COMMERCE (INTERNAL) OF THE UNITED STATES. 



129 



York were, in hogsheads, 92,798, against 100,- 

 685 in 1876, 54,831 in 1875, 74,026 in 1874, 

 and 94,865 in 1873. The receipts at the sea- 

 ports from the crop of 1877 were estimated at 

 155,000 hogsheads. The crop turned out leafy, 

 and sound, hut with less heavy leaf than was 

 expected. The exports of seed-leaf tobacco in 

 1877 were 33,950 cases, against 51,426 in 

 1876, 35,015 in 1875, and 81,301 in 1874. The 

 jobbing trade in seed-leaf tobacco at New 

 York has been much injured by the growth of 

 the large cigar factories, which purchase sup- 

 plies on the spot where they are grown, and 

 by the extension of the traveling system. ^The 

 trade was arrested by the strike of the cigar- 

 makers in 1877, but the smallness of the stock 

 of old crops prevented the decline of prices. 

 The old stock remaining on hand January 1, 

 1878, was for the whole country about 56,000 

 cases, and the new crop of 1877 was about 

 130,000 cases of fair average quality. The 

 quantity of domestic seed leaf manufactured 

 into cigars in the year ending June 30, 1877, 

 was 33,702,834 Ibs., or 88,692 cases, against 

 68,789 cases in 1876, 71,785 in 1875, 89,140 in 

 1874, and 80,659 in 1873. The quantity of for- 



eign tobacco worked up into cigars in 1877 

 was about 7 million pounds, against about 7, 

 7|, 9i, and lOf million pounds in 1876, '75, 

 '74, and '73 respectively. The number of cigars 

 and cheroots stamped for the internal revenue 

 in 1877 was 1,800,009 mille, of which 44,100 

 mille were of foreign make, against 48,410 

 mille in 1876, 57,345 in 1875, 65,060 in 1874, 

 and 75,018 in 1873; and 1,755,909 mille were 

 of domestic manufacture, against 1,780,397 in 

 1876, 1,869,317 in 1875, 1,792,789 in 1874, and 

 1,699,732 in 1873. It is thus seen that the 

 consumption of cigars has decreased since 1875, 

 owing partly to the deficiency of the crops and 

 partly to the impaired consumptive capacity 

 of the people. The business in manufactured 

 tobacco has been large and profitable for the 

 Eastern factories during the last couple of 

 years. The quantity of manufactured tobacco 

 on which the internal revenue tax was paid 

 during the year ending June 30, 1877, was 

 112,722,054 Ibs., the number of cigars and che- 

 roots 1,799,412 mille. The prices in the New 

 York market in the year 1878 at or near the 

 beginning of the months designated was for 

 the following varieties, *per pound, as follows : 



There was an active speculative movement 

 in sugar in the early part of 1877, on account 

 of its exceptionally strong statistical position, 

 the stocks carried over in all countries being 

 130,000 tons less than those of the previous 

 year, and the crop in cane and beet sugar of 

 1876-'77 falling short of that of the season 

 before about 300,000. Acting on the strength 

 of these facts, the American sugarmen im- 

 ported very largely, not taking into account 

 sufficiently the influence of high prices to di- 

 minish consumption in the depressed state of 

 industry. The prices ranged excessively high 

 in May, June, and July, drawing into the 

 American market quantities of the Oriental 

 product, which had never been seen there be- 

 fore, and even cargoes of West Indian sugar 

 reshipped from England. At the same time 

 consumption rapidly declined, until toward 

 the close of the year there was a breakdown 

 in prices, and the heavy stocks were nearly 

 worked off at the year's end with great loss. 

 The importations, notwithstanding the short 

 yield in all countries, exceeded those of 1876 

 by 54,364 tons, and the stock held over till 

 1878 was 25,362 tons, being one third greater 

 than the stock remaining on hand at the open- 

 VOL. xvin. 9 A 



ing of the year. The total imports of foreign 

 raw cane sugar in the United States during 

 the calendar year 1877, not including the im- 

 portations from the Pacific islands and Asia, 

 were 646,499 tons, against 592,153 tons in 1876, 

 being an increase of 54,346 tons, or 9'17 per 

 cent., and against 662,672 tons in 1875. The 

 consumption of foreign unrefined sugar, de- 

 ducting reexports of raw and manufactured, 

 was, in 1873, 592,725 tons; in 1874, 661,809 

 tons; in 1875, 621,852 tons; in 1876, 581,369 

 tons; in 18^7, 577,194 tons, being a decline of 

 4,175 tons, or 71 per mille. The total con- 

 sumption of cane sugar, foreign and domestic, 

 increased from 269,466 tons in 1850 to 415,- 

 281 tons in 1860, and to 530,692 tons in 1870, 

 633,314 tons in 1871, 637,373 tons in 1872, 

 652,025 tons in 1873, 710,369 tons in 1874, 

 685,353 tons in 1875, 658,369 tons in 1876, 

 666,194 tons in 1877. There were 29,556 tons 

 received at San Francisco in 1877, the largest 

 importations coming from Hawaii and Manila, 

 and smaller quantities from Batavia, China, 

 and Calcutta. The consumption of sugar of 

 all kinds in the United States was 745,250 

 tons in the calendar year 1877, against 745,- 

 269 tons in 1876, being a decrease of 19 tons ; 



