DOMESTIC EXPORTS. Cotton cloths, uncolored Other cotton manufactures Fertilizers. Fish, fresh, cured, and canned. tures Fruits, fresh, dried, and pre- Furs and fur skins. Glass and glassware Glue.. Grease and soap stock still wine in bottles increased from 348,666 to Exports. The following table gives the values exported of the principal articles or classes of articles, the produce of the United States, in 1892, and the values for the preceding year: Hair, and manufactures thereof. Hides and skins. Honey. 83,325 Hops. 2,827,474 78,048 2,420,502 58,814 The export price of live cattle averaged $88. 95 a head in 1892, compared with $81.26 in 1891; of hogs, $11.39, compared with $11.99; of horses, $189.45, compared with $252.38; of mules, $121.42, compared with $127.59; of sheep, $3.43, compared with $4.28. There were 394,607 cattle exported, against 374,079 in 1891; 31,963 hogs, against 95,654; 3,226 horses, against 3,110; 1,905 mules, against 2,184; and 46,960 sheep, against 60,947. The exports of wheat in 1892 amounted to 157,280,351 bushels, at an average price of $1.03, against 55,131,948 bushels in 1891, at 93 cents a bushel. The number of barrels of flour exported was 15,196,769 in 1892, and the price was $4.96 a barrel, or 14 cents higher than in 1891, when 11,334,304 barrels were shipped abroad. The corn exports rose from 30,768.213 bushels in 1891 to 75,451,849 bushels, while the price declined from an average of 57 cents to one of 55 cents. The price of rye for export rose from 64 to 95 cents, in consequence of the short crop of this grain in the Continental countries, where it is the chief food of the people. Instead of being converted into whisky, the American crop was exported to the amount of 12,041,316 bushels, compared with 332,739 bushels in the previous year. The export of oats rose from 953,010 to 9,425,078 bushels, with a decline in the average price from 43 to 41 cents, and of barley from 973,062 to 2,800,075 bushels, the price going down from 69 to 63 cents. Of oatmeal, 20,908,190 pounds were exported, an increase of 13,171,317 pounds. The only decrease in quantities in the list of breadstuffs occurred under the heads of cornmeal and of bread and biscuit. Of the latter, 14,449,655 pounds were exported, against 15,541,655 in 1891, at an average price of 54 cents for both years. The values of the cereal exports were as follow for the two years: off from 37,678 bales, or 14,588,092 pounds, to 22,866 bales, or 9,074,686 pounds. The shipments of ordinary cotton were 5,868,545 bales, or 2,926,145,125 pounds, showing an increase of 85,444 bales, or 33,374,422 pounds, over the great shipments of 1891. The total figures for raw cotton are 5,820,779 bales, or 2,907,358,795 pounds, for 1891, and 5,891,411 bales, or 2,935,219,811 pounds, for 1892. Of colored cotton cloths, 40,815,450 yards, and of uncolored. 142,938,871 yards, were exported, against 39,016,682 and 135,529,590 yards. The average price of Sea Island cotton was 21 cents in 1891 and 18 cents in 1892; of other cotton, 9-9 and 8-7 cents a pound respectively; of colored cloths, 6-6 and 61 cents a yard; of uncolored, 69 and 6·6 cents. The quantity of eggs exported was 183.063 dozen, 180,053 dozen less. The export of fresh fish increased from 868,796 to 1,414,019 pounds, and that of pickled mackerel from 2,295 to 3,490 barrels: but the other fish exports showed a falling off, that of canned salmon being 18,215,025 pounds, or 4,152,200 pounds less, and that of dried cod fish, haddock, hake, and pollock 14,435,878, or 2,877,292 pounds less. The export of dried apples was 26,042,063 pounds, against 6,973,168 pounds in 1891; and that of fresh apples increased from 135,207 to 938,743 barrels, the crop having been much more abundant. The export price of dried apples was 59 cents a pound in 1891 and 49 cents in 1892, that of green or ripe apples $1.41 and $1.03. The price of fertilizers advanced from $9.41 to $15.82 a ton, and the export rose from 231,915 to 251,104 tons. The export of bagging decreased from 8,092,834 to 7,603,329 pounds. The shipments of glucose increased from 58,149,427 to 96,486,953 pounds, at an average price of 24 cents throughout. There were 12,604,686 pounds of hops exported, an increase of 3.868,606 pounds, while the price fell from 27 to 19 cents. In the total for the iron and steel exports for 1892 the sum of $10,229,293 represents machinery, $3,133,992 sewing machines, $2,309,688 locks and builders' hardware, $1,900,444 saws and tools, $1,717,715 locomotive engines, $853,628 firearms, $852,659 wire, $789,546 castings, $568,485 boilers and parts of 555,957 engines, $409,220 printing presses, and $325,1,751.445 417 scales and balances. The number of loco775,596 motive engines fell off from 275 to 197, and the 1,711,103 export of firearms was somewhat less, but in $128,121,656 | $299,363,117 nearly all other articles there was a larger trade, with prices considerably lower, owing to the fall in the price of iron. The average price of boots and shoes per pair advanced from $1.18 to $1.23, the export increasing from 551,733 to 745,112 pairs, while that of sole leather, of which 37,053,381 pounds were exported, remained stationary at 16 cents. The price of rosin dropped from $1.94 to $1.75 a barrel. The export of rosin was 1,950,214 barrels, and of spirits of turpentine 13,176,470 gallons, an increase of 159,963 barrels of the one and 932.849 gallons of the other. The exports of lard oil and of whale and fish oils, except sperm oil, were considerably smaller, the total for animal oils dropping from 3,072,022 to 2,150,357 gallons. The exports of illuminating mineral oils were 564,896,658, against 571,119,805 gallons; of crude oil, 103,592,767 gallons, against 91,415,095; of naph 1891. $51,420,272 17,652.687 946.977 212,161 18,185 405,708 221,316 669.203 £38.848 1,030,658 1892. $161,399.132 The export of candles increased from 1,546,079 to 1,715,130 pounds, with a decline of 6 per cent. in price. Among the chemicals, drugs, and dyes, the export of pot and pearl ashes increased from 430,582 to 1,307,634 pounds. Ginseng decreased from 283,000 pounds, valued at $959.992 to 228.916 pounds, valued at $803,529. The value of patent medicines was $1,842.889, a decrease of $37.839; of dyes and dyestuffs, $597,016, one of $63.574. The export of anthracite coal was 808.277 tons, 116,035 less, that of bituminous coal 1,700,496 tons, 225,769 more, than in the preceding year. The export of copper in ingots, bars, etc., leaped up from 34,554,517 to 56,453,736 pounds, the average price being 12 cents, a cent lower. The export of Sea Island cotton fell tha, 12,727,978, against 12,171,147 gallons; of lubricating and heavy paraffin oil, 33,591,076 gallons. against 33,514,730; of cotton-seed oil, 13,859,278 gallons, against 11,003,160; of oil of peppermint, 54,987 pounds, against 45.321 pounds; of paraffin and paraffin wax, 64,998,867 pounds, against 66,366,003. The price of lard oil advanced from 52 to 55 cents; that of sperm oil fell from 75 to 73 cents; while other whale and fish oil went up to 28 cents from 25. Crude petroleum dropped from 64 to 49 cents, naphtha from 82 to 71 cents, and illuminating oil from 7 to 59 cents, while lubricating and heavy oils advanced from 14 to 16 cents a gallon. The price of cotton seed oil was 36 cents, remaining unchanged. The rate for bacon and hams rose from 76 to 8.1 cents a pound; salted beef averaged 57 cents for both years; fresh beef went up from 78 to 8-2 cents; cheese advanced from 9 to 94 cents; lard rose from 6.9 to 72 cents; pork, from 5-9 to 6 cents; and imitation butter declined from 13 to 12 cents, and oleomargarine oil kept steady at 98 cents, while real butter rose from 14 to 16 cents. The following table exhibits the quantities in pounds, and the values of the provision exports for 1892: The export of quicksilver increased from 157,052 to 306,047 pounds. There was a smaller export of clover seed, but an increase in cotton seed, and Timothy and linseed took a jump from 144,848 bushels to 3,613,187 bushels, valued at $3,915,547. The export of soap was 1,600.206 pounds smaller. The total exports of distilled spirits amounted to 3,350,797 proof gallons, against 1,904,972 gallons in 1891. The export of alcohol was 1,440.219 gallons, against 418.284; that of Bourbon whisky rose from 239.995 to 744,172 gallons, and rye from 54,656 to 128.273; and that of brandy from 136,529 to 216,696 gallons: but rum declined from 1,025,226 to 773,713 gallons. The price of alcohol receded from 43 to 33 cents, that of rum was $1.20, a cent more, and whisky fell from $1.09 to 89 cents for Bourbon, and from $1.51 to $1.05 for rye. port of refined sugar fell off from 108,228,620 pounds in 1891 to 14.604.608 pounds, while that of molasses increased from 4,495,475 to 9,343,214 gallons. The quantity of leaf tobacco sent abroad was 255,432.077 pounds in 1892, compared with 249,232,605 pounds, the price falling The ex away from 8.8 to 8.4 cents. Of wine in casks, 655,795 gallons were exported in 1892, at 64 cents, against 543,292, averaging 65 cents, in 1891. The prices of boards and planks, joists and scantling. shingles, and firewood, were higher, and those of sawed timber and other kinds of wood products lower than in the previous year. The export of boards, deals, and planks was 592,596 thousand feet, a decrease of 20,810; of sawed timber, 235,550, an increase of 20,938 thousand feet; of hewed timber, 6,736,446 cubic feet, a decrease of 163,627. Staves and headings, logs and other timber, and doors, sashes, and blinds showed a falling off, but in household furniture there was an increase in the value from $2,956,114 to $3,090,146, and hoops, shooks, barrels, and moldings and trimmings show a large gain. The exports of foreign merchandise in 1891-'92 had a total value of $14,546,137, compared with $12,210,527 in 1890-'91. Of this sum, $9,990,000 consisted of dutiable merchandise, an increase of $2,942,933, and $4,556,135 of merchandise free of duty, a decrease of $607,323. Of the total, $9,972,507 was the value of merchandise exported from warehouse, and $4,573,570 that of merchandise not exported from warehouse, an increase of $3,262,095 in the former and a decrease of $926,485 in the latter. Movement of Specie.-The total value of the gold and silver coin and bullion imported in 1891-'92 was $69.654,540, as compared with $36,259,447 in 1890-'91, showing an increase of $33,395,093. The gold imports were $49,699,454, against $18.232,567 in 1891, an increase of $31,466,887. Of the gold coin, $15,432.443 were American, compared with $2,824,146 the previous year, and $22,908,493 were foreign, compared with $13,303,387. The imports of gold bullion were $11,358,518, compared with $2,195,034. The imports of silver coin and bullion were $19,955,086 in 1892, compared with $18.026,880 in 1891, an increase of $1,928,206. There was an increase of $3,300,046 in the imports of foreign coin, which amounted in 1892 to $14,679,709. The imports of American silver coin were $159,569, which were $165,671 less than in the preceding year, and the imports of silver bullion were $5,115,808, which was $1,206.169 less. The imports of specie over the land frontiers were $16,446,360, compared with $10,047.707 in 1891. The total value of the exports of domestic gold and silver was $60,086,418 in 1892, compared with $98,973,265 in 1891, a decrease of $38,886,847. The exports of gold amounted to $43,321,351, against $84,939.551 in 1891, a decrease of $41,618,200. The gold exports consisted of $42,841,963 in coin, $8,260 in bars of the United States Mint or Assay Office, and $471.128 in other bullion, showing a decrease of $24,862,937 in coin, $15,110,442 in bars, and $1,644.821 in other bullion. The silver exports of 1891-'92 amounted to $16.765,067, against $14,033,714 in 1890-'91. The exports of assayed bars were $2,992,884, of other bullion $13.645,501, and of silver coin $126,682, showing an increase of $2,346,815 in bars and $494,179 in other bulllon, and in coin a decrease of $109,641. The exports of specie by land were $1,343,366, which was $1,333,419 more than in 1890-'91. The exports of foreign gold and silver were $22,919, international guarantee, and free to the trade of all nations, together with the rest of the basin of the Congo. The International Conference which met at Brussels in 1890 authorized the Government to impose certain duties on imports in order to enable it to co-operate in the suppression of the slave trade. The King of the Belgians, who assumed the sovereignty personally and independently of the Belgian Government, by his will, dated Aug. 2, 1889, bequeathed all his rights to Belgium. The territories of the Free State were declared to be inalienable on July 31, 1890, after a convention had been concluded on July 3 between Belgium and the Free State, reserving to Belgium the right to annex the Free State at the end of ten years. The seat of the Central Government is in Brussels. The sovereign is assisted by three heads of departments, who have charge respectively of Foreign Affairs and Justice, Finance, and the Interior. The seat of the local government is at Boma, on the lower Congo. Under the Governor-General are a Vice Governor-General, a General Secretary, a State Inspector, a Director of Finance, a Director of Justice, and the Commander of the Forces. The armed forces consist of 4 companies, numbering 3,792 native African troops, trained in 4 camps of instruction, and commanded by 11 captains and 33 lieutenants, all of whom are Europeans. The precise boundaries of the Congo State are defined in conventions, which were signed with Germany on Nov. 8, 1884, with England on Dec. 16, 1884, with the Netherlands on Dec. 27, 1884, with France on Feb. 5, 1885, and with Portugal on Feb. 14, 1885. The area is estimated at 900,000 square miles, and the population at 17,000,000. Finances. The expenses of the Government are defrayed from a subsidy of 2,000,000 francs a year contributed by King Leopold, an advance of 2,000,000 francs voted on July 3, 1890, for ten years by the Belgian Parliament, from taxation and imposts, and from sales and leases of public land. Commerce and Production.-The exports are palm oil, rubber, ivory, gum copal, orchilla weed, groundnuts, coffee, and camwood. The principal imports are textile fabrics, firearms, powder, spirits, and tobacco. The value of the general exports in 1888 was 7,392,348 francs; in 1889, 8,572,519 francs; in 1890, 14,109,781 francs. The values exported of the principal articles in 1890 were as follow: Ivory, 5,070,851 francs; nuts, 2,464,619 francs; rubber, 3,080,358 francs; palm oil, 1,563,766 francs; coffee, 1,685,604 francs; gum copal, 96,484 francs. The exports of the produce of the Free State in 1888 were valued at 2,609,300 francs, and in 1890 at 4,297,544 francs. During 1890 there were 985 vessels, of 268,408 tons, entered at the Congo ports. There is regular steamship communication with Europe, and there are 11 steamers on the upper and 7 on the lower Congo. The Antislavery Convention.-The general act signed at the conference for the sup pression of the slave trade held in 1890 at Brussels by representatives of the signatory powers, with the exception of Austria, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Turkey, and the United States, and afterward accepted and ratified by all the powers, entered into operation on April 1, 1892. To this act a declaration was appended which empowered the Congo Free State to levy duties on imports not to exceed 10 per cent. of the value of the goods. The authorization of the powers was necessary because the general act which created the Free State in 1885 declared its territory free to the trade of all nations. Negotiations with Germany, Great Britain, and Italy resulted in an agreement made on Dec. 22, 1890, regarding a tariff for their East African possessions. Negotiations for the regulation of import duties for the west coast were carried on with France and Portugal, and on April 8, 1892, a protocol was signed at Lisbon by representatives of those powers and the independent State of the Congo fixing a uniform tariff on imports, and also regulating the export duties levied in the French and Portuguese possessions in the Congo basin. The protocol was framed in the terms that the French Government had submitted to the Chamber for approval in the previous December. Representatives of the signatory powers of the general act of the Antislavery Conference that had not notified their adhesion before July 2, 1891, and to whom a further delay of six months had been granted, met the ministers of the other powers at the Foreign Office in Brussels, on Jan. 2, 1892, and exchanged ratifications. AustriaHungary, Russia, and Turkey had been kept back by difficulties connected with the formalities, and France by the refusal of the French Chamber to approve the levying of import duties by the Congo State. In December the Chamber had changed its views, and thus removed this obstacle to the execution of the decisions of the Brussels conference after a delay of thirty months. The Government of the Netherlands was not yet in a position to signify its definitive adhesion, but notified its acceptance of the act subject to the confirmation of its action by the States-General a few weeks later. When that body met it ratified the convention. The Portuguese Government was unable to fulfill the formality because its action depended for various reasons on the course that France would take, and while the question was pending before the French Parliament the Cortes refrained from discussing the treaty. The Portuguese representative at Brussels requested a further postponement of thirty days, and when this period was ended the Cortes had taken action, and he was able to signify the adhesion of Portugal to the convention, which unites all the civilized powers in a sort of league for the extirpation of the scourge of man-stealing and the slave trade in Central Africa. The United States minister obtained a similar delay, as the United States Senate had not yet approved the treaty, and on Feb. 2 he presented the ratification of the convention, and of a special treaty of commerce concluded between the Congo State and the United States on July 2, 1890. The American Senate had previously withheld its assent to the Congo act lest it might involve the United States in the position of having to take part in the decision of questions connected with territorial arrangements on the African continent. amending its attitude the United States Senate In |