The Sun.
London, England, 1854-08-29 00:00:00

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The productive powers of the Russians are yet small,
hence they have not much to exchange with foreigners.
The population of the United Kingdom numbers about
29,000,000, and sends abroad; in exchange for foreign
commodities, British produce to an amount which can-
not now be stated at a value less than 90,000,0001.
sterling, or more than 60s. per head per annum. The
French people, numbering 36 millions, annually ex-
change a similar value of nearly 60,000,0001., or about
335. per head. The 62,000,000 of the Russian people
export produce to the amount, at most, of 14,000,0001.
a year ; say 4s. 2d. per bead. In other words, their
foreign commerce, in relation to their numbers, is about
one-eighth of that of France, -and about one-fifteenth of
that of the United Kingdom.
Its nature is exactly such as its amount would indicate.
While we export manufactured produce almost entirely,
and the exports of our Frgneli neighbours are also largely
of the same nature, the exports of Russia are, with
'scarcely an exception, of raw produce.
The value of the principal exports from European Russia,
in the years 1847 and.lB4B; were—Grain and flour ; 1847,
11,205,6251.; 1848, 3;418,6911. Tallow, 1847, 2,332,7711.;
1848. 2,352,726/. Flax, 1847, 1,439,159/. ; 1848,
1,445,567/. Linseed, 1847, 1,398,966/. ; 1848,
1,186,116/. Hemp, 1847, 1,199,400/. ; 1848, 113,039/.
Wool, 1847, 667,9911. ; 1848, 343,5171. Timber, 1847,
593,2091.; 1848, 339,1681. Bristles, 1847, 281,845/. ;
1843, 341,2961. The accounts for 1848 may be taken to
represent nearly the ordinary state of trade, and that of
1847 to show how it is liable to be altered by a large and
sudden demand for corn: -

The value of the principal imports into European
Russia were in-thesame years .—Sugar, coffee, tobacco,
wine and fruit, 1847. 3.257,876/. ; 1848, 3,388,689/. ;
salt, 1847, 840,5161.; 1843, 361,9131. ; textile manu•
factures, 1847, 1.121 685/. ; 1848, 956,147/, ; textile
materials, 1347, 3,502,909/. ; 1848, 3,820,1551.
Speaking in general terms, it may be sail that the
peasantry produce the exports, and the nobles and the
higher class of burghers consume the imports.
It appears that the Russian ships seen in our ports
fOrm scarcely 2 per cent. of the whole; or, in other
words, taking all vessels at an average size, about one in
fifty only are Russian.
The capital embarked in the conduct of the trade be-
tween the United Kingdom and Russia is well known to
belong almost wholly to Britii4h subjects. England, how-
ever, in this instance, only acts upon a rule sufficiently
common to be applicable, more or less, to every nation
with which she has dealings.

Of the Russian tariff, I need scarcely say more than
that it is so framed as to keep out almost all our manu-
factures, except at such prices, duty paid, as prevent
their use by any class below that of the nobles, who, as
they travel much, and are accustomed to all the arts and
conveniences of civilised life in use among the corres-
in England and France, habitually draw pouding classes
from these countries the means of supplying them. To
the Russian people, as a body, the manufactures of other
countries are yet almost unknown.
What sort of customers for our produce we have
hitherto had in the Russian people may he gathered from
the following account of their purchases during the last
seven years :—The average of the declared value of
British exports to Russia during the last seven years was
1,557,9261., whilst, to all the world, the average value
for the same period was 65,281,169/.
It wid be observed that, while the declared value of
our exports of British produce to all the world has in-
creased from 57,000,000/, sterling at the beginning of
this period to 78,000,0001. at the end of it, the value of
what has been sent to Russia has fallen off with similar
regularity, and in • much larger proportion. But, as-
suming that this diminution may possibly have arisen
from causes of a temporary character, and taking, as a
broader and safer ground of comparison, the average of
each column for the whole seven years, we find that the
Russian demand for British produce is only about 2 1-3
per cent. of the whole ; or, in other words, that of every
1001. worth of goods we turned out for exportation dur-
ing the seven years in view, Russia bought only to the
value of about 2/. 6s.

The real extent of the trade between this country and
Russia, however, is greater than can be exhibited in any
accounts yet extant in either country. On the one
hand, much of what Russia obtains from other countries
is paid for in Russian produce sent to this country, and
balanced by British produce sent either directly to the
country which thus becomes our creditor, or elsewhere
to meet bills drawn by us in favour of the creditor
rnet the
d eunderother
imported
fhand, m
otheru much he
countries
ttherie s tirnotpoi
Russiaand
country.
other produce piopr O
olduoce
British orders and in British
vessels. From two-fifths to one-half of the vessels en-
tering Russian ports before the war broke out were
British—and, notwithstanding the restrictions placed by
the Government of St. Petersburg upon the action of
foreigners as merchants in Russian ports, it is well
known that the foreign trade of the country is almost
entirely in the hands of foreigners, among whom our
fellow-subjects. are, and have long been, by much the
most numerous. ,
The following
figures show the comparative im-
portance of the principal articles of Russian produce in
the English market ;
Articles imported from Russia into the 'United King-
dom, in ; 1850, quantities so large as to constitute one-
tenth of the total importation of each were :—Bristles,
2,305,685 lbs ; wheat, 3,738,995 qrs. ; oats, 1,154,473
qrs. ; flax, 1,822,918 cwts. ; hemp, 1,048,635 cwts. ;
iron, 34,066 tons ; linen goods, 6,7501. ; linseed and
flax. seed, 603,984 qrs. ; tallow, 1,240,645 cwts. ; tar,
12,097 lasts:
From the southern ports we receive little besides
wheat, aril io-ine linseed, with small quantities of tallow
and wool. From the northern ports we receive the
larger quantity of linseed, some wheat, and a supply of
oats nearly equal to one-third of our average animal im-
portations— and flax, hemp, tallow, tar, and bristles in
quantities so large as to form the chief part of our
foreign supply of each. -•
To the six important articles, grain, hemp, flax,
tallow, bristles, and linseed, of which the Russian
supply has hitherto formed more than half of all we,
have usually imported, it is necessary to give more par-
ticular attention.
It appears that, upon an average of the last seven
years, about 14 .per cent. of our total imports of grain,
meal, and flour has come from Russia, of which about 8
per cent. came front the ports in the Black Sea, and the
remaining 6 per cent. from the northern ports.
In the first seven years we obtained from Russia about
62 per cent. of our whole supply of undressed hemp, and,
in the last seven years only about 62 per cent.--showing
that, while tie have increased our imports in the pro-
portion of 11 to 6, we have reduced the proportions of
the total supply for which we are dependent on Russia
in the proportion of 7 to 6.
The average annual importation of flax from Russia,
which, m the three years 1841-2-3 was 967,000 cwts.,
had increased in 1851-2.3 to an average of 1,018,000
cwts,, or by less than 5 per cent. And the quantity
imported from other countries increased, in the same
period, from an average of 342,000 to one of 477,000
ewts., or by nearly 40 per cent., an indication of the
fertility of other sources of foreign flax, which the pre-
seht high prices cannot but tend further to develops.
"Xile whole quantity of tallow imported from Russia, in
. :