General 
summary. 
_ tures. 
FRAN CE: 
Statistics. in wines, brandy, &c.; and about the same amount in 
=~" timber for building, metals, &c. At the 
: period of the 
Revolution, France received from her West India and 
American possessions, about 185 millions; viz. Ist, 
. about 134,000,000 in sugar and coffee alone: 2d, about 
26,000,000 in cotton: 3d, about 11,600,000 in indigo, 
and other drugs for dyeing: 4th, about 10,000,000 in 
cocoa, chocolate, ginger, &c. The i from 
France, at this eigen were about 77,900,000 livres, 
which may be arranged in five classes ; 1st, 42,447,000 
in manufactured goods: 2d, about 19,611,000 in flour, 
pulse, salted isions, cheese, &c.: 3d, about 7,285,000 
in wines and brandy : 4th, about 6,513,000 in. wood, 
metals, &c. ; and, lastly, about 2,057,000. in articles of 
t must ious, perfect: accuracy respectin 
the value of the particular or total exportations an 
importations cannot be obtained ; we need not, there- 
fore, be surprised to find them estimated differently by 
different authors. - According to: some, the tation 
in 1787 amounted in all to 542,604,000 livres; of 
which, 311,472,000 were the raw produce of the soil, 
mines, and fisheries ; and 231,132,000 the produce of 
French. manufactures. , author of the treatise 
De la Balance dw Commerce de la France; is of opinion, 
that, about the same period, the value of the exports 
of the produce manufactures of France was 
SE ROREN sine Nai eamenes to be Unesssiyided 
the different the kingdom. The mari- 
time districts ok to the amount of 228,000,000 ; 
the frontier districts to the amount of 77,000,000; the 
interior districts only to the amount. of 11,000,000 ; 
the cidevant _ ity of Paris, to the amount of 
18,000,000 ; and the district round. Lyons, compre- 
hending the t of the Rhone and the Loire, 
tae epee ri, ai 
imports rance, upon an av of the 
— 1785, 1786, 1787, are: calculated. at 611,008,200 
ivres. In 1792, the average imports. amounted to no 
more than 319,000,000, ing tothe report of Ro- 
land to the Convention. By an official report laid before 
the Consuls, 22d 1800, it that the 
value of the imports was 325,116,400 livres: of which, 
114,190,100 was in isi liquors, &c.; 133,591,500 
in raw materials; upwards of 35,060,000 of this being 
cotton wool, and 39,265,500 was in foreign manufac- 
The exports that year amounted to 271,575,600 ; 
of which, 87,562,500 consisted of isions, wines, li- 
quors, &¢; 33,693,000 of raw materials; and 140,854,200 
of manufactured goods ; of these last, the silk amount- 
ed to 41,222,000, the linen and hempen cloth to 
34,866,000, the woollen to 23,146,000, and 
the cotton stuffs to 12,335,000. . In the same’year, the 
Spain were valued at 64,446,500; the 
ports from 
rian rep 
were 26,561,600; the exports 23,010,700: 
. The total imports from 
neutral powers were 84,783,300; of which, upwards 
of 82,000,000 were from Denmark, Sweden, Prussia, 
the Hanse towns; and only about. 2,000,000 
the United States. The exports tothe same 
ers were 33,527,400 ; of which, only 557,700 were 
to the United States, 
There are no data on which an estimate of the numr 
727 
ber or tonnage of the French shipping, at the end of  Statisties: 
of Louis XIV. can be formed ; but in 1669, —~~—— 
Amount 
of the ton-- 
nage of tlie” 
ed to much above 800 vessels, of from.100 to 250: shipping. 
the rei 
Colbert reckoned that France employed only 600 in 
foreign commerce ; and it is supposed, that at the be- 
of the 18th century this number had not in- 
tons burden. If this latter supposition be correct, they 
must have declined in the middle of this century; for 
the anonymous author of a pamphlet, entitled the 
Present Siate of the Revenue and Forces of France and 
Spain, compared.with those of Great Britain, 1740, as- 
serts, that in France there were not then more than 
600 sail of merchant ships at the most, of all sizes; 
and that, reckoning 25 sailors to each, one with an- 
other, all the seamen of France did not exceed 30,000, 
including 11,000 seamen elassed by the king, who had 
leave to serve aboard the merchant ships, till they were 
wanted for the king’s service. » At the period of the 
Revolution, the n of ships employed in.long voy~ 
ages either to: the East. and West Indies, or. to» the 
whale and-cod_fishieries, ‘amounted to 1000, ‘averaging . 
250 tonseach. The to different countries in Eu- 
a eg loyed, at this period, about 580,000 tons ; of 
which, little more than one-fourth, or 152,000 tons, 
were French. In 1792, an official report was made by 
Roland to the National Convention ; from which it ap-= 
pears, that in that year there entered inwards into the 
ports of France,7607 vessels, amounting to 639,225 tons; 
of which, 1823 vessels, or 147,821 tons, were French ; 
1940 vessels, or 145,012 tons, were lish ; and 33446 
vessels, or $46,402 tons, belonged to other nations: and 
in the same year there clea outwards 8618 vessels, 
amounting to 544,935 tons ; of which, 1940 vessels, or 
147,410 tons, were French; $111 vessels, or 90,662. 
tons; were lish ; and 3567 vessels, or 306,863 tons, 
belonged to other nations. From an official report laid: 
before the Consuls in 1800, it that at that time 
the. total number of ships employed in foreign com- 
merce, that entered inwards, amounted to 7581, or 
273,187 tons; of which, 2975 vessels, or 98,804 tons,. 
were French; the rest belonged to foreigners: That: 
the number of vessels cl outwards, amounted to 
8636, or 312,967 tons; of which, 3358 vessels, or 
104,687 tons belonged to France. That the coasting 
trade between res ee of France employed — 
26,000 vessels, (includi ee ») or about 
700,000 tons, A ree thawhe of hehe French. 
The colonial and fishing vessels entered inwards were 
71, or 4769 tons; and cleared outwards, 296 vessels, 
or 10,000 tons. 
The coasting and inland trade of France, before the Coasting 
Revolution, were both very considerable ; indeed, it has ~ inland 
the products of the “°° 
been calculated, that the bringi 
south parts of France along the coast, to: those of the 
north, for the supply of the capital. and. the northern 
provinces, constituted a ing trade only inferior in 
itude to the coal trade of England. The ships 
led at Bourdeaux, with wines and fruits of all sorts, 
used to set out in a fleet, and under conyoy in time of 
war; and stop. near. the:Isle of Rhe, where they were 
joined by the ships. from Rochelle, laden: with wine, 
fruits, and corn; hence they proceeded to the: coast of 
Brittany, where they: were joined by-another fleet from 
Nantes and St Maloes, laden with brandy, corn, &c. 
The fleet thus collected used» frequently to amount to 
160 or 200 sail. The very supplying of the city of 
Paris with wood for fuel, employs an immense number 
of boats, carts, &c. A large portion of the inland trade 
of .France is still carried gn by means of the numerous . 
