86
FRANCE.
fishing vessels — ' bateaux de la peche cotiere' — is shown in the fol- lowing table, which gives the number and tonnage of the vessels, classed according to tonnage, on January 1, 1866 and 1867 : —
1S66
1867
rds .
Vessels
Tons
Vessels
Tons
Of 800 tons and npwa
58
69,524
66
83,403
„ 700 to 800 tons .
37
27,338
39
28,971
„ 600 to 700 „
53
34,178
63
40,350
„ 500 to 600 „
116
63,572
122
66,315
,, 400 to 500 „
253
113,404
250
112,019
„ 300 to 400 „
292
103,435
301
106,526
„ 200 to 300 „
636
154.999
640
155,886
„ 100 to 200 „
1,274
179,389
1,342
187,217
60 to 100 „
1,437
109,630
1,482
113,577
„ 30 to 60 „
1,457
62,930
1,567
66,627
Under 30 . Total
9,646
89,685
9,765
81,940
15,259
1,008,084
15,637
1,042,811
The above statement comprises both sailing vessels and steamers. Of steamers, France possessed, on January 1, 1867, 96 of 200 horse-power, and above; 87 of between 100 and 200 horse-power; the same number of between 60 and 100 ; 76 of between 30 and 60, and 61 of less than 30 horse-power. The total number of steamers on January 1, 1867, was 407, of 129,777 tons, and 55,160 horse-power. There were 207 steamers belonging to the ports of the Mediterranean, and 200 to those on the Atlantic. Of the total mercantile navy, enumerated in the preceding table, under date of 1867, there belonged 3,698 vessels, of 251,166 tons, to ports on the Mediterranean; and 11,939 vessels, of 791,645 tons, to ports on the Atlantic.
The growth of the railway system of France dates from the year 1840, previous to which there were but few lines in France. For a time, the idea was entertained of making all the railways which were to be built State property ; but in the end it was determined, and settled by the law of June 11, 1842 — modified in 1858, 1859, and 1863 — that the work should be left to private companies, super- intended, however, and, if necessary, assisted in their operations, by the State. Under thie arrangement, the whole of the railways, already made, and about to be. constructed, were classed under two divisions, called ' aneien reseau,' or Old net-work, and ' nouveau reseau,' or New net- work ; the former, as implied by the name, representing the first-built main arteries of traffic, and the latter the by-roads, laid down, in most instances, with a view to public utility rather than to profit. On this account, the hues coming under the designation of New net-work received the grant
