The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-05-22 00:00:00

IMPORTS AND EXPORTS DURING THE

LAST TWENTY YEARS.

At the meeting of the Statistical Society, held in
London on Tuesday evening, at Somerset House-
terrace (Dr. Guy, F.R.S., in the chair), a paper was
read by Mr. Stephen Bourne, F.S.S., on "The Pro-
gress of our Foreign Trade—lmports and Exports,
during the past T wenty Years." The paper, after stating
the authorities from which the figures and statistics
were gathered, went on to say that there were two
aspects in which the commerce of the kingdom might
be viewed, the one embracing all goods imported and
exported, including those brought to it for a market and
again carried abroad; the other excluding these,, and
showing only the foreign and colonial goods re-
tained and the British goods exported. The first might
be deemed the merchants' view, but the second was
the more important view to the political economists.
A number of tables were drawn out in the appendix
showing the gradual progress of our commerce under
the three heads of original imports, re-exports, and
retention for home consumption or manufacture, and
the total exports, divided into those of colonial
or foreign origin and those of home produce or
manufacture; the proportion of trade carried on,
both inwards and outwards, with the principal
countries of whom we are customers, and to whose
markets we send our productions, and the principal
articles of which our imports and exports exist.
After having reviewed a few of the most noticeable
points brought out by an inspection of the various
tables, the conclusions arrived at were enumerated by
the paper, which said that perhaps the most important
feature in the whole was to be found in the enormous
increase in the quantities and values of the food other
than that produced in our own country, which we
were able to purchase and consume —an increase
totally out of keeping with that which had taken
place in the population. The contrast between
the variations in price in different classes of food
was very marked. A very satisfactory indication
was furnished by the growing addition to our con-
sumption of the raw materials which form the staple
of our textile manufactures, and in the metals which
are so largely worked up and sent away as British
manufactures. Looking at the figures of the total
value of goods imported into and exported from
the United Kingdom in each year from 1854 to
1874' with the increase or decrease per cent.,
the paper remarked that the question arose, on the
face of them, whether the trade of the kingdom had
not received a decided check. In 1871 and 1872
it reached its highest points, and 1874 contrasted un-
favourably in every particular. Time alone would
show whether this was one of the cycles of compara-
tive stagnation from which we had so often suffered,
and we might indulge the hope that our prosperity,
not having yet reached its climax, would shortly
manifest as great a revival as we had of ten witnessed
before, and would in future years attain still further
results.

A discussion followed the reading of the paper, in
which Mr. Newmarch, F.R.S., pointed out the nume-
rous changes and revolutions which had taken place in
commerce during the last twenty years, and said that
he should have been prepared for still greater contrasts
between figures of the two periods than had been pre-
sented. Answering the questions at the conclusion of
Mr. Bourne's paper, Mr. Newmarch thought that the
collapse at present in trade would pass away as others
had done, and that we had a right as Englishmen to
congratulate ourselves upon the facts Mr. Bourne had
brought forward.
The discussion was continued by Mr. D. G. Kennelly,
F.R.G.S. ; the Chairman, Mr. R. Rawlinson, C. 8.,
Mr. Saunders, and others.