146

now  compared.  And  we  have  to  bear  in
mind  that  we  are  now  comparing  the  two
trade  areas  as  regards  one  section  of  trade  only.
The  results  in  Table  1.  certainly  substantiate ­
  the  theory  of  compensating  trade
fluctuation,  and  they  also  evidence  the  general
tendency  of  the  trade  of  the  world  constantly
to  increase.
An  important  point  here  crops  up.  Is
Europe  decreasing  or  increasing  its  share  of
the  world’s  export  trade  ?  Although  this
question  has  not  been  put  to  me  for  examination, ­
  it  bears  upon  this  matter  of  the
Geographical  Distribution  of  Capital,  and  it
is  worth  looking  into.  Here  are  the  results  :—

1890
1891
1892
1893
1894
1895
1896
1897

D.—Europe’s  Share  of  the  World’s  Exports.
Per  Cent.
69-7
68-3

65  9
68-2
680
69  2
699
69  1

1898
1899
1900
1901
1902
1903
1904

Per  Cent.
661
668
669
650
663
662
651

This  means  that  in  the  year  1890  Europe’s
exports  were  equal  to  69’7  per  cent,  of  the
world’s  exports,  and  that  in  1904  Europe’s
share  had  fallen  to  65T  per  cent.  The  falling
tendency  is  well  marked.  And  the  deduction