and salt water, stronger than any in the United States, is found in Southwestern Virginia. In fine, the opening of the railways to East Tennessee would furnish Cincinnati immediately with inexhaustible quantities, at the cheapest rates, of all the raw materials needed in any of the arts, and place her artisans beyond the power of competition from any quarter whatever. The aggregate imports and exports of the city for many years have been as follows: The Cincinnati Price Current, in remarking upon the trade of the year ending September, 1859, says, commercially and financially, the past year has been one of general prosperity, and the increase in the commerce and the industry of the city has been, at once, large, legitimate, and healthy. In the introductory remarks, in our last annual statement, it became our duty to give a rather mournful history of the preceding twelve months, and to detail the sad ravages consequent upon the crisis of 1857. The dark clouds which then hovered over the commercial and financial world, and which still hung over our industry and commerce, though giving some indications of clearing off, have all been dispersed during the past year, with the exception of a vestige here and there, and prosperity again beams upon the trade of Cincinnati with unusual splendor. Buildingsmassive and extensive, have been erected the past year, including the most splendid Opera House in the country. Whole squares have been so changed by replacing the old buildings by new, as not to be recog nized, new streets opened, and the city rapidly extending over the available space on the west. cent. The general increase in commerce is quite remarkable, but the increase in the grocery trade will attract attention. The imports of coffee increased 11 per cent; of sugar, 30 per cent; and of molasses, 60 per We imported about one-sixth of all the sugar made in Louisiana, and one-fifth of all the molasses. One-eighth of all the coffee imported into the United States from Brazil came to this market; and notwithstanding these heavy importations, they were not in excess of the demand, which has been large and steady throughout the season. The crops of the vast area commanded by the railroads and steamboats, governed by the commercial influence that centers in Cincinnati, are the source of her trade; and the abundance of these, more or less, in successive years, forms the index of the year's business. The following table gives the quantities of leading articles imported and exported for each of the last fourteen years: 1853.. 1854. 1855. 1856. 1857 1858. 1859. Wheat Flour Flour Corn Oats Hay Cheese imported, imported, exported, imported, imported, imported, imported, bush. bbls. bbls. bush. bush. bales. boxes. 343,649 449,089 312,841 723,334 283,251 6,432 202,337 408,084 427,464 332,778 745,455 427,423 19,424 216,892 437,412 342,772 199,276 845,579 480,178 37,914 183,379 1,069,468 546,727 509,061 978,511 403,920 41,696 190,983 737,723 485,089 416,789 1,673,363 534,312 57,722 176,623 1,211,543 633,318 609,215 1,090,236 598,950 39,812 199,578 1,274,685 558,173 633,318 1,139,022 557,701 47,276 223,250 We have in these figures the progressive production of the region. whence the city draws its supplies; and these are the greater that, through the enterprise of the citizens of Cincinnati, a broader circle of outlet for their surplus has been obtained. We have shown above that Cincinnati is nearer the Atlantic and the Gulf than most other cities; hence she is the most available reservoir into which to pour the produce of this section, and from which to draw supplies. Of the wheat and flour which arrives at that city, the largest portion leaves by the railroads for the East. Of the corn, a considerable portion goes by the way of the river, as also the oats. Cheese and butter also find a market down the river, on the lower Mississippi. In relation to the hog crop, which forms so important a part of Ohio business, the "Price Current" gives the following returns from the various leading packing places in the Western States, as follows: Weight, Ohio Illinois Iowa... Wisconsin. Missouri Kentucky Indiana. Tennessee. Grand totals..... Total of 1857-8... 1857-8. 85,583 194 165,440 178 Increase.... 234,931 As regards the average weight of hogs, the returns were obtained from one hundred and seventy-nine places, and it appears that the total weight of hogs packed at these places last year was 411,199,140 pounds. The weight of a similar number packed at the same places this year is 386,009,183 pounds. This is slightly over 63 per cent of a decrease in weight, which is equal to 149,253 hogs; which, being deducted from the excess as given above, leaves the net increase in number 85,678, thus showing a net increase of a shade over three-and-three-fourths per cent as compared with the crop of last year. The hog crop of 1858-59, compares, then, as follows with that of the last two years:-34 per cent greater than that of 1857-58; 18 per cent greater than that of 1856-57. As regards the falling off in the lard, the average yield per hog, as shown by the returns, was 30 pounds last year, and 25 pounds this year. Now, by multiplying the whole number of hogs packed both years, as reported above, by the yield of lard per hog each year, we can arrive at the comparative supply of this article with all the accuracy necessary:— An This is about 7 per cent of a decrease as compared with last year. impression prevails, very generally, that the deficiency in lard is much greater than this; but it seems to have been overlooked that while there is a large falling off in the yield per hog, there is a greater number of hogs from which to obtain the article this year than last. The results of the crop figures for the year 1859, show the deliveries of a bad harvest generally. The year now commencing promises unusual abundance, and a corresponding revival of business may be looked for. The state of affairs is not unlike what it was at the close of 1854. At that time commercial confidence had almost disappeared, and every man became afraid of his fellow. Banks, merchants, manufacturers, and all kinds of business men were looked upon with suspicion. Bankruptcy at the East, at the West, at the North, and at the South prevailed. Failures of a startling magnitude were continually announced, blasting whatever hope remained with those who still continued to ride against the storm. This was the state of matters in the fall of 1854. But a few months rolled on, and confidence became gradually restored; the seed time and the harvest came, and the results were the most luxuriant vegetation and the most abundant harvest ever gathered, and the close of the year found confidence fully restored. The figures for the crop receipts in 1856 show the sure basis on which the renewed prosperity of Cincinnati was based. The present year must show similar results. The utmost abundance is said to exist among the producers; and with the realization of those crops, a returning demand for goods must manifest itself, giving new life to industry and calling into use the vast elements of national wealth with which the great valley of the Mississippi so profusely abounds, and of which Cincinnati is the natural point of concentration. Art. V.-SINGAPORE, PENANG, AND SUMATRA: THEIR COMMERCE AND PRODUCTIONS. Ar the extremity of the Malay peninsula, which forms the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal, is situated a cluster of islands which separate the Indian Ocean from the China Sea. The passage between these islands and the main land is known as the Straits of Malacca, and is the great thoroughfare for ships of all nations trading between China and the East Indies. The most important of these islands is Singapore and Penang. This group of islands is quite distinct from the Indian archipelago proper the members of which are all situated south of the equator, and are under the Dutch protectorate; of these, Sumatra is the chief. The Malacca group is much infested with Malay pirates, who interfere greatly with that development of commerce of which the islands are susceptible under a strong and liberal government. The inhabitants, like most islanders, have strong nautical propensities, and the soil furnishes the most abundant crops of desirable articles of commerce, yet trade shrinks before the dangers that beset it in those unprotected seas. It is only of late years that the straits trade has become of general importance to American shipping. Formerly the Dutch influence was overshadowing in those waters, and the American flag was comparatively a stranger. At that time Batavia, in Java, and Padang, on the coast of Sumatra, the point where the Dutch government sales of coffee are held, formed the destination of most American ships, and they were required to submit to the exactions of the Dutch government, which generally influenced an advance in prices on the occasion of their arrival. These ships, after completing their pepper purchases, would visit Singapore or Pulo Penang, to invest the residue of their Spanish dollars in banca, tin, or spices; and then, after recruiting her stores, would proceed on her long homeward-bound voyage. Of late years a considerable change has taken place, both in the mode and in the magnitude of the trade; and this has been effected, to a considerable extent, by the gold discoveries in Australia and San Francisco, giving a new impulse to the trade of the East. The fine class of clipperships built for that trade, after discharging their outward cargoes at Melbourne or San Francisco, now proceed to Singapore for orders, and are generally taken up to proceed to Rangoon, Moulmein, or Akyab, to load rice for some European port at a rate ranging from £2 10s. to £3 15s. sterling per ton, and sometimes timber from Moulmein. The English house of Boustead, at Singapore, is the leading one in this business. Until the recent establishment of the house of Messrs. Williams, Anthon & Co., a branch of the successful house of that name in Hong Kong, there were no American houses at Singapore. There are also desirable freights offering to China and Siam since the latter has been opened to commerce. The trade between Singapore and Calcutta is mostly monopolized by the Peninsula and Oriental line of steamers. Singapore, which is, from its commanding position, the chief of the Malacca group, is situated in latitute 1.17 north, longitude 103 east, and was, in 1818, established as a free port by Sir Stamford Ruffles. The harbor and roadstead are always well supplied with shipping. Of these, the Chinese junks are the most numerous. They come down from China during the northeast monsoon, and remain in port until the setting of the southwest monsoon, when they return; thus protracting the voyage nine months for the sake of a fair wind in both directions. The most extensive establishment on the island is that of the Peninsula and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, at New Harbor, four miles from the town, where they have considerable machine-shops and material for the use of the fleet of steamships, including a stock of coal averaging 15,000 tons. There are some considerable native establishments for the manufacture of sago, tapioca, gambier, cocoa-nut oil, white pepper, &c. The first mentioned article is the farina from the stem of several palms indigenous to the island. Each tree when felled will yield from five to six hundred pounds of sago flour, from which the pearl sago of commerce is made by moistening the flour and passing it through a seive into an iron vessel placed over a fire, when the heat causes it to assume a globular form. The flour is an article of extensive export to Europe, where it is used for making starch and for other purposes. "Tapioca," which has become such a favorite with many pudding-eaters among us, is the bitter casava root ground into flour, which, being washed and dried on hot plates, granulates into irregular grains. "Gambier" is an astringent extracted from the areca nut, boiled in water and strained. It is exported in the form of cakes-a cubic inch in size, and is used for dying and medical purposes. White pepper is manufactured from the black pepper by soaking and rubbing off the black wrinkled coat. It is for some purposes thus enhanced in value, although its strength and flavor are reduced. These are the principal staple products of the island, but it is also the dépôt for the manifold productions of the surrounding tropical islands. It, therefore, offers attractions not only for vessels seeking freight, but for those possessed of the requisite credits to purchase cargoes on owners' account. "Point de Galle," at the Island of Ceylon, was formerly much frequented by ships to await instructions from owners. Its situation on the line of the overland mail route, by which orders could arrive in fortyeight days from home ports, made it a desirable rendezvous. The advantages of Singapore as a free port, and as the center of communication with all the East India and China houses, more than counterbalance the greater distance of ten days at which it is placed; since vessels there receiving orders to seek business, are already in the center of it. This process of concentration, favored by the fact that no pilotage, import, or export duties are exacted, has also attracted to Singapore the trade that formerly was enjoyed by the Dutch port of "Rhio," on Bintang Island, and which is the principal resort of the Malay prahaus. Until within a very recent date the United States interest in the trade was not important. It consisted chiefly of some two or three eastern ship-owners who very succesfully employed their capital in a sort of monopoly of the business. The apparent success of the operation drew large competition into it. The speculative year, 1857, witnessed the arrival of numbers of supercargoes at Singapore, by the overland route, without the indispensable knowledge of the Malay language, or of the details of the trade. This competition produced an active demand for produce on American account, raising prices, while dispatches from Europe, by the overland route, gave semi-monthly accounts of a growing depression. The cost of many of these purchases was enhanced by the necessity of shipping in foreign bottoms to the United States, where the goods arrived in the time of the panic. The losses thus entailed were a severe blow to the nascent trade. It has, however, assumed such a general position as to promise the most important development in the future. The currency of Singapore is Spanish dollars, and sales of merchandise are made by weights as follows: The bunkal, two Spanish dollars or 832 grains Troy. The leading importations from the United States are tobacco, clocks, brown drills, thirty inch pieces, of thirty yards-average value 48 per six hundred yards; sheetings, thirty-seven inch pieces, of forty yards-average $60 per eight hundred yards. |