The Newtown bee., 1880-12-22
THE BUREAU OF STATISTICS.

The annual report of Joseph Ninmo, Jr., chief ot the bureau ot statistics on the tore'gn commerce of the United States, gives some Interesting information. In regard to our ex- port trade MT. Nimmo says:
 The five leading articles of export during the year ended June 30 1880, were as follows: Bread and breadstuffs, S2SS 036, 1885; cotton, unmanuiactured, $2ll, ,535, ,905; provisions, $l27, ,O43, ,242; mineral oils, 6,2lS 625; to- bacco and manufactures of, SIS, AZ, ,273. The ULited State7, he says, already surpasses every other counti in the magnitu de of it's exports, both ot breadstufs and provisions Ot the following commodities imported into the United Kingdom ot Great Britain and Ireland the percentage imported from the United States was follows: Wheat, 6S per cont; Indian corn, 0per cent; live animals, A per cent; beef. saltcd, 99 per cent; beef fresh or slightly salted, 98 per cent; butter, l2 per cent; cheese, GAL per cent; bacon, S4 per cent; hams, 9S per cent; lard, S6 per cent; meat preserved otherwise than salted, 72 per cent; pork, salted, 87 per cent.
 The building of ships and barks employed in our foreign commerce tell from an annual average of 233 during the ten years from 1891 to 1960 to an annual average of fity-six dur ing the ten years from 1871 to 1850. There were only twenty-thtee ships and parks built during the year ending June 30, 1850. The tonnage of iron vessels built in this country during the last i've years amounted to only l0l ,826 tons, almost entirely for our coastwlse ol home trade, in which no foreign compel- ton is allowed under the provisions of our navigation laws; whereas tue iron ship build ing ot Great Britain, during the last five years reported, amounted to 1,800, l93 tons. The total tonnage oi the United States employed in foreign trade fell from 2,379 ,396 tons in 1860 to l,3l4, ,402 tons during the year ended June 30, 1880. During the year ended June 30, 1889, the total value oi commodities trans- ported in American and foreign vessels Gln- and cN SI 589, AZ ,093, of which the value trans ported in American vessels amounted to only S2S0, COS, ,497, or 17.6 per cent, and the value transported in foreign vessels amounted 10 $I, ,309, ,466, ,495, or about eighty-two per cent. A marked decline in the proportion of the commodities carried in American vessels hai taken place during the past year, the falling off having been from twenty-three per cent
 in 1879 to l7.6 per cent. in 1850.
 The branch of the American merchant marine which is employed in the internal and coast wise commerce of the United States fell from 3,293 ,439 tobs in 1874 to Z, ,637 1885 tons in 1880. The total tonnage built on the sea- board, embracing the Atlantic, Cult and Pacific coasts, fell from l, 0l3, ,040 tons during
 the five years from 1866 to 1870 inclusive to only 669 362 tons duting the five years from
 1876 to 1880. The American tonnage built
 on the great lakes, almost exclusively
 tor internal trade, fell from 2l4 ,233 tons dur
 ing the five years from 1866 to 1870 to "A, ,499
 tons during the five years from 1876 to 1880. The tonnage employed in the domestic trade of the United States (the ship ton being 100 cubic feet of space) on June 30, 1884, amounted to 2 637, ,6s5 tons. The capacity ot railroad cars amounted to about 7, 100, ,000 similar tons ot 100 cubic feet ot space.
 The gross earnings of the railroads ot the United States for the years mentioned are shown to have been as follows: In 1851, ss39,- 456, ,S5s; in 1861, Sl30, ,oOO 900; in 1871,
 $4o3 329 POS; in 1879, $529, ,999. The
 number of freight cars employed on all the railroads of the United States increased from 384,9JS in 1876 to 4sO, l9o in 1879. The tonnage of the NewYork State canals fell from 5,S59 080 tons in 1869 to 6,362,372 tions in l879 but the tonnage of the TWO rail roads competing with the canal (tEe New | York Central and the New York, Lake Erie and Western railroads) increased from 6. 59i,- 1 O94 tons in 1869 to r 228 39i tons in 1879. These facts, it is maintained, serve to indicate | the cause of the decline ot the shipping em- ployed on internal water lines and i'll the l coastwise trade of the United States