The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-02-24
THE DECAY or BRITISH TRADE.

London, Jan. 2l.-The Board of Trade re-
tnrns for the Uri'ed Kingdom, for 1917, have
Just been made pnblic, and are creatlng an uh. |
usual interest. For few years past imports
have been growing in an astonishing manner
and exports have been as steadily diminishing.
The adverse balance Of trade-iarge enough IN
ordinary times-has assumed suoh magnihcent
proportions as to create universal alarm, ana
every one is earnestly asking the causes OF IL,
and when things are likely to change lor the
better. An unfavorabe trade balance is no new
experience for Great Britain but it's enormous
increase in the past few years is what causes
alarm. Before ls72 this balance had oeen
about SE15 600. 900 yearly in 1877 1t was ~
least S726 OO0, 900 1t presents gloomy pictnre
of the state of British trade. and no one seems
able to extract any comfort from TIE ngoFee VI
the Board of Trade returns.
The mere fact of an adverse trade balance 10
not of itself certain proof that the country 10
living upon its capital. English capitalists nave
large inves tmenss In ali parts VI tne ~oIiu, Snu
the returns from these sources are enormous.
She can afford to buy more merchandise than
she sells, and. unless her purchases are sum
ciently large to equal both her exports and her
profits from foreign Investments she Is still on
the safe side. There are some indications tnat
this limit has really been passed, and c6iet
| among these is the fact that the country lost
gold largely by export last year: Doring the
last six teen years the export of s Did has bnt
once be fore been larger than the import. In
1872 the export of gold was Sc 100000 greater
than the import, but in all the other ysars the
excess upon the other side. Last year yea
there was a sudden change of figures. The
export of gold bullion and specie was . loi,-
SOC $50 and the imports only SU,2o9,o2',
showing q loss of S2i, ,547, ,;}O5.
Daring the prosperous years that followed
| the close of our civil war, Englands trade III
creased rapidly, and the people more and more
as their trade grew larger, turned their sttoa-
tion to manufacturing, and gave coErespch1-
ingly less attention to the producing OF iood;
| III 1872 their prosperity was at hood toe, aha
their adverse balance was thai year less than 1t
had been before since 1859. In 1873 came our
| financial crisis in the United States 1t forced
our people to the practice OF economy
| wages were soon largely reduced. and our
purchases from foreign countries were
| much less than before, In 1872 we bought
British and Irish produce to the value
to the amount of cnly about $Si .00O, 900. A
few years ago were England's best custom
or by handsome amount we are not SO now,
though there is nothing to regret IN the faot
| other countries are really only reshl lpmcnts,
and the figures l give above are for brlten
products exclusively This loss OF custom II, ls
most se verely felt here. But we have not only
| diminished our purchases; We have also dis-
covered that we have greater resources, great
or facilities and probably more skilfnl hands
than the mother country, and have concluded
that We mi eht q ute as well manufacture goods
for EnSland as to have England manufacture
| them for In other " ords we have not only
begun to supply ourselves, but have actually
| become lively rlpetitors for Eug!and's foreign
| trade in otIer CounIits than oar own. ihat
largely accounts for the decline of TRADE 'n
supplying their own wants and those "i t"elr
nei 2 hGots more than in years past,
The trade Of G-eat Britain is most seriously
on the wane. Iue depressi IN winch has pre-
waited iu nnv own country was little felt here
uutl IN Is = but has become worry serious
now. The building trades alone show some
activity everything else langulshes. 19e
iron ana coal trades seem to sth-r most lu
world reno oHned Sheffield, NO many w"rkmeu
are ont of employment, and b mach suherlnG
prevails in consequenc that n'u'ost daily tn'
ID,
The re lief com mi ttee there has become one oi
the most important bodies IN the place. IL
Stalordshre the distress among those Wh'
are out of work ID also attracting the notice o
the whole country. In Wales the distress II
t widespread and terrible in the coal and iroL
districts. Cases of starvation are plenty, aac
9 it looks as though there were British interest
= close at homo needing quite as much attention
Q as any in the vicinity of fConstantinople;
In competing for the trade of the world Et 6
J. land has one very great disadvantage. Foo'
q ia hig her than in any other European country
70 aad fully twice high as in the Unite
t s. ntss. Even coa', of which there Ia so muc
o in EnRland, is at least 81 80 higher in Londo
s than III New York. High priced food is oeE
tainly not an element of cheap production.
f the cotton, coal, and iron industries wages ar
4 | indeed almost universally being reduced frou
" ii We to twelve and half per cent, but 1T
i hard TO see how the workman is to reduce h
~ living expenses TO that extent. Ono OF IN
es pecularities of British imports is the lsrG
or amount, and large increase of amount, {
"a foreign food. No other country 30 largely d.
a pends upon foreign countries for bread as thi
~ In l-a7 the average consumption of torelg
or foods was $40 for each person IN the Unite
H. King IN 1876 it was SO, and in l-'1 eve
more than that.
; In l~72, the value of WOODEN and worste
u, mauufacLurss exportcd was SiGt 100000;
,o III, it was but SO 700 600 In l-12 mannla
IN IN tures OF iron ana steel were exporred TO II
~ value of Sl-O 900 600: in lS77 only $4,000 90
We we Manufactures of linen showed very slEl
~ ~ Increase over l@!6 but they were less in val!
". Wv in that year than IN any other since Ito.
W W u very few there is an increase, but
III takirg u survey of the whole list, one motto
"a q general flavor of decay.
"a Iu 1e62, the exports of British produc
no amounted to 1920 600 900. From this tr
IN, they increased steadily and 6Hpidly, and
1871 amounted to 81 10 Uoo, 600; in 1872,
rs, 81 2sI 900, ,OOO aud In 1873, 81 27o. 900 OF
~ Here decline set in, and each year since t
in | figures have been less than for the precedi
an year. The value of exports for 1877 was 500
lr- 900 900, decrease of nearly $40, ,ouo
ys, 1876.
ere The figures relating to imports are mu
On more remaI ka6le than those relating to
ost ports. The figures given include only 80
nd mart oF ths total imports as was retained