WAR-SHIPS FOR FOREIGNERS.
The above figures include war-ships as well as merchant-ships built by us for foreigners, and, noting this fact, Mr. Williams is distressed to find what he calls a drop in our output of foreign war-ships. He writes:—
“Still more remarkable is the drop in our supply of foreign war-ships from 12,877 tons in 1874 to 2,483 in 1894.”
What is even more remarkable still is the fact that Mr. Williams should have dared to put such a statement before the public, knowing, as he must have known, how completely it misrepresents the truth. I wonder what he would have said of me if I had spoken of the remarkable growth in our output of foreign war-ships as evidenced by an increase from 14 tons in 1876 to 4,152 tons in 1895! Yet this statement would have been every bit as justifiable as his own. The whole truth of the matter of course is, that such an industry as the construction of foreign war-ships must vary enormously from year to year, and a comparison between any two single years can prove nothing, except the folly or the mala fides of the person who makes it. In order that the reader may see for himself the source from which Mr. Williams drew his “remarkable” statement, I append all the figures since 1870:—
War Vessels Built for Foreigners.
| Years. | Tons. | Years. | Tons. | Years. | Tons. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 970 | 1879 | 716 | 1888 | 1,899 |
| 1871 | 80 | 1880 | 385 | 1889 | 726 |
| 1872 | 40 | 1881 | 5,338 | 1890 | 3,437 |
| 1873 | 280 | 1882 | 447 | 1891 | 300 |
| 1874 | 12,877 | 1883 | 270 | 1892 | 2,792 |
| 1875 | 12,280 | 1884 | 2,339 | 1893 | 2,471 |
| 1876 | 14 | 1885 | 5,462 | 1894 | 2,483 |
| 1877 | 3,435 | 1886 | 840 | 1895 | 4,152 |
| 1878 | 2,482 | 1887 | 3,966 |