English exports to Canada of iron and steel aggregated $3,157,384 in 1897; United States exports in this line, $6,441,681. But makers of iron and steel in the United States have recently demonstrated their ability to undersell Great Britain in her own markets, so the Canadian trade can probably be counted upon to take care of itself. In cotton and manufactures thereof Great Britain sold Canada in 1897 to the value of $3,551,560, while the United States sold $5,545,693. But Canada is now commencing to manufacture her own cotton goods, and, as will be noticed from the table given above, the imports of cotton from the United States this year show quite an increase, while the imports of cotton manufactures show a marked decrease. England has only cotton manufactures to sell, and the changing conditions are all in favor of our country. In breadstuffs, coke and coal, hog products, dairy products, seeds, tobacco, and lumber England does not compete with the United States. The total under this head for ten months of 1898 reached the enormous sum of $24,472,872. Great Britain's entire exports to Canada in 1897 only amounted to $33,157,234. There has been a steady decrease in her Canadian trade since 1883, when it reached high watermark-$52,052,465. The preferential tariff may not do more than overcome the constant shrinkage that adverse conditions have forced each succeeding year (with spasmodic recoveries) since 1883. Canada's development in the past five years has been marvelous, and her people were never so active and hopeful. She has at present, according to Bourinot, a population of 5,000,000 (against 1,000,000 in 1840) and a total trade of $250,000,000 (against $25,000,000 in 1840). If the commission that is soon to meet in Ottawa accomplishes the results hoped for, establishing the present very friendly relations on an enduring basis, there will be a prodigious growth of trade between our Republic and the Dominion; for Canada has but just commenced to develop her great natural resources. HARLAN W. BRUSH, CLIFTON, July 11, 1898. Consul. INCREASE IN CANADA'S TRADE. I have the honor to report in regard to the trade of Canada for the fiscal year ended the 20th of June last. The returns for 1898 show an increase of over $44,000,000 in aggregate trade over that of any other year. The increase in the revenue from the duty collected under the reduced tariff is stated as being over $1,983, 263. The increase on the year's imports over that of 1897 is $19,336,000; while the exports exceeded that of 1897 by $24,723,000. The following are the figures for 1897 and 1898: The increase in the exports over 1897 is therefore $24,723,678, and the increase in the imports for the same period is $19,836, 174. The increase in the aggregate trade is $44,059,852. I hope to soon be able to give a detailed report of the United States trade with Canada. THREE RIVERS, July 20, 1898. URBAIN J. LEDOUX, Consul. WARNING TO ALASKA PROSPECTORS. Care should be taken, by those who contemplate going to the gold fields, in entering into transportation contracts. It appears that certain companies have obtained a considerable sum of money (generally $500 for each person) upon very ingeniously worded contracts, that the persons paying should be transported to the gold fields in the north, with all necessary outfit furnished and expenses paid. In three cases in which men have paid their money they have been brought, at slight expense, to this and other ports, and then abandoned. The men who had contracted with one of these companies became suspicious while at this port, but after an explanation by the agent, they agreed to go forward. The following extract from a letter from one of them shows how they have been treated: * FORT WRANGELL, ALASKA, June 15, 1898. * * * The company induced us to come to Wrangell, and after pulling the provisions for 15 miles up the Stikine River, we were sent into camp and have remained there ever since. When we have asked to be put ahead we have been put off with promises, and we now feel that they do not intend to do anything but promise until we are discouraged and leave them, forfeiting the money paid. We wish to ask you if there is not some way by which we can compel them to fulfill their part of the contract or return our money. We are now here, practically without money and far from home, and if you can aid us in any way you will confer a lasting favor upon thirty stranded men from the old Bay State. We have now been here since March 30. I would suggest that persons desiring to go to the gold fields in the valley of the Yukon take every possible precaution. I have abundant evidence that several companies are now, and have been for some months, engaged in this nefarious traffic. L. EDWIN DUDLEY, VANCOUVER, June 28, 1898. Consul. INCREASE OF GERMAN CONSULAR SERVICE IN BRAZIL. Ambassador White writes from Berlin, under date of June 16, 1898: Complaints have frequently been made in the German press of late that imperial interests were not satisfactorily cared for in Brazil, and that German subjects living in that country, or temporarily sojourning there for business or other purposes, were not accorded sufficient protection by the nonprofessional (frequently native Brazilian) German consular officers. This subject is semiofficially referred to in last night's North German Gazette, where the statement is made that a professional consul (a brother of the German consul at Singapore) is already en route for the province of São Paulo; that it is understood that the former governor of Cameroon will be sent to Santa Catharina, to reside at first at Desterro (Florianopolis); and that another professional consul will be sent to Curitiba, so that Germany will soon have professional officials in all of the four South Brazilian States-Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catharina, Parana, and São Paulo-there being already such officials at Porto Alegre, as well as at Rio de Janeiro and Bahia. Many of this morning's papers comment upon this as a step in the right direction, and the Neueste Nachrichten, which has been particularly active in urging an increase of the character indicated, says that this is nothing more than a beginning, as one consul apiece for each of the four States named is not sufficient for the protection of German subjects who live there and for the fostering of German interests. CONSTRUCTION OF PROJECTED RAILWAY IN HAITI. I have the honor to report that plans are being perfected for beginning, within the next two months, the construction of a line of narrow-gauge railway from Cape Haitien to La Grande-Rivière du Nord, a point situated about 18 miles to the northeast. The capital stock is $450,000 and the estimated cost $250,000. The syndicate projecting the enterprise has already subscribed $25,000; while 675 shares, at $500 a share, are open to general subscription, with a guarantied interest by the Government of 8 per cent. The material, the contract for which has not yet been awarded, is to be purchased wholly in the United States. Mr. H. Thomasseh, the engineer who is to direct the work and who also constructed the tramway at Port au Prince, testifies to the superior workmanship and incomparable durability of material obtained from the United States. The following named gentlemen compose the syndicate: Gen. Nord Alexis, Blanc Eusèbe, Gen. Th. Béliard, John Laroche, General Turenne, Jean-Gilles, Cincinnatus Leconte, General Mompoint, Turenne Leconte, General Papillon, Ed. Kampmann, Gen. St. Martin Dupuy, Vilbrun Guillaume, H. Thomasseh, Gen. Albert Salnave, Tertullien Guilbaud, Thales Manigat, Frank Dutton. Some of these gentlemen are at present ministers of the Government, some exministers, and others business men of prominence and standing. In the articles of incorporation, the Government grants to Messrs. Cincinnatus Leconte and Blanc Eusèbe, the former at present Minister of the Interior and Public Works, the exclusive privilege of constructing the road in question, the concession to last for a period of sixty years. All articles and material necessary for the work are to be admitted free of duty. The Government grants to the concessionaries, for a period of thirty years, the tolls of an iron bridge, which is to be the terminus of the road at Cape Haitien; and also the public lands in the districts of Cape Haitien and GrandeRivière along the route. The country through which the road is to pass is a beautiful and fertile plain, adapted to the cultivation of all the peculiar products of the island, and is said to be specially suited to the growth of the banana. The roads at present traversing the region are in very poor condition, and in wet weather are well-nigh impassable, entailing great hardships upon the peasant producers in getting their produce to the markets. The transportation methods are very primitive. The donkey is the universal beast of burden, and, although it is in general a dwarf species, it is made to do all the work that is generally imposed upon horses. Not only the great bulk of vegetables, fruit, coffee, and cacoa is brought to the market by donkeys, but they carry almost all the immense amount of logwood and logwood roots shipped from this country. In such a country and under such conditions, a railroad is not only a prime necessity, but must work a sort of industrial revolution. It is expected by its projectors that it will stimulate production to an unprecedented extent by giving the industrious peasantry the benefit of rapid transit and modern market facilities, thus becoming at once a profitable investment and a substantial public improvement. LEMUEL W. LIVINGSTON, CAPE HAITIEN, July 16, 1898. Consul. GERMAN COMMERCE IN HANKAU. Hankau's commercial importance, especially for German trade, is rapidly increasing. Lying as it does at the head of navigation (for seagoing ships) of the Yangtze Kiang, it is the natural commercial center for middle, northwest, and west China. It is surrounded by an enormous territory ripe for development-a territory able to consume and produce, a territory whose land and water ways join at Hankau. There is every reason to believe that, at a date not very far distant, the inland canals will carry the world's commerce to the very center of the Celestial Empire. Railroads will run from Hankau to Pekin, and later to Canton. There is every prospect of Hankau having a great future and becoming one of the most important harbors in the Empire. Hankau's foreign commerce, according to the only available statistics, amounts to about $50,000,000, of which $16,600,000 are in foreign and $15,000,000 in domestic imports; and over $18,000,ooo in exports. Of the imports, besides the machinery imported. exclusively from Germany for Government industries, petroleum is perhaps the most important item. Hitherto, this article has come from Russia and the United States, through German and English firms, the amount averaging 12,000,000 gallons. Langkat oil (Sumatra), introduced by a German house, is beginning to compete. There is no longer any doubt that petroleum reservoirs, like those at Shanghai and Kowloon, will be established here, although the Government is at present opposed to them. The other imports are chiefly in the hands of Chinese. The tea trade is in the hands of Russians and English, with a tendency to go over entirely to the |