the British Government. Many of the ships will be useful in forming the foundation of American passenger lines. It would be idle to deny that a strong feeling * exists in this country, and exists among many who greatly admire the United States and are proud to claim many warm American friends, that it would have been better if the ships had been placed in a common pool and distributed among the Allied and Associated Nations in proportion to their losses. The United States achieved so much in shipbuilding during the war and is capable of so much more, that the nation could well have afforded to agree to the normal method of distribution. Incidentally, it is interesting to note that the whole fleet which was seized has been appraised by a Navy Department Board as having a value of about 6,840,000l., whereas, when the decision of the United States Government to retain the ships was first announced, the sum of 20,000,000l. was mentioned. In this brief review of shipping conditions, the development of the Japanese mercantile fleet cannot be overlooked. In the actual percentage increase it comes second only to the United States, but is still a very long way behind that nation. As compared with an increase of 382.1 per cent. for the United States, the Japanese Mercantile Marine increased during the war by 361 per cent. It consisted in June last of 2,325,000 tons, an increase of 617,000 tons. The leading Japanese companies -the Nippon Yusen Kaisha, Toyo Kisen Kaisha, and Osaka Shosen Kabushiki Kaisha-have prospered exceedingly. New lines have been opened up between Japan and India, Japan and the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, and between Japan and Europe. The Japanese Mercantile Marine was able, to a large extent, to fill the gaps made in Eastern waters left by the withdrawal of British ships to the North Atlantic. At one time the greater part of the trade from Japan to India was carried on in British ships; now the bulk of the exports are shipped in Japanese steamers. Many fine feats of construction were performed during the war, and new yards were built. The construction of a large ten-way shipyard by the Asano Shipyard Company was a notable achievement. So far, Japan has been dependent upon steel imported from this country and the United States, but iron ore 1. Report of the Working Classes Cost of Living Committee (November 1918). [Cd. 8980.] 2. British and Foreign Trade and Industrial Conditions. Board of Trade Report, 1903. [Cd. 1761.] 3. Bulletin of Statistics prepared by the Statistical Department of the Board of Trade for the British Section is of the Supreme Economic Council, 1918. Bulletin No. 2. Vol. I, 4. Course of Average Prices of General Commodities in England. By Augustus Sauerbeck. King & Son. DURING the past five years the world has been passing through the greatest economic disturbance of which we have any record. The Great War of 1914-8 has transcended in magnitude all the conflicts of the past, and its economic effects have been correspondingly great. The fighting has ceased, and we have now an opportunity of realising, in a measure, some of the economic changes which have already been brought about by five years of world-wide war; but many years must pass before we can ascertain the full extent of these alterations, and of their reaction upon the lives of our people and the other peoples of the world. In this welter of financial uncertainty and disturbance, it is natural that there should be grave anxiety and perplexity as to our own economic position, and in particular as to the condition of the national finances; and some observations with regard to these questions may be of interest at the present time. In order to understand the economic position of the world to-day, it is necessary to examine in detail some of the principal changes which have taken place, such as the rise in wages and in commodity prices, the increase in the amount of paper money, and the growth of the National Debts of the great Powers since 1914. All great wars have exercised a profound influence upon the economic development of the world, the extent of this influence varying with the duration of the war and the economic development of the belligerents. The figures contained in Sauerbeck's Chart show the Vol. 232.-No. 461. 2 K extent to which the prices of commodities have been In In The Crimean War caused a sharp rebound, but half of this rise was lost in the two years following. The American Civil War then carried prices to 105 in 1864; and six years of world-peace brought them down again to 69, on the eve of the outbreak of the Franco-German War. This war terminated in March 1871, but prices continued to rise after peace was declared, and in 1873 the high level of 111 was reached. In the five following years there was a rapid decline of 30 points to 81; with one or two short-lived upward movements prices continued to decline steadily during the succeeding seventeen years, until 1895, when the lowest level, 61, was reached. The Spanish-American and South-African Wars then caused a recovery of 14 points to 75. This was followed by a decline of six points to 69 in 1903. The Russo-Japanese (1904-5) War then caused a substantial recovery, and by 1907 the average was 80. From the South-African War down to 1907 wholesale prices showed comparatively trifling changes, and they Auctuated between 69 in 1903 and 80 in 1907, falling again in 1908 to 73. But in 1909 an upward movement began, which continued almost without interruption antil 1913, when the average was 85. For the first half of 1914 there was a slight check in this advance, and at the end of June 1914 the average was 81.2. Immediately. after the outbreak of war there was a considerable rise in the price of foodstuffs; but for the first five months the movement in raw materials was mainly downwards, owing to the dislocation of trade. In 1915, however, practically every article advanced to a marked degree, especially in the later months of that year, when the abnormal freight situation was the dominant factor. The Statist' index number for forty-five articles was 108 for 1915, as compared with 85 in 1913. The advance continued throughout 1916, and was more pronounced han in the preceding twelve months, the index number For the year being 136. The upward movement coninued at an accelerated rate in 1917, the index number for that year being 175. A further advance was recorded n 1918, when the high average of 193 was reached, an advance of 127 per cent. on the figures for 1913. The highest point of the year, 197-8, was reached in October 1918. After that date prices fell slightly until April 1919, when the average was 184.6, but an upward movenent then began which carried the average up to 206.4 n July. Minerals were responsible for the bulk of his rise. It will be observed that, while during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars prices advanced from 85 to 157, or 34.7 per cent. in, say, twenty years, in the war which has ust concluded prices advanced from 85 to 193, or 127 per ent., in four and a half years. And, as in the case of he Franco-German War, the rise continued after the ighting ceased. The fluctuations in prices in the wars which occurred between 1854 and 1905 were trivial in omparison with this vast movement; and it is obvious hat these conflicts afford insufficient data when we attempt to measure the economic consequences of the World War of 1914-8. The loss of life and the expenditure of money have |