Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1857-02-20
Torelrn Commerce.

Foreign Commerce.
The Secretary of State communicates to botn
Houses of Congress on Wednesday last bis annual
report under the laws of 1842 and 1856, on the com
mercial relations of the United States with Foreign
Nations for the year ending Sept 80, 1856. with the
following letter
DEPARTMENT OF STATE, d
February q, 1857.
Sir In compliance with the acts of August 16,
1912, and August 1S. 1856, have the honor TO com
muncate herewith report of the commercial rela-
tons of the United States with foreign nations for
the year ending September 80, 1856. ..
In The report which had The honor 10 comnunl.
Gale for the year ending September 80, 1855, it was
stated that but three attempts had been made TO com
DIV with the acquisitions of the act of 1S42-the
frst by Mr. Secretary Webster in 1912, the second
by MI Secretary Upshur in 1843 and the third and
asst by Mr.. Secretary Calhoun in 1874. The recon-
mendation of Mr.. Webster, in transmitting TO Con-
gress the first of these reports. tina the work should
be entrusted TO person. under the direction of the
Department, who should arrange and condense in
formation on commercial subject from time to time
it should be received, and should have charge OF
the correspondence these subjects with agents OF
The Government abroad, also referred to. and to
the fact that no action of Congress with reference to
that recommendation had been had. we'll as to the
failure of thu Department of State TO receive reliable
information FROM abroad for the reports required
was attributed the ult that the law of 1912 had
lain imperative for period OF nearly eleven years.
! The law itself was restricted in its requirements ;
there penalty for the neglect of coneHIs to
lurnish the requisite information and there no
provision for the preparation of such information as
might be furnished for transmission TO Congress
To obviae these obstacles, bill WAS reported to
each House of Congress by its respective Committee
on Commerce, at the last session, and became law
and the ''Stastical Office of the Department of State,
which had been organized two ears before for the
preparation OF general report on the commercial re
lations of the United Mates with foreign nations, In
answer to resolution of the House of Representa-
tives, by thai law placed permanent basis.
The general report referred to communicated
to tt House last March, and order ed to he print
ed IN quarto form, under the direction of this De-
partment II Is a volumnous work, aud the labor OF
conducting ii through the pIess has prevented the
StatiststcaI Office from bestowing that degree of
elaboration upon the annual report. herewith trans
mitted that had been designed. The first part of
that general report, entitled Commercial Digests,
has already appeared the second part, devoted 10
Comparative Tariffs" and the third part, entitled
Consular Returns embracing answers of Uninted
States Consuls circulars issued from this Depart.
ment October 8, 1853, and March Is, 1854 wi fol-
| low
This work embracesa view of the commercial rela-
lions of the United States with all foreign nations for
a period of Ten Twelve years, aud constitutes body
of commercial information from which may most ad.
vantage usy be continued the annual reports required
by the act OF 1912, rendered operative by that oil
1856 The benefits anticipated from this latter act
are clearly sci forth in the report of the Committee
on Commerce OF tie House, accompanying the bill.
AS measure of economy, not less than OF ability
the accompany ing bill recommends itself for consd
Grafton. If this bill becomes law, years will elapse
before another appropriation of ten or fifteen thousand
dollars will be requisite for the preparation of doc
ument SO elaborate and comprehensive the com
mercal report recently transmitted to this House, moi
to consider the far greater requisite for It's pub
icaon inasmuch as the annual port each session
OF Congress will, from year TO year, embody all thu
information desirable to be made public, and obvatt
it's unnecessary accumulation, heretofore unavoida
BILE, IN The bureaus of the Department
With this general report as starting point, the
, object conemp'a ted by the act of 1912 be Oh
taned and the cham of commercial intelligence from
abroad can easily be kept up by means of the annua
links proposed, even the chain of commercial IN
! tehgence al home is now kept up and for more thar
thirty years has been kept up by the annual repor
of the Register of the Treasury Commerce ant
Navigaton.' Foreign commerce-the commerce o
foreign nations with all others, and its regulations
peculiarly the province of that department of Gov
l. eminent charged with foreign affairs and the direc
d tiOn of consular and diplomatic agents abroad Do
o mestlc commerce-the commerce of the United State
a with all other nations and lts egulatlonss the pro
y vince OF that department charged with revenue an
If the direction OF officers entrusted with it's collection
"a and an annual report from the Foreign Office for
It egn commerce seems scarcely less important than
y annual report from the Finance Office on domesti
h commerce. And if-these annual reports toreig
It commerce being regularly issued year after year, wit
=, the same uniformity those on domestic commerce
l. general report either subject should be deeme
advisable at intervals of ten twelve years, it coul
= be readily prepared from reliable and we'll digesle
= materials, amassed in the ten annual reports imme
= dlatey preceding, in the same Office. by the sam
!. hands perhaps, and at but nconsderable extra ez
= !, pense."
u The interests of commerce can be viewed as SEE
IL ondary to none, and scarcely be fostered with
II care too seduous No effort has been spared durin
the last three four years to procure commerce.
information of value from abroad, and 10 it
'e re laid before Congress and the country in lrope
form and IT is believed that, if the recent Iegisato
with that view duly enforced, and the ''Regu,s
IN lions for Consuls recently issued from this Depar
it men so far they require the transmission of con
ic mercia information, faithfully Observed ever
ID thing requisite in this regard will be found 10 bav
been done, and the results will prove of lasting benz
d lit to the country and to commerce.
- | have the honor to be, sir, very respectful
T. your cbedien servant. w. l.. MARCY.
H. Hon n. P BANKS,
IN Speaker of the House of Representatives.
SOME ACCOUNT OF THE CAMEL MIR. A. Ra
Chief of Camel Department, u 5, A, has favore
US with an interesting account of The habits of tt
bo camel. from which make the following extract:
- Food, 9c.-The camel appears to eat whatever v
:. geation the earth produces he loves to gather h
~ own food and will then eat almost everything.