The Express.
London, England, 1847-09-01 00:00:00

STATISTICS OF AUSTRIAN COMMERCE.

General attention has frequently been attracted of
late to the prosperous condition of the Austrian dominions,
by the efforts of the Trieste Lloyd's Company to accelerate
the conveyance of the Indian mail, and by the jealousy tad
alarm which the Parisian journalxhave expressed at the grow-
ing'power of this opponent to the old project of converting the
Mediterranean into a French lake. But apart from these
efforts, the value of Austria as a commercial ally is not suffi-
ciently estimated in this country.
Relying on the official Austrian documents, as far as they
are compiled (up to the year 1844), we propose to communi-
cate the result of our own inquiries, and some information
we have collected from a recent publication by Herr Ernest
von Schwartzer, one of the most able German writers on
political economy. In reference to the statistics of our own
mercantile affairs, few would be sufficiently disputatious to
question the superiority of the trade of England over that of
Austria; but we will endeavour to show, by comparison,
that Austria possesses something more than an ordinary
share in the commerce of the world; and that, by the
nature of its produce, our establishing a more intimate mer-
cantile intercourse with that country would conduce to a
mutual advantage.
The estimated value of the Austrian imports (for home
.on), and the export of its produce has increased

u follows

euPnoties of goods for their own private use. The second
'ha is the same as that adopted en the frontiers of other
countries. with the excericn that in Austria the custom-
house officers are so inadequately remunerated that they
cannot afford to be honest,. ern if
,they are q
tod
oted. Smuggling into Austru s also encouraged ty
the regulations of the Germanic confederation, which
permit the contrabandist to take goods out of bond,
and, under the supervision of an officer, to convey them
to any girt of the adjoining border, or to bring them
back again if he think tit so to do ; that is to say, if he finds
unable to cross the frontier without performing the
uspleaant operation of paying duty. In 1844, the value of
these smuggled goods—which consisted chiefly of coffee,
',qty.', spirit+, champagne, wine, English cotton
rob, French silica, camliries, cobras, embtoideries, Lyons
kasb, Paris bijouterie, &c.—wu estimated at 1,500,0001.,
which estimate is certainly rather below than above the
mark. So extensive is this trade, and its existence se gene•
sally recognised, that there are, what we may term, insurance
companies, who, for a consideration of from 5 to 30 per cent.,
according to the risk, will undertake to deliver the goods at
Prague, Vienna, or elsewhere, or to forfeit the value in de-
hilt thereof.
If we add the amount of this trade to the aggregate su=
of the general returns, we find that the foreign commerce of
Austria amounted—
In ISO, to
Which is little over IL a bead for the entire population
To compare this rerun with the foreign trade of rag
lend, we must addle the valuation of the commercial
afbirs of Great Britain and hybrid X131,000,0110
The amount of the Maids comment of British depen-
drones

£149,000,400
And deduct from the grand total the estimate of the
rode between England and our colonial presessions_ 40,000,000

There remains—the total value of the mercantile trans-
senses of the English empire with foreign countries,
carried on by • population of 130,000,000 of lnh•
bitants
About 16s. 9d. per head; a clear proof that, in fair propor•
tion, the foreign trade of Austria is not behind our own.
If we admit that there is some appearance of injus-
tice in dividing the amount of the English foreign
trade among the whole population of our colonies, when, in
point of fact, • considerable proportion can scarcely be said
to influence the returns at all, we must not forget that the
extent of our traffic is greatly enlarged by certain commodi-
ties, of which the alight estimation in the Austrian imports
only proves the greater affluence of that country in some
Etter...Bey articles, such as grains, Tines, lambswool, flax,
hemp, reed, silk, timber, cattle, &c.: and the want of taste
for some other articles—for instance' tea, which, with the
articles abure enumerated, forms half the value of our

imports.
In order the morn clearly to explain the nature of Austrian
commerce, we subjoin the following official return of the
quantity of goods imported into, exported from, or transited
through, the Austrian dominions.