THE VALUE OF BRITISH POSSESSIONS AS PLACES OF PRODUCTION.

Marlborough Press, Volume I, Issue 6, 10 February 1860, Page 4

THE VALUE OF BRITISH POSSESSIONS AS PLACES OF PRODUCTION.

WOOL

There is probably no fallacy more common, than that which attributes to our foreign possessions their chief importance only in proportion as they are markets for our exports. But another, and perhaps more important matter, is the buying or receiving in return for our products what we most require. Without an abundant supply of raw material our manufactures could not flourish. We have all the elements of a great manufacturing nation. We have coal and iron in greater abundance and cheaper than any other nation. We have mechanical skill unequalled in the world. We have capital more abundant and cheaper than it is in any other market. We have a population from the highest to the lowest imbued with a spirit of enterprise excelled nowhere, and in very few countries equalled. The very essence, then, of British trade, as it now exists, lies in collecting raw material from every country in the world, and redistributing it in a manufactured form, often for the use of the same people who produced it Experience has shown that it is just in proportion as we can find the raw material suited for our great industries in greater quantities, that the demand for our manufactures increases, and, as a consequence, that employment is secured to our population. This result, in short, arises from the very nature of the transactions in trade. The more of raw produce we take from other nations, the more of manufactured goods they must not only require, but be able to buy. Large imports must necessarily imply large exports, and both extensive employment alike for the labour and capital of the country. It is on these considerations that we have always been disposed to attach even more importance to our import than to our export trade; it is on these considerations that we have been disposed to value distant colonies and dependencies rather for the produce

which they furnish, than for the znauu* factures which they take. The article of sheep’s wool furnishes a striking example of the force of these observations. The woollen trade is one of the oldest, as it is now one of the most extensive, which this country possesses. Its growth of late years has probably been more rapid than almost any other in proportion to its extent. If we go no further back than 1844, shortly before the Corn Laws were repealed, we find the entire quantity of wool imported from all foreign countries was 65,713,761 lbs. j and we find that in 1858, a period of only fourteen years, the quantity had increased to no less than 126,738,723 lbs. But what we wish particularly to call attention to is the sources from which these large additional supplies have been obtained. The following table shows the quantity of wool imported from each country in 1844,1852, and 1858 : Quantities of Wool (Sheep, Lamb, and Alpacas) Imported into the United Kingdom from various Countries.

The remarkable points in this table, after the general increase of quantity, are the stationary and declining character of all the old sources of supply, and the rapid growth of those new sources, which only a few years ago hardly existed. Early in the present century Spain was almost the only source from which wool was imported j but in the course of a few years Germany and the east of Europe sent considerable quantities. But confining our observations to the period embraced in the table quoted above, we find that since 1844 the supply from Spain has dwindled down from 918,8531b5. to 110,510 lbs. in 1858 j while that from Germany has fallen during the same period from 21,847,684 lbs. to 10,505,1861b5.; and taking the entire supply from Europe, the quantity imported has fallen from 38,079,624 lbs. to 28,632,555 lbs. In 1844, the wool imported from Europe constituted nearly 60 per cent, of the entire supply! In 1858, it formed only about twenty-two per cent, of the whole. What we have then to consider is this—What would have been the condition of our woollen trade had we been dependent still chiefly upon these old sources ? Looking to the actual quantity produced, the main new source of supply, no doubt, is Australia. But, looking to the proportionate increase, the greatest has been from the British possessions at the Cape of Good Hope and in India. In round numbers, the supply from Australia in 1858 was three times greater than in 1844, while from the Cape and from India it was about eight times and six times respectively greater. From South America, another comparatively new source, the supply was nearly three times greater in 1858 than in 1844.

Two-thirds of the large quantity of wool imported last year came from British possessions ; and this fact is the more satisfactory and important, inasmuch as the protective duty which colonial wool formerly enjoyed was repealed at the commencement of the period embraced in these tables. But, perhaps, the most interesting feature connected with these returns is the rapid growth of the quantity imported from British India. In 1850 the East India Company made great improvements in the harbour of Kurrachee at the mouth of the Indus; they established an annual fair at that port, and otherwise took active steps to encourage the trade of Scinde and the various pastoral countries lying to the West and the North-West of the Indus. Steps were also taken to improve the navigation of the Indus, and to give security and protection to trade. The result was, that in the first year, the export of wool from India rose from 4,549,000 lbs. in 1851 to 7,880,784 lbs. in 1852} to 12,400,869 lbs. in 1853; and in 1858 to 17,333,507 lbs.; and the entire trade of the port has now risen to more than £2,000,000 a year. This is one of the remarkable examples of the good effect of an energetic administration upon the spot, when those entrusted with

it are well supported at home. Mr. freere, the late Commissioner of Scinde, has just received an appropriate and well-earned reward for his great services, by an appointment to the Supreme Council of Calcutta, where we trust his ability will be iised to promote a similar development of Indian resources in other quarters.— -Economist.

Countries. The Year 1844. The Year 1852. The Year 1858. Spain lb. 918,853 lb. 233,413 lb. 110,510 Germany, viz,, Mecklenburgh, Hanover, Oldenburg, & Hanse Towns 21,847,684 12,765,253 10,595,186 Other Countries of Europe 15,313,087 13,382,140 17,926,859 British Possessions in South Africa ..... 2,197,143 6,388,796 16,597,504 British Possessions in the East Indies 2,765,853 7,880,784 17,333,507 British Settlements in Australia South America .... 17,602,247 43,397,301 51,104,560 3,760,063 6,252,689 10,046,381 Other Countries . , 1,308,831 3,661,082 3,024,216 Totals . . . 65,913,701 93,761,458 126,738,724