Business with British India has moved within normal limits, but in 

 this market also the consumption of our manufactures is slowly on the 

 increase. The greatest possible caution, however, is required in opening 

 up new connections, and any manufacturer who, without regard to the 

 reputation and commercial standing of the applicants, would respond to 

 the requests for "free samples" which are made from every side, would 

 certainly fail to make his trade with this country pay. The "free-sample"- 

 hunt has almost assumed the proportions of an epidemic in India; every 

 mail brings letters which show that the sole object of the writers is, by 

 holding out more or less fantastic promises, to secure possession of the 

 largest possible sample-collections. We have noticed that the same mail 

 sometimes brings requests of this kind, couched in identical phrasing, to 

 each one of our branch-offices. Of late business-prospects have again 

 taken a turn for the better in India, copious rains fell in the Northern 

 Provinces at the end of August, and, except in a few districts, have 

 brought considerable improvement in the distressing state of affairs which 

 had resulted from the previous failure of the monsoon. Until the end 

 of July the rainfall in almost all parts of India had been far below the 

 average, hence not only were the crops of most of the staple articles of 

 export, especially cotton, placed in jeopardy, but a general rise in prices 

 was feared. At that time the outlook was so grave that there was serious 

 thought of abandoning the Durbar, which on this occasion is to be in- 

 vested with special solemnity by the presence of the Emperor-King and 

 his Consort. The gravity of the position was increased by the fact that 

 the district which had suffered most severely from the drought was that 

 of which Delhi, which is to be the principal scene of the Durbar-festivities, 

 is the centre. The purchasing power of the people of India notoriously 

 depends entirely upon the result of the monsoon, and so, to a large extent, 

 does the credit of the trading classes. 



Trade with Australasia has been rather dull. In this market German 

 traders require to put forward all their energy in order to maintain and 

 extend the connections created by untiring efforts. The bad conditions 

 of the labour market impede the development of Australian industry and 

 increase the cost of living of the whole population to such an extent that 

 there is not the remotest prospect of the country competing with other 

 nations. The Commonwealth, with a population of barely 4500000, suffers, 

 in fact, from want of sufficient labour-power, and it is scarcely likely that 

 this will be removed until the Government begins to recognise that immi- 

 gration on a large scale is the only cure for the evil. Those branches 

 of industry in which our manufactures are used also show only a very 

 slow growth, and new undertakings with any prospect of success are 

 very few. 



There is unfortunately no ground for anticipating that the commercial 

 crisis in Spain is about to be satisfactorily ended. After long and stormy 



