80 COTTON TEXTILES IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



all including silks, muslins, woolens, wearing apparel, and haberdash- 

 ery is about five-eighths, or $809,674; number of yards, 11. 423,957, being 

 about 7.08 cents per yard. The kinds of cotton textiles imported are 

 printed cottons, long-cloths, ducks and drills, bed-ticks and shirtings, 

 muslins, Victoria-lawns, fancy dress stuff's, corduroy, and velveteens. 



WEIGHT. 



The average weight of white cotton textiles is found to be 2| ounces, 

 and the brown cottoa textiles 4 ounces per yard. 



HOW PURCHASED. 



Cotton textiles are (like many other kinds of goods) purchased by 

 short and also by long accounts. The short account is cash, which 

 means payment in 15 to 30 days. 



The long account is for six months or one year, and carries interest 

 at 5 per cent, in England, 6 per cent, in France, 6 per cent, in Germany, 

 and 6 per cent, in the United States. 



As a rule the charges for buying are 2| percent, in England, France, 

 Germany, and the United States ; but there are exceptional cases where 

 it is done for less, according to the amount purchased and other circum- 

 stances. English merchants in London often charge their clients 5 per 

 cent., but return them all the discounts, that are generally 2 or 2 J per 

 cent. 



When a client covers the indent by remittances the merchant allows 

 him 5 per cent, and buys the goods for him at 2J per cent. 



Some firms of long standing get credit without security, but as a rule 

 the loan must be secured. 



Life insurance policies are much used as securities here by the as- 

 signment of the policies. A large number of life policies have been ef- 

 fected in Trinidad during the past two years, in the New York Life, New 

 York Equitable, and some English and Canadian companies. 



When retailers buy of importers in this colony (either for use here, or 

 in Venezuela or the adjacent islands) it is done at ninety days without 

 charge of interest to the clients, the bank discounting the notes at the 

 lawful interest of the colony 6 per cent. which of course is Against the 

 importers. 



There are sometimes other private arrangements made between men 

 of business, but what I have written is the general custom adopted in 

 Trinidad. 



PLACE OF MANUFACTURE. 



In England these cotton textile manufactured goods are produced 

 in Manchester, and they are imported from Liverpool and London; in 

 France they are manufactured in Rouen, and shipped at Havre ; in 

 Germany they are made in Dresden, and imported from Hamburg; and 

 jn. the United States hey are manufactured jnpstly in Waterbury^ Conn,, 



