SOME TRADE FACTS.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 350, 22 January 1903, Page 3

SOME TRADE FACTS.

Bj?©porti©ft ©f South American Gm» more® Qold by United States* Btfttettti mrsUto with Caostrke act C—» ibboan Baa I« Fairly Satisfactory Tb«4 wttfe Ctot?»trie» Varifc** iSowtfc Is Very Poo* laA«oA. fflbe recent departure from Washington of the special train carrying *h* United State© and numerous •ther delegates to the approaching ftm-American conference id be held »t the City of Mexico lends'especial interest to some figure* on the comnwrce of the United States with the territory; at the south, which the treasury bureau of statistics has compiled for the convenience of the United States member* of that congress. The importance ot development of our commerce in this particular direction is pointed out by this publication, which shows that our •sports have shown less growth to the countriea of Central and South America than to any ottuw ports of the world. "The commerc* of thei United States with the American countries lying south of her borders," says the opening page of thi» discussion, "has long been an objeot of solicitude to her statesmen, economists and business men. With the Eitglish*peaking people of American territory lying upon the north her comMercial relations have.rapidly grown end proven mutually satisfactory. With those of another language, occupying the contiguous territory at the south, the growth,has been slower and le*s satisfactory, and a*-the distance increases the growth decreases. To : British North i America the United States supplies 52 per cent. of the total imports for consumption; to Mexicoj .equally adjacent, but speaking another language than our own, 40 per cent.; to the Central American states, next removed by distance, though readily reached by water and now being tapped by railways, 35 per cent.; to Colombia, a trifle father removed, "but equally accessible by direct water communication,, 33 per cent.; to Venezuela, equally accessible, 27 per cent.; to the West Indies, which lie in close proximity, but which have been up to the present time controlled by. commercial nations- whose policy in many case* has been to, retain their oommerxse for their ovv-h people, 20 per cent.;, to the Guianas, also readily reached" by water, 25 per cent, of the imports of British' Guiana, 17 per cent, of those of Dutch Guiana and but less than 6 per cent, of those of French Guiana.

"Up to this point th« atudy of the growth of commerce between the United States and other American i countries is fairly satisfactory. Beginning with 52 per cent, of the import trade of Canada, 40 per cent. ot that of Mexico, and ranging downward along the Gulf, of.Mexico and Caribbean aea, a . fairly satisfactory share of the commerce of those countries is enjoyed by the people of the United' States;- though it will be conceded that her people have a* right to expect a larger share of the commerce of the countries lying-so near at hand, especially in view of the fact that our purchases from them are much larger than our sales to them. Even this somewhat unsatisfactory condition of trade with the countries bordering upon the Gulf of. Mexico and the Caribbean sea is, however, gratifying when compared with the traffic relations of the United .States with the countries of South Ainerica bordering upon the Atlantic and Pacific ocean». Of the total imports of all South America, 87 per cent, is taken by the countries bordering upon the two oceans, 1 and'-but 13 per cent, by those upon the Caribbean. On the, eastern coast of' South America,: we find Brazil importing in 1890 goods to the value of over $105,000,000, of which the United States supplied about 10 per cent.; Uruguay and Paraguay, $26,000,000, of which our share was less than 7 per cent.; and Argentine, $112,000,000, of whioh about 10 per cent, was from the United States; while a tour of the Pacific coast shows imports into Chili of 000,000, Peru $8,500,000, Bolivia sll,600,000 and Ecuador $7,000,000; the 'proportion from the United States averaging about 10 per cent.. Thus the northern coaßt of South America, fronting on the Caribbean sea, imports goods to the value of $26,000> 000, of which we supply an average of 25 percent.; the eastern coast, fronting upon the Atlantic, $275,000,000, and the Pacific coast, $60,000,000; of which our proportion in in each case about 10 per cent.

no morb canhed crab. \ Owlr Mai WlioknewHowlo Ctom tk« Mm* b Diwd-Mftr Hot Hmw - ~ XoM <he S«cm*. ... - {fames McMenamin, the only successful canner_ of ■crab" meat in the world, has just died in the hospital at'Baltiniore, and it is feared that his* secret has died -with him, reports a New York exchange. He is believed to have made $1,000,000 out of crab canning by run* ning a large cannery at Hampton, V*., for six months in the-year, buthe'kept the process hidden even from his workpeople, and unless his.will divulges it or he confided the secret to his sons before his death, the canningplant will have to be shut down and nobody may over know why its proprietor succeeded where.others failed. "Mr. McMenamin went to [Virginia from Massachusetts in 1878. While working asavelerk for'Maybr Whitehead, of Norfolk, : it came out that he knew how" crab'"meat could be canned without losing its flavor and Mayor, Whitehead helped him to establish a small cannery at Hampton. In time the small cannery was replaced with a bigger <|nS,|bui never/has the big one been able'to meet all the. demands upon it for ©anned crab meat. During the six months of the year when the cannery was open the proprietor was the busiest man in it, A large force of colored women picked the meat from the crabs,'-.Hi was sent to a locked rooni in which Mr, McMenamin personally attended to its preparation.; .Then.it was sealed ihthe'eans. Last- year the demand for canned crab meat was unprecedented and the man with the secret, when -he .died, was wondering how he could increase " the output for this year/

NIGHT AMONG WHARF CATS. When Darkness Comes There is M««fc Molse and Many Battles Along \ tl»e Water B"*«mt, It-is astonishing how many outcasts of the feline family inhabit the wharves bordering- on the harbor basin of Baltimore-, says the Sun of that city. Along every line of docks on the water front a band of cats, both large and small, have adopted the surroundings as their homes, and nightly come forth to wage war upon the venturesome torn of an adjoining clan who has imprudently ventured into the enemy'* country. .'"■ , ■-, - The cats.rarely venture from their lairs during daylight, but at nightfall, when traffic is suspended, the ,water fronts are alive with fhe'flittingforms and the air is resonant with the voicing of their seemingly numerous troubles. Men whose" business takes them along the water front at night tell many stories,of feline battles. One of the most, characteristic is of two cats approaching a rat, each unknown to the other, and springing upon it at the same time. The rat escapes-and'the cats fight until one falls dead and the other limps away. Another story illustrates the adeptness of cats in water. The overturning of a loose board throws three kittenß and their parents into the dock. The mother,swims to safety Avith one kitten on her back and another - in her mouth. The father follows with the third kitten in his mouth.

SAMOA WITHOUT MINERALS. Wild Stories of Gold-Bearing Saudi Denied by Conaal-Geueral .i O shorn. __ „,- -/£|a Consul General Osborne at Samoa writes to the state department, saysn Washington report: "There, have been so many letters of inquiry sent to this office concerning the discovery of gold "and other precious metals in these islands tliat I feel it my duty to report upon the subject. United States papers have published statements in regard to the gold-bear-ing sands of Samba, and it appears that many people have paid for expenses of development, etc. I have from-time to time made investigations, and if there are minerals—either gold, silver, mica, nickel, zinc, tin, or any other—in these islands, I have been unable to find them or to find* any person who has any knowledge of the lact.u If there fs.any 'gold, mining company .of Apia' (as reported in United Statospa'pers), the records do not disclose the fact, and the. officials have no information upon, the subject. '.-No steamers, .schooners or othex vessels are engaged in transporting sands or ores to Sydney, or <ta Ban Francisco, or elsewhere; n"o sueft persona as those named as constitute lug the 'gold-mining 1 company* ate known here, and, in my judgment; a tr#« mentions swindle Is being perpetrated and the public ought* to know ti& facta,'* ... ,

SThe late queen's Indian attendant* have been retired on pensions, sajft' Truth, and several of them have afc> ready returned to their native lanifc The departure of these orients* menials from England trill not be re* gretted by anyone about the court) as they gave an enormous deal tti trouble, and, being regarded as prifa tleged persons, they were excessively arrogant and insolent to the Brit* ish domestics, most of whom bottl feared and detested them. Thej were a constant source of worry, fuss and anxiety. The queen's munshi— Eaflz Abdul Karin—who hae been Q 'powerful personage at court for, the last 15 years or so, is also going back to India with a pension. The xnunshS andhis wife had a charming eottagft on the Frogmore demesne, and a bouse was built for them a fevj geftft Qgq la the Balmoral ground*, , ' -' ML Koble Inheritance). King Edward jnherits that fine" fgsg| (off his mother which was marked bj her faithful care and afjtection t§9 those wbclwDl «®©a* &iete item tft&£B ' iMiiiiii^.;;n»iiiii'u A jl'i fiiiniinTuti