TRADE OF THE UNITED KINGDOM WITH THE FOLLOWING COUNTRIES. Ten Years’ Average, in Millions Sterling, according to _British_ Returns. ----------------------------------+-----------+----------- | Imports | Exports | into U.K. | from U.K. ----------------------------------+-----------+----------- From and to Germany | 25·9 | 29·2 " " France | 42·6 | 21·7 " " United States | 91·8 | 40·2 " " British India | 30·5 | 31·3 " " Australasia | 28·3 | 23·1 " " British North America | 12·2 | 8·4 ----------------------------------+-----------+----------- These figures are taken from the British Custom House returns, and are subject to the objection to which allusion has already been made, that the Custom House authorities have no means of ascertaining the real origin of goods entering this country, nor the real destination of goods leaving it. Thus, for example, everyone knows that there is a considerable trade between Great Britain and Switzerland, yet Switzerland has no place at all in the Custom House returns, because, having no seaboard, all her goods must pass through foreign territory, and each package is credited by our Customs House to the port—French, or Belgian, or Dutch—through which the package passes to England. In order, therefore, to provide some check on the above figures, I have averaged in the same way the figures collected by the different foreign countries in their Customs Houses. These foreign and colonial figures have no more title to be considered absolutely accurate than ours, nor do they cover quite the same ground. Their value lies in the rough confirmation they give of the very rough conclusion which we are able to draw from our own figures:— TRADE OF THE FOLLOWING COUNTRIES WITH THE UNITED KINGDOM. Ten Years’ Average, in Millions Sterling, according to _Foreign and Colonial_ returns. -------------------------+-----------------+------------------- | Exports to U.K. | Imports from U.K. -------------------------+-----------------+------------------- Germany | 29·1 | 26·6 France | 38·2 | 22·0 United States | 84·6 | 34·2 British India[1] | (Rx) 36·4 | (Rx) 60·4 Australasia[1] | 28·5 | 27·2 British North America[1] | 10·5 | 9·1 -------------------------+-----------------+------------------- [Footnote 1: These figures include treasure as well as merchandise.]