TRADE OF THE UNITED STATES WITH CHINA AND HONG-KONG.

The results of the efforts made and now being made by our manufacturers for the enlargement of our trade in China, subsidized as these efforts have been by consular direction and incentive, are at last being felt, the direct exports from the United States to China during the fiscal year 1881 amounting to $5,450,000 against $1,100,000 during the preceding year.

The total direct trade of the United States with Hong-Kong and China during the years 1880 and 1881 was as follows:

The total increase in the foregoing statement of exports to China oocurred in cotton manufactures, as will be seen by the following details: Exports of American cotton manufactures to China during the fiscal years 1880 and 1881.

Outside of cotton manufactures the chief exports from the United States to China during the fiscal year 1881 were as follows: Kerosene, $555,000; cartridges, $172,000; clocks, $60,000; flour, coal, glassware, brassware, drugs; iron and steel, and manufactures of; paints, perfumery, provisions, furniture, spirits, clothing, &c.

The chief exports to Hong-Kong were, flour, $957,000; quicksilver, $590,000; ginseng, $536,000; kerosene, $205,000; cotton goods, $54,000; together with small lots of general manufactures, such as are exported to China.

It will thus be seen that the cotton-goods trade with China constitutes the chief portion of our exports thither, and that while our manufacturers should lose no opportunity of increasing their sales of miscellaneous imports in China, their principal efforts must be directed to the enlargement of the sales of American cottons in that empire.

The greater portion of the British cottons manufactured for the Chinese markets is highly adulterated, and altogether of very inferior quality, as its given valuation plainly proves, the plain piece goods exported to China and Hong-Kong during the year 1880 amounting to over 411,000,000 yards, averaging only 4.88 cents per yard to China, and 5.65 cents to Hong Kong. It is but just to add that the British manufacturers claim that they make these goods to supply a positive demand, and that the Chinese buy them, knowing their character, simply because of their cheapness. Much controversy has arisen concerning this "claying" of goods for China, many British dealers and British consuls protesting against the policy, but a much larger number of dealers and consuls insisting that the Chinese wanted such goods, and that the superior qualities of cottons, such as the American cottons, would never meet the wants of the market, some British consuls even asserting that the American manufacturers would be forced to resort to adulteration if they ever hoped to secure any standing in the Chinese markets. This Department, backed up by the almost unanimous opinion of the American consuls in China, has held to the principle that "good goods" must win their way in China as in other markets, and that as England has already a monopoly of the market, as far as adulterated cottons are concerned, the only sensible course left for the American manufacturers to pursue, even if they could hope to be able to compete with the English in the manufacture of adulterated cottons, which is not at all probable, is to challenge Chinese patronage on the strength of the purity of their goods. While cheapness must always be a leading factor in the cotton-goods trade of China, owing to the poverty of the people, the question of quality will be taken into consideration as well as the question of price, and it will not take the shrewd Chinaman long to apply the true principles of economy in his purchase of cottons, and if one yard of American manufacture will outlast two yards of British adulterated goods, he will purchase the best article, provided it is relatively cheaper than the inferior.

Of course it is not to be expected that the American goods can immediately displace the perfected and long acquired trade in British goods, if such a consummation were to be desired. On the contrary, the trade of both countries will doubtless go on increasing if foreign commerce only gains even infinitesimally upon Chinese conservatism; for, taking the total population of the empire into consideration, there are hundreds of millions in the interior to whom foreigners and foreign trade are wholly unknown. If the total population of China consumed foreign cottons even only as freely as the fraction thereof now supplied through the treaty ports consume them, it would mean a consumption equal to double the present total output of Great Britain, or over 7,000,000,000 yards.

RECAPITULATION OF ASIATIC TRADE.

The total foreign commerce of the continent of Asia, and the share of Great Britain, France, and the United States therein, is estimated as follows:

Total imports, $754,669,000; imports from Great Britain, $281,631,000; imports from France, $22,843,000; imports from the United States, $17,510,000.

Total exports, $772,766,000; exports to Great Britain, $225,806,000; exports to France, $80,569,000; exports to the United States, $53,838,000.

Of the total imports of the continent, the British possessions receive $422,781,000, and of the total exports of the continent the British possessions share to the amount of $469,568,000. It will thus be noted that nearly two-thirds of the total foreign commerce of Asia is with the British possessions. Herein lies the great preponderance of British trade with Asia, for, although she has a large share of the trade of all countries and colonies, the great bulk thereof is with her own colonies, viz: Of the total imports of Asia from Great Britain, $281,631,000, her colonies receive $202,820,000, while of the total exports from the continent to Great Britain, $225,806,000, her possessions supply $154,765,000. It will thus be seen that of the total trade of Great Britain with Asia nearly threefourths thereof is with her own possessions.

The utility of colonial possessions as trade correspondents with the mother country is not more clearly exemplified by the British trade in Asia than it is by the unfavorable state of French trade in that portion of the world. France has no colonies of any commercial importance in Asia. The total imports of merchandise into the continent from France amounts to only $22,843,000, and nearly one-half thereof consists of imports into Asiatic Turkey, resulting from geographical contiguity. OmitAsiatic Turkey, the imports of Asia from the United States amount to $15,886,000, and from France to only $12,843,000. According to French official returns, the direct exports of French goods to the continent of Asia during the year 1880 amounted to only $5,241,000, while the direct exports of American products to the continent during the year ended June 30, 1881, amounted to $13,267,000. Taking into account the American merchandise reaching Asia through foreign sources, it is clear that the consumption of American products therein is fourfold the consumption of French products. During the year 1880, the direct exports of British products to Asia amounted to $252,958,000, and of foreign goods to $15,632,000. This shows how completely, through her colonial possessions, Great Britain monopolizes the commerce of Asia.

The direct exports from Great Britain, France, and the United States of the products and manufactures of each, to the several countries of Asia, during the year 1880 for Great Britain and France, and during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1881, for the United States are herewith given, followed by statements, taken as far as possible from the official returns of the several countries and possessions, showing the total trade of the continent.

Recapitulation of the foreign commerce of the Continent of Asia.

*The trade of France with Asiatic Turkey being blent in French official returns with the Turkish Empire, this amount is but an estimate.

*Estimated, owing to the fact that no division is made between the trade of France with Asiatic Turkey and Turkey in Europe.

According to British official returns, the imports into Great Britain from China during the year 1880 amounted to $57,450,000, which makes a difference of $19,450,000. As the general exports from China in the above table are taken from Chinese returns, the return of exports to Great Britain is also taken from the same authority. The exports to France, however, owing to the fact that Chinese returns give no details of the special trade between China and France, are taken from French returns.

FOREIGN COMMERCE OF AUSTRALASIA.

The total commerce of Australasia during the year 1880 was as follows, gold and intercolonial trade included:

According to the report of Consul-General Spencer, of Melbourne, the foregoing statement shows, as compared with the trade of the year 1879, a decrease in the imports of more than $11,000,000, and an increase in the exports of nearly $37,000,000.

The decrease in the imports here noted must have occurred in the intercolonial trade, for the imports from foreign countries were at least $10,000,000 in excess of those of the preceding year.

In a very interesting tabular statement compiled by Consul-General Spencer, of Melbourne, showing the total trade of Australasia during the year 1879, the intercolonial imports were given as amounting to $89,000,000, and the intercolonial exports to $83,000,000. This intercolonial trade has heretofore been included in the foreign commerce of Australasia, where it had no more right to appear than our inter-State trade in our foreign commerce. Thus the foreign commerce of the colonies has, previous to the valuable analytical table of Consul General Spencer, appeared much larger than it really was, by the addition of the home trade thereto.

Following out the analytical line of reasoning, applied to the commerce of other countries, viz, computing its value and volume from the returns of the principal countries trading therewith, the foreign commerce of Australasia-the intercolonial trade and gold excluded-during the year 1880 may be set down as follows: Imports, $110,600,000; exports, $135,000,000.

Of this trade the exports from Great Britain to the colonies amounted to over $91,000,000, and the imports into Great Britain from the colonies amounted to about $125,000,000.

The following tabular statements show the principal articles which enter into the trade of Great Britain with each of the colonies. As this trade may be said to virtually represent the total trade of Australasia, these statements will afford a very clear insight into the nature and extent of Australasian foreign commerce.