FALMOUTH.-ALFRED FOX, Vice-Consul.

Copy of letter of the collector of the port to the vice-consul.
CUSTOM-HOUSE, FALMOUTH,

October 24, 1862.

SIR: In reply to your letter of this day, inquiring whether the privilege of purchasing supplies from the public warehouses, duty free, is now or will be extended to the vessels-of-war of the United States, I beg leave to acquaint you that foreign ships-of-war and foreign merchant vessels, proceeding to distant ports, or putting into this port on a voyage home from distant ports, are allowed stores from the bonded warehouses free of duty, under the prescribed regulations.

I have the honor to be, sir, your faithful servant,

ALFRED FOX, Esq.,

J. HUGHES, Collector.

Vice-Consul for the United States of America.

SCOTLAND.

GLASGOW.-J. S. PRETTYMAN, Consul.

FEBRUARY 22, 1862.

Thus far in the quarter business in this consulate has been unusually dull, and we now have but one American ship in port. This is a very unusual occurrence. Goods, however, are going out to the United States in considerable quantities; and the invoices certified at this office thus far in the quarter amount to about $200,000. These consist chiefly of cotton thread, cotton and woollen goods, iron, coal, whiskey, ale, and chemicals. The quantity of cotton thread— sewing cotton-exported from this port to the United States is very large; so much so that I am induced to believe that little or nothing is manufactured at home.

There is still great anxiety here to see the end of the war in America, and a resumption of profitable trade is the main-spring of this nation. It is trade suffering with them, and hence all their efforts to unshackle it.

GLASGOW, September 30, 1862.

In transmitting my annual report upon the trade, commerce, and manufactures of this consular district, allow me to state that the field of my duties is chiefly confined to the valley of the Clyde, which includes the city and port of Glasgow, with a population of 450,000; the port and city of Greenock, near the mouth of the river, and thirty miles distant from Glasgow, with a population of 50,000; the smaller ports of Ardrossan, Troon, Irvin, and Port Glasgow, at the three former of which large shipments of coal and pig iron are made; and the inland city of Paisley, with a population of 50,000, largely engaged in manufacturing.

The whole valley is densely populated, the soil highly improved and skilfully cultivated, but the larger portion of the population is employed in manufacturing and commercial pursuits. Of the ports above mentioned, all are situated upon the Clyde, except those of Ardrossan, Troon, and Irvin, which are located on the frith of Clyde, forty, forty-five, and fifty miles distant from Glasgow. Of the latter, those of Ardrossan and Troon are the chief. The harbors at both these are accessible to large ships, and, though entirely artificial, they are safe, convenient, and easy of access. They receive directly little or no imports, and

are almost entirely used for the shipment of coal and iron, in which that region and the whole valley of the Clye abounds.

THE NAVIGATION OF THE CLYDE.

The navigation of the river from the sea to this city, a distance of thirty miles, is now good, safe, and easy for ships of 1,000 tons or more, as twentyone feet of water can be carried at full tides all the distance. During the year just ended more than thirty ships above 1,000 tons have arrived at the quays in front of the city. When it is remembered that only thirty years ago but six feet of water could be carried to the city, and that vessels of more than 300 tons could not have access to the port; that all this improvement has been made by artificial means; and that, in addition thereto, the banks of the river for miles have been paved with stone taken from its bed, light-houses and buoys erected in every necessary place, wharf and dock accommodations of the best quality provided in abundance, excellent brick sheds with iron and glass roofs erected to cover the landing of all cargoes, steam cranes stationed at proper intervals for lifting all heavy goods; and that all these improvements are fully keeping pace with the commercial demands of the port, one cannot withhold his admiration at the skill, energy, and commercial enterprise of the inhabitants. The following table will amply illustrate both the improvement in the navigation and the growth of the commerce of the port.

Arrivals of vessels at the port of Glasgow for the years 1831, 1841, 1851, and 1861, with the tonnage of each from 40 to 1,000

tons.

From the above table it will be observed that up to the year 1831 the largest vessels that had ever arrived at the port were six from 200 to 250 tons, and three from 250 to 300 tons. In 1841 there were three from 600 to 700 tons, and sixty-nine from 500 to 600. In 1851, four were over 1,000 tons, eighteen from 700 to 1,000, and nineteen from 600 to 700. In 1861 there arrived twenty-nine over 1,000, eighty from 700 to 1,000, and thirty-five from 600 to 700 tons. Of the arrivals in 1861, seventy had a draught of water of eighteen feet, twenty-eight of nineteen feet, and seven of twenty feet. The whole number of vessels arriving at the port for the four decades, from 1831 to 1861, was as follows:

From this tabular statement you will observe that there is a steady increase in the commerce of the port, and that it has grown from 732,327 tons in 1831 to 1,504,220 in 1861. The increase in the steam tonnage and the decrease in the number of sailing ships, though the tonnage of the latter still increases, will also be noticed. This arises from the fact that the bulk of the coasting trade, and much of the foreign, is now carried in steamers, while the sailing ships, though fewer in number, are of much greater tonnage, and, therefore, better adapted to the long voyages they are required to make to India and Australia, with which countries the port has a large trade.

COMMERCE.

The commerce of the Clyde ports is extensive and valuable, and reaches to every portion of the globe. The chief articles of export are iron and manufactures of iron, coal, cotton, woollen and mixed goods, cotton thread, linen goods, sewed muslins and embroidered goods, spirits, ales, chemicals, and machinery. The chief imports are breadstuffs, provisions, and raw products generally; of manufactured goods the importation is inconsiderable, and consists almost exclusively of such goods as do not and cannot enter into general consumption.

The export trade of most of the lighter and finer goods is carried on by steamships, and this is especially true with this trade to the United States and the ports on the continent and the adjacent islands. The chief imports and the heavy export trade are carried in sailing ships; of regular lines, there is one to each of the following ports, composed of sea-going steamers that run regularly and are well established, viz: Liverpool, Belfast, Dublin, Cork, Lisbon, Leghorn, Hamburg, Quebec, and Montreal, and in the winter season to Portland and New York. During the summer season most of the dry goods shipped from this port to the States go by the steamers from Liverpool. Of regular lines of sailing ships to and from Glasgow, there are two (American) from New York, owned, respectively, by Thomas Dunham & Co. and William Nelson & Sons, consisting of eighteen ships, of from 500 to 1,000 tons each. There are also regular lines to Australia, New Zealand, Quebec, and Montreal and India, and many transient vessels, trading wherever the best freights offer. Quite a large proportion of these last named are American. United States ships in the trade of this port stand first in number and tonnage after British-owned vessels, and constitute more than half of all the foreign tonnage that enters the port. During the year 1861 the foreign arrivals and departures of vessels with their number and tonnage, American and others, are shown in the following table:

The contrast here is rendered more favorable to American ships in consequence of the fact that the count to them is of all that enter and at the Clyde ports, while to others are only included those that enter and clear from Glasgow. The table, however, includes British vessels that enter from and

clear to foreign ports, as well as those of all other nations. The statement below exhibits the number and tonnage of American ships entering the Clyde ports for each year from 1857 to 1862.

The cargoes of most of the United States ships entering here are composed of breadstuffs and provisions chiefly, with considerable quantities of tallow, whale, petroleum, and lard oils, some deals and staves, quercitron bark, painted buckets, brooms, sewing machines, clocks, cooking stoves, leather, canvas, gumelastic cloth, and shoe pegs; but, for this year, not a bale of cotton and not more than 150 hogsheads of tobacco. These goods, constituting the great bulk of all the cargoes of American ships, come directly from the United States. Two or three of our ships have this year brought cargoes of guano from the Chinchas islands, and a half dozen sugar and molasses from the West Indies or Java. On the inward trade from the States freights have been good, but hence to the States unusually low; consequently, but few of the transient ships have taken freights hence to ports in the States, but instead they have largely entered into the foreign trade to ports on the continent with coal and iron cargoes, to India with railroad ties and sleepers of iron, or to New Zealand with sheep. Four large American clippers have taken the latter cargo during the year. I think it a reasonable estimate that three-fourths of the freight between this port and the United States is carried by American ships. This, at least, has been the fact during the time of my residence here. Of 100 cargoes brought from ports in the United States during the twelve months past, seventy-eight were in American and twenty-two in foreign ships, chiefly British. The coasting trade of Scotland is still monopolized by British ships, as will be seen from the following figures, compiled from parliamentary returns.

I have before intimated the character of the imports and exports at this port. The following statement will show the quantities and values of some of the leading articles. The crude, raw, or unwrought character of the imports, and

the more or less highly wrought description of the exports are deserving of particular attention.

This trade will be considerably altered this year, in consequence of the absence of the usual supplies of cotton and tobacco. This change very greatly lessens the cotton trade, and gives a corresponding increase to that of linen and jute. The large importation of sugar at this port is for refining, as very extensive sugar refineries are located at Greenock. The amount of duties collected upon these importations in 1861 was $6,617,151, or nearly fifteen per cent.

The following table, carefully compiled from the records of the consulate and other authentic sources, will convey an accurate impression of the character and value of the American trade with this port.