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CONTINENT OF AFRICA: SIERRA LEONE, LIBERIA, AND GOLD COAST. 23

Considerable quantities of the foregoing articles, especially the cotton goods and the wines and liquors, are re-exported. This adds to the importance of Sierra Leone as a trade center, for the merchants of Liberia, Gambia, &c., will often naturally prefer to purchase here, provided they can secure the goods upon anything like reasonable terms, rather than wait for European or American orders.

The principal articles in which the United States leads in Sierra Leone, according to Consul Lewis, are beef and pork, bread, flour, lard, lumber, oars, petroleum, roofing slates, and manufactured tobacco. Among the minor articles of American manufacture which seem to be making headway in the market, are wearing apparel, ammunition, boats, books, boots and shoes, butter, candles, carts and carriages, clocks and watches, confectionery, cordage, cotton goods, preserved fruit, glassware, guns, haberdashery, hardware, hats and caps, machinery, medicine, musical instruments, nails, lamps, paints, perfumery, pictures, provisions, rum, soap, stationery, crushed sugar, wines and liquors, &c.

The principal portion of the foreign trade of Sierra Leone is with England. During the year 1880 the exports from the latter country to Gambia and Sierra Leone amounted to $1,885,000, and the imports therefrom to $787,000. The principal articles of British export to both col'onies were as follows: Cotton goods, $900,000; apparel and haberdashery, hardware and cutlery, fire-arms, beer and ale, earthen and china ware, glassware, ironware, woolens, refined sugar, &c. The foreign goods exported from England thither-about $300,000 worth-consisted of glass beads, cotton goods, rice, brandy, rum, wine, tobacco (unmanufactured), &c. The British imports from the two colonies consisted of caoutchouc, gums, nuts for expressing oil therefrom, palm oil, ginger, wax, &c.

France and Germany have some trade with Sierra Leone, but from the statements showing the imports in detail it would seem that the United States come next in importance to England, there being more American goods consumed in this colony than of French and German combined.

COMMERCE OF LIBERIA.

The foreign trade of Liberia is estimated as follows, although from the absence of all Liberian statistics it is not possible to do more than approximate the trade: Imports, $600,000; exports, $600,000. The imports from the United States during the year 1881 were valued at $178,000, and the exports to the United States at $86,000. This, however, only represents that portion of our trade carried on in American vessels, the record of which was kept in the office of the consul-general. Consul-General Smyth, in his report for the year 1880, considers it probable that "between one-third and one-half of the articles which constitute the stock in Liberian trade is supplied by the United States, for which we receive no credit." It would seem, therefore, that at least one-half of the foreign goods consumed in Liberia are of American origin.

COMMERCE OF THE GOLD COAST.

The latest official statistics covering the foreign trade of the Gold Coast are for the year 1878, but as the trade of to day may be considered substantially the same as then, these figures will enable our importers and exporters to appreciate the different phases thereof. The total trade of the Gold Coast during the above year was as follows: Imports, $1,914,000; exports, $1,910,000.

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* In the returns of British trade specie is included, viz, $194,000 in the imports, and $194,000 in gold dst in the exports.

Principal articles of import into the Gold Coast.

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In the foregoing statement, the United States is credited to the following extent: Cotton goods, $3,000; gunpowder, $100; hardware and cutlery, $6,500; rum, $200,000; tobacco, $47,000-leaving something over $74,000 for "all other articles."

In the same statement England is credited with the following amount: Cotton goods, $600,000; rum, $40,000; gin, $24,000; hardware and cutlery, $65,000; tobacco, $22,000; silk goods, $37,000; gunpowder, $14,900; wine, $14,000; haberdashery, $54,000; specie, $194,000—leav ing $407,000 for "all other articles."

Comparatively favorable as our trade is with the Gold Coast, it will be seen by the foregoing statements that there is plenty of room for its expansion, especially in cotton goods and other manufactures.

Of the total exports from the Gold Coast, $1,413,000 is credited to palm oil, of which England is credited with the amount of 2,739,000 gallons, valued at over $1,000,000, and the United States with 877,000 gallons, valued at about $330,000. Palm nuts and kernels were exported to the amount of $245,000.

According to colonial returns there entered and cleared at and from the eighteen ports of the Gold Coast during the year under review, 336 vessels, of 181,476 tons, of which 212, of 59,464 tons, were sailing vessels, and 124, of 132,012 tons, were steamships. The British flag was represented in this fleet by 224 sailing vessels, of 27,504 tons, and 112 steamships, of 112,297 tons. The American flag was represented by 15,320 sailing tonnage only. The balance of the steam tonnage, 4,494 tons, was credited to the French flag.

One-third of all the steam tonnage entered and cleared at Cape Coast. Next to Cape Coast came the port of Elmina with a steam tonnage of 21,822 tons, a sailing tonnage of 13,124 tons. The port of Axim follows with 10,839 steam tonnage and 1,666 sailing tonnage. The port of Quittah shows the largest sailing tonnage, 15,904 tons, but only 2,410 steam tonnage. The other ports showing a steam tonnage were as follows: Dixcove, 6,164 tons; Adjuah, 4,938 tons, and Seccondee, 2,202 tons.

A reference to the British official trade returns for the year 1880 shows that the trade of England with the Gold Coast (including Lagos) was larger in the matter of imports therefrom, but less in the matter of exports thereto, than during the year 1878, but in both imports and exports greater than during the year 1879. The exports of cotton goods alone from England to the Gold Coast during the year 1880 amounted to 20,760,000 yards, valued at $1,321,000, which was an average of 6.36 cents per yard. The principal articles of British export to the Gold Coast, outside of cotton goods, were apparel and haberdashery, iron and manufactures of, hardware and cutlery, fire-arms and gunpowder, earthen and china ware, staves and empty casks, &c.

Foreign goods to the value of $200,000 were exported from England to the Gold Coast during the year, consisting of glass beads, cotton manufactures, rice, silk goods, spirits, wine, tobacco, &c. The quantity of American products included in this foreign export it is not possible to state.

The imports into the United Kingdom from the Gold Coast during the year 1880 amounted to $2,918,000, consisting of palm oil, $1,866,000; muts and kernels, for expressing oil therefrom, $420,000; caoutchouc, skins and furs, elephants' teeth, &c.

FOREIGN TRADE OF LAGOS.

The foreign trade of Lagos, according to British colonial official returns, was as follows during the year 1879:

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The unenumerated articles consisted of apparel, earthenware, haberdashery, iron of all kinds, salt, &c.

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There is not a single principal article of import or export into or from Lagos credited to the United States. As usual, England leads off in imports and exports, followed by Germany. A long way after Ger

many come France, Brazil, Zanzibar, Mozambique, and the British possessions on the West Coast.

There entered the port of Lagos during the year 366 vessels of 183,472 tons, of which 216 were steamships of 145,841 tons. Of the gross navigation 184 of 152,140 tons carried the British flag, and 120 vessels of 15,089, the German flag.

In the total trade of the Gold Coast, including Lagos, say imports $4,480,000 and exports $5,000,000, the United Kingdom shares to the following extent: In the imports $2,440,000, and in the exports $3,000,000, leaving over $4,000,000 to all other countries. The share of the United States in this balance may be estimated at $1,000,000 at the very least, pretty evenly divided between imports and exports. Germany follows the United States, and then come France, Zanzibar, Brazil, and British possessions.

THE COMMERCE OF ANGOLA (PORTUGUESE.) The total foreign trade of Angola may be estimated as follows:

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The principal trade of Angola is with Portugal and Great Britain. The latest Portuguese statistics show that the total trade of Portugal with all its possessions in Africa was as follows: Imports from possessions, $667,000; exports thereto, $1,451,000. At least one-half of this trade was with Angola.

Great Britain exported thereto, during the year 1880, merchandise to the value of $943,000; imports therefrom to the value of $900,000.

The principal imports into Angola consist of gray domestics, printed cottons of great variety, such as calicoes, stripes, blue baft, blue and white prints of certain styles, length, and width, handkerchiefs, red and blue baize, woolen caps, fire-arms, powder, shot, sheet-lead, beads, knives, brass rods, coarse salt, common crockery, cowries, flints, trade needles, rum, &c. In addition to the foregoing, which are used in barter with the natives in the interior, some fine goods, breadstuffs, and provisions are imported for local consumption.

The exports consist of peanuts and peanut-oil, palm-oil, beeswax, ivory, gum copal, Cazengo coffee, Encoge coffee, orchilla, palm kernels, the fibrous bark of the emboudeiro tree, used for the manufacture of paper and cotton.

According to the latest treasury returns there was no direct trade between the United States and Portuguese Africa during the fiscal year 1881; of the indirect trade there are no availa blestatistics.

The trade between Great Britain and Angola during the year 1880 was as follows: Cotton goods, $420,000; coal, $255,000; arms and ammunition, $50,000; apparel, hardware, and cutlery, spirits, woolens, &c. Foreign goods to the value of $36,000 were exported from England to Angola during the year.

The principal imports into England from Angola were caoutchouc, coffee, oil nuts and kernels, palm oil, teeth of elephants, sea-cows and sea-horses, &c.

RÉSUMÉ OF THE TRADE OF THE WEST COAST.

To enable our merchants interested therein to appreciate the characteristics of the trade of the West Coast of Africa, the following statements showing the trade of France and England therewith are given: Imports into France from the west coast of Africa. ·

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