Studies in American History 
37 
the calculation on the preceding page Amsterdam was given 
only 12 arrivals from America in 1783. 
There is still another means of checking the results of the 
calculation relating to Amsterdam. It has already been stated 
that the actual number of entrances and clearances each year 
for Rotterdam are known and have been given above. It has 
also been seen that the Pennsylvania Packet reported a cer- 
tain number of these each year. These have already been 
given above. If these two sets of figures, the one indicating 
actual arrivals and departures at Rotterdam from and to 
America and the other giving the Pennsylvania Packet re- 
turns for the same place, be set in parallel columns or lines, 
one will be able to determine what proportion of the actual 
entrances and clearances the Pennsylvania Packet recorded. 
These two returns appear below: 
TABLE VII — Comparison of Pennsylvania Returns with Actual Entrances 
AND Clearances at Rotterdam from and to America 
1783 
1784 
1785 
1786 
1787 
1788 
1789 
Total 
Entrances at Rotterdam from Amer- 
ican ports — 
Packet return 
1 
1 
4 
5 
11 
Actual return 
3 
13 
9 
14 
16 
45 
46 
146 
Ratio 
3 
13 
9 
14 
16 
11 
11 
14 
Clearances at Rotterdam to Amer- 
ican ports — 
Packet return 
1 
3 
4 
6 
10 
24 
Actual return 
14 
9 
3 
6 
9 
23 
37 
101 
Ratio 
14 
9 
3 
2 
2 
4 
4 
4 
From the above it appears that the actual entrances at 
Rotterdam from American ports were from nine to sixteen 
times as great as the Pennsylvania Packet returns would 
indicate, while the clearances from Rotterdam for 
American ports (or entrances at American ports from 
Rotterdam) were from two to five times as large as the Packet 
returns indicated. If now one multiply the Packet’s returns 
for the entrances at Amsterdam from America by the proper 
ratio and the returns for clearances from Amsterdam for 
America by its ratio, one will arrive at a fair estimate of the 
actual entrances and clearances per year at Amsterdam from 
and for American ports. Such a calculation appears below: 
4—34488 
