plies of such articles as flour, provisions, sugar, cattle, horses, and lumber, as well as soldiers and munitions of war have been sent. Besides the regular ships of the volunteer fleet which ply between this port and the far east, and always have their carrying capacity taxed to the utmost, a number of foreign steamers have been chartered during the present year to carry goods and troops to Port Arthur, among others being the steamship Scandia, under the German flag, which vessel is now the property of the United States, and is engaged in the carrying trade between San Francisco and the island of Luzon. The table which follows shows the exports from Odessa from January 1 to July 31 for the years 1898, 1897, and 1896. It will be seen from this table how completely Russia was stripped of all reserve stores of wheat, when the high price per bushel brought for exportation a less quantity by 199,502 tons from Odessa alone, as compared with the corresponding period of time during 1897. Russia has no reserve stocks of wheat, and present advices tend to the belief that the wheat crop of 1898 is as much below the average as it was in 1897. The black-earth country which is tributary to this port nearly always produces fair crops of wheat, but this area is confined to four or five provinces, and elsewhere in Russia, wheat has either failed altogether or is much below an average yield. Rye, barley, and corn show an increased export over 1897, but the exports of rye do not equal the large export of this cereal in 1896. Exports from Odessa for seven months ending July 31, 1898, 1897, and 1896. The Baltic-Black Sea ship canal is a project which has been discussed with a wealth of detail by newspapers, scientific journals, and in consular reports for many years past. The length of the canal was given at 1,000 miles and the cost at $100,000,000. The Black Sea and the Baltic were to be joined chiefly in order that Russia's Black Sea fleet might, in case of need, reenforce Russia's fleet in the Baltic, and vice versa. The canal was to be completed in 1902, about the same time as the Siberian railroad is expected to be finished. Maps, showing Riga in the Baltic and Kherson far down south on the Dnieper River, were also printed in some of these journals. This canal scheme is mentioned here simply for the purpose of stating that, during the present year, the Russian Government has officially disclaimed any responsi bility for the reports that it intended building such a canal, and furthermore stated that it would be almost, if not quite, a physical impossibility to construct it. It has been decided to clear the river Dnieper of the obstructions between Kherson and the point where the river flows into the Black Sea. When completed, this will permit the passage of steamers up to Kherson, where full cargo can be loaded. At present, all grain is brought down the river to Odessa in barges. It has also been decided to deepen the river Bug, and make a 36foot channel from Nicolaiev to Ochakov, where the river flows into the Black Sea. At present, large-size steamers can not load full cargo and must be sent to Odessa or elsewhere to complete. The work on both of these rivers will probably be undertaken and finished by Americans. Referring again to the proposed deepening of the river Bug, it may be of interest to mention that on and after January 1, 1899, the headquarters of the Russian Admiralty of the Black Sea will be at Nicolaiev. As a naval station, Nicolaiev has the advantage over Sebastopol of being situated in a perfectly safe position. It has a splendid dockyard belonging to the Russian Government, where several ironclads, now a part of the Black Sea fleet, were built. It has also a private shipbuilding yard, with buildings which cover an area of about 70 acres. The entire plant of this yard, when completed, will permit of the simultaneous construction of two first-class battle ships, three first-class cruisers, and some half dozen torpedo boats or torpedo-boat destroyers. The yard has also a very fine pontoon dock in course of construction, which will be capable of accommodating a vessel of 5,000 tons. The appliances of the Russian admiralty dockyard, at present, are sufficient only for the simultaneous construction of two battle ships and several torpedo boats or destroyers; but they are capable of extension. The great importance of the proposed new channel for the river Bug will be best understood by the statement that the present channel is too shallow to permit the passage of the new battle ships or cruisers, when completed with their armor plate and equipment, and it has been found necessary to send such ships to Sebastopol for completion. The new channel, however, will obviate this. That Russian statesmen are determined to foster and extend the country's carrying trade is amply evinced in a recent ukase, which remits all duty on gold-mining plants of foreign manufacture destined for use in Siberia and the Urals, and on ships built abroad. This duty is remitted for a period of ten years, dating from July, 1898. ODESSA, October 27, 1898. THOS. E. HEENAN, Consul. RIGA. During the last year, there was little change to note in the trade between this consular district and the United States, and the goods imported consist, as usual, chiefly of agricultural implements, hardware, and tools, besides cotton, rosin, lard, and phosphate. These latter articles are generally coming in vessels direct from the United States, whereas those before mentioned are transshipped in some Eng lish or continental port, and are therefore named in the statistics as coming from that country where transshipped. Notwithstanding the superiority of many of the American articles, they are in some instances not able to compete with similar goods from England or Germany, because the exporters there are, in general, more willing to accommodate the Russian buyers with liberal terms of credit, whereas American manufacturers, as a rule, require cash upon delivery of shipping documents. The Russian Government has ordered several locomotives from the Baldwin works in Philadelphia, and a Danish steamer with some 2,000 tons of locomotives is expected here shortly direct from Philadelphia. The locomotives will be put together here and run down on the railway line to Novorossisk, a port on the Black Sea. The declared exports from this consular district to the United States for the year ending June 30, 1898, amounted to $363,465.94, which, compared with the previous year ($264,208.71), shows an increase of $99,257.23. The goods exported from here to the United States consist chiefly of albumen, flax, hemp, liquors, rennets, rubber waste, skins, books (Hebrew), etc. During the year 1897, this port was visited by 1,887 steamers and sailing vessels, under the following flags: No vessel flying the Stars and Stripes has visited this port since 1892. The port was not closed by ice during this winter; only in February was navigation impeded during some weeks, by drifting ice in the bay of Riga. With regard to keeping open the bay during the whole winter, with the assistance of ice breakers, experience has shown this to be difficult, not so much on account of the heaviness of the ice, but owing to the constant changes of its position and character, due to the varying winds and currents in the bay. The Russian Government has ordered a very strong ice breaker1 in England of 10,000 horsepower, I believe the strongest ever built, and costing $750,000, which will be ready in December of this year. It is likely that she will make a trial trip in the bay of Riga, should ice at that time impede the navigation. From January 1 up to this date, there have arrived in this port 965 steamers and sailing vessels, 570 with cargo and 395 in ballast. On July 1/13, this year, a new law entered into force, in accordance with which steamers intended for navigation in foreign seas are to be 1See Consular Reports No. 220, January, 1899; Advance Sheets No. 279, November 21, 1898. admitted free of duty for the next ten years. This exemption of duty is extended for a like period of ten years to steam yachts, dredgers, ice breakers, floating docks, anchors, chains and wire cables. The law is intended to give an impetus to home shipbuilding and lead to the establishment of additional yards. While the construction of large ocean-going vessels is at present beyond their power, they will gain such experience and knowledge during the ten years of free importation as will enable them to undertake these also, and thus ultimately dispense with the foreign shipbuilder. After January 1/13, 1900, all non-Russian vessels are to be excluded from the coasting trade and the navigation of inland waters, an arrangement affecting foreign owners, who have long been engaged in this branch of Russian shipping. The transport of salt from the Black Sea to the Baltic ports is still to be allowed under foreign flag. A new floating dock for vessels, 300 feet long, is in course of erection at Bolderaa, at the entrance of the river Duena. It was built at Kiel, Germany, and cost $110,000. The trade and commerce of Riga during last year has been brisk, and the healthy tone in the market has been maintained, which, to a great extent, is due to the stability of the paper ruble since its value in gold has been fixed by the Government. The following is the value of the imports and exports during the year 1897, compared with those of 1896: Of articles of import, the following are the principal: Coals, coke, cork wood, dyewood, cotton, colonial produces, herrings; iron in bars, plates, sheets, etc.; machinery, agricultural and industrial pig; iron, rails, salt, steel, etc. The export articles are chiefly cereals of all kinds, such as rye, barley, wheat, hemp, and linseed; oil cake; eggs, the export of which from Riga is increasing yearly; wood of all kinds, deals, battens, boards, baulks, sleepers, lath wood, pit props, etc. The destination of these goods was the Scandinavian countries, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, Belgium, France, Spain, and ports in the Mediterranean, and from the foregoing table, it will be seen. that they are carried in vessels principally under the foreign flags, viz: English, 34 per cent; Danish, 20 per cent; German, 16 per cent; Norwegian, 6 per cent; Russian, 16 per cent; Swedish, 5 per cent. The works on the new railway, Tuckum-Windau, are progessing fairly from both ends, and the line will likely be open for traffic during this year. The harbor works at Windau are also in progress, with a large steam dredger just imported from England. The sanitary condition of this city is good. A new slaughterhouse was opened last autumn, costing about $350,000, and consequently all private slaughterhouses were closed. A net of sewers is being laid down through this city, with an expenditure of $1,500,000. RIGA, August 1, 1898. N. A. P. BORNHOLDT, Consul. |