PROGRESS OF OUR COMMERCE AND COMMERCIAL TOWNS. 445 PROGRESS OF OUR COMMERCE AND COMMERCIAL TOWNS. 1. THE RIO GRANDE TRADE, EVERY month, almost every day, opens to the enterprise of our countrymen new fields of commercial progress. Since the close of the Mexican war, the Rio Grande has furnished an important medium of trade with that republic, growing, daily, more considerable, and extending even to the interior and most distant provinces. The port of entry, established by the last Congress, at Point Isabel, provides a valuable adjunct to the growing trade. This point is the location nearest to the mouth of the Rio Grande, where an immunity from the storms and floods of that region, and a sufficient draft of water, can be enjoyed. Its situation is on the main land, ten miles distant, in a straight line, from the mouth of the river, and it is approached through Brazos entrance. Vessels drawing six feet may reach the very wharf of Point Isabel, we believe, whilst those of larger tonnage discharge their cargoes at Brazos, to undergo a short and safe lighterage of three miles, to that place. An excellent road, of about 26 miles length, leads to Brownsville, a town which has rapidly grown up on the American side, opposite Matamoras, and so considerable is the merchandise transported over it, that we understand a railroad is in projection, which will not exceed 18 miles in length, and can be built at but slight expense. the route by Point Isabel and the Rio Grande, to New Mexico, Santa Fee, California, &c., presents numerous advantages. The Rio Grande may be made navigable for light steamers, to its junction with the Puerco. Regular steamers now ply from Brownsville to Camargo, and even Laredo. The most distant Mexican province now supplied by the traders of Santa Fee, by the way of Missouri, is not more than 500 miles from a navigable point on the Rio Grande. The cost of transportation from St. Louis to Santa Fee is now 40 per cent. in value upon the goods, and a great change may be anticipated, even should there be no railroad to California. 2. TRADE OF ST. LOUIS-TONNAGE. The rapid growth of St. Louis, which already numbers 63,000 inhabitants, is one of the most remarkable evidences of the vigor of our great West. Like a young Hercules, she struggles against every misfortune, and rises superior to them all. Though disease may decimate her population, and fearful conflagration sweep off millions of her wealth, her recuperated energies need scarcely be tasked to heal again the breach. We always note, with delight, the evidences of her progress, and expect, when in the fullness of time the great valley shall be connected by a railroad with the Pacific, New Orleans and St. Louis will be the two great cities of the continent, capable of vieing with the empire city of New York! The following, from the St. Louis Union, will show the Louis for 1847 and 1848: 1848. tonnage of St. 1847. Of the estimated tonnage of 1848, about 26,700 tons is that of keels, barges, and flat-boats. I will be seen, by the above table, that the increase of imports from New Orleans, and the Ohio River, has been 28,000 tons; while that from all other points, inclusive, has been 126,540 tons. These data show the gratifying fact, that the agricultural receipts have increased in a far greater ratio than those which may be more strictly classed as imports. Of the 260 steamboats engaged in this trade, 75 were built at Pittsburgh, 45 at St. Louis, 36 at Cincinnati, and the remainder at Louisville, Jeffersonville, Wheeling, New Albany, Brownsville, etc., etc. The quantity of lumber landed at St. Louis, in 1848, was 22,890,299 feet; 15,854,500 shingles; 1,701,005 laths; 1,322,196 coopers' stuff; 39,865 cords of wood; also, 7,254 loads hay. 3. TRADE OF MOBILE. From the Herald and Tribune's annual statement, we are enabled to furnish the annexed statistics. Mobile has lately exhibited great enterprise in her railroad projection to the Ohio, and in the energy with which she has pursued it. In the last season she lost about 10,000 bales cotton, which were brought directly from Montgomery to New Orleans, and in the coming season may, probably, lose more, since a new line of steamers will run between the two points, making the intercourse continual. The net receipts cotton at Mobile, to 1st Sept, 1849, are 509,867 bales; the shipments to foreign ports, 396,341, valued at $12,300,718, being an average value, per bale, of $31.04; per lb., 64 cts.; and average weight, per bale, 509 lbs. The crop of south Alabama being worth $15,097,064. Nine turpentine distilleries are in operation, and the receipts have been considerable, though not equal to the demand. The supply next year will be much larger, and the business must become an extensive and profitable one. The lumber trade of Mobile is, also, important, forty or fifty mills being at work within that and Baldwin county. The exports have been over 5 millions feet, besides large quantities of staves, shingles, cedar logs, ship timber, &c. There have been exported, this season, only 2,533 sacks Indian corn, and 679 bbls. flour; also, 458 packages and 6,872 loose hides; 150 bbls. tar, 550 do. resin, 63 do. pitch; 414 bales rope cuttings, 761 bales domestic goods, 25 bales cotton yarn; 22 casks beeswax, 214 do. tallow; 4,000 horns, 3,000 bones; 30 hhds. and 95 boxes tobacco. Years. 4. COTTON CROP OF SOUTH ALABAMA FOR 28 YEARS. Bales. Increase. Decrease. Bales. Increase. Decrease. Years. By the tables of the Advertiser, we learn the exports of Mobile, for the year ending 31st July, 1849, have been $12,823,755.99. 5. CHARLESTON. From the Charleston Courier we obtain the imports and exports of that city during 1848. The exports were, in all, $10,453,549; $2,481,864 of which being coastwise. 120 American vessels, with 28,949 tons, and 1,102 men, entered from foreign ports; also, 127 foreign vessels, with 39,336 tonnage, and 1,193 men. The number of clearances to foreign ports was 187 American vessels of 57,348 tons and 2,152 men, and 158 foreign vessels with 49,900 tons and 2,090 men. The total value cotton and rice exported in American vessels, to foreign ports, $4,315,665; in foreign vessels, $3,521,281. Cotton and rice exported coastwise, $2,204,868. 6. COMMERCE OF NEW YORK. Having furnished, in the pages of this No. of the Review, the statistics of New Orleans trade, we are anxious to present, at the same time, those of New York, our great commercial sister, in order that the reader may compare them together. He will be much aided by a reference to our No. for December, 1848, where a comparison of the shipping of each is made. We extract from the Shipping List the following comparative statement of the imports at New York during the past three years: 448 Sugar, bags, Tin, slabs,. 54,291 26,750 21,801 "boxes,.. 174,049 125,442 231,830 Tobacco, hhds., 12,213 11,946 8,674 66 bales,. 23,153 21,053 14,916 Wines, pipes,.. 846 725 1,289 hhds.,. 13,471 7,042 12,415 qr. casks,. 40,160 32,222 41,691 brls., 5,973 3,251 11,293 23,206 19,369 19,911 7. NAVIGATION LAWS. The late change effected in the British policy, by a repeal of the navigation laws in many leading particulars, is likely to be very important in its influence upon the commerce of our country. Mr. Kettell, of New York, says, since the first modification of the navigation act, in 1815, the ships of the United States and of Great Britain have been upon a footing of perfect equality in the international trade. The vessels of neither nation have enjoyed any legal advantages over those of the other, and the result has been as seen in the following table: This has been the progress of the international trade, the aggregate of which has vastly increased, and of that increase the American vessels have enjoyed the largest proportion. Thus, while the outward bound American tonnage increased 403,293 tons, the British increased 348,366 tons. Now, the protectionist would, in order to deprive foreigners of this latter amount, take from the American shipping interest the larger figure. 8. FOREIGN AND AMERICAN SHIPPING. The discussion of the navigation laws, in England, although not likely to result in that radical change with respect to the coasting trade which the English ministry at first proposed, will be productive of much good, by removing some of the difficulties that present themselves in the way of the shipping interest; by which term is meant, not only ship owners, but ship builders, sail makers, cordage makers and hemp growers. The interest of ship owners is often at variance with these latter, because vessels built in a time of high prices and duties on hemp, cordage, canvass and iron, are of higher cost than when constructed of less taxed material, and the cheapening of these tends to the construction of a greater number of ships of American materials to compete with vessels of high cost, to the dissatisfaction of the owners of the latter. It is, undoubtedly, the case, that better and cheaper vessels can be built in the United States, of American oak, hemp, and canvass, than in any other part of the world; and as soon as American built ships, as proposed, can be naturalized in England, a large market will be opened for them. Thus it is the fashion, in and out of Congress, to appeal to the increase of Hanseatic shipping in our ports, as an instance of the unfavorable working of reciprocal treaties. The fact is, that those ships are mostly American, sailing under the flag of the Hanse Towns. The treaty with the Hanse Towns, made in 1827, by Henry Clay, contains the singular clause, that in consideration of the limited territory of those cities, vessels owned by citizens of either of those republics, wherever built, shall be deemed Hanseatic, provided AND COMMERCIAL TOWNS. they are manned by a Hanseatic citizen, and that three-fourths of the crew are NATIONALITY OF TONNAGE ENTERED THE UNITED STATES. Grand total,. 1833. 1846. 1,111,441 2,151,114 1847: 2,101,359 1848. 2,393,482 26,838 27,672 43, 07 41,897 1,309 4,299 13,621 12,758 29,285 63,669 84,875 82,805 383,487 813,287 993,210 1,177,104 20,917 13,666 30,704 24,970 33,560 7,504 18,852 29,342 2,109 49,642 35,277 37,315 A considerable portion of this increase of British tonnage is nominal. Thus of 800,000 tons increase since 1833, very nearly one-half is in the small lake ports of northern New York. That is, there entered eight ports, Buffalo Creek, Sackett's Harbor, &c., in 1837, 55,000 tons British tonnage, and in 1848, 430,000 tons; and this apparent increase is merely repeated entries of the same small craft. The suspension of the navigation laws, in respect of breadstuffs, by England, France and Belgium, in 1847, greatly promoted the entry of foreign tonnage, to avail itself of the high freights for the food it was permitted to carry to England; and by this means the United States farmers were enabled to sell a considerably larger quantity of breadstuffs than the capacity of the American mercantile marine could transport. The modifications of the tariffs by the United States and Great Britain have produced a much greater international exchange of bulky articles, and the high freights of 1847 gave an impulse to ship building, manifest in the following table: VESSELS BUILT FOR THE FOREIGN TRADE IN THE UNITED STATES. VESSELS BUILT FOR COASTING TRADE IN THE UNITED STATES. So rapid has been the increase of ship manufacture in the United States, and all interests have been improved by this increased demand for ships. Thus, on the usual calculation that every 500 tons requires 12 tons hemp for cordage, & c., the increased demand for that article, from riggers and cordage makers, must have been equal to 6,000 tons per annum, against an import of 1,350 tons. reduction of duties on the foreign article has given nearly the whole demand to the American grower; because, when the duties were high, ships purchased the bulk of their outfits abroad, thus producing an effect the very reverse of what was intended by the tariff. The premiums to English ship owners to purchase American ships must greatly extend the demand, and in a higher degree promote the prosperity of the building interest. |