657 C-Continued. REMARKS. 1. Prior to 1821, the Treasury reports did not give the value of the imports. Their value, from 1795 to 1801, has been taken from Pitkin's Statistics. The value of those in 1815, from Seybert. The value of those in 1802, 1803, 1804, 1807, 1817, 1818, 1819, and those from 1790 to 1795, from manuscript notes and estimates now made in the department. The value of those in 1805, 1806, 1808, 1809, 1810, 1811, 1812, 1813, 1814, 1816, and 1820, from calculations and comparisons with other years. The value of the imports from 1821 to 1834, inclusive, has been taken from official documents. In Blodget's Manual, page 62, is an estimate of imports from 1790 to 1804; but it is too low in amount, being only as follows, though including the stock, furniture, &c., of emigrants: In 1790 1791 56,000,000 80,000,000 2. As the books of exports from 1790 to 1803 were lost or destroyed during the war, (see letter of Register of Treasury, 28th October, 1834,) the amounts of exports of foreign merchandise from 1790 to 1796 have now been estimated in the department from official returns. In Blodget's Manual, page 64, is a different estimate for those years, which is as follows: In 1790 1791 16,843,625 29,791,506 Those from 1796 to 1802, have been taken from various sources believed to be authentic, and in part from data given in the annual Treasury Report of December, 1801. Their values from 1803 to 1820, have been copied from Pitkin's Statistics, and are believed to be chiefly from official documents; and from 1820 to 1834, from official returns on file. Free goods are included in the total of exports, but not in any account of imports previous to 1819. Hence, up to that year, has been added for the consumption of free goods: In 1790 and 1791 1792 to 1796 1797 to 1806 1807 to 1819 $1,000,000 per annum. 1,500,000 do. 2,000,000 do. 3,000,000 do. VOL. III.-42 NOTE.-The above are mostly from official returns, except the domestic exports from 1790 to 1795, which have been recently estimated by this department from the quantities on record, and comparative statements, except in 1791, the values of which were then estimated in the annual report for the calendar year. In Blodget's Manual, page 64, the exports of all kinds are given, and of domestic products. They do not differ much, except from 1790 to 1798, which are computed by him as follows: See Table C, for exports of foreign merchandise each year, for further explanations. NOTE. Looking further to the future in connexion with the past, a brief comparison of the quantity and value of our exports in cotton at a few equi-distant periods, as exhibited in the above table, will serve to illustrate, in a condensed form, the great influence which the cultivation and exports of cotton alone seem to have exercised, and are likely to exercise hereafter, on the amount of our whole exports of domestic products, and thus indirectly to affect our importations, and consequent revenue from customs. Doubtless some other cultivation and exports would have taken the place of cotton in the south, had it not been so successfully grown there; but they probably would have been less valuable, and will be so hereafter, if ever substituted for that: because the average increase of all our domestic exports, including cotton, has been only from 3 to 5 per cent.; while that of cotton alone has, during the last thirty years, been, on an average, near 25 per cent. annually. But of late the ratio of increase in cotton, though still much greater than that of other exports, has become diminished and more settled, having fallen from quite 500 per cent. during the first ten years of our present Government, to only about 10 per cent. during the last ten, though the whole annual quantity now exported exceeds the enormous amount of 380 millions of pounds. This 10 per cent. increase yearly, considering the vast quantity now grown in the United States, and how fully the cotton raised in the other quarters of the world has already been excluded from the European markets, with other circumstances named in the body of the report, may be justly estimated both as a more regular ratio than any which has prevailed heretofore, and as something larger than its probable increase in the ensuing ten years. Some fuller tables, showing the progress in the cultivation and manufacture of cotton, have been prepared by this department, but are omitted for a more appropriate occasion. 660 F. EXHIBIT of the nett quantity of public lands sold, amount paid by purchasers, and payments made into the Treasury on account thereof, from the earliest period of sales to the 31st December, 1834.. 1835 (4) 9,000,000 00 12,250,000 00 Estimated by the Treasury Department from returns of three quarters. 11,000,000 00 |