to our Colonies. For many reasons it
is interesting to distinguish these re-exports from the exports of goods
produced within the United Kingdom. The separate figures for the last
fifteen years are given in the following table:--

OUR _ENTREPOT_ TRADE AND OUR HOME TRADE.

In Millions Sterling.

--------------+----+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---
|1881|'82|'83|'84|'85|'86|'87|'88|'89|'90|'91|'92|'93|'94|'95
--------------+----+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---
Re-exports of | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Imported Goods| 63| 65| 66| 63| 58| 56| 59| 64| 67| 65| 62| 65| 59| 58| 60
Exports of | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Home Produce | 234|242|240|233|213|213|222|235|249|264|247|227|218|216|226
--------------+----+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---
Total Exports | 297|307|306|296|271|269|281|299|316|329|309|292|277|274|286
--------------+----+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---

There is not much to grumble at in these figures. Our _entrepot_ trade,
which was supposed to be slipping away, seems somewhat to halt in the
process, in spite of the notorious and not entirely unpleasing fact that
our Colonies are now doing a larger direct trade with foreign countries
than ever before. At the same time the figures for the exports of our
own goods are most satisfactory if we take into account the lower range
of prices at which our manufacturers are now working. Altogether there
is nothing in the general figures of our trade to justify the wild
statements that "dry rot" has set in, and that "the industrial glory of
England is departing."

CHAPTER II.

GERMANY: ONE OF OUR BEST CUSTOMERS.

In the previous chapter it was shown that the general figures of our
import and export trade gave no indication of the ruin of our commerce
either by Germans or by anybody else. In the present chapter it is
proposed to show that though Germany is among the keenest of our trade
competitors, she is also one of our best customers. For a sufficient
indication of the truth of this proposition we have only to turn to the
annual statement of the trade of the United Kingdom. It is true that the
figures there published are not entirely satisfactory, because much of
the trade of Germany is shipped from Dutch or Belgian ports, and
credited to Holland and Belgium respectively. But this