1803. ( 305 ) 
MONTHLY COMMERCIAL REPORT. 
COMMERCIAL undertakings in this country’ have been confiderably marred by the circum. 
"—~ ftances of the war, and, in particular, by the fear of invafion, and the preparations to meet 
it. ‘The neceffary recruiting of the regiments.of the line, thewmilitia, and the army of referve, 
take many thoufands of men from the productive Jabour of the country. .Even upon the fervice 
of the volunteers, there is a lofs of more than 50,oo0l. a week, by the dimjnution of the produc- 
—~ tive labour. Thediverfion of the work of fo many of the artifans, and of the application of fo much 
of the capital, from ufes by which the weaJth and lucrative exportations of the kingdom might 
have been augmented, to the mere fervice and confumption of war, tends. alfo to diminifh, to a 
prodigious annual amount, the.real and general profits of our commerce. The reftraints im- 
pofed by our own Government and Legiflature, on the movements of trade, in unavoidable com- 
pliance with the necetiities of war—as in the inftance of regulating the failing of merchant-fhips 
by the convenience of their convoys, the exaction of new duties, the prohibition ot trade with 
qur enemies, icc.—add fo much more to the. prefent difadvantages of our traffics.. Vhefe are 
farther enhanced by the embarrafsments which the war has neceffarily thrown in the way of 
the circulation of bills of exchange. Some part of our carrying tradeis, at the fame time, éne 
grofled by the fhips of the neutral nations; an event unfavourable, in more ways than one, to 
our navigation. The danger of capture, too, impedes the enterprize of our merchants, diminifhes 
the profits to the produétive labourer, and diftributes a part of the profits, in in{urance—a prea 
rium toa clafs ‘of men who merit them, merely as poffefling ¢apital, not as augmenting the 
quantity or the excellence of the commodities by their own efforts. Befides, while the exporta- 
tion of our goods to foreign countries, and their diftribution in foreign markets, are thus laid 
under fo many new difficulties, rival manufactures are Encouraged to arife in thofe countries 
which we have been hitherto accuftomed to fupply. 
* Yet, under all chefe difadvantages, the trade of Great Britain and Ireland has.hitherto been 
lefs injured by the war, than, upon a popular view of the matter, it might have been natural,to; 
expect. The fitheries in the Greenland Seas, and in Davis’s Sireights were, this year, unufually “ 
fuccef:ful, fo that the raw materials of whale oil, whalebone, fpermaceti, feal fkins, and that 
fubititute for ivory, wh:ch is fupplied by certain fithes allied tothe whale {pecies, are thus necef- 
farily {upplied, at moderate prices, to the arts, and for the common domettic ules, in which they’ 
are emp oyed. bth i 
Thefe articles in commerce which are, in their raw ftate, a part of the vegetable and anima} 
produce of this country, are, for the moft part, cheap, in confequence of the abundance of the 
laft crops. All that diverfity of things for ufe which we prepare from grain and ftraw, are at 
inoderate rates. Yet, fo large is the confumption when a country is in a ftate of war, that, any 
extraurdinary feverity of the weather in winter will not fail to o¢cafion a degree of dearth, though 
abfolute fearcity be what we can have no reafon £0 fear. Bo at a cD 
The iron, copper, lead, and tin works in this country, ate at prefent in great profperity. 
The circu {tances of the war give them confiderable advantages in the home market, againft the 
competition of the iron, copper, &c. of Sweden, Norway, and otler foreign countries which are 
highly favourable to their general fuccefs. ; 
Weft India goods have not recently varied much in prices The home confumption of thefe 
in Great Britain aud, ireland, is exceedingly great, and is continually increafed. The Spanith 
American fettlements contribute little to the fupply of Europe with chofe which are the grand 
articles of produce and exportation for the Britifh Weft India colonies. The Dutch Welt India 
fettlements are not in a condition to bring their produce to advantageous falc in the European 
market, The French ifles are without any poffible activity of cultivauon. It remains, therefore, 
that the merchants and planters belonging to Great Britain haye, as it were, the contract for the 
fupply of almoft all that vaft market which has been created in Europe for fugar, cocoa, chocolate, 
Wet India coffee, cotton,and rum. Hence is it that Weft India goods, under jo many difad- 
¥antages in other refpects, {till maintain fo confiderably their accuftomed market value, Upon 
this. circumflance depends alfo, in no {mall degree, the continuance of the activity of our manu- 
factures. The Weft Indies and North America are our beft cuftomers for every fort of great 
manufacture which is produced here, either in great quantity and at very low prices, or in uncom- 
monexcellence. It is our permanent monopoly of that market which enables us to defpile the 
efforts made by the French te exclude us from the markets of Europe. 
In the Mediterranean, although the ports in the power of the French be, of courfe, fhut 
againft us, we feem to be rather gaining than lofing.. The Auftrian ports of ‘Vriefte and Venicey 
the ports of Sicily, Malta, and Sardinia, the ports of the Republic of the Seven Ifles, thofe «f 
the ifles in the Archipelago, of the Levant, ot Greece and Turkey in Europe, are itill open, 
And of manufactured woollens, cottons, linens, watches, and other articles for drefs, houfehold 
furniture, &c, the exportation is now very confiderable to moft of the famous emporia on the 
Mediterranean Sea. The confumption of our Weit India produce in the countries on the Le- 
vant, is at this time not inconfiderable. ee ae ay 
The commerce of the Black Sea, which had heen juft opened to Britain and to other nations 
in the Weft of Europe, has, we underftand, been already much injured, ifnot entirely ruined, 
by the effects of the prefent war- | 
Our trade with Portugal again fuffers interruption by the afcendancy which the French have 
acquired at the Court of Lifbon. The prices of the wines and other cormmodities which we 
derive from that country, muft, of courfe, rife. Befides the red wines of Spain, and different 
wines from the éaftern parts of the Mediterranean gradually begin to obtain a preference over 
port. Orders for Englith gocds for the ule of Portugal and the Brazils muft alfo fuffer, of courfe, 
fome interruption. ° 
. Many Britih thip-owners, who have been lately obliged to take out licences from the Ad- 
. | is miralty, 
