London in 1839
Part Ten - Trade, Post, Steam Vessels
Trade, &c :-
The accidental burning of the Custom House of London, in February, 1814, in which the greater part of the trade records of the port and kingdom were destroyed, renders it impossible to give a complete account of the commerce of the metropolis for any preceding period. The relative proportion of the foreign and colonial trade enjoyed by its merchants during the present century will be sufficiently shown by the following statement of the net amount of customs duty, collected at different times from the year 1815, in London and in all the various ports of the United Kingdom, including London :-
Year |
London |
United Kingdom |
1815 |
£5,536,441 |
£10,521,551 |
1820 |
£5,342,731 |
£9,837,279 |
1824 |
£5,731,238 |
£11,327,741 |
1826 |
£8,829,789 |
£17,280,711 |
1827 |
£8,790,829 |
£17,894,405 |
1828 |
£8,918,310 |
£19,295,403 |
1829 |
£8,524,261 |
£18,129,615 |
1830 |
£8,576,163 |
£19,360,750 |
1831 |
£7,916,993 |
£18,124,725 |
1832 |
£7,876,660 |
£18,341,188 |
1833 |
£7,662,521 |
£17,597,697 |
1834 |
£9,576,972 |
£18,494,316 |
1835 |
£10,601,600 |
£20,522,895 |
1836 |
£11,088,207 |
£21,448,741 |
1837 |
£10,190,006 |
£20,556,559 |
It appears from these figures, which are taken from official returns, that the payments into the Exchequer by the Custom House of London amount to as much as the net receipts of all the other custom-houses in Great Britain and Ireland. It was expected that the opening of the China trade, and the consequent participation of other ports in the tea trade, which had previously been monopolized by London, would have considerably altered the above proportions ; but it will be seen that such has not been the result : in fact, the buyers of this article of general consumption still resort to London as the market in which they can select their purchases to the greatest advantage.
The number of ships, with the amount of tonnage, that have frequented the port, give a better idea of the actual amount of its trade than is afforded by revenue accounts, which must vary with the fiscal regulations of the country, and which exclude altogether goods that enter the port and are re-exported or sent coastwise under bond to other ports in the kingdom. The shipping that cleared outwards to foreign parts in 1753 consisted of :-
|
Ships |
Tons |
British |
1,219 |
153,969 |
Foreign |
150 |
26,281 |
TOTAL |
1,369 |
180,250 |
In 1792 the trade was more than double what it in 1753. The clearances from the port were in that year:-
|
Ships |
Tons |
British |
1,078 |
310,724 |
Foreign |
504 |
88,325 |
TOTAL |
1,582 |
399,049 |
The shipping belonging to the port in the same year (1792) was :-
1109 |
ships under 200 tons burthen |
94,952 tons |
368 |
ships between 200 and 300 tons burthen |
91,157 tons |
268 |
ships between 300 and 500 tons burthen |
92,970 tons |
24 |
ships between 500 and 750 tons burthen |
13,984 |
|
Indiamen |
81,160 |
|
TOTAL TONNAGE |
374,223 |
The number and tonnage of vessels, British and foreign, that entered the port from foreign parts in each year from 1820 to 1837, will show how greatly its foreign commerce has increased during the last half century :-
|
British |
Foreign |
Total |
Years |
Ships |
Tons |
Ships |
Tons |
Ships |
Tons |
1820 |
3,354 |
655,239 |
856 |
122,619 |
4,210 |
777,858 |
1821 |
3,000 |
585,994 |
571 |
89,073 |
3,571 |
675,067 |
1822 |
3,230 |
603,167 |
597 |
106,099 |
3,827 |
709,266 |
1823 |
3,031 |
611,451 |
865 |
161,705 |
3,896 |
773,156 |
1824 |
3,132 |
607,106 |
1,643 |
264,098 |
4,775 |
871,204 |
1825 |
3,989 |
785,565 |
1,743 |
302,122 |
5,732 |
1,087,687 |
1826 |
3,495 |
675,026 |
1,586 |
215,254 |
5,081 |
890,280 |
1827 |
4,012 |
769,102 |
1,534 |
221,008 |
5,546 |
990,110 |
1828 |
4,084 |
767,212 |
1,303 |
195,929 |
5,387 |
963,141 |
1829 |
4,108 |
784,070 |
1,300 |
215,605 |
5,408 |
999,675 |
1830 |
3,910 |
744,229 |
1,268 |
207,500 |
5,178 |
951,729 |
1831 |
4,140 |
780,988 |
1,557 |
269,159 |
5,697 |
1,050,147 |
1832 |
3,274 |
640,057 |
886 |
154,514 |
4,160 |
794,571 |
1833 |
3,421 |
678,289 |
1,061 |
175,883 |
4,482 |
854,172 |
1834 |
3,786 |
735,693 |
1,280 |
216,063 |
5,066 |
951,756 |
1835 |
3,780 |
740,255 |
1,057 |
188,893 |
4,837 |
929,148 |
1836 |
3,845 |
772,046 |
1,465 |
255,875 |
5,310 |
1,027,921 |
1837 |
4,079 |
821,788 |
1,547 |
240,135 |
5,626 |
1,061,923 |
The number and tonnage of ships that cleared out from London to different parts of the world in each year from 1831 to 1837 have been as follows :-
Going to : |
1831 |
1832 |
1833 |
1834 |
1835 |
1836 |
1837 |
United States of America |
95 |
33,026 |
91 |
31,603 |
87 |
31,403 |
96 |
35,206 |
95 |
36,771 |
108 |
45,027 |
79 |
36,231 |
British N. Amer. Colonies |
243 |
75,905 |
215 |
65,016 |
219 |
65,753 |
254 |
75,693 |
282 |
89,089 |
256 |
82,578 |
220 |
72,060 |
Cape of Good Hope |
25 |
5,012 |
29 |
6,131 |
28 |
5,638 |
36 |
7,097 |
26 |
5,242 |
47 |
10,291 |
45 |
9,867 |
Australian Colonies |
65 |
24,008 |
73 |
25,964 |
67 |
21,502 |
74 |
24,576 |
84 |
30,056 |
91 |
32,202 |
100 |
36,464 |
Other parts |
4,184 |
788,174 |
3,259 |
722,124 |
3,383 |
639,864 |
3,707 |
684,479 |
3,489 |
667,243 |
3,906 |
749,467 |
4,016 |
748,300 |
TOTALS |
4,612 |
926,125 |
3,667 |
850,838 |
3,784 |
764,163 |
4,167 |
827,051 |
3,976 |
828,401 |
4,408 |
919,565 |
4,460 |
902,922 |
The above figures exhibit an amount of activity in the prosecution of foreign trade wholly without a parallel, but these numbers are far exceeded by the coasting trade of the port. The number and tonnage of coasting vessels that entered London from other parts of the United Kingdom, distinguishing those engaged in the trade with Ireland, during the six years from 1833 to 1838, were as under :-
|
General Coasters inc. Colliers |
Irish Traders |
Total |
|
Ships |
Tons |
Ships |
Tons |
Ships |
Tons |
1833 |
18,242 |
2,368,653 |
1,094 |
148,568 |
19,336 |
2,517,221 |
1834 |
19,026 |
2,445,895 |
1,043 |
147,962 |
20,069 |
2,593,857 |
1835 |
19,308 |
2,604,906 |
1,163 |
160,076 |
20,471 |
2,764,982 |
1836 |
19,717 |
2,656,869 |
1,048 |
154,009 |
20,765 |
2,810,878 |
1837 |
20,201 |
2,743,854 |
1,121 |
167,882 |
21,322 |
2,911,736 |
1838 |
20,333 |
2,727,741 |
1,259 |
180,435 |
21,592 |
2,908,176 |
It is not possible to form any reasonable estimate of the quantity of merchandise brought by canal and by land-carriage to London or which is by the same means conveyed thence to the interior of the kingdom, but it must be very great. There is not a town or village of any note in the midland districts which does not keep up a constant commercial intercourse with the metropolis by means of boats or waggons or both, but nothing is known concerning the quantity of goods transported. It would be easy for the proprietors of canals to give an account of their traffic, but all information of this kind is systematically withheld, probably through the fear of exciting competition. The value of foreign and colonial produce and merchandise constantly in the warehouses of the great docks is very great, but as no accurate account of the quantities remaining has been taken at any time since the commencement of the warehousing system, it is not possible to give any more definite information on the subject.
The amount of postages collected in London in each year from 1832 to 1837 was as follows:-
1832 |
£632,696 |
1833 |
£642,871 |
1834 |
£660,411 |
1835 |
£664,189 |
1836 |
£692,509 |
1837 |
£697,567 |
During this time there has been no increase in the rate of postage, and the progressive increase in the amount collected is probably not more than equivalent to the increase of inhabitants. The above sums form between a fourth and a third part of the gross produce of the post-office duty in the United Kingdom. The post communications between London and various parts of the United Kingdom have been greatly accelerated by means of the different lines of railway already opened, and as the system is extended, greater improvements in this respect will of course be realized. At present the letter-bags which leave London at eight o'clock in the evening arrive at Edinburgh early on the second morning. Letters for Liverpool despatched at the same time are delivered by eleven o'clock the following morning.
Steam Vessels :-
There is no port in the kingdom which has profited more than London through the application of steam to navigation. A great part of the steam-vessels that arrive and depart carry passengers only, and are therefore not required to make entry at the custom-house, and with regard to such as carry goods no distinction is made at the custom-house between them and sailing-vessels, for which reasons no accurate account of the number of this class of ships that enter and leave the port can be given. Steam passage-boats are passing and re-passing at all hours during the day between London and Greenwich and Woolwich, and others start every quarter of an hour during the day from London Bridge and Westminster. To Gravesend boats go at various times during the day, and in the summer there are several departures and arrivals every day to and from Margate and Ramsgate. Between London and Calais,
Boulogne, Antwerp, and Rotterdam steam-vessels are passing almost daily in summer and frequently in winter. With various ports in England, Scotland, and Ireland, a constant intercourse is kept up in the same manner.
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