b - u-stri-sly of-nfiuiur/ ou^eives to the foursof inf.us'ria! sctivii*. on J p?r».;r>=e** wBhail se;- how rarely tn- p.di i;-ian h*;s the ii flu'-nce thr.t f-.r- ima.Mnea himß;4i to ex«-rt cd public welfare. At the -ime when Franp. w*_s C_n ; vuls>d b. the terrible vp r i-i*»«i which desfroye.i the reiic3 0. her feudal system, a revolution -of a very difierent natur. was 1-eiog prpp*ire.J and wrought onf in Eog.>o.j. Tii» troubles of 1745 ca'.'.ed tbe oitemion ol those responsible for tbe mili'ary defence of the country to the Kfomous sate of thy roada. In North B it^iu roaJs property go railed were aba 03 _ non-axirftsat b f ne the good work of red making earri^-j ou; by_G-n*ra! Warp. I. E-jglan ', in 1758. Br-Qd'ey —^y the coi:s:ruo:ioa of the F.,i(}gp water C-m-l — eoinmeu^-d v system of icland v. tt.r coaimunicotioo "which first awck« '..*•»* spirif of indu:trial activity. In 1769 Arkwrighf by hia invenii.c? for pejaine, carding, and Epinnioo cot.oc by n.-.c-hioe.-) driven hy wat.r power, hA<\ tbe foundation of the fectorysyst-rm. In 1781 Watt succeeded in produring rotary motion by eteam. Iq 1757 C-irtwri^ht inveotel eloth-weaviG-- by stesnu-powt-r, Telford meactime wr.s liLkicg L-.ndoc with Liverpo.l, Dublin, snd Kdiaburub by excellent road?, wbich M.ca-jcca in 1815 made a? availub'.e in winter aa in summer. By 1821, 24 581 miles of turnpike road h&d bt.ee coL^ruoied in EaelHQd and Scrdlnnd, aud 8,000 rciles in IrelaDd. In 1829 she great discovery of tbe blast — ih. very life cf the locooQotiya— wae made. In 1830 ihe Liverpool en. Man.br B ter Railway was opened ; aud by 1854, tho flrat year for which clear Parliaropc.ary rcturcs exist, 8,053 mile.3 nf railway had beer laid in the United Kingdom at tbe cos; of £368,000.000 The nsmes and dates aboya eiven are but rs sin^ie seeds cf future harvests— .ample, rf those michty han'fuis which were thrown bro-dc_-_ by the sturdy geniu? of English invention. The harvetl. thickening year by year, whs the main aourre of ibe weahb p.nd power cf the English nation ; srd the application ot Bcienc6 to industry was ci ied and enforce! by the rapid growth of tbe popuhtirn. Everything was groT-ine in Ecglend fcr mo:e than a (•.-r.tU'.y and a half, exeep* the s : z-. tf tlu ielan i ; ar.d even f-e 'o thi', engis ecrin^ skiU added, betwceti 1807 r.n-.i 1880, 2,000.000 of acres to the eul iv.tst Brea of the British I^'ands. A who c county was reclaimed frcm sea and morass in tbe Fen district*?. Of tht growth of the population of Eot;in__. we have no trustworthy account be forthe cemmpneement of the preset century. In 1801, tb- inhabit-..:.? cf England Rnd W--!ft=, in r'und ntmbf-rs. were 8,890,000. In 1700, if the eu o.e rats of iacreate prev-jilc-d in the eigbtefsth as that noted in tbe nineterntb ceotury, ihe number conld not much have exceeded 3 000 000. I. i?, however, iro c probable tLf_t tbe rate of iccreate was then lo we_. Io tbe firft part of tbe present century frcm 1801 to 1841, tie increase hre been at the rate of 188 per ent., from 8,890,000 10 15 900,000. From 1841 to 1881 it bas been somewhat Itsrapid, or at the rate of 163 psr cent. with a result cf 26 000 000 souls— very n.aHy trebling in eighty yenrs. The patient toil of Cesar Moreea bas famished us with a statement of the commerce of Great Britain , as measured by its imports aud expert*, end by ihe JoDnfige of i's vessel', from tbe yetr 1697 to ;he year 1823. T&king round figurep. we find that the tennage of both entering ard e'eanng veese's, in 1700 was Ebonf 30 (Oj ten «. In 1720 it bad risen to 42,C00; in 1760 in waa t'reuabout 60,000 tens ; i G 1800 ibr U . 175,000 toss In 1840, ihß aggrrpat--tocnege of Briti&h uc-i for f ign vcs.ede, ■eiling atd st^i m, (Meting and clearing ports in sh . Utit: d Kingdom, with cargo or in bsl'aie, was 9 500.0C0 tors. In 1880, the figures for tbe sar-o ;?nd? atcouDted :o 58,736.000 ions, showi.^g a fiaclion than ssxtuplir<ir in forty yt ars. If w e cnde::vcur to form some estimate of ih _'_ increase in (be mechanical motor power to wbioh fo much of this increase i sc ivity of corrcerce is due, we must lock lo cur collieries, Thp lumber of t'-us of con' raised in 18.0 is d fficult new to e?certain ; but il is kco.u bow much tf-as raised in tbat year ia the South Walec district ; and i! we suppose this quantity to bear the same proportion to the total output that it did in 1847 (as Btated when tbe sui ject wes Irooght before tl.e Institution cf Civil Ecgineers in 1849), we arrive at tie total of 16 666 660 tons for 1800. Id 1854, the outp'.: wae 64,660 ,0C0 tcna ; in 1880, 133,808 000 tons, having ic.reesed above eightfold in eighty ye_rs. In 1869 it wbb esticated that out of tbe 107 million t ns wen in tbat year twenty-five millictß were consumed in producing stem-power for macufectoree, and five millions more for Icccicotion by lsnd and by sea A eiaiiar proportion for 1880 would raise tbe thirty million tor.s 1869 of to thirty seven millions. In 1854 ibe f-roportioc would bave beer; a lu.ie over niaeteen miliiors of tor.?. But the work dose by a cillioD tecs 0; cc..i uppi] in ralti.:*-? Btenca :ci mecbsrial **:k is udai* eetio-atec it et; cic**?-n t? • q-:-. 1 to tb-.! of 200,000 : o-fes. A cor, omp tion oi nineteen miliiors cf tors of c ;. I, coeticg oncer £6,0C0.G00 tt the pit' c - mouib most Lave afi^cte-.: ibt: work of 3,800,000 horses, wbich is worth mere lla. £226,000,000. The consumption oi tbirty-ieven millions of tons rf coal

- y.r -««.!_ me work of 7.400 000 horses. Ihus the gftl - n rf £260.000000 in <804, riling to above f 500,000,000 in is nn und? r-estimate of tho D *t profit enrn« . hy »b,t nor.;on of coal POPPI? Whi.h 14 _!,v. o . ei , , 0 f PP(V{m/ , hp brea of *.>,*,-?.., Joes. An,] ".hat aowrea of prcflr, br if more or !e?s than "ie above esMmnte, is all clear addition fo the earninrr newer of the country since thft yea? 1871. The number and power of tho n!»« m fntfn-'S nt work in t^e Uuitcd Kingdom jg nnknown Rot bs {o the nppM c *ifion of ste^m to trsopporf, the earning rf Qljr ra ;i WB7a bn._ ri?en from 17.3 millions sterling in 18-54, fo hard upon 62 millions in 1880; an-' the tonnage of regis'pred ste-irr-' ,M - F,S ' psolnsire of riv-r steamers ?T.ployed in tho foreign » n <\ home '"dp, b«s rVn from 61,000 tone io 1854, fo 2,594,000 in isso. The m-n omr.lnva^. rxr; !;, s -:vp Q f magtprfl, were 4 330 in thp f-.rrrc-r y^r, B.d 34 304 in tl,* lotf«r Th - i-rr?n?o in <A.q twentysi. yearn bn-* b Per . .brpp nn ' a-bnlf fold for thr. ]nnd fr .*- sp r t, a « _ four and ono third frtjfj fir f j,„ fIPR | ran9port< Th* inrrer.ee of n^pnlatinp in" the period ha. feen *v tha'ra»p of 133 psr o p nt. In thia glance a t the pnsf- ccn*nry of our nation ■*. life, thp milestines, only Ipr* and fhpre visible, aro yet sufficient to rnppt our disiinef pointy in the p-nh of prngrpfs. I; is now j., S { a hu-drpfl yenrs since the steam-engine wr.s horn, b*ing rallp. io«o ec'iye life by the 2 ift of th? crank, that. ti-- e *hp population of Grent Britain has hp-n multiplied fivefold. And to lb-it fee mi ns an-! energetic rnce ba? been giver.- y-A*r efter year tlie ever growing service of a powpr which ft ■he present ninp.*nt ia more than tl at of seven and a ha!' -n-.iUioa*? of hw?— rA lir.rsrs wih whi-.h the isn\;u- : .i of q'jndrup -.h c;rnot .-ir.p.r. in cither rppulasity, durability, or epeed ; horses wbich, it wo or!y credit th«ra with the nominal -C.I.J-*. or'0 r' i\,y ir W r, r^ t Co3 t ]. 8 p t><aa a sbiMir--. f or PVer y p ounr j t i, at »h?-7 ram. lio-- r^-'fy i? the value of fiscal rer. u ]^;i or . 3 or Go*- neial theory «vh?n- compered to the action of such a ma' c spring of in. ions! wealth !