TRADE OF GREAT BRITAIN FOR HALF A TEAR.

Press, Volume XII, Issue 1589, 10 December 1867, Page 3

TRADE OF GREAT BRITAIN FOR HALF A TEAR.

The official trade returns, just now completed to the end of last June, show that in the first six months of the present year we exported goods from these islands to the value of about £88,000,000 sterling. That is the first broad fact as it appears upon the new accounts ; and the first de-r duction is, that it represents a decline of about £5,000,000 compared with the trade of the corresponding period in 1866. That return, however, was exceptionally large, so that the reduction expresses no serious abatement of the national industry. If we now proceed to analyse the aggregate before us, we shall soon arrive at three or four principal divisions. Just onequarter of the whole business was transacted with our own colonies, and all but one-half of that amount is due to India. In fact, if we set down £10,000,000 to India, £4,000,000 to Australia, £2,000,000 to Canada, and £1,000,000 to Singapore, we shall have accounted at . once for £17,000,000 out of the £22,000,000, while HongKong, the Cape, and the "West Indies will take nearly £3,000,000 more. The remainder is divided between fifteen colonies or settlements of which Gibraltar, Malta, and Ceylon are the most important, and the Falkland Islands and Heligoland the least. Assigning, then, £22,000,000 out of £88,000,000 to our colonial trade, we have £66,000,000 representing' our business with foreign nations—that is j so say, with the rest of the habitable world, for there is literally not a region which our exports do not reach. In round numbers, we may again distribute this total between the four quarters of the globe by giving £35,000,000 to Europe, £5,000,000 to Asia, £5,000,000 to Africa, and £20,000,000 to America. From this rough classification it will be seen that our continental trade is more than one-half of our whole foreign trade, and approximating to one-half of all our trade together. Indeed, during the particular period under review, Grermany alone was almost as good a customer to us as the United States. Our trade with France—£s,Boo,ooo— is little more than half that with Grermany, but it is buoyant, and may be materially increased. With Holland a very large.business is done, considering the smallness of the country. The Netherlands, with a population of 3,500,000, take upwards of £4,000,000 worth of goods from us ; Austria, with just ten times the population, takes just one-tenth of the supply. Turkey deals largely with us, so does Italy, and so, for its size, does Belgium, though the commercial intercourse with that country, which once represented the most important branch of English trade, has last its relative magnitude. Still, Belgium is a better customer than Russia and Spain; though as regards the latter country, it should be observed that we do a very considerable business with Cuba and the Philippines. The trade with Cuba in particular has been larger this year than the trade with Japan, and all but as large as that with Portugal. To Greece we actually send less than we do to the blacks of St. Domingo. Our Asiatic trade—that with British possessions excepted—is, of course, mainly with China, which takes upwards of £2,000,000 worth from us, while Japan figures for rather less than half that amount, end the Dutch East Indies for about £700,000. Our j trade with Africa resolves itself practically into the trade with Egypt, and that, in reality, means our trade with the countries beyond. Egypt is the high road to India, and consequently the exports and imports set down to the account of that country are perternaturally large. Western Africa, however, does figure for nearly £500,000 in the total of £5,000,000, and a pittance of some £25,000 is contributed by " Eastern" Africa. Whether the Abyssinian expedition will bring any modification in these figures we cannot pretend to conjecture. As to Northern Africa, Morocco, Tunis, and Algeria find places in the list, beyond doubt— the former country counting for £100,000; but the great French colony buys little more from us than Madagascar. In America—British colonies again excepted — we may say that our trade

is pretty equally divided between "North and South—that is, the several States of South America take between them British goods to about the same value as the tluited States alone. It must be remembered, however, that throughout these remarks we have been speaking only of the first six months of the present year, and that tbe returns of the period have been affected by exceptional circumstances. Last year, for instance, our trade with the United States was above | £15,000,000, instead of under £12,000,000. the difference being explained partly by the deficency of the American harvest in 1866, and partly by the effects of the present prohibitive tariff. America, it may be hoped, will one day resume her old transactions with us, but in the meantime there is something very remarkable in the commercial progress made by the States of the Southern Continent. Brazil, though her account has considerably fallen off in this last return, is still a better customer to us than Italy,-and the little republic of Chili has been a better one than Belgium. Here, however, it should again be noticed that the figures are accidently large. Last year the Chilian ports were blockaded by the Spanish squadron, and it is the natural rebound of trade since the opening of the harbours which has carried up the return from £570,000 in 1866 to £1,500,000 in 1867. Besides these States, the Argentine Republic, New Grenada, and Uruguay are large dealers with us, and Venezuela and Ecuador add their quotas to the total. With Mexico, considering the capabilities of the country and the incredible wealth of the soil, we are doing next to nothing, and perhaps the less we do the better. The countries bringing up the end of the list exhibit some curious variations—all, no doubt, to be accounted for, but [showing how capricious the demands of such places must be considered. Last year, for instance, the "Islands in the Pacific" bought goods to the value of £100,000 from us, whereas the item this year is under £20,000 ; Persia took £25,000 worth in 1866, and but £6000 worth in 1867 ; while Siam, which had thrown off last year with orders to the extent of £4000, has this year dropped out of the list altogether. On the other hand, Arabia has risen from £715 to £1178, Bolivia from £408 to £3074, and Madagascar from £1612 to £3319. Moreover, if Siam has disappeared from our books, two entirely new customers have presented themselves. The " French possessions in India " open an account with £2074, and the " Northern "Whale Fisheries " with £100.