French shipbuilding has been at a low ebb for so many years that it is encouraging to hear of a new development of enterprise. The directors of the famous Creusot iron-foundry have decided to establish a large shipyard on the Thaw inlet, near Cette. The preliminaries are already well advanced and the construction of the machine shops will soon be begun. The yard will give employment to some 4,000 men. Its creation appears to be the [outcome of the recent enquiry into the condition of the French Mercantile marine. Several witnesses declared that they were obliged to order steamers from British or German yards because of the high prices charged by French constructors. There are only three large establishments in France capable of turning out steam-hipe—
the Ateliers de la Gironde, and the Forges et Chantiers de La Loire. Of these the second and third work almost exclusively on Government contracts, so that the French shipowner is practically - bilged to apply to the Forges et Chantiers do Is Méditerranée if he wants to claim the. bounties on French-built vessels. The new Creusot works ought to add to the nails which the strikers are driving into the coffin of British shipbuilding.
3ist Deceember.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.