The Sun.
London, England, 1851-03-08 00:00:00

BOARD OF TRADE RETURNS.

Prosperity is a thing which it will not do to be
always talking about. Something tulls us that boasting
is ominous of a check, and the mere love of change re-
volts from continual succ€ss. It is, then, from no choice
of our own that we find ourselves again and again pa-
rading the unsatisfactory state of our manufactures. and
commerce. There is a necessity, however, to state the
simple facts of the case in reply to the daily insinuations
heard to the contrary effect. Notwithstanding the
enormous and undeniable incresae iu exports and im-
porta,exbibiteti by the tiskams for theyearAs_o_, every
artifiCif neutfifisliT that 'M
and to ditert the attentibtr—o£ the ill-htftained to some
minute or accidental circumstance that seems to
tell the other way. It 15.shion has deserted ono
fabric for another, if the weason has not been pro-
pitious to flannels and furs, if a scanty crop of
cotton has to a certain extent stinted the manu-
facture, if there has been a strike, or if a correiponch nt
reports that on such a day the demand fur such an
article was less brisk than on that day wefk, there are
jctonals, and there are even statesmen, who are ready,
to congratulate the public on our boasted prosperity be-
ing 11'4 quite so real and universal as it was said to be.
Snch cavils, sometimes dropped in a parenthesis, some-
times blown into articles, show how deeply the present
state of our manufactures and commerce is felt in its
bearing on the question of " free trade." No subter-
fuge can avoid the conclusion that if we are export-
ing more than we ever exported, and importing more
than we ever imported, there must ba more em-
ploy ment and wages than ever ; while the vast
amount of imports entirely disposes of the hack-
flied ol.jection that our prosperity is limited to
only a portion of the community. With this importance
conceded on all sides to the returns of trade, we are
under the necessity of asking the attention of our readers
to their present results.
The returns published on Wednesday are for the month
ending Feb. 5, that is, for the first month of the year. To
begin with the articles of food entered for home consump-
tion. Coffee, which from various causes has lately suffered
a check, stands in this table at 2.890,468ib., against
2,848,2081 b. entered in the corresponding month of 1850.
Wheat stands 328,483 quarters, against 141,762 quar-
ters; wheat meal, 411,979 cwt., against 258,252 cwt.;
currants, 29,282 cwt., against 23,335 cwt.; lemons and
oranges, 69,159 chests, against 61,556 chests; butter,
21,449 cwt., against 14,446- cwt.; cheese, 28,738
cwt., against 23,506 cwt.; eggs, 6,127,555, against
4,868,384 ; ten, 4,619,857ib., against 4 216,280113 ;
wine, 614,522 against 511,000 gallons. In sugar and
tobacco there has been so slight a decrease that they
may be regarded as stationary, while in a few other
items, such as cocoa and spirits, there has been a fall-
ing off,, admitting of obvious sxplavation. But,
on the whole, the quantity and value of the
articles of fo d, of comfort and luxury, entered
during lust January were very cousittei ab:e. By this
time we necd scarcely remind our readers that this quan-
tity, being entered fur consumption, indicates the demand,
as a tradesman in the ordinary course of his business
replaces his stocks as fast as they are drawn on by his
customers. The articles we have mentioned are consumed,
if not all by all classes, at least by all departments of in-
dustry, by the agricultural as well as by the manufactur-
ing population, and when the increase is considerable it is
impossible that it should be owing to an increased de-
mand by only oae set of customers. Such, indeed, we
know not So be the case. There is, we are aware,
another solution attempted for these facts. It is partly
conceded that the agricultural labourer, as well as
the artisan, is living in unusual comfort ; but it is
alleged that while the artisan is earning his comforts
in a manner remunerative to his employers,
and thetefore likely to last for some while, the
labourer is, in fact, rk ceiving his si a species of gratuity
from his employer, for work which is not remunerative,
and which therefore cannot long be afforded. We are
not now going to discuss a theory which bears such
marks of being made for the occasion ; but we do not
assent to it.

-....._.... ._. ...
Among other articles of domestic, or manufacturing,
or agricultural use, we find 7,338 tons of guano imported,
against 1,358 tons in the first mouth of 1850; hemp,
36.259 cwt., against 28,424 cwt. ; hides, untanned,
42,888 cwt., against 24,715 cwt.; tanned, or otherwise
dressed, 322,0921 b., Against 82,1781 b. ; mahogany,
2,017 tons, against 1,075 tons; palm oil, 43,846 cwt.,
against 24,896 cwt.; raw ailk, 513,3381 b., against
467,5661 b.; sheep and lambs' wool, 3.611,9881 b., against
1,957,6321 b. These items all speak for themselves. l!
would be difficult to assign any limitation to theFni
__
ployment sad prosperity which so large an pupilawu
i
of raw materials certainly indicates.
our imports; that while we are generouslyittieVdug and
But it is alleged that our exports do not keep pace with
nd that thus
so generous as to take ours in return,
ot obiigations is turn-
consuming the produce of other countries; they are not
the balance of trade, or rather.t
is
said, must come,
ing against us. The Y
deep ini their books, and will
very that we stand very ' -
payment in the promptest and
soon or late, when our neidgaliboirs will make tho disco-
ver
demand prompt
hat
is, in all our silver
form—that
most available
such apprehensions are enter-
and gold. When
tained, it consolatory to find that our ex-
p-rts are
not so considerably in arrear— in fact,
tbheat a, r
conjecture, which is nearly all that can
()ts and exports are pretty much in
equilibrio. Here are some of our exports. We will con-
fine ourselves to the comparison of quantities, letting the
comparison of values ehine for the present. We find
the expert of soda 54,439 cwt., against 32,475 ewt. in
the corregpondiog month of last year; beer and ale,
17,543 barrels, against 14,316 barrels; candles, 234,7491 b.,
against 200,3731 b.; coals and culm, 171,421 tons, against
134,770 tons; cotton na.inulic ores, 114,000 000 yards,
against 94,000,000 yards ; earthenware, 5,977,163
pieces, against 5,060 628 pieces ; glass bottles,
24,610 cwt., against 19,401 cwt.; linen iatlnufactures,
10,882.437 yards, against- 9,349,865 ylim- i-- sewing
thread, 15010001 b., against 141,0001 h. ; linen yarn,
1,122,0001 b.. against 786,000ib.; pig-iron, 8,568 tons,
against 3.681 tons; bar, bolt, and rod iron, 32,177
i tons, against 30,281 tons; wrought iron of all kinds, 7,041
1 tom, Siting 6,4 Q tone. bilk OA handbag*, end

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ribands, 66 83!16., against 34,2781 b.; °lien mani
factures, 180,000 pieces, against 42,000 pie..
4,597,000 yards against 4,056,000 ards; and woolle..
'am, 6,122 cwt., against 4,591 cwt. As we said
-)ve, we omit the declared values of the several
s, but the total declared value of all the arti-
cles enumerated is 4,817,8701., against. 4,069,4311.,
making a difference of no less than 748,4391. in favour
the exports for January, 1851. This, we trust, will
abate the fears of those who tell ns we are consuming
faster than (Air ability to pay, and are not fairly earning
our bread. It is evident that as a whole we are doing a
great stroke of work, and, what is more, we have good
caAomers.—firnes.

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Alen