Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1854-03-25
NATIONAL INTELLIGENCER.
FRoMOURL0NDo ON CORRESPONDENT.
LONDON, MARCH 2, 1854

LONDON, NAhCH lcUf.
This week has not so far afforded any political
news OF Importance, and therefore it is convenient
opportunity to refer to those great British interests
which Gas appears to us) the now inevitable war
threatens to interfere with and derange. '..
The British trade with Russia is of "a very pecu-
liar description As market for exports its i'm
porance is of very trivial character as we showed
last week but respects imports it is one of the
largest markets with which England is connected,
the balance between exports and imports being of
course paid with cash. Further, the private capt.
tai of russian exporting merchants is very small,
when compared with the extent and amount Of their
transactions has, therefore long been the practice for
the Russian houses in London to make large advances to
their agents in ST. Petersburgh to enable them to make
purchases the interior for shipment at the ports These
ports are open generally speaking, from early in May
till the beginning of November and closed By ice during
the Of the year. The Russian trade is therefore Of
only six months annual continuance.
The articles received from Russia produced very
far up tae interior of the country and the transit the
place of shipment well the collection for shipment
take place during the winter being then rendered more
easy By the The native dealers in Russia there
FORE supplied with British capital proceed annually in
the autumn thousands Of miles into the interior to
purchase these goods in order to have them ready at the
shipping port at the breaking of the ice We will add
that it IS greatly to the credit of those Russian native
merchants who receive these large advances without any
other security than their personal honor and credit that
there has scarcely occurred in which that conf
dence has been abused. From the month Of November,
therefore, until the succeeding May in every year, the
Russian houses in London have usually been under large
advances to Russia SO in like manner the of the
trade has caused great amount Of British shipping to
be employed in the Baltic during the summer which has
SON oh otbt tha nte We
understand what was the position Of England
spec its trade with Russia when the Principaties were
invaded last May and when according to the opinion Of
our belligereRt friends, belh was established
Persons largely engaged in the Russian trade say that at
that time hsre at least 600 Of British capital
either in cash under acceptance in Russia and there
were also many hundreds of British vessels manned by
thousands of British Sailors engaged in trade with Rus
sia large portion of which in Russian waters and
Russian ports. war had taken place then, what would
have been the fate of this et000O00 of British capital
and of these British ships and Sailors As it's the time
spent in diplomacy has brought all these latter safe into
British ports laden with the produce for which the money
advanced the profits of which have been secured
British merchants by the delay instead of loss and pro-
badly ruin having been caused by basty proceed
ngs. We know from the circulars Of the Russian mer-
chants IN London that the usual advances have been with
held from Russia this year. and of Russian agents
have not been commissioned this year purchase aow
and hemp and fax the consequence, therefore, is that
in Russia the price of these articles has materially fallen
which has caused inconsderable inconvenience and
loss to the Russian producers This loss will be runous
them il only be temporary Inconvenience the
British consumer. We will briefly state what probably
will be tie and extent Of that inconvenience Eng
land imports from Russia grain alow nseed, and fax
seed, brstles fax hemp, WOOL ron copper and timber
1t will be observed that all these articles either the
produce of the rudest agriculture spontaneously
afforded by the earth, and be obtained from many
Authenticated and thinly-populated countries. The Uni
ted States and British America will, whenever rise in
price makes it advantageous to them to do So engage in
the production of oil the articles which England
ceiyes from Russia. But we will resort to figures to
show what was the extent Of this trade during the
last year.