COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CONGREGATIONALISTS. 189 



of American industry, tho truth can not be ig- 

 noivil that a genuine development is taking 

 placo in many branches. Not alone in cotton 

 gooda and hardware are the American manu- 

 facturers proving themselves able to sustain 

 the decisive tost of an increasing export of the 

 protected articles. The importations of paper 

 in ls78 were ouly one tenth in value of the 

 imports of 1878, and were principally confined 

 to fine wall-papers, while the exports have 

 doubled since 1870 and 1871. The fineness and 

 finish of American writing-papers have already 

 gained them a market in China and Japan, and 

 in Holland and other countries. In chemicals 

 the same process of a concurrent decline of 

 imports and increase of exports is taking place. 

 Tarturic acid, of which a short time ago half 

 a million pounds was imported, is now sup- 

 plied entirely at home. The opening of the 

 borax mines in Nevada has stopped tho impor- 

 tation of that article, which England formerly 

 supplied ; tho price has fallen from 35 to 8 or 

 9 cents a pound, and England has become a 

 large buyer both of the crude and the refined 

 product. France formerly sent 6 million pounds 

 of cream of tartar to the United States, but now 

 the domestic factories furnish the entire sup- 

 ply. Fruit sirups, which have a large sale in 

 the West Indies and South America, were once 

 supplied by France ; but this entire trade is 

 now passing into the hands of American man- 

 ufacturers, who produce a richer-flavored as 

 well as a cheaper article. Formerly England 

 sent large quantities of doors to Australia and 

 the other colonies poor in forests ; now Amer- 

 ican machine-made joinery doors, sashes, and 

 Venetian blinds is being shipped to Australia 

 from California, while in England a demand is 

 arising for the American doors. 



There are American industries, it has been 

 seen, which are already able to hold their own 

 in outside markets against European competi- 

 tion. An increasing export at profitable rates 

 for a series of years is a sufficient proof that 

 America is able, with the present development 

 of its natural resources and its existing condi- 

 tions regarding capital and labor, to enter the 

 field with the industrial and commercial coun- 

 tries in competition for the world's market. 

 That this has taken place in the staple branch- 

 es of manufacture is an indication that the con- 

 ditions of production are favorable to that end. 

 Many manufacturers express themselves will- 

 ing already to see the protective duties re- 

 moved in their own branches. When the ex- 

 port trade is fairly established, the whole pur- 

 pose of protection has been gained. Every 

 year new products of American manufacture 

 find a foreign outlet, and there is every indi- 

 cation that the United States have fairly en- 

 tered upon a career of industrial greatness. 



The imports into the United States for the 

 nine months ending September 30, 1879, were: 

 merchandise, $355,786,388; specie, $46,515,- 

 595; total imports, $402,251,983.' The ex- 

 ports for the same period were: domestic 



produce, $508,900,787; reSxporte, $7,729,847 ; 

 total merchandise, $516,630,634; specie, $21,- 

 038,863; total exports, $537,664,497. Tho 

 imports for the corresponding nine months of 

 1878 were: merchandise, $324,611,718; spe- 

 cie, $22,278,788 ; total imports, $846,890,506. 

 Tho exports for the same period were : do- 

 mestic produce, $523,458,842; foreign goods, 

 $10,480,435 ; total merchandise, $533,639,277; 

 specie, $21,959,334; total exports, $555,898,- 

 611. The exports of merchandise for the nine 

 months of 1879 thus show a decrease of 17*3 

 millions compared with the exports of the 

 same part of 1878, and the imports of mer- 

 chandise show an increase of 81-1 millions. 

 The favorable balance is decreased from 209'3 

 to 160-9 million dollars for the three quarters ; 

 and including the specie movement, the reduc- 

 tion of tho commercial balance is increased by 

 the increased excess in the imports of coin and 

 bullion over the exports, which amounted to 

 25-5 millions in 1879, against 0*3 million in the 

 nine months of 1878 : the total surplus of ex- 

 ports is therefore 135 '4 millions, against 209 

 millions for the three quarters in 1878. 



CONGREGATIONALISTS. The following 

 is a summary of the statistics of the Congrega- 

 tional churches of the United States, as they 

 are given in the " Congregational Year-Book " 

 for 1879 : 



