The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1857-11-05
lsI.ANp on sIo1LY.

meIce 10 SlZ,ooV,uVUt anu tie HasiSadoh " ,4VV
ships, with aggregate Of 100000 tons. This
shows an increase in the population Of one cent,
while. the commerce fell off $4,000, with an in
crease in navigation of about seven per cent. in
ships and forty per cent. in tonnage VIZ
The commerce between Great Britain and Sicily
amounted in 1854 TO So, $50 0O0 and the navigation
under British flags 10 572 ships, measuring "a 900
tons in 1855 this commerce amounted to s. $4,000,
and the navigation to 657 ships, and 126, 900 tons.
The commerce between Great Britain and the Two
Sicilies therefore, remained nearly stationary but
the navigation increased fifteen per cent. in sAps
and fifty per cent. in tonnage. The commerce be-
tween France and Sicily in 1854 amounted to 81
lis 900, the navigation under French flags 10 1876
ships, measuring $4,000 tons in 1855 the commerce
amounted to S2,260O00, and the navigation to 275
ships with an aggregate OF 1876 900 TONS The navi-
CATION, therefore, increased foryseven per cent in
ships and about 240 per cent in tonnage, while the
commerce increased only six per cent.
With the United States the commerce of Sicily
amounted, in 1854 to ST. $4,000, and the navigation
under the United States flag to "a ships, measuring
81 900 tons. In 1855 the commerce amounted to
81 100000 the navigation to l23 ships, guaging
10000 TONS The commerce, therefore, fell off about
eighteen per cent, while the navigation increased
about thirty per cent. in ships and fifty per cent in
tonnage
The falling off in the general commerce was owing
partly to customhousc prohibitions, and partly to
defects in internal communication and postal inter-
course The increase of British navigation, and in
great measure, Also to the navigation of France,
A..
mercial purposes. Thus in 1854, q British steam
ers measuring aggregate of l4500 tons, entered
the ports of Messina and Palermo while in 1855 this
number increased to 81 steamers, with an aggre-
gate of % 600 tons. The defects of internal commu-
nication and of postal intercourse have long been
felt in Sicily. The interior traffic is carried on part
ly by beasts Of burden and partly by carts. For the
latter there but two trunk roads, running sever
ally from north to south on the eastern coast and
from the northwest point OF the island to the centre
of the eastern coast The length of these roads, in
Guiding their branches, is $50 miles, or only one
fourth moro than the circumference of the island.
Between Palermo and Messina which lie $50 miles
apart, there is trackless path about 80 miles in
length Palermo and Grgenti are connected only in
part by carriage road, and Girgenti and Marsala
are separated by 80 miles of trackess waste
The chief seats of commerce in the island of Sicily
are Messina and Catania, the eastern coast Cir
gent and Licata, on tho southern coast; MARSHA
and Trossani on the western coast and Palermo on
the northern coast. Of these Messna alone is free
port; from of the others can foreign goods be
exported, duty free, when unsold.
The history of Siciian commerce in the present
century embraces three unequal periods
first, that of RISE from 1900 to 1915 secondly, that
of decline from 1915 to 1874 and thirdly, that of
revival from 1874 to the present time. In 1874 the
population of Sicily, which had amounted in 1884 to
only l,95o,000 souls, had risen to 2050000 souls
whereas the foreign commerce, which had amounted
in 1884 to O65OO0O, had fallen in 1914 to $780,
600. Navigation under foreign flags remained sta
tonary as to ships, and advanced only fifth as to
tonnage and navigation while under the national
flag it fell off, between 1884 and 1874 fifth. both
in number of ships and tonnage. This general de-
cline of foreign commerce was owing to import du-
ties amounting to 80 per cent. nd ualorcm Oh manu-
features, and 60 per cent on what are denominated
colonial goods and these exorbitant duties not only
depressed lawful trade but encouraged Illicit COM
exorbitant character of tonnage duties on foreign
shipping, compared with similar duties on national
flag. The Sicilian government, which had at first
given England, France, and Spain reduction Of 10
per cent upon import duties for tho surrender of GER
tain commercial privileges afterwards gave the same
favor to its own flag. Injured by this concession,
the range of which extensive Sardinia Sweden
Austria, Russia, Holland, Belgium France, England
and the United States charged Sican merchandise
with differential duties, and Sicilian ships with
countervailng tonnage dues. Between 1916 and
lS4S the government of Sicily concluded reci-
procty treaties with all these countries by which
it was stipulated that no customs duties should
be charged upon goods, the produce of one
country, importation into the other, higher
than the duty charged upon goods of the same kind
imported from any other country, and that no ton
mage dues should be levied in either country upon
vessels Of the other which should not be equally i'm
posed upon national vessels. The conclusion of these
treaties led to the subsequent reduction of import
duties. In August, 1s45, the duties on coffee and
Goldfish were reduced about onc-haf and in April
1886, those manufactures in general were lowered
from Is to per cent The result was at once bene-
fetal The importation of coffee has increased near
ly 40 per cent cottons and woolIens 81 per cent