33' 



A. D. i 



794- 



The following is the official account of the commerce of Pcterfburg 

 during this year. 



Vessels 



belonging to 



Hussia 



Great Brit;;in 

 Denmark . . 

 Westphalia . 

 .Sweden . . . . 

 Holland .... 

 Lubeck .... 



Pnissia 



Italy 



Hamburgh . . 

 Rostock .... 

 Portugal .... 



Spain 



Dantzik .... 

 Bremen .... 

 Courland . . . 

 Oldenburg . . 

 America .... 

 Ostend 



arnv' 

 ed. 



535 



69 

 I 



52 



03 



35 



n 



4 



5S 



5 



9 

 11 



4 



1 



1 



43 



sail- 

 ed. 



53:: 

 79 



47 

 24 



70 

 G7 

 II 



13 

 13 



9 

 31 



44 

 2 



062 050 



By merchants of 



Ru.^sia 



Great Britain . . . . 



Denmark 



Germany 



Sweden 



Holland 



Lubeck 



France 



Italy 



Hamburgh 



Switzerland 



Portugal 



Spain 



Mecklenburg . . . . 



undry nations . . . 



captains of vessels 



Totals 



Value of exports, 

 Rubles. 



9,025,357 



15,034,507 



230,101 



124,5b7 



869 



951 



3,953 



14,000 



5,l6S 



10 

 204,941 



1 09,65 S 



41 



14,176 

 77,373 



Value of imports, 

 Rubles. 



14,081,763 



5,440,628 



525,847 



358,424 



1,129 



580,861 



10,809 



37,462 



6,822 



8,382 



2,104 



255,540 



203,590 50 



21,533 



60,6S3 29 



145,595 85 



25.563.767 3421,741,176 72 



Custom duties. 

 Rubles. 



2,972,100 85 



Bullion im- 

 ported, 

 Rubles. 



243,210 O 



The Britifh merchants in Ruffia complained of the great hardfhip of 

 being obliged to pay the whole duties in rixdollars, which, by the va- 

 luation fixed upon them at the cuftom-houfe, and the expenfe of pro- 

 curing them, made the duty exafted from them amount in reahty to 70 

 per cent more than it ought to be by the treaty *. 



* The following extraft from a paper, written 

 in April 1794 by a gentleman who was then in 

 Pcterfburg, ftts the impolicy of this condutl of 

 the Ruffian government in the cleared light. 



' Tlie Ruilian government have always been dc- 



• ceived in their ideas of trade by looking to per- 

 ' fons, and not to things. 



' All tlitir cuflom-houfe ft.Uements promote 



• this deception by giving in their reports the 

 ' amount of goods imported and exported by Brit- 

 ' ilh, or uX.\\t\-.fuljclls, and noX from Britain, France, 

 ' or eifewhcre, as it onght to be : for BritilTi 

 ' merchants in Riiffia may trade, and aiili'.ally do 

 ' trade, to all the world. 



' This deception is maintained by the jealoufy 

 .'■ of the native merchants, who envy foicigners, 

 ' becaufe they fee them live better in general than 

 •■ they can. And thence in all their reprcfenta- 



• tions to the miniftry they requell that the prlvil- 

 i' eges or diftindlions of trade may be perfonal and 



' not national ; a diflindtion long forgotten by wife 

 ' and enlightened governments, but ever uppermofl 

 ' in the minds cf tlic ignorant. 



' Even in this, however, they mnfl in the end 

 ' be defeated : for the raiidnefs of the f refei.t go- 



' vernment and the increafing fecurlty of perfonal 

 ' property in Riifiia, as well as the rifing confe- 



• quence of the commercial charaAer in this em- 

 ' pire, have very much diminifhed the repugnance 

 ' that moil foreigners had to infcribing themfclvcs 

 ' among the RulTiaa burghers, not to ufe the of- 

 ' fcnfive term of citizens. Very numerous ex- 

 ' amples of people of all nations evince the truth 

 « of this remark. 



' Had our convention, which is now likely to be 

 ' ftrangled in its infancy, not taken place, I believe 

 ' moll of the merchants, to avoid paying half the 

 ' duty in dollars, would e're now have entered their 

 « goods in the name of fome Ruffian partner, or 

 ' become burghers. Many aftually did fo ; and 

 ' you may judge of the effeit of attempting to 



• make them pay the ivhole in dollars from v^'hat 

 ' happened with the hii!f. 



' This eafy mode of naturalization renders all 



• treaties of commerce nfelefs. They were needful 

 ' in barbarous times, when the fecurity of p.",'onal 

 ' property was very precarious. But now I never 

 ' would recommend the relinquiiliment of any na- 

 ' tional objeft for the fake of a treaty : and the 

 ' plainer this is faid, the better. 



« The 



