New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1873-08-02


from abroad. High prices in England are not
the sole or the principal reason why we have
bought less of her products than we were
buying year ago. Other countries DesioeS
ours are customers of England, but no cUun-
try has diminished les purchases or BRUSH
manufactures in anything like the proportion
that we have. And this falling Oil in the
American demand for English products CO.
exists with an English demand for American
products such as never has been surpassed
before. .r.l.L.I ...a....
Then. too, the prospects Of trade and manu-
factures in England are anything but brilliant.
Owing to labor troubles and the enormously
high price of coal the exports of British manu-
features are on the descending path. For two
wears the English harvest has been bad, anu
that of the present year can at best hardy
roach the average. SO intimate are the COM
mercial relations between England and America
that any disturbance in the one country Is
quickly felt in the other. The depression OF
our Western farmers has helped to check the
British export trade, and the misfortunes OF
the British manufacturer will, by another
wear. react on our export trade. NE have
been very fortunate in marketing the full
cotton crop of last year at excellent prices.
If our crop of this year be no larger than that
of 1872 we can hardly expect, in the present
state of business in England, to get last years
prices for it, In short, the bad state OF agrl-
culture in the United States and OF manufac-
turing in England are evil omens. 1t does
not help the matter to know that the small
profits of the farmer are owing to the fact
that too much wheat and corn have been
produced, and that the over production would
have been q more serious matter had it not
been for the large export demand caused by
the comparative failure of the English crops.
The fact remains that the farmers are poor,
and that no healthy condition of business can
be expected until the profits of agriculture
are once more on level with those of trade
and manufactures.
No one who carefully studies the progress Of
the country can have failed to remark that the
necessary remedial changes for our evils at
least, are becoming rapidly developed There
has been within the last three years an immense
influx of capital into manufacturing, and the
consequence is that the prices OF manufac-
tured goods are already declining. There was
last year an increase of about One-fifth IN the
consumption of anthracite coal, and the guam
tity mined in the seven months which have
elapsed of the current year is still in excess OF
the production Of 1879. There are unmlstakable
signs of the revival of ship7building in this
country, and we have already constructed on the
Delaware half a dozen iron ocean steamers which
would make good appearance alongside OF
the best ships which come to this port from
ha C1vda With the restoration of good gov
eminent in the South, and some limit to the
much abused debt-creating power of cities,
towns, and counties in the North with steady
persistent progress toward that much desired
contamination, a currency convertible into
gold at the will of the holder, and with the
present tariff and tax laws left just as they
are, this country may easily escape from its
present troubles and enter upon an era of
prosperity surprising anything it has expert
enced since the day of its independence.