a very favorable result, considering the bad effect our war must necessarily have upon foreign trade. The principal articles which have been exported from this empire to our country are Vienna shawls, Bohemian glass, fancy goods, meershaums, chenille goods, kid gloves, black lead, Hungarian wine, and linen rags. As soon as our war is at an end the exports from this consulate to the United States will doubtless increase considerably, because goods that are usually exported from here can be bought cheaper in Austria than in other European markets, and, as far as quality is concerned, they will stand a favorable comparison with any manufactured on this continent. Tabular statement showing the comparative imports and exports of the empire of Austria for the years 1861 and 1862. The excess of the exports over the imports must be attributed to the great reduction in the importation of raw cotton to the amount of 15,835,712 florins, and of cotton yarn to the amount of 5,157,308 florins, caused by our civil war; but the importation of tobacco, compared with 1861, has increased 2,017,542 florins. Another cause of the excess of exports is the increased shipment of wood to Hamburg, for the construction of vessels and for building purposes, to the amount of 11,223,871 florins, and the very large export of unmanufactured wool to Russia to the amount of 17,732,195 florins. The duties received by the government last year amounted— This shows an increase of duties received in 1862 over the preceding year of 914,043 florins, caused by the larger imports of olive oil, refined sugar, and melado for refining. The province of Dalmatia constitutes a separate range of customs. The official tables of that country show the following results for the years 1861 and 1862: Excess of imports........ ....florins.. 3, 483, 631... 1, 643, 021 Excess of imports in 1861 over 1862... .florins.. 692, 590 ..florins.. 1, 148, 120 The increase of exports is caused by the larger shipment of olive oil (893,100 florins) and of wine in barrels (221,756 florins.) Tabular statement showing the comparative value of the exports and imports of the empire of Austria for the year ended December 31, 1862, in Austrian florins. There are two steamship companies in Austria; the one runs its steamers on the Danube and its tributaries, and the other keeps up the communication between Austria and the Levant, and the Danubian principalities with Triest and Venice, Croatia, and Dalmatia. Prices of passage on the steamers of the last-named company (Austrian Lloyds) are, 1st class, 1 florin 35 kreutzers per league; 2d class, 95 kreutzers per league; 3d class, 59 kreutzers per league. Freight per hundred weight per league, 1st class of goods, 1 kreutzer per league; 2d class of goods. 25 kreutzers per league; 3d class of goods, 3 kreutzers per league; 4th class of goods, 3 kreutzers per league. THE AUSTRIAN NAVY is augmented every year by the addition of new vessels. Austria has to keep a considerable navy on account of her possessions on the Adriatic and the close proximity of her old enemy, Italy. The following summary statement will show the strength of the Austrian navy in 1863: Number of vessels... Number of guns Horse-power.. Steamers and propellers. 48,692 8,761 668 11,726 Number of men CLOTH AND SHAWL MANUFACTURES. This branch of industry is also one of the most important and extensive in Austria. The cloth manufacture is limited almost to four sections of country, viz: Reichenburg, Brunn, Iglan, and Bielitz. The manufactures of Reichenburg and the surrounding country are those of the finer sorts of cloth and fashionable stuffs; those of Iglan and Bielitz produce only common sorts, and Brunn almost exclusively the fashionable stuffs, such as peruvienne, taskin, &c. A large amount of the finer cloth is exported from Reichenburg and Brunn to the United States. The manufacture of shawls is limited to the city of Vienna, and carried on in a most extensive scale. The exports of these shawls to the United States is quite large, and amounts to not much less than 5,000,000 florins per annum. During the last few years Austria has made wonderful progress in industry, resulting from the more liberal government which the Emperor, Francis Joseph I, has granted to his people. TRIEST-RICHARD HILDRETH, Consul. JUNE 1, 1863. In reply to the circular letter No. 29, dated November 20, 1862, I have the honor to hand you enclosed copies of the correspondence between this consulate and the imperial royal central maritime government at Triest, by which you will see that foreign consular officers residing in the empire of Austria are not at present authorized to administer oaths to Austrian subjects. You will also observe that the matter can be further discussed through our legation in Vienna, which I furnished with copies of said correspondence. "To the Imperial Royal Central Maritime Government, Trieste: "Agreeably to the existing laws no goods or merchandise shipped for the United States subject to ad valorem or specific duty shall be admitted to entry unless the invoice of such goods is verified by the oath of the owner; and it becomes, therefore, the duty of every shipper to swear before a consul of the United States of America as to the correctness of said invoice. "In order to comply, therefore, with the request of the department of state of the United States of America, the undersigned respectfully request the imperial royal central maritime government to inform this consulate if, under the existing laws of her Majesty's government, consular officers of the United States residing in the empire of Austria are authorized to administer oaths. "From the consulate of the United States of America. "TRIEST, February 21, 1863." "IMPERIAL ROYAL CENTRAL MARITIME GOVERNMENT. "Foreign consuls residing in the dominions of her Majesty are at present, under no existing laws, authorized to administer oaths in the empire of Austria for judicial affairs. "Though in cases of maritime accidents, when it becomes necessary to assume marine protests, an exception from the general rule is admitted, which establishes, that only the judicial authorities or its organs are called upon to administer oaths for judicial affairs; this exception takes place only when the foreign consuls are admitted to assume marine protests, but in those cases only where no other persons are interested but those belonging to the state of its respective consul, and, therefore, no Austrian subjects or subjects of other states. "Thus established, we have the honor to communicate to you, in reply to your well-accepted note of the 21st of February last, No. 23, that foreign consular officers are not at present authorized to administer oaths to Austrian subjects for the purposes contained in your said note, and it is therefore left to you to have the matter further discussed before the imperial government through the legation of the United States of American residing at Vienna. "The undersigned avails himself of this occasion to express to the consul of the United States of America the sentiments of his distinguished consideration "TRIEST, May 3, 1863. "BECKE." VENICE-W. D. HOWELLS, Consul. OCTOBER 5, 1863. I have the honor to enclose my annual report on commerce for the year 1862: I. SHIPPING OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE YEAR ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 1863. Number of vessels, 4; aggregate tonnage, 1,284. Three of these vessels left the port of Venice in ballast; the W. E. Alexander took lumber to Palermo; two of the others carried cargoes of staves from Fiume to Bordeaux. The privateers of the rebellious States had already, at the beginning of last year, rendered it difficult to procure freights for American bot toms. II. SHIPPING OF OTHER NATIONS. I compile the following statement of the marine shipping of this port from the volume of statistics annually published by the Provincial Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Venice. The greater number of foreign vessels belonging to any one power was Italian; arrivals, 240, and departures, 242. The next greatest belonged to Greece; ar rivals, 121, and departures, 124. As usual, the greatest foreign tonnage was that of Great Britain. The contrast of the shipping of 1862 with that of 1861 shows a falling off during 1862 of 406 in the whole number of arrivals, and 361 in the whole number of departures. Commerce. The total value of imports during 1862 was 33,359,948 florins; of exports, 12,945,225 florins. The decrease in imports since 1861 was 5,785,241 florins; in exports, 4,037,273. There was a relative decline, also, in the value of the river and inland commerce. The reasons for this gradual but constant decline of business have been referred to in previous reports; no recent causes have operated to hasten it. Allusion to a greatly increased amount of exportation from Venice to the United States during the present year 1863, though not strictly pertinent to a report on commerce for 1862, may be still permitted, as showing a satisfactory growth of trade in a direction which it would hardly have been expected to take at this juncture. It has, indeed, been difficult heretofore to ascertain the value and amount of goods shipped to the United States, all such shipments being considered in the annual statements of the Chamber of Commerce as shipments to Great Britain, because articles for the United States are usually sent by the British steamers (touching here semi-monthly) to Liverpool, and thence transhipped to our ports. There may be some want of exactness, therefore, in the data which I have been able to collect concerning shipments to the United States during 1862, but I do not think that their whole value exceeded 12,000 florins. During the three quarters of the year 1863, ended this day, the value of these exports has already amounted to 40,000 florins. The present admirable law for the verification of invoices affords the best means of arriving at statistics on this subject, and it is also satisfactory to shippers from the security it gives them against delays and losses in the mails. By far the greatest part of the value of exports to the United States is in glass beads; a considerable amount is in those articles of jewelry and virtú for which Venice is famous, and the rest in straw hats and straw braid, from an establishment for such manufactures at Vallonara, near Vicenza. The staple articles of commerce with other countries are the same as reported for 1863. No new census of the population has taken place since my last report. Manufactures.-Besides those branches of industry noticed in former returns, the art of working in mosaic has recently assumed importance in Venice. There is now one large establishment in the city, (employing nearly one hundred artists and workmen,) in which the art is pursued in all its usual branches of monumental decoration, marqueterie, jewelry, &c., and has been happily adapted to many novel uses. Indeed, under the enterprising management of the proprietor of this establishment, there is something like a restoration of Venice to her ancient celebrity as a school of this art, with advantages not enjoyed in other times. Many late and most valuable discoveries have been made in the materials of the art-the different vitreous pastes with which gold-stone, chalcedony, agate, lapis-lazuli, and other costly stones, are exactly imitated. Some of the branches of the art, as now practised, are the artistic works of mosaic painting, both for monumental decoration and for inlaying of tables, &c., and the more mechanical works of mounting vases of chalcedony and agate in silver, the manufacture of mosaic jewelry, pavements, and picture frames, door-plates, and signs, and the application of the materials to innumerable purposes of utility and luxury. The establishment is now executing orders in monumental mosaic for Venice, London, and the United States. Agriculture.-Crops of wheat and Indian corn were light. The vintage was better, the disease of the vines yielding to the treatment with sulphur, (of which I gave a full account in my last report,) but the crop of silk was again damaged and reduced to one-third by the still existing disorder of the worms. In all respects, during the present year, 1863, the promise of abundant harvests is most flattering. Work continues slowly on two branches of railway projected in the king |