After the Conquest, when the opposite shores of the British channel were held by the same sovereign, there would naturally be a very frequent, and indeed constant, passage from port to port; and the productions of the two countries would be introduced into each other, without those multiplied impediments arising from hesitations and jealousies, which rival states too often indulge. It is true, that for ages, we are to regard valour and spirit, deeds of arms, the high mettle of chivalrous adventure, as the staple commodity of England. The sons of Albion relinquished the care of her flocks, for the conduct of troops, and studied less the productions of her soil, than the honours attached to the standard and banner. They held their lands by military tenure, and military tenure engrossed their contemplations. The ravages of civil war, and the fury of contending parties, could not but retard the bursting forth of that mercantile spirit and splendour, which was destined to become the distinction of succeeding generations. When martial ardour had subsided, the attention of the nation was directed to adventurous undertakings of a different description, and the youth engaged in enterprises of which we now reap the benefit. The discovery of America was not productive of instant emolument to those of this country who engaged i⚫ it. They laid the foundation for the wealth of after times: But, Sir Walter Raleigh was not enriched by Virginia; and William Penn, though a man of sagacity, derived no pecuniary advantage from the province that bears his name. In fact, the power of capital; and the vast and necessary extent of that power, were understood and calculated by very few, if any, in those times; and it was not till after the Dutch had shown what advantages might be derived from money, as an active agent, that calculators endeavoured publicly to establish principles on that subject. Since the institution of the Funding system, and the increase of the national debt, money has been attended to with the utmost diligence, and those who are jealous of the true prosperity of our country, are far from finding gratification in the sway which accompanies the command of money. But we pass this, though a very serious consideration, at present, to ob serve, that the desire of making the most of the advantages, presented by the possession of money leads to a sparingness and economy in the use of it, which is beyond the contemplation of the bulk of mankind. Hence have arisen the various substitutes for coin. Paper, which has no natural pretensions to represent money,has, when applied for that purpose, and supported by convention, the same ability to represent a thousand pounds, as an hundred: since this ability does not depend on the bulk, the beauty, or any other property of the paper, but on the respon sibility attached to the party, whose handwriting pledges him, to the amount of the value it imports. Paper, then, saves the employment of money: but even the employment of paper, itself, is dispensed with as far as possible, since advantage may be made of it, as the substitute for money, equal with what may be derived from solid coin. The bankers of London, therefore, do not draw from each other, daily, in Bank notes the various sums for which they receive checques, but exchange these checques with eachother, and pay only the balances in Bank notes, thereby suffering each other to hold the paper, in which such demands would be paid,in the greatest quantity, and to the latest moment, possible. The same principle of sparing capital, has led to a system, in favour and ease of merchants, which, within these few years, has proved of infinite accommodation and convenience. Formerly, when a ship arrived in port, and was to break bulk, the duties demanded by the state, were to be paid, before any part of the cargo was of use to the merchant. Hence he was obliged, either to keep a great quantity of money by him, entirely useless, to meet exigencies of this description, whenever they occurred, or to send to his banker ample deposits, and procure by way of loan, and at interest, the necessary sums to honour his vessel at the custom-house. It was not uncommon for the most respectable merchants in London,. to clear their sideboards from plate, and to send it safely packed in its iron chests, to their bankers, a security for a loan, at the very juncture when their wealth was arrived in greater abund nce than they had expected, from foreign parts. vex Such embarrassments tended to the importer of foreign commodities, and to limit their distribution, by enhancing their price to the consumer; since the importer would not only repay himself the actual sums that had been advanced by him, but, also, a profit on them; and, in addition, a gratification for the inconveniences, and dis-arrangements he had undergone in landing them. The wisdom of Government at length perceived that this was a fit occasion for indulgence to the commercial world. And that, as itself was the cause of the inconvenience, and this inconvenience became more burdensome as duties were increased, that it would be well to remain a creditor for the amount of duties for a reasonable time, during which interval the goods and commodities might be sold to those, for whose use they were primarily intended. This gave rise to the Bonding system, under which the payment of the duties is secured to government within a determinate period, by the bonds of the merchants, and thus their advance of cash is dispensed with: and hence, too, the Warehousing system, by which the goods, subject to heavy duties, are kept for a time under the king's locks. They may be sold, while in the warehouse, and be taken away at any time, on payment of the duties, by the purchaser, if so agreed with the owner. No arguments are necessary to prove, that a rapid extension of trade, would be greatly facilitated by this arrangement and indeed, could hardly be effected without it; since, on the contrary principle, the greater the influx of trade, the greater were the difficulties of the merchant. to, rum; rice, tobacco, wine, brandy and other spirits; brimstone, cork, hemp undressed, iron in bars, kelp, mahogany, pitch, rosin, staves, tallow, tar, timber, half drest, other skins and furs undrest, spertow, turpentine, wood; Indian deer skins maceti, train, and other fish oil, blubber and whalefins of British fishing; almonds, anchovies, aniseed, balsam copaiba, barilla, bees wax, bristles undressed, cantharides, Turkey carpets, chip hats, clover seed, cochineal, cotton wool, cotton yarn, currants, elephant's teeth, feathers for beds, figs, ginseng, gum Arabic, gum Senegal, jalap, jesuit's bark, indigo, juniper berries, plain linen of all oil of olives, palm oil, sallad oil, oil of tursorts (except sail cloth), manna, mohairy pentine, opium, prunes, quicksilver, raisins, rhabarb, saffron, senna, raw silk, thrown silk, waste silk, smalis, straw hats. ryarn, N. B. By the 9th section of the act 43 Geo. III. cap. 132. the commissioners of his Majesty's treasury are empowered to permit the warehousing of any 'goods or mer chandize not enumerated above. Desirous of ascertaining the benefits derived from this system, Parliament directed a report to be made of the quantities of goods warehoused, and of those remaining in the warehouses, at two distinct periods, the first, for the three years ending January 5, 1793;—the second, for the four years, ending January 5, 1803. The number of ports, and of the different kinds of merchandize, is so great, that we relinquish as impossible, the attempt to communicate an idea of the returns to our readers. Yet we shall, by way of specimen, select a few articles for their information, as stated for the port of London. E. gr. Of gum Arabic there was imported in 1790, 66 cwt.; in 1791, 45: 3:4; in 1792, 662: 3: 13; in 1799, 1,870; in 1800, 1,732: 3:4; in 1801, 4,699: 1:3; in 1802, 7,105 3: 4. This increase from 66 cwt. to 7,105, is truly deserving of notice for not a pound weight of it appears to have been exported. It must, therefore, have been employed and ex The port of London was the first, in which the experiment was made; and the advantages attending it induced government to establish warehouses at other principal ports of the kingdom, -they now are extant at Bristol, Ches ter, Colchester, Cowes, Dover, Exeter, Falmouth, Gloucester, Grimsby, Hull, Ipswich, Lancaster, Liverpool, London, Lynn, Newcastle, Newhaven, Plymouth,pended in the country: and as this gum is Portsmouth, Rochester, Southampton, Sunderland, Whitehaven, Yarmouth, in England; and at Aberdeen, Borrowstowness, Dumfries, Inverness, Leith, Montrose, Port Glasgow, Greenock, in Scotland. The articles allowed to be warehoused, are: Cocoa nuts, coffee, sugar, cotton wool, ginger, indigo, mahogany, molasses, pimen used in certain manufactories, the inference is, that those manufactories, by their enlargement, have demanded this immense increase. Or, if it be thought that new manufactories in which this gun is employed, have been established within these few years, the political inferences, to be drawn from this fact, remain unimpeached.. 1 have risen from 88,178 pieces, in 1790, to 360,851 in 1801, and 274,921 in 1802. The exportation for the latter year is 174,447. Gum Senegal has diminished from 628 cwt. in 1799, to 236 cwt. in 1901. Gum Tragacanth from 872 lbs. in 1799, is stated at 39,386 in 1801. This great supply probably precluded the necessity If we advert to articles of a different of importing the article the following kind, we observe, that the quantity of year; when the quantity marked is only cocoa, imported in 1790, was 1,804 cwt. 619. Another branch of this subject, is, 1:21; in 1791, it was 2,690, 3: 5; in the inquiry," with what were these ar- 1799, was 17,146, 3 : 6; in 1802, 8,232, ticles purchased?"-The answer will be, 2 23; and notwithstanding we deduct the "with British manufactures: and thus quantity exported, yet we find, that the this increase, hints at a corresponding in-home consumption of this article in the crease of the exportation, directed to the countries that furnished them. Other articles manifest a similar progress of rhubarb there were no imports from the East Indies, in the first period of years; in the latter the quantity has reached 278,476 lbs. Cinnamon is increased from 4,235 lbs. to nearly 500,000 in 1799; in 1801, to 280,666. But we must not suppose that every article is thus increased; by no means: the quantity of Bengal silk, for instance, which in 1790 was 314,154 lbs. ; in 1791, 444,358; and in 1792 was 424,836, was in 1792, 644,819; in 1800, 583,086; in 1801, was down to 351,825; and in 1802, was only 111,737. This, proba. bly, indicates a scarcity of production abroad; and we know, that this branch of our manufactures, at home, has been greatly distressed, for want of the material on which to labour. The cotton wool of India, imported in 1799, was 6,934,631 lbs. ; (in 1792 it was only 7 lbs.; in 1791-3472; in 1790, 434,823)-and in 1802, it is stated at 2,929,786. The probable cause of this diminution of import, is, that the West India cultivation of this plant has been improved; and that we now derive a supply from that part of our dominions. The exportation of East Indian cotton wool, however, has increased: and in 1801, was 174,793 lbs; in 1802, was 610,753. We are certain, that the increased excellence of British made muslins, has had an effect on those of India. The importation was in 1799, 444,852 pieces; in 1800, 377,239; in 1801, 221,586; in 1802, 114,908. The exportation of India-made muslins, has decreased from 384,701 in 1800, to 296,722 in 1901, and to 186,744 in 1802; yet, as if by way of proof, that such productions of the east, as cannot be well imitated in Britain, increase their sale, nankeens latter period nearly doubles that of the former period. Coffee, in 1790, is reported at 21,680 cwt.; in 1799, it is 191,006; in 1800, 348,822; in 1801, 450,250; in 1802, 337,077, and this vast addition to former importation was not diminished in 1807, which stands at 359,766 cwt. Nevertheless, this is not so wonderful, as the exportation of the article, which in spite of every proclamation of Buonaparte, amounted in Jan. 1808, to 327,097 cwt. In 1790, the exportation was only 8,682; in 1791, 12,852; in 1792, 22,956; from which time it has kept on increasing. Now this exportation must be to the Continent of Europe; since the demand is not in America, Asia, or Africa. The inference is, from this public document, besides what we know from private authority, that the smuggling smuggling" so heavily complained of by the French Minister of the Interior, is carried on extensively, and truly deserves the appellation he gives it of "the curse of French commerce." " Cortex Peruvianus is stated in 1804, at 53,708 lbs.; this importation has increased to78,027;-343,528; -1,026,598 in 1808. The natural inquiry is, what country produces this drug ?-the Spanish colonies. How is it, then, that notwithstanding we were at war with Spain, this importation has gradually (not suddenly, not by accident) attained such an immense accumulation? There must be some cause, founded in the nature of things, and beyond the controul of the great military despot, to which this surprising fact, must be ascribed. We ought also to add, that the exportation has increased from 24,901 in 1804, to 319,900 in 1808. We should not have suspected, had not these tables informed us of the fact, that that luxurious article the fig, had found its way in greater quantities lately than heretofore; yet, we find it imported in 1804 to the amount of 4,566 cwt.; in 1807 to 7,725; in 1808, 6,096 cwt. the exportation differing nothing worth notice. Currants and raisins are, however, something diminished as imports; which we are sorry to discover, as we are hearty friends to plum-pudding at Christmas; aye, and plum-porridge too,- when we can get it. That our grief need not to be immoderate, will appear, when we state that the importation of currants, in 1804, was 65,025 cwt.; in 1808, it was 58,819 ewt. but, the article raisins has declined full 50,000cwt. !-Alas! Alas! for how can we longer deny the inference of Mr. Alderman-in opposition to Mr. Spence, that Britain is not "independent of commerce "for raisins and ploms? Happily, we do not depend on importation for roast beef; and while we can obtain that, we shall console ourselves as king Louis, good man! consoles the broad-bottomed Dutchmen, that " we · must undergo some privations for the good of our country; but at a peaceyes, Mynheers, at a peace-if it happen in our time, we shall not be forgotten and then, "plum-pudding shall be the order of the day!" does not account for it. Are more foreign linens worn among us?-if so, let our Irish friends look well to the excellence and body of their fabric; this, their duty, will prove to be their interest. We might confess equal indecision in respect to various other articles; rhubarb is increased from 2,991 lbs. to 4,438; is this becomingadyeing drug?-To suppose that a greater quantity than formerly has been ordered in prescription-but we have no desire of libelling the faculty. Quicksilver is another inexplicable article. What operations performed in Britain demand quicksilver? But if the distant Spanish provinces, unable to obtain this mineral from Europe in ships belonging to their own nation, have been obliged to have recourse to the intervention of British ships for supply, then we see the mutual benefits derived from commerce to the Spanish main and the British West India islands. We have received from thence an immense quantity of Peruvian bark, and they have received from us, in 1804, 88,778; in 1806, 234,676, and in 1807, 633,480 lbs. of quicksilver. So that we may safely consider Spanish gold, as having been amalgamated with quicksilver furnished by Britain-in spite of war That the importation of bar iron is between the two countries-in spite of diminished from 20,000 tons to 10,000, Buonaparte, emperor and king though he we hope and trust is caused by improve- be! Our readers, will hence discover some of ments made in our own British produc- the reasons that irritate the mind of that tion; and if we be correct in our conjec honest and upright potentate, in his protesture, something of that nature is the true tations that he intends nothing but good to state of the case; for the exportation has the Spanish nation, by his pious design of increased as the importation has diminish- placing king Joe on the throne; and as to ed; for of 20,000 tons imported in 1804, separating a single colony from the mother only 3,160 were sent abroad; whereas of country, "he won't suffer any such thing: 10,000 tons imported in 1808, we could no, that he won't: "UNLESS HE CANspare 5,965 tons; so that we retained NOT HELP IT. Will the Spanish colonies but little more than 4,000 tons for our adhere to a country notoriously too weak own use. The advantages of science, to supply them with necessaries; or will when directed to manufactures, have never they take, such measures as may insure appeared more conspicuously than on the them the most beneficial and indispensa subject of our iron works; and we rejoice ble intercourse? Would Buonaparte, if in the thought, that for almost all pur-king in Mexico, Peru, or Terra Firma, poses of elegance as well as utility, Bri- abandon such a productive connection with tish iron may now vie with foreign; such Britain, for the profitless protection (proa fact, we deem, an instance of Na-tection !) of the nominal sovereign at Mational Independence. drid. He is not so foolish: neither are they so mad. In what light to view the importation of cambrics, increased from 20,000 demy. pieces to 40 000, we can scarcely tell; or, that of Flanders linen, advanced from 2,366 ells to 122,875. The exportation though increased from 465, to 20,780 We shall add a few articles in support of our inferences, and by way of directory to the sentiments of our friends. The East Indies has supplied cochineal in 1504, 200lbs.; in 1806, staple articles of our manufactures. We find, that cotton wool has been increased from 332,203lbs.; in 1804, to 534,486; in 1805, 642,125 in 1807; and no less than 1,189,692 in 1808. Of this, none was exported. The consumption of such quantities at home must mark a spread of manufactures, in some shape or other. Many other articles might be enume 6,207; in 1807, 10,268. This article is; in one sense, a new production in India; not that the insect is a new importation there, but that it has but lately become an object of European attention: and even at this day, it is not completely established, because the insect which yields the prime colour has not yet been naturalized in the country. The government has offered a premium for the in-rated, but this specimen appears to us to troduction of it. Compare Panorama, Vol. V. p. 160. Indigo may also be considered as a new article of importation from India. That country, it is true, has had the dye for ages, and there is every reason to believe that the name of the commodity is derived from the country but the increased production of it, and, we believe, the improved beauty of it, is but of late years. India furnished in 1804, 2,632,110lbs.,-in 1806, 4,666.292; in 1807, 2,612,181. A considerable quantity, this, of additional employment to the provinces engaged in the cultivation of this drug. The exportation from London has been somewhat more than half the quantity imported. - Pepper exhibits considerable fluctuation: the imports of it were in 1804, 7,607,440lbs.; in 1805, 2,730,186 in + 1806, 8,291,337; in 1807, 4,721,409. This last quantity might be thought to indicate a falling off in the article, did we not find that, after the deficient year 1803, a great quantity than before was brought over in 1806. These variations are, probably, not to be prevented; they may depend on the seasons, or on contingencies. Pepper was exported in the year 1804, to the surprising amount of 4,407,392lbs.: it has since gradually declined to less than half that quantity: the amount for 1807, being 1,924,754; for 1808, being 1,039,102. It is very likely that this commodity was one of those brought from the east by American vessels, and sent from America to the continent of Europe. That mean of supply is now cut off, by the still subsisting embargo. be sufficient, and as fair as any we couldselect. We are reminded by the number of pages already occupied, of the duty of abridgment. Most commodities imported fluctuate yearly, so that, to obtain any distinct perception of their quantities, we must compare distant intervals and several › years, together; for which purpose tables. like the present are of the greatest use, We cannnot advert to the other ports of this kingdom, particularly; but must content ourselves with stating, that, however some branches of trade may appear to have declined, yet that others have increased is beyond denial. Our readers will observe, that these tables do not express the value of the ar ticles they contain, but the quantity : so that no fallacy lurks behind the present price of any of them, which, oftentimes, is owing to the exigencies of circumstances, whereas the quantities, are bonâ fide the measure of production, and im portation, certainly; and of home consumption or exportation, probably, whatever be the nominal or real cash valuation of the commodity. We have reasons for believing that go vernment did not commit these tables to the press without some hesitation ; nor could the proper officers at first reconcile themselves to what they regarded as partaking of the nature of a disclosure of some of the means of strength, and the sinews of this kingdom. But, we presume to think, that Buonaparte can derive no very essential advantage in learning from authority, in what the trade of this country consists. We ourselves report monthly in our State of Trade and Prices Current, the names and value of many articles, without supposing that we convey an iota of information to the enemy. Whoever would put › that Usurper into the method of carrying on If we were to examine the imports at other places besides London, as Liverpool, for instance, we should, no doubt, find abundant occasion of remark. That port is well known to be favourably si-a commerce equally extended, in his own fuated for the reception and distribution ships, and of protecting the French flag of some of the materials for sundry in all parts of the world, would certainly 1 |