Taken alone, the returns of imports and exports would imply
a declining state of trade. There is a decrease in the exports for the past month, of 372,9501.; and, curiously enough, some of the chief decline appears to be in hard-ware and metals, while cotton Manufactures have positively increased, though slightly. On the other hand, the imports show considerable steadiness, though With teinarkable exceptions: sugar has fallen off' enormously both in the amount imported and in the amount taken for home consump- tion; a fact partly explained by the large in-draught of sugar du- ring the four previous months of the year. In some respects the imports show the state of the people better than the exports; but these tables cannot be taken alone. The accounts from Ireland exhibit a steadiness in the amount of wages, and an increase during harvest, unprecedented in that country. Wages also maintain their rate in England. The reports of trade are generally thought to be good : although trade is not moving with any surprising speed, it is steady. And it is remarked by a con- temporary, that in the face of announcements that both France and Turkey intend to take loans,—France in a mode which would ad- kit English oompetition,—the rate of discount during war is not half what it has been in times of peace. War may tend to narrow the investments for money, but it always tends also to something like hoarding. The surplus which now flows into the market proves the confidence of the people, and that must originate in their experience, that within their own connexions business is proceeding fairly and steadily. The reports of the crops from all parts of the country are favourable; and, though the season is late, and wheat has still to stand the test of the July rains, the expectation of abundance is strengthened by the good accounts from the Continent and large reports from America.
Previous page
