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    Untitled Article

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    GOMMEECIAL.

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    Untitled Article

    OUR TEADE IN 1857 . The annual statement of the Trade and Navigation of the United Kingdom for 1857 was published on Wednesday , the 1 st instant . An . abstract of the principal items was published late in the spring , which took off the edge of the public curiosity : to gratify it , or rather to satiate it with the details of this great subject , has required exactly eleven months . The present publication , however , is a great improvement on former publications . A few years ago we had to wait much longer even than now for a return that was far less complete . The total computed value of all our trade in the two last years

    was—1856 . 1857 . £ . £ . Imports 172 , 544 , 154 187 , 844 , 441 Exports 139 * 220 , 353 146 , 174 , 301 Transit 4 , 579 , 048 4 , 508 , 487 316 , 343 , 555 338 , 527 , 229 Of the total imports ^ there cam e- * - From for . countries 129 , 517 , 568 141 , 661 , 245 From Brit possess . 43 , 026 , 586 46 , 183 , 196 Of the total exports , which include foreign and colonial produce , there went—To for . countries ... 102 , 524 , 675 105 , 738 , 700 To Brit possessions 36 , 695 , 678 40 , 435 , 601 The value of imports , therefore , which includes the cost of bringing the goods hither , exceeds the value of the exports , which does not include the cost of conveying the goods abroad , by about 27 per cent , on the average of the two years ; and the trade to foreign countries , compared to that to British possessions , taking the average of the two years , and the whole of the exports and imports , is three times as great . According to the theories of trade which prevailed when most of the old restrictive laws of Europe were made on foreign trade , the excess in the value of imports so marked in these two years , and so invariably the rule , was set down as a ' balance of trade against the country , and the restrictive laws were made to east the balance , if possible , on the other side . No account is here taken of the movement of the precious metals ; but formerly it was supposed that the excess of imports had always to be paid for by the export of the precious metals , and to keep or bring them into the country was then the darling object of legislators . They were ignorant of the fact , now from its magnitude perfectly clear , that the value of goods in every country must always be greater at the place of import than at the place of export ; and as a consequence , in general the value of imports in every country must be greater than the value of exports . They tried by laws , therefore , to reverse the order of nature , which makes mutual exchange advantageous to both parties ; and though they did not succeed , they are in many cases still trying to effect the same hopeless object . '

    only 4 , 000 , 000 / . less . The exports to . British . North America declined before 1857 ; those to India increased from about 8 , 000 , 000 / . in 1853 to 13 , 118 , 020 / . in 1 S 57 ; and those to Australia were greater hi 1853 than in 1851 . To France the exports have more than doubled since 1853 , indicating the advantages she has derived from the relaxations latterly made in her restrictive system . No fact stated is , however , more strange than the large amount of our import trade from China , 11 , 448 , 639 / ., which should be increased by some of the transit throughout Egypt , considering that we were for a part of the year at war with that country ,

    and that we are indebted , according to many pompous statements , to Lord Elgin ' s treaty in 1858 for opening China to the trade of the world . By themselves theses annual returns afford us no means of comparing the shipping employed in 1857 with that employed in previous years . They contain only an account of its amount in 1857 . Exclusive of transports and ships with Government stores , which employed a considerable amount of our shipping , the total tonnage of British shipping which entered and cleared with cargoes was 11 , 036 , 257 , 000 , 134 more than in 1850 , which was greater than m any previous year , and more than double the British tonnage entered and cleared with cargoes in 1843 .

    which have been built , together with the improve inent in constructing and navigating them TlS latter is not a measurable quantity , theformeris . lj the year 18 * 7 , the . amount of tonnage built and registered in the United Kuigdom and its possession exclusive of 46 , 302 tons of shipping built here for foreigners , and exclusive also of the 6000 tons of the Great Eastern , built , but not registered , was no less than 423 * 477 . At the same time tbe touna « e of registered slupping wrecked and sold to foreigners was 1 S 6 , 119 , leaving us a clear increase of 237 358 tons for carriage to be added to a similar increase through several previous years . When the shin . build

    owners ships and improve navigation they cannot ensure an increase of cargoes to be carried . To increase subsistence , however , by agricultural improvement , in the present half-fed and half-clothed condition of the multitude , does , on the principle of population , ensure a market for it ; and the farmers , accordingly , have flourished by their own exertions ^ while the shipowners have done too much for their own benefit . What they really want is more cargoes to carry , and no means are so effectual to increase these as to abolish restrictions for the renewal of which some of our shipowners are foolish enough to pray . These tables inform us that the value of the

    exports of our own produce from Liverpool was 55 , 178 , 536 / ., and from London only 27 , 832 , 34 S £ Hull is next oh the list 15 , 758 , 813 / . ; and then Glasgow 5 , 107 , 384 / . ; all the other ports are much below these . We see no account of the value of imports at the different ports , but something equivalent is the amount of customs duties paid at each port . London stands first iu this list , 11 , 465 , 998 / ., and Liverpool next , 3 , 621 , 409 / Bristol collects 1 , 211 , 035 / . ; at no other port is 1 , 000 , 000 / . collected . Such a magnificent trade , with such a vast revenue collected from it as ours , was never possessed by any nation either ancient or modern , and being founded on freedom , or the laws of nature , is sure , if we will only grant it scope , to increase continually .

    The countries from which the imports and to which the exports were of the greatest value , to enumerate only a few , were the following : —

    1857 . Countries from Value of Countries to Value of which Imports Imports , which Exports Exports . came £ went . •*¦• United States 33 , 647 , 227 United States 18 , 985 , 939 India , Ceylon , India , Cv > and Singapore 21 , 094 , 301 and Singapore 13 , 118 , 020 Russia 13 , 447 , 584 Australia ...... 11 , 632 , 524 France 11 , 965 , 407 | Hanse Towns 9 , 595 , 962 China & Hong- I Holland 6 , 384 , 394 6213258

    Kong 11 , 448 , 639 France , , Egypt 7 , 853 , 876 Brazil 6 , 541 , 710 British W . In- B . N . America 4 , 329 , 075 dies , including Turkey . 3 , 107 , 401 Guiana 7 , 214 , 566 RusBia 3 , 098 , 819 Holland 7 , 203 , 785 China & Hong Prussia ......... 6 , 732 , 078 Kong 2 , 449 , 982 B . N . America 6 , 399 , 110 British W . In-Australia ...... 5 , 925 , 305 dies , including Hanse Towns 5 , 822 , 188 Guiana ...... 2 , 349 , 041

    With the exception of the United States and India none of these countries stand in the same relation to both imports and exports . Russia sent us 13 , 447 , 584 / . of her goods , and took only 3 , 098 , 819 / . of ours , but her hemp , her tallow , and timber were indispensable for our business , however they might be paid for . Australia appears the lowest but one on the import list and the highest but two on the export list ; if the gold she has sent us were added she would probably stand third on the import list . The trade with all these countries is advantageous , nay , necessary to our welfare , and this table , like every return , only

    convicts us of error whea we condemn a trade because it appears not to be what is called reciprocal , that is , when the exports are not about equal to the imports . To refer to the changes in trade which these returns indicate , we may notice that the imports from Russia , which in 1855 were only 473 , 000 / ., were , in 1857 , 13 , 447 , 584 / . The imports from Egypt were in 1854 only 3 , 355 , 000 / ., and in 1857 , 7 , 853 , 876 / . ; much of the increase arising from goods transmitted through Egypt from India . Large as the imports from the United States were in 1857 , they were larger in 185 G by 2 , 400 , 000 / . ; and in 1829 were

    They tried , too , for many years to check foreign trade , and confine trade as much as possible to their own countries and to colonies . With the approbation , generally of their people , they tried , to effect this object on many occasions by war , with it , deplorable want of success , as the present condition pf our trade testifies . No country has possessions abroad at all comparable to our possessions , and yet our trade with foreign countries is three times as great as the trade to our own possessions , - We should , however , fall into as grievous an error as the old restriotionists were we on this account to depreciate this latter trade . In fact , some of it is a foreign trade , as our cottons and woollens pass throujrli India into Thibet and Afghanistan ; and without colonial trade , such as the import of indigo from India and wool from Australia , we could not carry on to an equal extent foreign trade * such as the export of woollen cloth to the United States . All branches of trade , therefore , ore closely connected with , and arc necessary to , one another ; and wo only indicate the more or less of the several branches as matters of fact calculated to gratify curiosity , not to raise one above the other in the general , estimation .

    That foreign shipping should also have increased , looking at the immense value and quantities of our imports from all the countries of the world , is really more gratifying than surprising , notwithstanding the present distress of our sliipowners , which wo trust is very transitory . In our coasting trade , including the Isle of Man , which it mast bo remembered includes all tho opposite shores of tho Continent between Brest and the Elbo , the total amount of tonnage which entered and cleared in 1857 Was 31 , 877 , 680 tons , whereof foreign shipping amounted to the vory small quantity ot 102 . 964 Ions . The distress of our shipping is clearly the consoquenee of the decline in our trade in 1857— there are fewer goods , to carry— -and of the great number of ships

    Untitled Article

    OUR TEADE IN 1858 . We may now add , from the monthly returns we noticed last week , a comparison between our present trade and that of 1 S 57 . In the three first quarters , according to the corrected and full return of the value of imports for that period , then first published , the figures were these : — Imports . Exports . £ £ 114 , 799 , 194 80 , 310 , 329 Excess of imports ... £ 28 , 488 , 865

    A similar excess in the value of the imports exists in the present as in former years , but the percentage—nearly 32 per cent . —ia somewhat greater . If to this we add tho excess in nine months of bullion imported above that exported , 8 , 217 , 344 / ., * e have an excess in the value of imports ia the nine months of 1858 of 30 , 700 , 209 / . This excess , greater even than usual , will help to explain our abundance of capital . Our capitalists , who generally make advances to their friends abroad , imve this year , from the general loss of confidence , draun homo some of their capital . # , ^ To consider the trade of tho nine months ot mo present year more closely , wo observe that o ^ -

    114 , 799 , 19 ' * Tho total imports «« fioO , 04 There come from foreign countries oaUB G 90 And from our own possessions at \ R \ 0 ' i 20 While of tho total exports n « 072 ' 051 There went to foreign countries « o 208 278 And to our own possessions ' ink-Our trade with foreign countries , \ YIm 2 mII , intr . the imports and exports together IHJ ^ HJJ ; as * against our trade with our own po » pss oj 66 A 008 / ., was more than two and oj h * W J us groat . It was relatively a small per conlaj lessen excess than in 1857 . R ° P ° ating ofJU 10 tr » of nine months such a stfttemenl aS < wo wgjf ^ of the trade of 1857 with different countries , shall find some remarkable differences : —

    Gommeecial.

    GOMMEECIAL .

    Untitled Article

    1328 THE LEADER / [ No . 454 , December 4 , 18 fiK

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 4, 1858, page 1328, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2271/page/24/