CONTINENT OF EUROPE. NORWAY. Annual report by Consul Gade, of Christiania. UNITED STATES CONSULATE, The export trade to the United States from this port embraced the following articles during the year just closed: The decrease in the amount of exports as compared with the preceding year, when they reached $97,404.93, is due to the reduced export of old iron. There was no demand in the United States for Norwegian ice last year. It would be of interest to give the exact value of the several American products imported into this district, but, as I have already remarked in former reports, as some of the principal articles, as salted pork and leather, are mostly shipped through British ports and not entered on the customhouse lists as American goods, the aggregate value and quantity of the American imports can only be approximately given. It may be safely asserted that their consumption in this country is steadily on the in crease. The Norwegian official statistics give the following figures of the direct imports from the United States: [Value in Norwegian crowns: 1 crown = 26.8 cents.] Only petroleum is generally brought here directly in sailing vessels from American ports. Seven cargoes, containing 15,004 barrels of petroleum, were imported into Christiania from New York and Philadelphia during the past year. Three other sailing vessels, arriving direct from New York, carried salted pork, lard, turpentine, wheat, Indian corn, and other American goods. A Danish line of steamers running between Copenhagen and New York, which has several new vessels now building, has lately brought this port in direct communication with the United States, a great advantage to trade as well as to emigration, which has hitherto been directed through England. American corn, of which increasing quantities are now imported into Sweden and Denmark for the distilleries, is not in favor here. Nor even this year, when provender is very scarce in this country and corn might be used for feeding purposes, could the merchants be prevailed upon to order a cargo from America. Potatoes are still used here for distilling purposes. Among American articles lately introduced, sirup may be mentioned; of this article there is a large consumption in Norway. On American corned beef, which in 1878 was free from duty here, and 86,000 pounds of which were imported during the fiscal year 1878-79, the Norwegian Storthing in 1880 laid a duty of 40 ore per kilogram, which was equal to prohibition. The last Storthing has again reduced the duty on this article to 10 ore (about 3 cents) per kilogram, and importation has recommenced. Among other alterations in the Norwegian tariff made this year, the duty on leather was raised from 13 to 23 ore per kilogram. The native tanneries had repeatedly claimed this protection from the legislature for their industry, which some years ago, before American leather was introduced here, was in a flourishing condition. No American vessel, with the exception of the United States steamer Nipsic, entered the port of this district during the year. The following details of the Norwegian shipping are taken from the introduction to the statistical tables of the shipping of Norway, lately published by the statistical bureau. It is the first time since 1826, or for more than fifty years, that the statistics of the Norwegian merchant marine have shown a decline. At the beginning of 1879 it consisted of 8,248 vessels of 1,536,689 tons, but at the end of that year it had fallen off to 8,147 vessels of 1,510,669 tons. If one steamer is computed equal to three sailing vessels of the same size, the tonnage calculated on that principle would show a decrease of 9,806 tous, or from 1,630,037 to 1,620,231 tons. The increase is entirely in the sailing vessels, the tonnage of which, according to their reports, had gone down from 1,475,000 to 1,456,000 tons, while the steamers had risen from 51,674 to 54,781 tons. Since January 1, 1864, when the steam tonnage was only 5,031 tons, it has grown in the following proportion: 1864-270, 9,337 tons, or 1,334 tons per year; 1871-73, 26,798 tons, or 8,933 tons per year; 1874-79, 13,615 tons, or 2,269 tons per year; total, 49,750 tons, or 3,109 tons per year. The greater part of the new steamers and the larger ones have been bought in foreign countries, viz, in England and partly in Sweden. In 1871-'79, 82 steamers of 29,462 tons were bought, and 115 steamers. of 20,337 tons were during the same period built in this country. The most of the latter were between 200 and 300 tons. Thirteen hundred and nineteen sailing vessels of 331,110 tons were built in Norway during the years 1873-'79, and 860 vessels of 360,612 tons were bought in foreign countries. The shipbuilding culminated in 1875 with 72,257 tons, and the purchase of foreign vessels in 1873 with 103,021 tons. The gross freights earned by Norwegian vessels in foreign carrying trade amounted to, in Norwegian crowns: The Norwegian vessels occupied in foreign carrying trade were: In 1872, 980,000 tons sailers and 16,000 tons steamers; 1878, 1,388,000 tons sailers and 39,600 tons steamers. Each ton of the sailers had accordingly earned 85 crowns in 1872, but only 59 crowns in 1879, while the steamers are reported to have earned 258 crowns and 166 crowns per ton during the said year respectively. But the profit made by the steamers has in reality been larger, as the reported amounts of gross freights did not include those earned in coast service by those steamers which touched at home ports while engaged in foreign navigation. Nor has the profit from carrying passengers been included. During the ten years 1869-'79 the tonnage of steamers in carrying trade between Norway and foreign countries had risen from 158,000 to 858,130 tons, while the tonnage of sailing vessels had fallen of from 1,514,000 to 1,387,000 tons. The Norwegian consuls abroad reported that 2,827 seamen deserted from Norwegian vessels in foreign ports during the year 1879, but many seamen of foreign nationality are probably included in that large number. The consuls also reported that 681 Norwegian seamen sent home through them 98,777 crowns from their wages, or 47,000 crowns more than in the preceding year. The consuls are instructed to assist seamen in remitting money home, a measure which has proved very useful. In his introductory remarks to the statistical tables of the commerce of Norway in 1880, the chief of the statistical bureau states that the improvement in commerce, which had commenced in 1879, after several rather unfavorable years, continued also in 1880. The total value of imports and exports, or the total trade of the kingdom, amounted in the latter year to 259,600,000 of crowns, or 38,000,000 more than in 1879. The maximum of exports was reached in 1874, when it amounted to 307,000,000. It is particularly in the exports that the improvement of 1880 appears, as they then amounted to 108,700,000—19,500,000, or 22 per cent., more than in 1879. The imports had risen to 150,900,000 crowns-18,600,000 crowns, or 14 per cent., more than in 1879. There has been a growing difference between the values of the imports and exports of Norway. From a difference of 27,000,000 crowns yearly in the years 1866-270, and 47,500,000 in the next five years, it had grown to 52,700,000 yearly in 1876–280. This deficit, together with the yearly interest-about 5,000,000 crowns -on the debt contracted abroad by the government, by some of the cities, and by the Hypothek bank," guaranteed by the state, and which now amounts to over 120,000,000 crowns, against 40,000,000 crowns in 1874, must then be balanced by the profits of the shipping. But, unfortunately, they have decreased in no inconsiderable way since 1841, as already shown under the heading of shipping in this report, and the expenses of vessels in foreign ports, which in earlier years were estimated at 40 to 45 per cent. of the total gross freights, have lately increased somewhat. The financial condition of Norway is consequently not very good, and as the shipping does not promise any improvement, the country will have to resort to new and more profitable articles of export to make up for the deficit. The staple of this district, timber and wood products, had risen on the export lists for 1880 to 42,500,000 from 28,500,000 crowns in 1879, or to 39 per cent. of the total export of the country. The exports of fish and fish products had, on the other side, fallen off to 38,000,000, against 40,000,000 crowns in 1879, and was only 35 per cent. of the total exports. Agricultural products, particularly butter, oats, and condensed milk, goat and sheep skins, rose to over 8,000,000 crowns, against 5,000,000 crowns in 1879. The commerce of the city of Christiania has made very remarkable progress during the last few years, and especially in 1880. The city, which then had a population of 120,000 souls, exported for about 26,000,000 crowns, or 24 per cent. of the exports of the whole country, and imported for 65,500,000, or 43.3 per cent. of the total imports. Among the industries of this district may be mentioned the seal-catching of the port of Tonsberg. Fifteen vessels, all steamers but one, have been occupied in 1881 in this industry, and the yield amounted to 46,526 sealskins, 8,155 barrels of blubber, and thirteen polar bears. Amongst these vessels, which had an aggregate tonnage of 3,697 tons, was the celebrated steamer Vega, on which Professor Nordenskjold circumnavigated Siberia and discovered the Arctic northeast passage. The whalers of Tonsberg have also this year been successful, and several new steamers will next season be added to the existing fleet. The emigration continues on a very large scale. An unprecedented number will leave this year for the United States. Since the beginning of the year fully 14,000 persons have emigrated from this port. As the harvest has been poor in many districts of Norway, the emigration next year will again deprive the country of thousands of useful laborers. GERHARD GADE, Consul. UNITED STATES CONSULATE, Christiania, October 28, 1881. DENMARK. ANNUAL REPORT BY CONSUL RIDER OF COPENHAGEN, FOR THE YEARS 1880 AND 1881. UNITED STATES CONSULATE, I have the honor to transmit herewith my annual report, which has been delayed until now on account of the slowness of the statistical bureau in issuing its yearly collection of statistical tables, herewith transmitted. IMPORTS AND EXPORTS FOR THE YEAR 1880. In the foreign countries, it is unquestionably Germany and Great Britain that take the most important places both in regard to the quantities of the goods disposed of and with respect to the values thereof. In the years 1876-80 the commercial transactions between Denmark and these two countries amounted on an average to 65 per cent. of the whole trade, and 66 per cent. of the value of the collective transactions with all foreign countries; or, in other words, that two-thirds of the whole foreign trade is transacted with Germany and Great Britain. After these countries come Sweden and Norway, with which countries in the five years 1876-'80 there was an exchange of commercial transactions of goods to the average extent of about 23 per cent. of the foreign trade of Denmark and of the average value of 17 per cent. of these collective transactions. The commercial relations with the United States during the last five years have been steadily and largely progressing. In value they can thus be placed as 3,900,000 kroners in 1876, 8,000,000 kroners in 1877, 8,200,000 kroners in 1878, 11,500,000 kroners in 1879, and now 19,100,000 kroners in 1880. It is the import trade into Denmark which, without question, occupies the most important place. Thus in the years 1876-80 the values of the imports from the United States amounted, respectively, to 3,800,000 kroners, 8,000,000 kroners, 8,100,000 kroners, 10,800,000 kroners, and even to 17,900,000 kroners. This considerable increase is due to the steadily imports, first and foremost, of maize; next, of wheat; then of lard, of pork and beef, as also of butter. In the year 1880 the import values of these articles amounted, respectively, to 8,300,000 kroners, 1,800,000 kroners, 3,500,000 kroners, 1,800,000 kroners, and 110,000 kroners, whilst on the other hand the imports of petroleum in 1880 were considerable less than in the previous years. In 1879, whilst the imports from the United States of this article were 34,000,000 pounds, of the value of 3,500,000 kroners, the imports in 1880 were only a little over 13,000, 00 of pounds, of the value of 1,400,000 kroners. As regards the exports from this country to the United States, this, in proportion to the amount of the imports, is exceedingly small. For the years 1878 and 1880, however, a more sensible augmentation has been made manifest. THE MERCHANT MARINE OF DENMARK. The Danish commercial navy, on the 31st December, 1880, consisted of 3,082 vessels (2,881 sailing ships and 201 steamers), with a collective tonnage of 249,465 tons. This fleet has, in the course of 1880, been reduced by 63 vessels, and 2,492 tons. The reduction is solely due to sailing vessels, the number of which has been diminished by 72, of a tonnage of 5,650 tons. The tonnage of sailing vessels is now 13,194 tons less than in 1876, when it stood at its highest point, 210,703 tons. Steamers, on the other hand, have been increased by 9 ships of 3,158 tons. On the 31st March, 1871, this commercial fleet numbered 2,648 sailing vessels, with a burden of 169,515 tons, and 87 steamers of 11,980 tons. Thus in the last ten years the number of sailing vessels has been increased by 233 vessels, an increase of only about 8 per cent., whilst the number of steamers has been increased by 114, an increase of 131 per cent. The tonnage of the sailing fleet has at the same time increased about 16 per cent., the steamers with no less than 333 per cent. |