The Sun.
London, England, 1845-07-29 00:00:00

GERMAN CUSTOMS UNION.

The Courrier Francais contains an article on the German
Customs Union, from which we extract the following statistical
details, as possessing interest:—
" The financial results obtained by the Zollverein deserve
special notice. From 54,434,000 f. in 1834, the gross re-
ceipts have risen to 95,121,000 f. in 1843, and the net receipts
from 45,671,000 f. to 86,705,000 f., showing an advance of
75 per cent. for the former,' and 85 per cent. for the latter.
The average amount of customs produce, per inhabitant,
has risen from If. 94c. to 3f. 11c. The most remarkable
result, in a financial point of view, is the reduction in the
expenses of collection. In Prussia those charges, from 1818
to 1828, were estimated at 21 per cent. on the gross receipts.
In the Bavaro-Wirtemberg Union they exceeded 44 per cent. ;
they are now reduced to 9 per cent. This extraordinary di-
minution must b s more particularly attributed to the reduction
of the extent of the customs lines. Before the union, Prussia,
Bavaria, Wirtemberg, and the two Hesses had 15,000 kilo.
metres of frontiers ; now the frontiers of the entire Zollverein,
from the increased compactness of the whole, are reduced to 7,500
kilometres. The economical results must also be regarded
as very satisfactory. The extension of market has given
an extraordinary impulse to certain manufactures, particularly
that of cotton and silk goods. In 1834 the Zollverein received
13,000,000 kilos. of cotton yarn, and in 1843 it imported
22,500,0 0 kilos. During the same period the imports of raw
cotton rose from 7,000,000 f. to 19,500,000 f., whilst the im-
ports of foreign cotton goods decreased from 800,000 kilos. to
450,000 kilos. The imports of raw silk increased from
319,000 kilos. in 1837, to 700,000 kilos. in 1843, and that
of dyed or bleached silk from 76,000 kilos. to 100,000
kilos. The principal sale of manufactured silk has been
found in foreign markets, a third only having been used at
home. The consumption of tropical produce, which gene-
rally indicates the degree of prosperity enjoyed by the in-
habitants, has increased in a greater ratio than the produc-
tion itself. - In 1835 the Zollverein received 46,000,000 kilos.
of raw sugar for refining, and 22,500,000 kilos. of coffee; it
received 60,000,000 kilos. of beet-root sugar manufactnred
at home, and 38,000,000 kilos. of coffee. During the same
period the increase in the population was only 18 per cent.
The hardware trade has, of all the other native trades of the
Zollverein, prospered the most; in 1834, the export of ma-
nufactured goods was only 475,000 kilometres, whilst in 1843
it reached 1,245,000 kilometres. The foreign trade of the
Zollverein, for the period of five years, from 1837 to 1841,
gave an annual average of 619,683,764 f. for imports, and
631,547,264 f. for exports, making together 1,251,547,264 f. At
the present time it is estimated at the sum of 1,400,000,000 f.,
or about two-thirds of our foreign trade. The Zollverein
may thus be ranked in the third class amongst the commercial
powers of, Europe. The extension of commercial relations
resulting from the constitution of the Customs Union called for
an extended system of communication, and the Germans have
not lost much time in discussions on this subject. In 1836
Prussia had not a kilometre of railroad ; at the end of 1844
the extent of railroads in Germany was 2,434 kilometres (1,520
English miles), including those of Austria and the maritime
states. Berlin communicates with Frankfort and Stettin; the
three great commercial centres—Dresden, Leipsic, and Magde-
burg, are, as it were, at each other's gate ; Munich is joined
to Augsburgh ; Nuremberg to Furth ; Elberfeld to Dussel-
dorf. During 1844, 10,000,000 passengers and 700,000 kilo-
grammes of merchandise passed over the German railroads,
giving a receipt of about 29,000,000 f."