the Glorious Twelfth, and the rush to the moors has seemingly been as great as if there were no depression of trade, But unfortunately there is no mistake about the depression. Month by month since the beginning of the year the Board of Trade returns of our foreign commerce have shown continaoas falling off: and the figures re-exports more than a million less than in July 1907, the total trade showing " falling-off of thirteen and quarter millions from that of July 1907. There deed an actual decrease as compared with July 1906 though the total trade for the seven months to date is well above the figure for two years ago, and as that was a record year the total figures for 1908 may still be well shead of any year except 1907. The greatest depression is in the cotton trade, the exports owing a decline of nearly two and a-half millions in the month, n fact of which China merchants painfully aware, And present we have no statistics by which to gauge the condition of home trode there is abundant evidence that it is sharing in the depression. The only hopeful consolation is that there is every promise that the harvest will prove to be excellent; and it is in most parts of the country ideal harvest weath
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.