The chief defect of the weekly return is that while
the railings and arrivals include neutral vessels and small coasting vessels that dodge in and out of ports, the list of losses excludes all but British vessels. The ordinary reader probably notices that the losses seem to be but a small proportion of the large number of arrivals and sailings, and he tells himse If that we can afford to go on losing ships at this rate for a long time. But his contentment is built on false foundations. He is put into the very frame of mind which ought to be discouraged. He will never make great efforts to economize so long as he fancies that things are " not so very bad." Surely the object of the return should be to make the truth perfectly plain. There is really no dispute about this, however, as the Government spokesmen themselves all say that they wish to withhold nothing. The return ought, therefore, to make the truth leap at once to the eye.
