The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1847-12-07 00:00:00

1846. 1847.
101,600.. 195,646

154 823
19.231
242.442
9,010

103.095
261,848
274.324

17,781

Wheat (quarters) ..... 518,824.. 1,219,178.. 2,254.535
Barley do. .. . 310,564.. 2'.1`2.010.. 733,294
Oats do. .... 479,334.. 641.069.. 1,586,686
Other grain do. .... 179 342 .. 3117.7.28.. 528,798
In. corn, &e. do. .. .. 51.150 .. 479.202.. 3,412,546
WheAt meal &il )ur,evit..516,635 .. 2,657,660.. 6,098,777
liarl,oat.&,..yemeal,do 2,802.. 4,435 .. 817,803
Indian Inesi, &c. do.
..
Eggs (number).— .. 66,803,780 .. 63,218,905 .. 66,752,964

"We have thus had—and it accounts, in some mea-
sure at least, for the present disastrous condition of
the country's finances—an enormous increase of every
description of importable food, with nearly a suffi-
ciency, of which, in ordinary years, our own country

ias supplied us ; and it must be borne in mind
that, for the bulk of it, we have been paying inor-
dinate prices, more, in some instances, than double

those of ordinary years, and, at least double the
prices for which it is at present marketable. We
must give, however, a further list of articles of im
port which are not such as enter into competition
with and supersede those of home growth, although
they belong to the category of those which have
been cheapened, and their increased importation
encouraged, by our free trade policy :

1845.
3,242,181

Cocoa (lbs.)
Coffee, British &
_ foreign (lbs.)

1846. 1847.
2,030,436.. 4,161,465

37,203,832 .. 40,814,635 .. 39,473,936

A'ugar, ol.s Z r fi);

Unrefined (e-w...tsj 4.754,614 .. 4,751.973 .. 6,976.067
Refined (do ) 2G2.174 .. 72,236 .. 68,975
Molasses (do ) 464,523.. 443,589.. 795,133
Tea (lbs.)
How have we paid for the above overwhelming
imports ? In the first place, we have, in a great
measure, exhausted our coffers of gold to meet the
drain upon us. In the next place, we believe it
will be found that the foreigner, who has supplied
us with such gold, has taken in exchange our na-
tional and other securities at depreciated rates.
For we find that the exports, which we were told
were to have balanced our purchases of foreign
food, however large they might be, have diminished
during the three years in question. We give the
declared value of exports to the sth Nov. from
the same return :

Total amount of the principal articles of British produce
and manufactures exported, to the sth of November,
in the three years
1845.
£45,618,482 .. £43,415,770 .. £43,264,653

There was, therefore, a falling off in the exports
in 1847 over those of 1846 of £151,117; and over
those of 1845, of £2,353,829. Amongst the items
in the above ,gross amount, the following articles,
embracing a large amount of labour and manufac-
turing skill, appear to have fallen off the most seri-
ously :—viz.,

1845. 1846. 1847.
X. X. X.
Mame ictu'd Cottons 16,272,491.. 14,808,394.. 14,650,649
Co ton Yarn . 5,977,378.. 6,802,391.. 5,029,171
Ivianufaetu'd Linens. 2,511,976.. 2,276,518.. 2,452,110
Yarn ditto
Wool, Sh'p's Sc L'bs' 491,593.. 286,347.. 237,742
Woollen Yarn .... . 925,862.. 781,688.. 864,202
Ditto Manufactured. 6,687,544.. 5,436,650.. 5,982,785

£33,772,727 £31,079,667 £29,770,625

In these articles, then, we find a gradual declen-
sion in the three years; the decrease being, in 1846,
£2,693,060 as compared with the Exports of 1845;
and in 1847, no less than £4,002,102 as compared
with the Exports of 1845. Consolatory indeed
for the British Manufacturer ! The larger decrease
above shown in British manufactured goods, as
compared with the total decrease in our Exports,
is balanced by an increase of £1,232,856 under the
heads of iron and steel, copper and brass and
lead; and an increase to a limited amount in silk
manufactures, salt, and other articles. We may
observe, that we have omitted, on both sides of
the account. several items of minor importance, in
which, although the per tentage of loss and gain
is great, and tells for us, the result; as to amount,
is not material.

As contrasted with the largely increased amount
of our imports of food, it is startling to observe to
what a limited extent we have been importing the
raw materials of manufacture, required to employ
our industrious community, and to enable us to
pay for that food in manufactured commodities.
_ll,Te give from the same returns the

. •
Imports of raw materials of manufacture for the three
years, from the Ist of January to the sth November in
1845. 1846. 1847.
Cotton (cwts.`,... 5,648,599.. 3,990,411 .. 3,757,462
Flax or tow (cwts.) 1,212,7`27.. 930,110 .. 879,206
Hemp (cwts.)... .. 702,330.. 677,002.. 629,403
Silk, raw (1b5.).... 3,493,675.. 3,670,306.. 3,341,889

„ waste (cwts.)
, thrown (lbs.)
Wool, sheep and

12,134
385,525

7,027
316,660

8,222
233,146

lambs' (cvits.).. 65,216,613 .. 55,538,498 .. 50,706,976
It is obvious from the above that we have not
been providing ourselves with the means of pre-
paring for that influx of orders from foreign coun-
tries for manufactured commodities which, although
we have not as yet received them—our bullion being
regarded by the foreigner as a preferable commodity
to our goods—we are assured must ultimately come.
If we are to become large exporters ; if we are ever
fully to provide for the wants of our own popula-
tion ; if our mills are to resume at an early period
their wonted activity, and the manufacturing in-
dustry of the country to be fully employed, we
shall have to rush into all the markets of the world
for raw materials, and thus to make up for any
abatement of the drain of specie from us, which
may be anticipated from a cessation of food im-
ports, by immensely increased imports of these
staples of our manufactures. We must have cotton,
wool, flax, &c, before we can be enabled to pay off
the balance of trade which is against us, and bring
the exchanges decidedly in our favour ; and, in the
meantime, we cannot look for the return of any
large amount of bullion to the country. unless
tempted here by the depreciated price at which we
are willing to part with our goods on hand, and
our public and private securit
A few

terns in the return before us are worthy
>f observation, as tending to skew that neither the

mufac

minister who

...d national revenue, has much right
ny great portion of our present diffi-
_

ant of active consumption in the
which has obviously been the best