lbs., the declared official value of which was stated at £788,051; and from Port Philip, 18,091,207 lbs.; of the value of £826,190, making a total of 23,361,829 lbs., valued at £1,614,241. In 1849, the wool exported from both districts was 27,963,530 lbs., valued at £1,238,559, showing that in 1850 an increase had taken place in the quantity of wool exported of 4,398,298 lbs., valued at £375,682. Last year the quantity of tallow exported from Sydney was 128,090 cwts., valued at £167,858; and from Port Philip, 89,788 cwts., valued at £132,063, making a total quantity of 217,878 cwts., valued at £300,721. In 1849, the quantity of tallow exported from both districts was 154,103 cwts., valued at £249,932; so that during the last year there has been an increase in the quantity of tallow exported of 63,775 cwts., of the value of £50,789.

IMPORT AND EXPORT OF SPECIE FROM 1820 TO 1851.

STATEMENT OF THE AMOUNT OF SPECIE IMPORTED AND EXPORTED ANNUALLY, FROM 1ST OCTOBER, 1820, TO 30TH JUNE, 1851-AND SHOWING, ALSO, THE AVERAGE AMOUNT EVERY FIVE YEARS DURING THAT PERIOD.

THE EFFECT OF THE PRICE OF WHEAT ON CRIME.

The London Economist illustrates the relative effects of plenty and scarcity on criminal offences in England after this manner :

"To the great mass of our population, notwithstanding all the efforts of the 'best possible public instructors,' the connection between the number of commitments for crime and the price of wheat, is still not more intelligible than the old puzzle for regulating the value of a horse by the number of nails with which he was shod. And indeed the results seem at first sight as astounding as, upon close investigation, they are obvious and irrefragible. We have now before us the tables recently laid before Parliament, showing the number of criminal offenders in England and Wales during the past year; from which we find that the number of persons committed for trial during 1850 was three per cent under the average of the last ten years; the total number during each year of that period being as follows;

Throughout the greater part of 1842, when, as will be seen, the commitments were at the highest, in consequence of the defective harvest of the previous year, corn was comparatively dear, having risen above 738. a quarter; and to the influence of this scarcity may be traced the increased criminality of that year. With the full crops of 1842, 1843, and 1844, and the commencement of fiscal reforms, cheapness and plenty tended to diminish the amount of crime. In 1845, the prospect of corn-law repeal and the previous good harvests kept down prices, and the averages during those four years were:

1842.. 1843.

PRICE OF WHEAT PER QUARTER.

57s. 3d. 1844..
50s. 1d. 1845......

51s. 3d.

50s. 10d.

The consequence (says the Economist,) of the low prices in the last two years, and of the stimulus given to industry by Sir R. Peel's removal of restrictions, with a great access of employment, was to reduce the number of commitments, and in 1845 they had fallen to 24,303 from 31,309 in 1842. The different effects of plenty and scarcity were never more plainly manifested on the morality of the people. The sudden collapse of railway speculation and the disastrous commercial failures of 1847 were not without their influence, and in 1848 the commitments again amounted to 30,849. Since then, with comparatively free and settled and regular trade, the commitments have steadily decreased, and were only 26,813 in 1850. If they were above the number of that very active and enterprising year, 1845, they were lower than in six other years of the series since 1841. Taking into account the increase of population in the interval, the number of commitments in 1850 is a decided testimony to the advantages of free-trade in promoting the morality of the community.

THE COTTON AND AMERICAN TRADES.

Some very interesting facts connected with the cotton trade of the United Kingdom, and our trade with the United States, are contained in a Parliamentary paper recently issued. The first table shows that, in 1848, the whole quantity of cotton imported was 713,020,161 lbs., of which 600,247,488 lbs. was from the United States, and 112,772,673 lbs. from all other parts. In 1849 the total import was 755,469,012 lbs., of which 634,504,050 lbs. was from the United States, and 120,964,962 lbs. from all other parts. In 1850 the total amount imported was 663,576,861 lbs. of which 493,153,112 lbs. was from the United States, and 170,423,749 from other parts. The quantity imported from the British possessions in the East Indies was, in 1848, 84,101,961 Ibs.; in the following year it fell to 70,888,515 lbs.; and in 1850 it rose to 118,872,742 lbs., or nearly one quarter of the amount imported from the United States. The British West Indies and British Guiana furnished us, in 1848, with 640,437 lbs.; in 1849, with 944,307 lbs.; and in 1850 with only 228,918 lbs. The whole return shows the important fact, that our dependence upon America for this most valuable staple has been

considerably diminished in the last two years; but whether this diminution will continue under a lower range of prices than those of 1850, remains to be seen. Another table in the return shows that the declared value of the cotton manufactures of all kinds exported in 1848 was £22,681,200; in 1849, £26,770,135; and in 1850, £28,257,461, or about forty per cent of our whole exports. The declared value of the cotton manufactures exported to the United States was, in 1848, £1,713,024; in 1849, £2,055,286; and in 1850, £2,504,280. Another table exhibits the whole trade of this country with the United States. It appears that in 1848, the declared value of the entire exports was £9,561,909; in 1849, £11,971,028; and in 1850, £14,891,961, or nearly one-fifth of the declared value of our exports to all parts of the world. The offici.. value of our imports from the United States amounted in 1848, to £23,916,844; and in 1849 to £26,554,941. Great Britain and the United States therefore interchange in a year produce worth above £40,000,000.—Liverpool Times.

THE AMERICAN COASTING TRADE.

W. S. Lindsay, in a letter, recently published in the London Times on the subject of the British mercantile marine, says:—

"Call upon America to fulfil her pledge and give what we give; and thus, let the British ship-owners test their skill, industry, and perseverance in the valuable coasting trade of the New World. America will, even then, be still very deeply in our debt, as unfortunately, she has no colonial trade to grant in return for the vast possessions we have thrown open to her; and of which she is at present reaping a rich harvest, as our Customs' entries daily prove. It is, however, a question with me whether America will now give us what we give; but our Government may as well make a virtue of necessity, and try them. The sooner the better, as at this moment a very great number of our ship-owners who cannot find remunerative employment for their vessels, will at least make a trial of the trade between the Northern and Southern States; and more particularly the rapidly increasing trade between New York and California. They may be enabled then, to make 30s. per ton freight on teas and silk, from Canton to London, combined with the outward freight, leave a margin of profit, and which I need not assure you, sir, they cannot do now. If America do not fulfill her promise, it would then become a serious question though desirable to avoid retaliative measures-whether our Government ought not, under such circumstances, to pass the order in council against that nation. While we grant freedom to others, we must have freedom ourselves to whatever extent those others can grant it, or we play both a simple and a dangerous game."

STATISTICS OF BREWERS AND VICTUALERS IN ENGLAND.

From a return printed by order of the House of Commons, it appears that in England the number of brewers is 2,281, and of victualers, 59,676; 35,808 persons are licensed to sell beer to be drunk on the premises, and 3,350 are licensed to sell beer not to be drunk on the premises; 25,851 victualers brew their own beer; 12,497 who brew their own beer are licensed to sell it if drunk on the premises; and 951 persons are allowed to sell beer not to be drunk on the premises. The amount of malt consumed by each class is, in bushels, as follows:-Brewers, 17,800,683; victualers, 7,154,519; persons licensed to sell beer to be drunk on the premises, 2,884,249; and persons licensed to sell beer not to be drunk on the premises, 341,878. In Scotland there are 151 brewers, and 14,971 victualers, 178 of whom brew their own beer. The brewers consume 831,981 bushels of malt, and the victualers consume 118,024 bushels. There are 95 brewers in Ireland, who consume 1,164,702 bushels of malt, and there are 13,793 victualers.

THE BOOK TRADE OF THE UNITED STATES.

According to an estimate in The Book Trade, an excellent literary journal published monthly in this city, by H. Wilson, the number of volumes issued in the United States, from the 1st of July, 1850, to the same date in 1851, was 1,298. The number of pages in these volumes amounts to 218,049. The distinct works composing the volumes are 1,176. Of these volumes 817 were published in New York, 223 in Philadelphia, and 203 in Boston. The department of fiction, including every class of novels and tales in prose, comprises 249 distinct works. Of juvenile publications, there are 52;

of gift-books, 32; and of poetical works, including hymn-books for the use of churches, 80. The number of religious and theological works is 170. Comprising under one head general histories, travels and works descriptive of countries, not strictly geographical, we may put their number at 121. Of biographies there are 96, of scientific works, 50, and of metaphysical treatises, strictly so called, 8. Of mathematical works there are 17; classical books, 7; dictionaries and treatises (not grammars) on language, 13; school-books, 50; legal works, 43; medical works, 47; agricultural, 20; practical mechanics, 18; artistic, 6; architectural, 8; political, 16; commercial, 12; orations, 3; works entitled essays, in general, 11; manners and morals, strictly so called, 18; social economy, comprising cook-books and works for housekeepers, natural history, 8; miscellaneous, embracing works not within the scope of either of the above divisions, and often possessing considerable literary merit, 48.

15;

OFFICIAL STATISTICAL RETURNS OF THE TRADE OF RUSSIA.

Having given in a previous article a general view of the import and export trade of Russia, some particulars of the rise and progress of its cotton manufactures cannot fail to be interesting. The quantity of raw cotton entered for home consumption in European Russia was, in 1842, 18,477,144 lbs., and increased progressively to 1848, when it realized 44,331,660 lbs. In 1842, 21,760,380 lbs. of cotton twist was also imported, but in consequence of the establishments in Russia, which we shall particularize presently, decreased in 1848 to 13,901,142 lbs. The following is an official statement in a tabular form of the quantities of raw cotton and cotton yarn imported at St. Petersburg in each year from 1838 to 1849:

We subjoin a curious statement of the number of cotton-spinning factories at St. Petersburg, with the number of spindles, and the quality and quantity of yarn produced therein on the 29th of February, 1849, since which period they have materially increased. The first-named establishment under the Government director, General Wilson, is said to have been commenced in 1800 on private account; the remainder were established in the years specified. This statement is derived from official sources, and we believe has never before been published :—

Whatever may be the eventual success of the protective system of Russia, certain it is that the importation of cotton and woolen manufactures is considerably checked. In 1842, Russia imported between 40,000 and 50,000 pieces of white cotton cambrics, besides coverlets, muslins, colored stuffs, gloves, &c., and in the tables before us these articles exhibit a blank for the years 1848 and 1849. The whole amount of cotton manufactures imported in 1848 was valued at £605,290, whereof £415,852 was was from Great Britain. Prussia sends about £108,000. The importation of wooleh goods also declined. Baizes, camlets, carpets, cashmeres, flannels, and a variety of the best descriptions of woolen goods, of which, in 1844, Russia imported a considerable

quantity, exhibit the same unsatisfactory blank in 1848 and 1849 as some of the cotton manufactures. The total imports of woolen goods declined from £619,475 in 1844 to £335,381 in 1848. A premium of five silver roubles per pood is paid on Russian velvets and half velvets exported to China, and six silver roubles on nankins and other cotton goods. The premiums allowed for these exports at the Kiakhta custom-house was 92,775 silver roubles in 1847, and 73,643 in 1848. At the Astrachan and Moscow custom-houses, on cotton goods exported to the Caucasian frontiers, a drawback of onehalf the duty paid on foreign cotton yarn is returned—viz., three silver roubles twentyfive copees per pood. This draw-back, allowed at Astrachan, was but 3,346 silver roubles in 1847, but increased to 12,969 in 1848. In Moscow it amounted to 19,390 silver roubles. The whole amount of premiums and drawbacks, inclusive of Kiakhta tea exported to Poland, the duty on which is returned, and the duty on tobacco of Russian manufacture, the excise duty on which is also returned when exported either by the frontiers or to the kingdom of Poland, amounted, in the whole empire of Russia, to only £27,969 sterling in 1847, and £26,095 in 1848.

The following table exhibits the quantities of the principal articles of import entered for home consumption, in European Russia, in the years specified :

The extent of the Russian inland trade, and the value of the imports and exports to and from the various countries in Asia, has been, up to this time, wholly unknown. We give the imports and exports in English sterling for the year 1848. Russia imported from Turkey, in Asia, to the value of £136,976, two-thirds of which consisted of woven cotton fabrics. From Persia the imports valued £626,805, two-thirds of which consisted of woven cotton, silk, and woolen fabrics. From the Kirghis Steppes the value of her imports was £229,792, nearly one half of which consisted of cattle. From Khiva the imports were £12,479, chiefly dye stuffs and raw cotton. From Bokhara the imports were £108,480, one-half of which consisted of cotton fabrics. From Taschkend the imports were £76,241; from Kokhan, £6,923; from China, £888,363; and from other countries, chiefly beyond the Caucasus, £66,889; being a total of imports from various countries in Asia of £2,133,048. The exports of Russia to these parts were, in 1848, as follow:-To Turkey, in Asia, £76,093; Persia, £103,780; Kirghis Steppes, £238,041; Khiva, £6,346; Bokhara, £39,154; Taschkend, £38,704; Kokhan, £736; China, £865,848; total of exports to Asiatic countries, £1,368,703. The value, both of imports and exports, appears to average nearly the same amount, taken in a series of years.

The following is a statement of the Russian imports and exports (exclusive of specie) from and to Poland and Finland, in the following years:

Some idea may be formed of the quantity of business transacted at the great fair