A document of the most in...
A document of the most interesting nature has been printed by order of the liouse of Cohlrn ons, under the title oft " Shipping and Nferchandise Rctarns", and containing accounts of all the iinp6rts and exports of the United Kingdomr for seven years, from 1817 to 1823, both years inclusive. Could we conscientiously represent this rnercanti]6 listory as an evidence of nia'ti hal prosperity' altogfther triumphant anti unexampled, no r:-joicing would be more gineere ulan ours :, buotte truth is,, that after a serious etamina tion of the items, we shouldl mislead our readers, and reproach ourselves, were wve so to describe it. The-accouft.its'not disvouraging, ind that is thelimnit of our congratulation.: Lct it be rem6mbergd, that w&earx`not now quoting from the amount of taxes,.but: of good,. tiem-. selves, which form the auMbect. matter of general trade; that mavy .taxei have been iedi1cfI witttin the above period of seven,yens, avd. Ibat a corresp9Piiding expansion 'of the wings of c-orn)merce,. and,.augFn,en,tatiQn...of the value of , imports 3nd.exports, ought Ito .hav. fojoJwed as'a ntural consequence of diminilshed burdens. .'. *- The real.value bf the e?ports of British andIrish pro- duce and utahufactutres for 'the year 1817, were, in round nunmbers,' ?4l,0,OO 1818- . -^ ~~~~~46,46600n 8~19 .. . . . . . 35,200,000 1820 . .,.. 36,420,000 1821. 38,650,000 8IS2 . . . . . . .. 35,450,000. The o,rj'iialvalue of the same exports gives a different but rnore fallacious result, making those of 1817 amount to litttlc mpre t i+,f rm;ffi0ihs' O le2ig5 i . ...... f'our. xuillionls;and those,of 1 2a shott-of thetyear pr heigb above 4O;,0dJQU. Thel .i at3'da e,l4,.iwis,e o? the fGseigu amleolonial mereha~idise lias;fallen oftlin the co,ursiPdf.thlefiXt six years' 'alud,d,'dto.fnit 100,3p'0000,0l to 8,600,0001. The real valhe of thie hport trade in horne produtce, &c., to Eturope, ha,B dinznihwiq itn the sme pe' -nod about 241millions ;and the trade toinore distant partt of the world aroveI 2 ve' ons sterling 4Ii-our expod trade of British t'anufactures to tlhe. United Statos, there has. ,been lallihng o, ff-1ugh. no~t,c,siderible, butt'tie old Spanislh colonies, an increased export o?tbe same mallufac- tures from :ixl hundred thousand to sifteen hundrel tlhou. sand pounds.