nationality which is now laying the foundation for a reconstruction of the German empire. The modification of the English policy, under the enlightened government that came into power in 1842, has had an extraordinary influence in promoting the consumption of United States farm produce in England; while the liberal policy of the north and west of Europe has enabled the people of those sections to consume more, and therefore to diminish their agricultural surplus. The consequence is, that each successive failure of a harvest, even in a small degree, produces an increasing influence upon the demand in the United States. It has been contended that the agricultural prosperity of the last year was the result of the deficit of the English crops only. The fact is, however, that it only accelerated the demand for produce which was already rapidly increasing from the removal of international restrictions upon commerce. As an indication of this, we compile from the annual reports of the Secretary of the Treasury a table, in continuation from our number of July, 1845, showing the quantities of produce exported from the United States in four years, the year 1847 ending June 30, as follows:

EXPORTS OF DOMESTIC PRODUCE FROM THE UNITED STATES IN FOUR YEARS.

The large exportations of last year supplied in an eminent degree the deficits of the English harvests, but fell far short of the whole wants of the British islands. This year the home supplies in those islands will be good.

In western Europe, Germany particularly, the revolutions must be productive of great results in a commercial point of view. There is no doubt but that the whole mass of Germans will be reunited under a national government, which will permit the freest internal communication between all the States. This will involve the dissolution of the ill-cemented Austrian empire, and the merging of the hereditary States of the House of Hapsburg into a confederation, whereof Prussia henceforth must be the leading power. That government had already become the most influential of the German States, by means of the operation of the customs union, got up under her guidance. After the peace of Paris, Germany was divided into thirty-eight sovereignties, each of which had its own circle of custom-house officers, and the face of the country was checkered with barriers to the free movement of trade. The jealousies and disunion of the German States, more particularly in relation to their material interests, were, by the thoughtful and laborious king of Prussia, justly considered as one great cause of the success of the French arms. The Prussian king, therefore, conceived the idea, by a union of material interests, to amalgamate the national and moral interest of the States of Germany, and thus to surround his territory with a frontier of independent States, bound by a commercial league and mutual free trade, to Prussian interests. Overtures were accordingly made, in 1826, to other German governments, and finally the league formed by which Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, Wurtemburg, Hesse electoral, Hesse ducal, Baden, Nassau, and Thuringia, abolished their individual customs regulations, and united in a common league, by which Prussia collected all the duties on goods imported into all the States, and divided the amount pro rata among the several States, according to population. This plan worked so well that other States were admitted, and nearly all Germany, comprising thirty-two States, became united in internal commerce. Prussia, in the operation, at first sacrificed a part of her revenue, because her share of the divided aggregate income under the league was less than her own revenues previously. She gained politically, however, because all Germany became immediately her frontier defences. The rapid growth of internal trade soon interwove the interests of the people of the several States in a manner to make separation impossible, as much so as it would be again to separate Massachusetts from New York. The multiplication of railroads still further increased the general prosperity, and Germany has moved rapidly forward in manufacturing industry and social improvement. The increase of traffic, growing out of the removal of internal restrictions, has been as follows:

1837 to 1841.

OTHER COLONIAL ARTICLES PARTLY IMPORTED FROM THE UNITED STATES.

1845.

The importation of United States articles increased 150 per cent. The increase in the consumption of cotton for five successive years, was as follows:

COTTON CONSUMED IN THE GERMAN ZOLL VEREIN.

In the four years here expressed, the manufacturing of cotton in Germany had doubled, and this fact is expressive of the progress made in all the material interests of Germany. The revenues of the league, derived from imports, which were 25,402,075 florins in 1834, had more than doubled in 1845.

The government of Austria saw, with intense anxiety, the entire success of this measure, by which Prussia had become the leading power of Germany, and they sought to form a counterpoise by forming a southern league of Austria with the Italian States. In possession of Venice and Trieste, Austria had magnificent seaports, and she entered into a preliminary treaty with the States through which the Po runs, as well as with the Sardinian States, the object of which was to remove the restrictions upon the navigation of the rivers of the north of Italy, and make her port of Trieste the centre of a vast commerce. That port is doubtless the natural debouche of Southern Germany, and through it is transacted one-third of all the commerce of the Austrian empire, which is nearly as follows:

Trieste, then, has 17 per cent of the whole Austrian trade, and pays 36 per

cent of all the duties. Among the articles imported are, for 11,000,000 florins, ($5,500,000,) yarn. This commercial statistic of Austria, however, is not to be relied on, from the known venality and prostitution of all her custom-house officets, and the enormous smuggling trade carried on with regular assurances of 10 per cent against the law. Instead of the imports, as here stated, exceeding the exports only by 2,000,000 florins, the difference, in all probability, amounts to 20,000,000. As regards the exports, which consist principally of raw produce, they are, of course, more easily watched by the government than the imports, and are, therefore, more likely to be correct. It appears, also, that the whole revenue derived from the exports and imports of the country, inhabited by 37,000,000 of people, do not yet reach 16,000,000 florins, or $8,000,000, a sum frequently entered to the credit of the United States by the Collector in New York during the space of a single week. The tobacco monopoly of Austria alone yields an income of 20,000,000 florins, or about $10,000,000; and hence the futile attempt of the government of the United States to induce that bigoted and benighted power to admit American tobacco at a fixed rate of duty. The whole system has now fallen into ruin. The policy of Austria, as well as the whole of Germany, changed with the flight of Metternich, and the whole vast commerce of Europe is now about to reward American enterprise. The establishing of the steam line to Bremen will prove a measure of great wisdom, and we doubt not that American interests will be timely looked after by suitable agents at the various courts. The republicanizing of Europe brings its people nearer to the United States in every respect.

COMMERCIAL STATISTICS.

COMMERCE AND NAVIGATION OF THE UNITED STATES

FOR THE YEAR ENDING 30TH OF JUNE, 1847.

We have at length received an official copy of the Report of the Secretary of the Treasury, communicating a Report of the Register of the Treasury, of the commerce and navigation of the United States for the year ending 30th of June, 1847. We have, on several former occasions, called attention to the tardy appearance of these reports. The present report, closing with the fiscal year ending June 30th, 1817, was laid before Congress December 14th, 1847, nearly six months after, when it was ordered to be printed; and now (May 30th, 1848) five months more elapse before it is officially made public. We have no disposition to change our democratic institutions, but we really wish that our government would engraft a little of the monarchical dispatch and promptness of some of the European states upon our institutions. We have before stated, that in Great Britain, the annual reports, corresponding with our own, are made up to the 5th of January in each year, laid before Parliament, and published before the expiration of a week. The British government publish, in addition, quarterly reports. We receive from our correspondent in Paris the " Tableau General du Commerce de la France," although a quarto volume three or four times larger than our Treasurer's Report for the same year, long before the United States annual report reaches us from Washington. The importance of

* This Report was not received until the close of May, 1848, eleven months after the close of the fiscal year, which ends on the 30th of June.

a prompt issue of these reports does not appear to us to be properly appreciated either by the appropriate department of our government, or our representatives in Congress. The custom-house returns of the different collection districts should all be made to the Treasury Department within a month or two after the expiration of the commercial year, so that they would be in the hands of the Register of the Treasury and his assistants some time in July or August, which would give them four months at least to prepare the report prior to the meeting of Congress in December. Indeed, four months would be ample time to prepare and print the report; and the better course would be, for Congress to pass a law authorizing the Department to print a specified number of the document, so that it could be laid before both houses of Congress, or distributed among the members at the opening of the session in December of each year. There can be no possible objection to this method, as no alteration is ever made in the report by the action of Congress, and about the same number are ordered to be printed every year. We sincerely hope that some member, representing the commercial interests in Congress, will bring the subject before that honorable body before the close of the present session.

In accordance with our usual custom, we now proceed to lay before the readers of the Merchants' Magazine a full and comprehensive view of the Commerce and Navigation of the United States for the year ending June 30th, 1847, as derived from an official copy of the report:

DOMESTIC EXPORTS OF THE UNITED STATES DURING THE YEAR 1847.

SUMMARY STATEMENT OF THE VALUE OF THE EXPORTS OF THE GROWTH, PRODUCE, AND MANUFACTURE OF THE UNITED STATES, DURING THE YEAR COMMENCING ON THE 1ST DAY OF JULY, 1846, AND ENDING ON THE 30TH DAY OF JUNE, 1847.