COTTON TEXTILES IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 179 



It follows from what has been already stated, and the very small 

 proportion of cotton textiles passing through Marseilles which are en- 

 tered for consumption, that the importation of such goods in the ordi- 

 nary commercial sense is not of sufficient volume and importance to 

 form the basis of any general analysis or deductions. No statistics 

 exist from which the amount or value of cotton goods brought here for 

 consumption from other parts of France can be approximately derived. 

 The prices and methods of purchase which apply to the trifling imports 

 for consumption from England, Belgium, and Switzerland are those 

 which ordinarily rule in the markets of those countries. 



HOW PURCHASED. 



Purchases are either for cash or thirty days 7 payment, but the Swiss 

 and German manufacturers send some goods on consignment, paying 

 a commission on sales. There are no brokers in this line of trade at 

 Marseilles, and all transactions are direct between the purchaser and 

 the manufacturer or his agent. Hence each transaction is made upon 

 special and often varying terms, and there are no general rules by which 

 the trade relatively unimportant in itself is uniformly governed. 



FRANK H. MASON, 



Consul. 

 UNITED STATES CONSULATE, 



Marseilles, July 10, 1889. 



GERMANY. 

 HAMBURG. 



REPORT BY CONSUL LANG. 

 COTTON TEXTILES. 



Kind imported. The statistics obtainable by this consulate do not 

 show the different kinds of cotton textiles imported into Hamburg, but 

 from reliable information, obtained from experts in this line, it is safe 

 to say that every kind manufactured iincls its way into this port. The 

 quantity imported per annum for the years 1885, 1886, and 1887 (the 

 statistics for 1888 have not yet been completed) was 31,230,815 pounds, 

 32,862,000 pounds, and 36,650,020 pounds, respectively. 



Weights. The weight per yard can not be furnished, as the goods 

 are weighed in bulk and not by measure. Besides, no statistics exist 

 regarding the measurement. 



How purchased. This is a very difficult question to answer. Most of 

 the cotton textiles arriving in Hamburg are in transit and are almost 

 immediately shipped from here to foreign ports. The firms handling 



