The chief divisions of "general" and "special" trades were, in millions of francs: were as follows: 4,518 3,078 3,374 3,400 3,598 3,511 4,153 The chief articles of import and export in the "Special Trade," expressed in millions of francs, 258 147 157 90 75 102 78 104 88 51 65 Cheese and butter.. Chemical products... 52 Clothes and linens.. Furs and skins, raw.. Modes & artific'l flowers Pottery, glass, & cryst'l. Iron and steel, cast... Table fruits... Fish. Drills.. Cotton wool.. Horses and mules. Coal and coke... Tools and metal goods. 103 109 130 142 Chief imports for home use and exports of home goods, to and from the following countries, in millions of francs: 1894. 1895. 1896. 1897.1898. 1899. 9161,000 1,031 1,1321,022 1239 478 497 501 513 549 605 325 334 340 380 394 457 186 289 225 242 210 255 130 163 180 191 202 216 98 134 115 151 143 192 109 109 100 98 82 148 199 203 218 216 226 260 80 76 69 61 55 67 51 44 56 51 49 153 53 51 41 49 47 49 *These statistics are carried back to the year 1815 in Volume I of this work, at pages 41 and 42. Banking. notes, THE BANK OF FRANCE. Though not a State institution, the Bank of France has the exclusive right to issue circulating Statistics of coin on hand and the Bank's circulation, in millions of francs, 1810 to 1898, are shown on page 16, Volume V. Classification of the coin on hand in the Bank of France at the end of each year, in millions and hundred thousands of francs, 1870 to 1899: The condition of the Bank of France is shown below for the weeks ending October 18 and 11, 1900, and the corresponding period of 1899, in thousands of pounds sterling: The transactions of the Paris Clearing House were as follows for recent years, expressed in milliards of francs, 00,000's omitted: There is a double standard of value, gold and silver, the ratio being theoretically 15% to 1. Of silver coins, however, only 5-franc pieces are legal tender, and of these the free coinage has been suspended since 1876. NOTE.-For further information, see "Year Book," Volume I, pages 61 and 62, and subsequent issues. COINAGE. The amount of money coined in France during recent years has been as follows, in francs: Shipping, Railroads, Post-Office, Telegraphs, Coinage, Monetary System, Weights and Measures. (See Index.) GERMANY. Area and Population. The present area of the twenty-five States of Germany and Alsace-Lorraine is 208,670 square miles. The census populations are given as follows: For 1885, 46,855,704; for 1890, 49,428,470, and for 1895, 52,279,901, or 250.5 inhabitants per square mile in 1895. (For statistics of each State, see "Commercial Year Book," Volume IV, page 20.) POPULATION ACCORDING TO OCCUPATION, WITH PERCENTAGE, 1882 AND 1895. (See "Commercial Year Book," Volume V, page 17.) EMIGRATION FROM GERMAN STATES. Fiscal Affairs. The following statement shows the revenue and expenditure (in thousands of marks) for the last six years, the figures for the last year being taken from the budget estimates: 1893-94. 1,117,570 158,449 1,344,092 1,346,714 1898-99. 1,355,460 57,427 1,412,886 1,384,152 1,463,320 1900-01... 1,979,135 1,783,042 The amounts raised by customs and excise and stamps were as follows (in thousands of marks): On March 31, 1898, the total funded debt amounted to 2,182,246,800 marks. Of this amount 450,000,000 bears interest at 4 per cent., 1,240,000,000 at 3% per cent., and 942,246,800 at 3 per cent. There also exists an unfunded debt, represented by "Reichs-Kassenscheine," or imperial treasure bills, outstanding on March 31, 1898, to the amount of 120,000,000 marks. As a set-off against the debt there exists a variety of invested funds. The fund for invalids consisted of 412,115,300 marks in 1898. The war treasure fund of 120,000,000 marks is not invested, but preserved in gold at Spandau. The number of live stock in the German Empire is shown as follows: The following are the statistics of beet-root sugar production in the Zollgebiet: The following table shows the quantity of beer brewed at various periods. The amounts are given in thousands of hectolitres (= 26.4 gallons); also the number of active breweries in the beer excise district: The average annual consumption per head of the population of the entire Zollgebiet for the twenty years, 1874-94, was 25.3 gallons; in 1898 it was 33 gallons. Alcohol. The production and consumption of alcohol, showing uses and per capita consumption, are given below in hectolitres (1 hectol.-26.4 gallons): Minerals and Metals. The annual product of the principal minerals and metals in Germany and Luxemburg is shown in the following table, in thousands of metric tons, likewise the values, in thousands of dollars: The imports and exports of merchandise under the head of "special trade" (precious metals included), together with the movement of the precious metals, are shown below; the imports and exports for 1897 are valued at the prices for 1896. The returns for 1897 to 1899 are swollen by the inclusion, for the first time, of dutiable articles imported for re-export after further manufacture. (Expressed in marks). -Precious Metals 1896. 1897. 1898. 1899. Years. -Merchandise The values of the imports and exports, classified as below, were as follows (in millions of marks): * Given in kilogrammes. 1 kilo = 2.2046 lbs. ; 1 metric ton = 2,204 lbs. |