, 1876-08-01
HARD TIMES IN ENGLAND.
State Of Trade for the Last Six
Months.
Increased Export Of Cotton 0ooas...Do.
cline In Iron and steel Exports.

months show strong evidence Of tic pressure to
whlcl. otsr commerce Is snblertcd. There ID q
decrease both In exports md imports, nntl that
III exports IL tha larger, being VI pcr cent as
compared with per cent IN Imports. More-
over, the year 1876 was ont Of decline; 80 that
these figures Indicate a pro'ongntion nf TINT
general decline wh1cf, VIC layc l'atI 80
often tn notice. For much Of This, low
over, the puh|lc l.aTo been prepared. Tie
slaeknces OF business Ia 80 universal that almost
cycry class Is awuro Of It as II fact. It is the
degree In which tlis state Of things, already too
familiar to business mcn by personal experience,
may affect tho general sim OF our business cal
cIi]attons that tho public nre an5lols 10 ascer-
tain. How far uocs tho aggregate OF losscs III
particular branches Of business }udicosc a fur
tler decline In tho buaEncss Of The natona What
signs are there TINT the approach Of moro pros
porous timcs Is still to be postponcdf Taken
rs whole, the present returns
CANNOT IN THIS sRNsH he CONSIDERED uNsAr-
tsgACTORr.
II there IL little to show that VIC arc nearer
more prosperous scnsoli, there are many proofs
Tint tho heightened depression l,as not produced
general exhaustion. The country IL stfl nblc to
hear tile trial, prolonged and Befcrc thought he.
With this negative comfort VIC must bo content.
Tho healthy constitution ct our soncre!al sys. ,,
general gloom wiel. prevails fn all parts Q! tho
world To tItspcrsc. We suffer 1t Ii 1rle, hut not
oygantcafly, mud, therefore, we may fairly hopo
TINT when tho bcttcr times at last arrive Wc
shall l9 found holding Our former position with
tho additional advantage OF many lessons from
tic period Of university through which We hMyc
pnsEel: Wo have incroascd csldence Of com-
ncrelal difficulty on one hand, and Of reserve
merchants arc still holding te1r own, in spto Of
tho altered conditions Of business and the gen
cral stagnat!on Of trade. The pnEer Of resist
Ing the continued strain Is the hopeful feature
diminishing we look In yniil.
five turn from general conclusions to details,
tho surprising energy with which
TIE COTTON MANUFACTURE
l,as been maintained during tllu last two
years. There Is MI Increase both In quantity
ntltl value In yarn, and an tncrensc In quantity
In piece goods notwithstanding a STEADY decline
In price. The possibility 81 continuing tho
sotne extent explained by tho import returns Of
raw cotton, Which give AT increase for tl.e six
months in quantity, witl' reduction gt Il pr
the cost Of material, tho continued manufacture
for falling markets becomes inexp|cahlc;
and That Tits ia not merely tlsp result 1t res
olutlon to hold OH but indicates healthy cottll
tion Of tradr, thcopcnny Of EcW markets scens
to show. Our cotton tradu to Java and Tho
lust two years, md our cotton goods are Btill
sent tn all our great markets with evcr-inercas-
ing abundance. To al' uurts, Of the East VIC
continue to export these goo1s, in spite Of tho
Involves our tratle with India. The continued
expectation to Turkey may bc accounted for by
tho circumstances that Turkey Is still tho cute Of
many As!atc nattonalities. Even however,
though our customers may not be 1urkssh sub
jects, 1t will bo hardly possible for great trnn-
sit business to rulnail uninterrupted by the
crisis IN which tho Empire ls now involved. We
must therefore be prcpared for sonc check III this
withstanling ths falling III in some Of our trans
atlantic markets, has been 80 fur able to udapt
Itself to declining, prices, and 70 on with yigor
during lung peFiMi OF depression, ts striking
| evidences Of tho commanding position 1t hns at
| taiucl over thu whole world.
IN ALkALls AND IN COAL AND COKE
VIC have tho usual iniltcatlonB OF business act
| tlng tu new levels. There is slight dccrcaso
n value, considerable angnentation n quan-
tity, ntt this trStlsitton process Is still moru
visible In thu caao vi another important item Of
| export-lron n1tt steel. For tic six months
there Is a atlccllno In quantity OF . per cent, md
| in value Of 10 per rent. In the ,vnrtous goods
Of this description, from ono circumstance or
another, tho lower values have not .yct pro-
.lure.l sufficiently Increased demand to swell
the tutal Of 4uanttty., Tlls general cessation Of
railway construction III NAM, important coin-
tries Ii no sn,al item under th!s iicail III Gust
steaay imcrcaso on Inst year for tho half
year, und, though there Is sl!ght decrease for
the mouth as colnparcd With June, 1876, tilcrc
Ia an increase o. compared With tho previous
| year; hut, on the Other hand, thcru Is a largo
lccrCase lii value both for tho lla!f-year aud tho
mouth. Linen manufactures arc also sicsllntng,
hut their remarkable buoyancy lust year makes
ter semdparat'vefy Inferior no,t1en ts year
ucss ii shown MI through tllc Import returns,
| which give u decline OIL the hlp0rts 1T ra,f
material, tho tntal being principally maintained
by articles of consulnptton, such Us l,Qcon, hut
tnc1casc, It Will be. NOTICED, is grcatest IN the
cotl1nolicr articlcs OF consumption, while there
H. u decline In those articles the consumption,
Of which ,,s yaries wstt IIof more .IITos pTos-
| sugar, tea, and wIne. Thus there IS an Increase
or Is per ccnt for tho month in indian corn, Of
1is.7 per cent In potatoes, lecl!no i!l coffee OF
81 per cent, In s,.i.ar OF aA While the balance
of some ES, UO, ,OI In fayor Of imports Is strong
evidence OF tho DECLINE Ut exports
| AND or our TRADE ilENEnALLY,
1t need not occaston any apprehension " TO tl!o
condition Of foreign exchanEcs. There IL moth
cate any drain Of gold, md Of silver Me have
more tiian enough. On tho whole bullion re-
turn the excess of import over export remains
much M in previous ycars, anl the comparative
iS yenr o. inc or ~
before, tho sasnc evidence 1t continuous
progress. The Increase in tl'e coasting
trade y sont,1SIa III. 6 e as trss
Is duo to ninre restricted condition Of trade,
iealers preierring tho econou,lc system Of Bentl-
Ing goods ty coaating, Yesses to the costly and
more expeditions .nnio q o. railway conveyance. N
shipping both entered anu CLEARED In the coast
nE trntio continues to grow, a,ld In tilu forc1gn
trado tho decline which scemcsl to lIaye sot IL