THE following statistics will give our readers the comparative movements of merchandise at this port during the past ten years, and, so far as the quantity of goods is concerned, it will be found that no important change has taken place; but at the same time it must be admitted that trade generally throughout the year has been under a cloud, and both manufacturers and merchants have found it difficult to obtain cost for any kind of goods. Business men who have been prosperous during the year are the exceptions, and but few commence the new year any better off than in January,

1874.

Last year the panic, which commenced in September, 1873, caused such a ruinous shrinkage in prices of goods, that the profits of the entire year were absorbed by the losses of the subsequent four months, and the influence of the panic has been felt throughout 1874. There has been no life or activity in any department. Consumers have had no confidence in the future, and their purchases have been confined to immediate wants. Manufacturers, and importers and receivers of foreign and domestic merchandise, have been compelled to carry large stocks, and at times force off goods at low and very unsatisfactory prices. With an easy money market throughout the year, speculation has been dead and any revival in trade was almost immediately followed by a reaction. But comparatively few failures have occurred, because business men moved cautiously and incurred few risks; and, notwithstanding the embarrassed state of business, the standing and integrity of our merchants remain unimpaired. Although there is no immediate prospect of an improvement, there is a very confident feeling that a favorable change is near at hand. Goods generally

have now touched a point under which they are not likely to go, and any change that takes place will probably be for the better.

The principal cause of the embarrassments in trade is the fact that Congress has frittered away most of its time in the discussion of minor questions, and has neglected more important matters. No movement for a return to a specie basis has been made, and there is as yet no settled plan to bring about this result. The conservative views of the Cabinet have made very little impression, because we have no leading mind in Congress to take them up and push them forward. The tariff wants remodelling, and the finances of the country are a disgrace, when we consider how little has been done to place them on a healthy basis since peace was declared. The lobby and rings, got up for speculative purposes, appear to have more influence in Congress than any measures that the necessities of the times demand. The people in all sections of the country are evidently becoming dissatisfied with this state of things. The result of the recent elections is an evidence of this, and the control of affairs is fast passing into other hands. If we can only weed out the men in Congress who believe that a paper promise is better than a solid currency- who are always ready to propose schemes of inflation to aid and assist speculators-who cannot look forward beyond the limits of their own State, and must have a tariff fixed to protect certain local interests only - it will be a step in the right direction. We can expect, however, nothing from the present Congress, and very little from the next, as the antagonism between the two houses will interfere with any wholesome measures of relief. In fact, the only relief that business men have

gress adjourns and distracting questions are at rest for a short interval.

REAL ESTATE.

Our city never presented a better appearance than at the present time. The splendid stores that now completely fill up the burnt district, are the most attractive_warehouses in the country. The new Post Office is now in complete working order, and arrangements have been made to complete the addition which will make it one of the largest and finest in the country. Real estate, however, has been very poor property during the year, if we except certain desirable locations. We have been building too many houses, and the depression in business has led tenants to look for lower rents. In the suburbs dwellings can be hired for a very small percentage on cost; in some instances scarcely enough to pay taxes and repairs. State Street, so celebrated as the headquarters of leading bankers and brokers, is fast losing its prestige. The new Post Office was an advance South, and the splendid blocks of buildings by which it is surrounded, make that locality the most attractive in the city. Banks and bankers, life insurance companies and merchants are moving in that direction. But very few buildings are now being erected, and it is believed that the depression in real estate cannot long continue. There is, however, a very general complaint that rents are yet too high in central locations, but this complaint will disappear when business revives. It is not likely that much capital will seek investment in real estate for some time to come, as it can be used to more advantage and profit in other investments.

FOREIGN IMPORTS AND EXPORTS.

The annexed comparative statement of the value of imports and exports for each week during the past two years will show pretty clearly the exact condition of the foreign trade of Boston. The imports exhibit a decrease of $11,779,736, or about twenty per cent., and the exports have decreased $3,410,705, or about 10 per cent. These figures are not very encouraging, but they are in keeping with the condition of trade all over the country, and are not as bad as they might be. Perhaps they will please those political economists who have been clamoring for a balance of trade in favor of the United States. If the foreign

that it has been going on for the past two years, we might in a short time be able to square accounts with very small figures. This "balance of trade " theory is a delusion. No prosperous, progressive country exports more than it imports.

When we cease to attract to our shores

the raw and manufactured products of other climes, our days as an enterprising, growing and nation are numbered. prosperous commercial

IMPORTS-The following gives the value of foreign Imports at this port for the year 1874, compared with last year :