The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-12-22
OUR TRADE WITH ENGLAND.

British Imports for the Present Year
 Will Exceed Exports to America by
 $Sl5,000 000-TWice as Much as in 1887.
 A fortnight ago we referred to the eX- ceeding largeness of our imports, es- pecially from the United States, and to the relatively small purchases of our goods by that country. As tle subject is of much importance we aga n refer to it. Were it not that the conditions af- fecting our trade at the present time are quite abnormal, some alarm would be felt lest our prosperity might not in the near future begin to wane. Our pros perity depends chiefly upon two things the credit of our foreign and co onial customers and our ability to supply their financial requirements Now, were our huge imports and small eX- ports due to foreign countries havl7g become so prosperous and self-support- ing that they no longer required our goods or our money, it would be appa- rent that our commercial supremacy and prosperity would be seriously threatened.
 Under those circumstances our small exports would mean loss of markets, while our great imports would indicate that foreign countries were able to re- pay money they had previously bor- roWed, and required no more. But such is not the meaning of our trade figures, which show (the last two months results being estimated) that for 1897 our imports have exceeded our exports and re-exports by a sum of no less than G163O00, 900. This is the 1o a 5yya, hal IVA ho, witnessed, and is twice as large as that of ten years ago, when our imports ex- ceeded our exports and re-exports by only eS1,OC0OOO.
 The reason why our exports are small and imports large Is that the credit of our foreign customers is not so good as it was few years ago; that we are more anxious to call money in from them than to lend fresh amounts, and that consequently they have not the means wherewith to buy our goods in increased quantities, at the same time they are compelled to send larger amounts of goods to us in order to full fill their obligations. A glance at the position of the United States and of other countries proves this interpreta- ton of our small exports and large inl- ports to be the correct one
 As we have said, in 1887 the balance of our imports over our exports and re- exports was only eS1 ,000,0 900. In that year our imports from the United States were worth 993 GOO, coo, while our total exports thither reached G41, 100000. imports exceeding exports by e42 100000 l only. In 1897 the balance of our imports over our total exports may reach &16S, 0G0 GOO, or twice what it was in 1884, In l the present year the United States will 1 have sent US goods to the value of | e115, 900, 0C0, and will have bought from us goods to the value of only e35, 5000 900, our imports from that country alone thus exceeding our exports thither by
 ESQ 900, 000
 l But the reason for the great disparity l between 1887 and 1897 will be apparent i In 1887 the credit of the United States
 was of the best, and we were glad to i lend them all the money they were will 1 ling to take from us for developing their
 railways, their agriculture and their in 1 dustries. Hence they were exceedingly prosperous, and could not only meet all | their liabilities, but could spend q large l sum of money in purchasing our goods. 1 Tn 1897 the credit of the country is suf- l fering, owing to fears that it may lose
 the gold standard, and that it's foreign | creditors may not be able to obtain
 payment of their debts in gold. We are
 thus naturally anxious to withdraw our l capital from the country. Consequently 1 the United States have been compelled to send us huge quantities of produce to meet their obligations, and in spite of
 their large harvests have as yet been
 unable to increase their purchase of our goods to any appreciable extent, which
 they would undoubtedly have done had
 their bonds been good.
 | To show what an enormous amount
 of produce the United States have had l to send to this country during the past
 few years, and how relatively little Of
 our manufactures they have been able
 to buy, we contrast below our imports from and exports of British and foreign
 and colonial goods to the United States,
 with the balance of imports over ex-
 ports, during the past eleven years 1 The figures for 1897 are estimated: | OUR TRADE WITH THE UNITED 1 STATES.
 Balance of