FKANCE. 



373 



$880,408,100, of the special exports $666,216,- 

 700. Since 1876 there has been an annual 

 excess of imports over exports, in the special 

 commerce, amounting for the eight years to 

 $1,635,000,000. There was also during the 

 same period an excess in the imports of specie 

 amounting to about $304,000,000. The special 

 imports of coin and bullion in 1883 amounted 

 to $28,178,000, the exports to $44,583,000. 



Since the tariff reductions of 1860 the special 

 commerce returns no longer indicate correctly 

 the French consumption of foreign products or 

 the exportation of French products. An anal- 

 ysis of the returns shows the net importation 

 of the leading articles in 1883 to have been of 

 the following amounts in millions of dollars : 

 raw silk, 31 ; silk waste, 4; cotton, 31 ; wool, 

 58 ; flax, 8 ; hemp, 3 ; jute, 4 ; hides and skins, 

 21 ; lard and tallow, 7 ; timber, 10 ; gums, 25 ; 

 copper, 8 ; cabinet-wood, 4 ; cattle, 29 ; colo- 

 nial products, 49 ; coal, 30 ; wines, 27 ; cereals, 

 71. The values of the excess of exports over 

 imports in the principal articles of French pro- 

 duction were in millions of dollars as follow : 

 manufactures of silk, cotton, flax, hemp, and 

 jute, 104; domestic sugar, 20; brandy and 

 spirits, 9 ; dressed skins, 12 ; leather manu- 

 factures, 25 ; jewelry, 13 ; metal manufactures, 

 10 ; fancy goods, 17; wearing-apparel, 11. 



The total value of the special imports in 

 1883, comprising the imports destined for home 

 consumption, was 4,804,349,000 francs, against 

 4,821,825,000 francs in 1882 ; the value of the 

 special exports was 3,451,872,000 francs, 

 against 3,574,356,000 francs in 1882. The 

 special commerce of 1884, according to the 

 preliminary estimates, amounted to 4,525,967,- 

 000 francs of imports and 3,350,100,000 francs 

 of exports. The imports of articles of food are 

 given as 1,499,507,000 francs in 1884, against 

 1,617,167,000 francs in 1883 ; the imports of 

 raw materials as 2,194,255,000, against 2,278,- 

 627,000 francs; of manufactured articles as 

 643,775,000, against 704,450,000 francs; of 

 other articles as 188,430,000, against 204,105,- 

 000 francs. The exports of manufactures in 

 1884 are stated as 1,722,311,000 francs, against 

 1,813,776,000 francs in 1883; of articles of 

 food as 799,209,000, against 828,358,000 francs ; 

 of raw materials as 679,145,000, against 655,- 

 993,000 francs ; of other articles as 149,435,- 

 000, against 153,745,000 francs. The imports 

 of coin and bullion amounted to 148,236,000 

 francs in 1883, the exports to 236,182,000 

 francs. The imports of cereals in 1883 were 

 valued at 375,000,000 francs, against 520,240,- 

 000 in 1882, 519,727,000 in 1881, 788,505,000 

 in 1880, and 859,376,000 in 1879 ; the exports 

 in 1883 were of the value of 57,600,000 francs, 

 against 56,800,000 in 1882. The imports of 

 wines in 1879 amounted to 120,702,000 francs 

 and the exports to 257,700,000 francs. In 

 1883 the imports, which have exceeded the 

 exports every year since 1880, were valued, at 

 376,684,000, and the exports at 236,500,000 

 francs. The imports of manufactured goods 



increased 82 per cent, between 1873 and 1883, 

 the largest increase being in machinery, iron 

 ships, metal wares, woolens, cottons, and 

 leather. The export of silk goods, which fell 

 off from 301,419,000 francs in 1873 to 226,- 

 745,000 francs in 1878, rose again to 301,200,- 

 000 francs in 1883. Eaw silk and cocoons 

 were exported in 1883 to the value of 165,591,- 

 152 francs. 



In 1879 and 1880, the years of large grain 

 importations, the United States ranked first 

 among the importing countries in French com- 

 merce, but in 1883 fell to the sixth place, with 

 $68,000,000 of imports, England coming first 

 with $134,000,000, then Belgium with $95,- 

 000,000, and Germany, Italy, and Spain next 

 in order. The special exports from France to 

 the United States in 1883 were $67,569,300 in 

 value, being only exceeded by the exports to 

 England, $174,894,800 in amount, and those to 

 Belgium, valued at $90,980,200. The imports 

 of cotton from the United States in 1883 were 

 valued at $26,467,000; of grain and flour, 

 $19,501,000, an increase of $10,985,000; of 

 lard, tallow, and grease, $5,998,500 ; of tobac- 

 co, $3,804,000; of petroleum, $4,430,000. The 

 special exports of silk manufactures to the 

 United States in 1883 amounted to $17,205,- 

 000; woolen goods, to $17,698,000; dressed 

 hides and skins, to $2,673,000 ; cotton manu- 

 factures, to $2,144,000; feathers, to $2,314,- 

 000 ; wine, to $2,313,000. The exports from 

 the United States to France, as given in 

 the United States official returns, were 55 

 million dollars in 1883, 54 in 1882, 70 in 

 1881, 99 in 1880, and 93 in 1879, while the 

 French returns make the imports from the 

 United States into France 68 millions in 1883, 

 75 in 1882, 97 in 1881, 141 in 1880, and 138 in 

 1879. The imports into the United States 

 from France are given in the American reports 

 as 84 million dollars in 1883, 97 in 1882, 77 in 



1881, 74 in 1880, and 56 in 1879; and in the 

 French official returns the exports from France 

 to the United States were reported to be of 

 the value of 67 million dollars in 1883, 70 in 



1882, 61 in 1881, 64 in 1880, and 53 in 1879. 

 A large proportion of the imports of Ameri- 

 can origin are credited, in the French returns, 

 to England, Belgium, and Germany. The ex- 

 ports to America that pass through foreign 

 ports are in like manner set down to the Euro- 

 pean countries which are their first destina- 

 tion. The declared value of exports from. 

 France to the United States for the year end- 

 ing Sept. 30, 1884, was $67,782,266, being 

 $12,853,372 less than in 1883; the decrease 

 was chiefly in merinos, cashmeres, and miscel- 

 laneous dress goods, wines and brandy, silk 

 goods, laces, artificial flowers, jewelry, glass- 

 ware, and works of art. There was an in- 

 crease in drugs and medicines, shawls, fancy 

 goods, oils, furniture, and woolen cloth. 



The returns of the total importations of mer- 

 chandise for the first six months of 1885 show 

 a small decrease as compared with the same 



