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Textile Plants in Russia.-The Department has received a letter from Mr. W. Toritch, 11-13 William street, New York, explanatory of the terms "slanez" and "machenez," used in a report by Consul Atwell, of Roubaix, on textile plants in Russia, printed in CONSULAR REPORTS No. 229 (October, 1899), page 227. Mr. Toritch calls attention to the fact that these words refer to different kinds of flax. "Slanez" is adopted for flax which is spread out upon the fields before being stripped, and originates from the verb sliat, which means spread. "Machenez" is a flax which is soaked in water and received the name from the verb motchit, which means to soak.

Proposed Protection of Danish Agriculture.-Vice and Deputy Consul Blom, of Copenhagen, on August 21, 1899, writes:

The Royal Danish Ministry of Finance has just appointed a commission to consider and report on the question whether or not protection, by duties on foreign agricultural products, would be of advantage to Danish agriculture, and how such protection could be carried out.

Walnut Crop of Italy.-Consul Byington writes from Naples, August 1, 1899, that there will be a shortage of fully one-third in the walnut crop, as compared with last year's product; but the quality promises to be superior to the average of several previous years. Two-thirds of the crop, which will commence to be shipped from Naples about the 1st of October, it is expected, will go direct to New York and the remaining third to Liverpool and London.

Duty on Collodion in the Netherlands.-Minister Newel writes from The Hague, August 22, 1899, that, according to a royal order appearing in the Official Gazette of even date, it is decreed that, subject to certain regulations as to quantity admitted, destination, etc., so as to guard against abuse of the privilege, collodion required in the preparation of incandescent-light mantles shall be exempted from import dues.

Tolls in Belgium.-Under date of September 2, 1899, Minister Newel transmits from The Hague copy of a law recently passed, according to which, from May 1, 1900, all State tolls on roadways, canals, harbors, sluices, and bridges, with the exception of two bridges, one roadway, and three military barriers, will be abandoned,

Belgian Demand for Refrigerators.-The following, dated August 24, 1899, has been received from Consul Le Bert, of Ghent: The firm of Dutry-Colson, rue des Champs, of this city, requests names and addresses of manufacturers of refrigerators. This firm is thoroughly reliable and one of the largest in its line in Belgium. There is a good field here for American refrigerators.

Belgian Taxes on Automobiles.-Consul Roosevelt writes. from Brussels, August 21, 1899, that a royal decree has approved the resolution of the provincial council of Brabant fixing an annual tax, after January 1, 1900, on automobiles of whatever system. The rate is fixed at 50 francs ($9.65) for an automobile weighing 400 kilograms (880 pounds) or more, and 20 francs ($3.86) for one weighing less.

Tin in the Straits Settlements.-The following, dated Singapore, July 19, 1899, has been received from Consul-General Moseley: The advance in the price of tin at this place since last December is extraordinary. It is claimed here that three-fourths of the world's production of tin is smelted in Singapore, and oxide of tin comes from the protected native states of the Malay Peninsula. Large shipments are made from here every week to the United States.

Consular Reports Transmitted to Other Departments.-The following reports from consular officers (originals or copies) have been transmitted since the date of the last report to other Departments for publication or for other action thereon:

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Marine-Hospital Service.

J. F. Gowey, Yokohama..... Sept. 1, 1899 Hydrographic information.. Navy Department.
W. F. Grinnell, Manchester Sept. 14, 1899 Health of Manchester.....

FOREIGN REPORTS AND PUBLICATIONS.

French View of the Franco-American Treaty.-The Revue du Commerce Extérieur, Paris, August 19, 1899, has the following:

The treaty which has just been signed between France and the United States is one of the economic events of the second half of the nineteenth century. Many people will be surprised at this language. The Franco-American treaty and the French treaties with Switzerland and Italy seem alike. Their economic import is mediocre from a general point of view. As a matter of fact, the present agreement should be compared with the famous Franco-English commercial treaty negotiated between Rouher and Richard Cobden. It means nothing less than the entrance of American manufactures on the European market. the commencement of manufacturing competition between the New World and old Europe.

To thoroughly appreciate the situation, we should study the economic policy of the United States. Until the end of the war of secession, the United States had no need of a customs policy. The country was a vast work field. The people in the North cultivated corn and wheat, raised cattle and hogs; in the Middle States, they bored for petroleum; in the South, they cultivated cotton; the West sent wheat and salt provisions; California and Colorado, gold and silver as payment for the manufactures of Europe, as well as for the sugar, tea, and coffee furnished by Cuba, China, and Brazil. All this was enough to absorb American activity, busy, at the same time, in the creation of a network of railways. In this economic system, customs duties had only one purpose-the furnishing to the federal power the financial resources sufficient for the needs of the Government. These needs became pressing after the civil war, with the necessity of redeeming a debt of several billions. The entrance duty, more easy to collect than an excise duty in a land enamored of individual liberty, was then assessed by the Government at Washington.

The building of railways has created new manufacturing industries; iron and coal mines abound, and Americans are most ingenious in the invention of machinery, more useful in the United States than elsewhere, hand labor being expensive, in spite of the number of immigrants. The lowering in cost of freight and of wheat, hastened by the multiplication of railways in the United States and in India, as well as by the development of steam navigation, gave a powerful impetus to the manufacturing movement. Agricultural profits became less, public lands more scarce. At last, capitalists began to find competition with European products troublesome.

The constantly increasing production of manufactures, aided by the universal employment of machinery, forced them to seek new outlets. Thence, the thought of a pan-American Zolverein, the favorite plan of Secretary of State Blaine. It was proposed to offer the states and colonies of America exemption from duty on colonial products in exchange for reduction of duties on agricultural machinery and food products coming from the United States. Treaties of reciprocity mark this step in the evolution of the American commercial policy.

Later, there was an attempt at reaction against the protective system. But in spite of commercial crises, North American manufactures acquired new strength on their own territory. In a country where capital is enterprising and manufac

tures are protected, the power of production soon exceeds the home needs. By the aid of machinery, the net cost of production declined, all the more as the tariffs of 1890 and 1895 lowered the duty upon certain raw materials and half-manufactured products. On the other hand, manufactured articles were exported in increasing quantities. Americans began to think of new outlets for their products, not alone in the republics of the south, but in the markets of the world. This was not an economic revolution, as was the treaty of commerce of 1860 between France and the United Kingdom. The Anglo-Saxons have a horror of sudden changes-of leaps into the unknown. They limited themselves to opening new gaps in the tariff. It had been absolutely autonomous and fiscal; then protective while remaining autonomous-that is to say, independent of the commercial needs of other countries. Treaties of reciprocity had been introduced only in favor of countries producing colonial commodities. In the act of 1897, provision is made for a double customs tariff. A minimum tariff was not prepared beforehand; it was left to the President to grant a reduction of duty within the limit of 20 per cent. In exchange for these reductions, the countries contracting with the United States must facilitate the importation of American products. It was, in a sense, the abandonment of the autonomous tariff and the introduction of the conventional tariff, after the European fashion.

The American policy preserved its individual character, in that it did not tend to the generalization of the conventional tariffs to be established. Its aim was to make an opening in the general tariffs of foreign countries, without entering into the European commercial community created by the most-favored-nation clause. With a prudence worthy of praise, the American legislators did not enter at once on this path, preferring to experiment in advance. Article 3 of the customs law of 1897 was enacted almost exclusively for the purpose of negotiating a treaty with France. It treats only of wines, including champagne, brandy, and tartar-preeminently French productions. In reducing the duties, conditionally, on these productions of the French vine, the United States meant to preserve the advantage of the treaty negotiated in 1893 with our country. The treaty concluded, other powers were informed that these concessions were applicable only to France. Negotiations were then entered into to put the plan in application. This has just been done by the signing of the agreement of the 24th of July,

In its edition of September 16, 1899, the Revue says further: The commercial treaty with France has broken the first link in the chain which protected European industry against American competition. The United States will now invade with giant steps the markets of the Continent. Its only drawback will be ignorance of commercial customs-the employment of measures other than metric, the lack of knowledge of the languages, the absence of assortments of goods suited to special needs, and the aversion of American exporters to granting credits. These obstacles are evidently not insurmountable. When the Americans have mastered them, our manufacturers will be placed in a very trying position.

Colonial College in Germany. The Revue du Commerce Extérieur, Paris, August 5, 1899, announces the opening of a "colonial college" at Witzenhausen, near Cassel, for the study of colonial resources and for the education of planters. A society founded the college by subscribing a capital of about $28,000, to which there have been added nearly $5,000 more by private subscription. Krupp,

the maker of the famous guns, has given $2,400 and Emperor William $1,150 more. This capital is sure to increase in the future. The management has commenced by buying a tract of land, where trial gardens, greenhouses, etc., will be established. There are sixteen entries of prizes, and it is expected that the college will open with twenty pupils.

Trade of the Transvaal in 1898.-The Board of Trade Journal, London, September, 1899, has the following figures concerning the trade of the Transvaal for 1898. It appears that there has been a considerable reduction in the actual amount returned during the year under review.

The total value of imports was as follows:

1898 1897

1896

1898 1897 1896

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The figures for the customs show the following collections:

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Thus, while the decrease in customs between 1897 and 1898 was £230,815 ($1,123, 261), the decrease in the value of imports was £2,930,932 ($14,258,381).

The value of goods imported from abroad by the three principal routes for the last three years was as follows:

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As regards the importation from Europe and America, the figures are as follows:

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