IO — 



duties; but it is to be hoped, for the sake of Swedish industiy, 

 that the products of our industry, seeing that they count among the 

 raw materials, shall at any rate not be made subject to higher duties 

 than are now prevailing. 



Nothing special can be reported with regard to our intercourse 

 with the Balkan States, and it will be desirable to suspend all ex- 

 pressions of opinion as regards the future of this market until the 

 Servian question has been finally solved. In Turkey, the introduction 

 of a Constitutional regime is still too much in the state of transition 

 to make it possible, at this early period, to point to any beneficial 

 results from this measure of civilisation, or to the recovery in a 

 material sense of the Nation under the sway of the now ruling Young 

 Turkish Party. 



The other consuming countries in Europe offer no occasion for 

 special comment; but we cannot conclude this part of our review 

 without a reference to the tragic occurrences in the Far South, the 

 news of which horrified the world at Christmas time. Messina and 

 Reggio, two flourishing cities, have fallen victims to the catastrophe 

 of an earthquake, the like of which is not recorded in the history 

 of the world, and without any presentiment of disaster, thousands of 

 the inhabitants have met their death under the ruins. The entire 

 civilised world deplores with Italy the loss of so many lives, and 

 extends its sympathy in their misfortune to the few remaining survi- 

 vors, nearly all of whom have lost home and chattels. All our readers 

 know the important position occupied by the two severely tried cities 

 in the trade in Sicilian and Calabrian essential oils, and all will 

 understand that the catastrophe has necessarily resulted in changes 

 in the commerce of these products, the effect of which we are as yet 

 quite incapable of surveying. To our great delight we are able to 

 report that our esteemed friend, Mr. Eduardo Jacob, who has also 

 been our valued collaborator in these Reports during several decades, 

 has been fortunate enough, together with his family, to escape a tragic 

 fate; and we are glad to take this opportunity of again sincerely con- 

 gratulating him upon his wonderful escape. Mr. Jacob has supplied 

 us with a report which at last enables us to give an authentic account 

 of the condition of things in the regions affected by the earthquake, 

 and in view of the difficult conditions under which his report was 

 composed, we owe him our especial gratitude. 



The hope which we expressed in our last Report that in accord- 

 ance with the experience in previous Presidential Elections, business 

 in the United States would revive immediately after the close of the 

 Electoral campaign, has not been fulfilled in its entirety. During the 

 closing months of the year also there was no real recovery in business- 

 transactions , although a marked feeling of confidence had taken 



