onco to conclusions from which, as I 

 before slated, (page 301,) the palpable 

 absurdity should have preserved him. 

 The last of these statements is as fol- 

 lows: — 



IMPORTS. Official Vdl. 



YearendingJau.5,1821 ,^32,438,650 17 3 

 1822 ••30,792,763 4 10 

 1823. -30,500,094 17 4 



1824.1 Mr. Roper on the Commercial System of Great Britain. 2 1 9 



formably with this law, bo advancing-, 

 and, upon the whole, would approximate 

 in value, although in bulk and quantity 

 continually getting more unequal ; and 

 consequently, if valued with reference 

 to a standard established 130 3 ears ago, 

 yearly exhibiting a greater disparity. 

 Accidental causes, too, the influence of 

 seasons. See. may produce very great 

 alterations in the quantity of any com- 

 modity, and therefore in its market- 

 price, without at all aflecting the value 

 of the whole. A deficient harvest, for 

 instance, may materially change the 

 quantity of corn brought to market: its 

 price will rise greatly, but the value of 

 the whole, as compared with other 

 years, may remain unchanged. Let us 

 assume, as an illustration, the average 

 produce to be 500,000 quarters, and the 



Total Imports .. 93,731,408 19 5 



EXPORTS. 



YcarendingJan.5,1821 

 1822 

 1823 



Official Val. 

 •48,951,467 17 

 •51,461,434 3 

 ■ 53,464,122 9 



Total Exports.. 153,877,024 9 9 



Here undoubtedly there appears, at 

 the first glance, something confirmatory 

 of his opinions, 131 niilHons nearly 

 would appear to have been exchanged 

 by our merchants for only about 94 

 millions. But, in addition to this docu- 

 ment, another is subjoined which shows 

 what portion of these exports consisted 

 of British produce and manulucture, 

 and exhibits their official and declared 

 value. This table I have already copied ; 

 I shall therefore only give the total 

 here : — 

 TotalValneofN 



BritishProd. / Official Val. Decl. Val. 



& Maiiufact. S=ei23,463,833|lll0,053,248 



exported in i 



three years j 

 Thus, it appears, of the 154 millions 

 exported, 1232 '^^'^ reduced by the de- 

 clared value to 110. The column of 

 imports does not admit of such a com- 

 parison: no declared value is given, nor, 

 I believe, exacted, at the Custom 

 House ; but we may fairly presume that, 

 if given, it would exceed the official 

 value in a greater ratio than the other 

 falls short of it. We are justified in this 

 conclusion, independently of all other 

 considerations, by the fact that these 

 imports consist principally of raw pro- 

 duce, or of articles comparatively little 

 aflected by labour, and consequently 

 not susceptible of much alteration in 

 value by the application of machinery, 

 or any improved processes. Such 

 commodities have a constant tendency 

 to advance in price with the growing 

 demands of society ; while manufactured 

 articles have as constant a tendency the 

 other way. 1 cannot stop now to deve- 

 lope the principles here hinted at : lam 

 satisfied of their truth, which is confirm- 

 ed, indeed, by experience and history. 

 While, then, our exports are diminish- 

 ing io price, our imports would, con- 



ordinary market-price 2l. 10*. per 

 quarter, the value of the whole will be 

 1,250,000/. ; a deficient harvest may 

 reduce the produce to 250,000 quarters, 

 and this diminished supply will occasion 

 tlie market-price to advance probably 

 to 5/. per quarter. But 230,000 quar- 

 ters, at 51. per quarter, will produce the 

 same sum as 500,000 at 2l. lOs. : this is 

 evident. Suppose, then, some such 

 cause to affect the supply of wine, sugar, 

 hemp, or cotton, the quantity imported 

 into this country will be much reduced ; 

 the official value (the standard not 

 changing,) is reduced also ; but the 

 market-price rises considerably, and 

 thus affords still an adequate return to 

 the merchant for the capital employed 

 in the trade, and more than balances the 

 value of the exports. 



These explanations will suffice, I 

 think, to account for the anomaly upon 

 which the Exposition is altogether built. 

 It must also be recollected, that, what- 

 ever portion of our exports is paid for 

 directly by the transmission of coin or 

 bullion, or by bills on other countries, is 

 altogether lost sight of by these docu- 

 ments. When, then, these different 

 statements are duly weighed, I think 

 it will appear, as I observed in the com- 

 mencement of my letter, that his con- 

 clusions are obviously deduced from 

 insufficient data ; and when we consider 

 how attentive men usually are to their 

 own interest, and find the merchants 

 thus occupied in what he represents as 

 a most ruinous business, instead of 

 abandoning such a destructive employ- 

 ment of their ca|)ital, and eagerly 

 endeavouring to avoid the bankruptcy 

 which inevitably awaits them : when, 

 instead of doing this, I say, which pru- 

 dence 



