THE COTTON TRADE. 233 



our advance has been still greater, and our rank still higher 

 than these figures indicate. If the table of consumption (Table 

 II.) be examined, it will appear that our progress is none the 

 less rapid, in comparison with other countries. In the same 

 twenty years, the deliveries to our manufactories have ad- - 

 vanced 325 per cent., viz., from 127,000 bales to 539,000; 

 while, in the same time, the advance of Great Britain has been 

 only 125 per cent., viz., from 653,000 bales to 1,472,000. In 

 each one of these periods, our rate of progress has been more 

 than twice as rapid as hers ; and though the absolute amount 

 of our consumption is yet far" below that consumed by the 

 English manufacturers, yet, in the last five years, our increase 

 has been 176,000 bales, while theirs has been only 180,000. 

 At present, our consumption is 37 per cent, of the English, 

 while twenty years ago it was only 19 per cent. 



France, during all this period, has remained nearly station- 

 ary. Twenty years ago, her consumption was 257,000 bales; 

 now, it is only 363,000. In the last five years, she has gone 

 backward, the decline having amounted to 58,000 bales. From 

 1825 to 1830, the deliveries to her manufactories were double 

 those of the United States ; now, they are 33 per cent, less 

 than ours. Her rank, compared with Great Britain, and with 

 nearly every other country in Europe, has also declined. In 

 Spain, Belgium, Germany, Holland, and Russia, the increase 

 has been nearly as rapid as in the United States. In the last 

 five years, their advance (Table III.) has been 46 per cent.; 

 ours, 49 per cent. Their rank in the cotton-consuming coun- 

 tries is yet low, but their rapid progress will soon bring them 

 to a more important position. At present, their consumption 

 is 34 per cent, of that of Great Britain, and the time is not far 

 distant when, taken together, will equal her. Twenty years 

 ago, the comparative rank of the United States, Great Britain, 

 France, and the rest of the continent, was in proportion to the 



