Alost... Bruges Brussels. Charleroi... Courtrai.... Liege (first bureau) Namur. Ostende Termonde Tirlemont Tournai Verviers... Erquelinnes (station). Antwerp Houcke.......... Ostende ....do Selzaete Achel (station), Adinkerke (sta- Erquelinnes (station). Esschen (station). Mouscron (station).. By sea and by rivers: Scheld and canals. By rivers: Canal of Bruges to the Scheld. By sea: Bruges Canal to Ostende. By sea. By sea and rivers: canal from By railway. Do. Quiévrain (station). Sterpenich (station).. Welkenraedt (station)*. Quiévrain (station). Sterpenich (station)... Welkenraedt (station). * But only for exportation of slow freight. LEATHER IN CAPE COLONY. The following, dated Cape Town, June 20, 1898, has been received from Consul-General Stowe: The parliament of this colony has under consideration a bill to decrease the tariff on tanned leather, boots and shoes, saddlery and harness, and has been memorialized to vote against said bill. The following statements are made: The capital employed in tanneries in Cape Colony, consisting of buildings, stock, and plant, is valued at £120,000 ($583,980); annual value of South African raw products used, £65,000; of material imported for manufacturing purposes, £3,250; wages paid, £16,000. In the manufacture of boots and shoes, South African tanned leather is used annually to the value of £85,000; material imported, £4,250; wages paid annually, £35,000. In saddlery and harness, South African tanned leather is used annually to the value of £65,000; imported material, £15,000; wages paid annually, £35,000. It is claimed that local industries have only 71⁄2 per cent protection-not enough to meet English and American competition. The wages paid are fully twice those given in England for skilled labor. The petitioners also assert that if the colony of Natal comes into the customs union, the manufacturers in Natal will be on better terms, as the government there offers a bonus on leather manufactures of £2,500 on the first £10,000 worth of leather made; £1,000 on the first £10,000 worth of boots and shoes made; and £1,000 on the first £20,000 worth of saddlery and harness made. A tariff is requested that will practically shut out English and American goods. The present duty in Cape Colony is as follows: Boots and shoes, 9 per cent; leather tanned for boots and shoes and for saddlery and harness, free; saddlery and harness, 9 per cent. It is proposed, by the bill referred to, to reduce the tariff to 7 per cent. SUEZ CANAL TRAFFIC. The following is a statement of the Suez Canal traffic for the half year ended June 30, 1898: Commerce of France in 1898.-Commercial Agent Atwell writes from Roubaix, July 18, 1898: The French customs authorities have just published the following table indicating the foreign commerce of France for the six months ended June 30, 1898. During this period, the importations are valued at $440,996,508 and the exportations at $315,434,697, divided as follows: The increase in imports is caused largely by the heavy importations of wheat during the month of June, the gain during this one month amounting to $21,037,000. The Staffordshire Potteries.-Consul Bradley sends from Tunstall, under date of July 12, 1898, an extract from the Birmingham Daily Post giving a summary of the condition of the trade of the Staffordshire potteries up to and including June 18, 1898, as follows: The general condition of the china and earthenware trades of the Staffordshire potteries is very unsatisfactory, and there is no indication of any immediate change for the better. In most branches work is very scarce, short time being pretty general throughout the district, while there has been a large increase in the casually employed and totally unemployed lists. Sanitary pressers, throwers and turners in the electrical department, and encaustic tile makers are the only skilled operatives who continue busy. The American market remains in a most depressed state, and the weekly shipping returns show a serious falling off in the number of packages dispatched to the various American ports. Last week's exports numbered only 881 packages, as compared with 3,409 packages in the corresponding week last year. From the first of January, the total shipments to the United States numbered 32,106 packages, against 49,605 packages during the same period last year. The home market remains dull, orders being difficult to obtain. Electrical fittings, however, are in brisk demand, and firms producing these specialities continue busy. Business with Australia is improving, and there is a much larger demand for all classes of pottery ware than has been reported for some time past. China goods especially are in large request, and the jet and Rockingham trade is growing. The Canadian market is in a fairly prosperous condition, and china ware in specialties is being freely bought. An average amount of business is being done with other colonial markets; and the Argentine Republic is recovering from the depression lately experienced, orders having been more plentiful during the past week. Business with the Continent is showing further signs of improvement. Electric Street Railways in Europe. The following, bearing date of July 11, 1898, has been received from Consul-General DuBois, of St. Gall: On January 1, 1898, 204 lines of electric street railways with a mileage of 2,259.4 kilometers were in operation in Europe. The rolling stock consisted of 4,514 motor cars. The following table shows the status of the electric street-railway lines in the different countries of Europe: Germany has 65, France 44, Austria-Hungary 13, Great Britain 24, Switzerland 23, and Italy 11 electric street railways. The system most in use is the overhead trolley, which is operated by 172 lines, while 8 lines have adopted the underground trolley, 8 lines the third-rail system, 13 lines storage or accumulator cars, and 3 lines have a mixed system of overhead trolley and accumulators at certain points of their lines. These statistics were furnished by the Zurich consulate. The World's Wine Production.-Consul-General DuBois writes from St. Gall, July 11, 1898: According to the Moniteur Vinicole, the world's wine production. for 1896 and 1897, by countries, was as follows: Agricultural Conditions in Bermuda.-Consul Greene writes from Bermuda, under date of August 12, about the great fertility of the island.* Out of a total of 10,642 acres, only 3,000, he says, are under cultivation. He adds: The ground often yields four crops of different vegetables within a year, but the majority of the farmers are ignorant and shiftless and fail to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by the fertility of the soil. In contrast with this general condition are the estates of the skilled planters. Upon one such estate, I acre planted in tomatoes yielded a crop worth $1,500, and an acre of lilies brought a return of $1,800. The principal exports, which all go to the United States, are onions, tomatoes, potatoes, and lilies. The lily plant, which is the most important of all the productions of the island, is now suffering. from a parasitic disease. This has not only attacked the lilies, but * The full text of the report has been transmitted to the Agricultural Department. |