Balances of Income and Expenditure in the transactions (other than lending and repayment of capital) between the United Kingdom and all other countries.

(IN MILLION POUNDS.)

Particulars.

1924. 1925. 1926.

Excess of imports of merchandise and bullion

Estimated excess of Government payments made overseas

† Including disbursements of foreign ships in British ports.

the basis of the March figures the loss of production represented 97,000,000l., and the loss of wages 75,000,000l. It is important to note in passing that owing to the higher efficiency of coal-burning plants the consumption of coal throughout the world shows a tendency to decline, though the world is extracting more energy from the coal used. The output of coal in Britain in 1925 was over 40,000,000 tons less than in 1913. As a result of the settlement of the strike, about two-thirds of the industry at the close of the year was working on an 8-hour day basis, and one-third on a 71-hour day. Important amalgamations were effected in the industry, notably in Yorkshire and South Wales. There is more co-operation among producers in selling coal. The total cost of the coal subsidy was 23,000,000l., the lion's share of which went to the collieries in the exporting districts. Shipments of coal as cargo and bunkers in 1926 were only 31,000,000 tons, against 70,500,000 in 1925 and 97,700,000 tons in 1913. Imports of foreign coal amounted to about 20,000,000 tons, valued at about 42,000,000l. Next to the coal industry the iron and steel industry suffered most from the coal stoppage. During May, 1926, 124 blast furnaces were damped down, and of the 23 that remained in operation only 5 were working at the end of October. At the end of December the figure was 78. In 1925 the average number of blast furnaces working was 141; in 1920 it was 284. The output for the year was 2,441,500 tons of pig iron (against 10,260,300 tons in 1925), and 3,560,400 tons of steel (against 7,663,900 tons in 1925). The pig iron output was the smallest for seventy-six years, and the steel production the lowest for thirty-one years. Imports of foreign material were a record"; the total was 3,740,279 tons (against 2,719,715 tons in 1925 and 2,230,955 tons in 1913). Exports were only 2,987,669 tons (against 3,771,096 tons in 1925 and 4,969,225 tons in 1913). An event of outstanding importance was the establishment of a European steel cartel,

66

which was joined by Germany, France, Belgium, Luxemburg, and Czechoslovakia. Great Britain was invited to join, but had not decided to do so by the end of the year.

The following table, compiled by the National Federation of Iron and Steel Manufacturers, shows the average monthly production of pig iron and steel ingots and castings in 1913, 1920, 1923 to 1926, and the production in each month since December, 1925:

The December output brings the total pig iron output for the year to 2,441,500 tons, compared with 6,261,700 tons in 1925 and 10,260,300 tons in 1913, and the steel output for 1926 to 3,560,400 tons, compared with 7,385,400 tons in 1925 and 7,663,900 tons in 1913.

Shipping and Shipbuilding. The effect of the coal stoppage on the shipping industry was marked. Passenger lines suffered severely from the increase in bunker coal prices, but the heavy imports of coal brought grist to the mill of tramp steamer owners. The Chamber of Shipping's monthly index numbers of freights are set out below (1913 100):

=

118-93

116.97

140-30

184-27

198.63

141.45

June

The effects of the coal dispute can be traced very clearly in these figures. Shipowners did not reap the full advantage of the rise in freight rates owing to the large proportion of ballast voyages and the increase in fuel. costs. The coal strike had an effect also upon the statistics of idle tonnage, as will be seen from the following table :—

Shipbuilding suffered severely from the lack of supplies of steel. The tonnage launched in Great Britain and Ireland fell from 1,084,633 gross tons in 1925 to 639,568 gross tons in 1926, the aggregate tonnage launched throughout the world falling from 2,193,404 to 1,674,977 gross tons. The world tonnage under construction on December 31, 1926, was 1,933,027 gross tons (against 2,069,545 gross tons at the same date in 1925), of which the British proportion was slightly smaller-760,084 gross tons (against 885,013 gross tons).

Insurance. Notwithstanding the detrimental effect of the stoppage of work in the coal mines on almost all forms of national activity, there was little slackening in the volume of new life assurance business. To some extent this was due to special efforts on the part of one or two large offices. In industrial assurance, with over a million workers wageless and others on half or quarter wages, the chief problem was the prevention of lapsed policies. This was solved by many offices through the reduction of the sums assured sufficiently to liquidate arrears of contributions, and by one office through deductions from the bonus payments when claims arise. Fire insurance companies, on the whole, fared better in 1926 than in the preceding year, losses being estimated at 7,300,000l. in comparison with an estimate of 7,700,000l. in 1925. An extraordinary feature was the number of fires at country houses, the most expensive being that at Oulton Park, Cheshire, with an estimated cost of 200,000l. A notable building to be destroyed by fire was the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre at Stratfordon-Avon, with a loss estimated at 40,000l. Losses in North America were estimated to the end of November at 70,000,000l., the outstanding outbreak being the destruction of oil tanks at San Luis Obispo, California, the cost being put at 1,600,000l. In marine insurance somewhat higher rates ruled for hulls, but there was no such recovery in cargo insurance. The chief development in miscellaneous insurance was the holding in London, during December, of an International Conference on credit risks, whereat eighteen nations were represented. It was provisionally decided to form a committee on which all countries transacting credit business would be represented.

LAW.

THAT the profession of the law is particularly sensitive to outside influences is well known, and during the greater portion of 1926, so far as litigation was concerned, the position was one of complete stagnation. The conveyancing side, however, did not feel the depression so acutely, for the coming into operation of the Property Acts of 1925 brought about a considerable amount of business. Even although new litigious work was practically non-existent, in the King's Bench the average period of delay between setting down and hearing was not reduced, and, as heretofore, three to four months elapsed before actions for trial were disposed of.

During the year the Companies Law Amendment Committee made its report, and like the Bankruptcy Report of the previous year, will probably be followed by legislation. A committee was also set up, with Mr. Justice MacKinnon as chairman, to consider the law of arbitration in all its aspects. In April the new scheme of providing legal aid for the poor in civil matters came into operation, and the results of the first six months of its working, under the aegis of the various law societies, showed that at last a practical scheme of poor persons' procedure had been established. The General and Coal Strikes necessitated resort to the Emergency Powers Act, 1920, and proclamations of emergency, together with the necessary regulations, were made, and kept in force from May until November. In June and July the Criminal Justice Act of the previous year came into force, altering the criminal law in many particulars, and amending and improving the system of probation. At the Imperial Conference held in the autumn several points of maritime law and the question of appeals to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council were considered and discussed, and various resolutions were passed. In December the King's Counsel practising at the Chancery Bar decided to bring to an end the custom of attaching themselves to particular judges, and resolved that all should be entitled to appear in any Chancery Court without the payment of a special fee, thus ending a system that had been in force for many years.

Legislation during 1926 may be said to have returned to normality so far as bulk was concerned, and the statutes passed during the twelve months were of wide and varied scope. The Bankruptcy Act carried out most of the recommendations made by the Departmental Committee, and the Law and Property (Amendment) Act dealt with difficulties that were disclosed when the monumental Property Acts of 1925 came into actual working. Chap. 15 created a Court of Criminal Appeal for Scotland, and

the Re-election of Ministers Act removed the necessity for the re-election of members of the House of Commons on acceptance of office, and did away with the nine months' limitation that previously obtained. The Coal Mines Act, 1926, permitted for a period of five years eight hours' work below ground, and the Boards of Guardians (Default) Act allowed intervention by the Minister of Health where the powers and duties of guardians were not properly discharged. By the Finance Act, 1926, betting duty was established; excess profits duty was brought to an end; and the method of computing profits under Schedule D was altered to the year preceding the year of assessment in the place of the average of three years. Two statutes may be mentioned that intimately affected family life-the Adoption of Children Act, which provided for the making of adoption orders by the Courts, and the establishment of a register, while the Legitimacy Act provided legitimation by subsequent marriage of parents, but excluded those whose father or mother was married to a third person when the illegitimate person was born, and did not enable any interest to be taken in real or personal property save as in the Act expressly provided. Provision was also made for the protection against lead poisoning of persons employed in painting buildings (Chap. 37); Indian and Colonial divorces were dealt with by Chap. 40; and the law relating to smoke nuisances by Chap. 43. The Fertilisers and Feeding Stuffs Act amended the law with respect to their sale, and imposed an obligation to furnish statutory statements and made such statements warrantable. The Merchandise Marks Act required an indication of origin. to be given in the case of certain imported goods. The Weights and Measures Act provided for the better protection of the public in relation to the sale of food, including agricultural and horticultural produce. The Law of Coroners has been amended, as also that relating to Small Holdings and Allotments, while by the Electricity Supply Act a central electricity board was created, and provision made for carrying out a wide scheme of electrical supply. Mention must also be made of the Judicial Proceedings (Regulation of Reports) Act, which is designed to regulate the publication of those reports in such a manner as to prevent injury to public morals, and the Penal Servitude Act, which was passed to remove the inadequacy of maximum sentences for offences against young persons.

Not many cases of legal significance were decided during 1926. Lapish v. Braithwaite was finally disposed of in the House of Lords, where it was held, confirming the opinion of the Court of Appeal, that an alderman of a city council who was managing director and shareholder in a company having current contracts with the city council, and was paid a fixed salary and not by commission, was not disqualified from being an alderman under the Municipal Corporation Act, 1882, as a person having directly or indirectly a share or interest in a contract with the council. The Final Court of Appeal also held in Kingston Union v. Metropolitan Water Board that in the absence of special circumstances, in assessing water or other similar undertakings extending over a large number of parishes, the right method of ascertaining the rent which a hypothetical tenant from year to year might reasonably be expected to pay for the hereditaments in