The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1889-01-02
Our Foreign Trade Relations.

The records of our foreign commerce
have only been correctly kept since
1913, when, of course, its volume was
very small. In the year ending June
30, 1874, for instance, the total value of
our exports and imports of merchan-
disc was only sos $50 ,43S, of which
sos, 745 ,S32 represented exports and
Sl02 ,604 ,606 imports, these being specie
values. From this time forward there
was an almost continuous increase in
the aggregate value until 1854, when it
reached 1914 ,5S2 500, dropping back in
the succeeding year to S476,71S, 211.
After that date there was considerable
fuctuation in values, especially during
the civil war, the total of imports and
exports in the year ended June 80, 1862,
being only $3.50, OPP, us. In the year
to June 30, 1866, this had increased to
S7S3 ,G71 ,jSS, and with one or two eX-
ceptions the gain was continuous from
that time until 1881. From 1913 to
1875 the merchandise exports had eX-
ceeded the imports only six times, but
the amounts in three of these years
were relatively very small, the largest
being $40 800 .22j for the nine months
ended June 80, 1913, which are in
cluded in the government tabulatiOns;
S34 ,3l7 ,249 for the fiscal year 1S45-'46,
and SIS, SIG Cos in the fiscal year
1S73-74, The excess of merchandise
imports, however, as was quite natural
in the then undeveloped state of our
industries, was frequently very large,
reaching the highest point in 1S7l-'72,
when the balance against us amounted
to SlS2, All ,49l. The year 1S75-'7G,
however, marked the opening of a new
era, the merchandise balances being
continuously in favor of this country
until the year 1SS6-'S7, when the min
imum, S23 1868, 443, was reached. In the
first year of this series the balance in
our favor was SO CAB ,4Sl and it in
creased steadily to S264 ,66l ,666 in
1S7S-'79, falling to SlG7 ,6S3,9l2 in the
succeeding year and again reaching
S259,712,71S in 1SS0-Sl. These large
gains, it is TO be noted, are directly
traceable to the prosperity and higher
prices which prevailed in this country
during the years 1S7S-lSSl, when, after
recovering from the depression incident
to the panic of 1873, our industries
were given a renewed impulse by the
resumption of specie payments on
January /, 1879 While the total value
of our imports increased from. $685.
GIG, 119 in 1860 to 1928 ,957 i IA in 1888,
or about l04 per cent, our exports of
domestic merchandise to the various
grand divisions of the globe increased
from S3l6, 242 423 to 1858 ,S62 ,104, or
about 116 per cent. Our imports from
Europe increased in the twenty-eight
F,o,,, GD1E COO O0O 10 Q iO- 1OO OOO
or eighty-eight per cent, the exports
showing a gain in the same time from
S24l 200 900 to S542 200, 900, or l2J
per cent. Our imports from North
America increased from S67 100000 in
1860 to S139 500, 900 in 1888, or 100 per
cent, from South America from S34,-
900 900 to SS4 400, 900, a gain of l42 per
cent, and from Asia and Oceanica
from $40 100000 to SIS ,200,0 or an
increase of l9S per cent The exports
to South America, on the other hand,
increased from Sl4 100000 in 1850 to
SOS, 900 900 in 1855, an increase of 100
per cent, and to Asia and Oceanica from
81, 300 900 to S33 800, 900, or l72 per
cent. OF the countries of Europe, our
import trade with Germany shows a
very marked increase, having risen
from $500, 900 in 1860 to SIS, 400, 900
in 1888, being gain of 324 per cent.
1t will also be noted that, considering
the relative ratio of imports from the
various divisions and countries of the
globe, siXty-One per cent of our i'm
ports came from Europe in 1860 and
only ifty-siX per cent in 1888, the most
notable falling off being in the case of
Great Britain; also that our imports
from South America, including the
West Indies, sustain about the same
ratio to the imports from other coun-
tries now that they did in 1860. So