Not many months ago huge shipping amalgamations were taking place—enormous financial] transactions put through with the greatest ease. To-day about half a dozen people control British shipping, and not yet have we realized whet this is going to mean in the long run. It should make for economy of management, and taking Lord Inchcape's statement, we shall have cheaper Passages as soon as possible. About the same time as this happened the great English banks started a similar scheme of absorbing smaller concerns until the capital of the most important of them has reached enormous figures. Combines of people strange to the district then invaded Lancashire and proceeded to acquire an interest in many mills and factories, and going farther north to the Clyde it was seen that shipbuilders were setting themselves to secure the control of steel-producing concerns. To some extent this course was dictated by an anxiety to keep themselves fully supplied with the material necessary for their work, but even here bor huge business operations con-we can trace the same conception trolled from one centre. t Later information shows the same spirit in other industries, jute for instance. Calcutta's only rival in the manufacture of jute is Dundee, and here one of these huge companies has already succeeded in gaining control of half the industry in the city, which probably means that it will shortly control a good deal of Calcutta as well. All this is of the first importance to us here. We have seen certain amalgamations of local concerns—insurance companies for instance~ and the trend of business methods at Home might well suggest that the same principle will sooner rather than later be seen here.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.