TRADE STATISTICS.

In the Report of the Director of Commercial Statistics, which is annexed to the Finance Minister's Report, the total Foreign Trade of Ecuador in 1901 is valued at 31,449,436 Sucres, as against 29,677,291 Sucres in 1900. Both Imports and Exports had increased; the former from 13,416,878 Sucres in 1900 to 15,126,281 Sucres in 1901, and the latter from 16,260,413 Sucres to 16,323,155 Sucres. The large increase in Imports was due to the great quantity of material brought into the country for the construction of the railway. These goods were imported free of duty, and, in reality, there had been no increase in the importation of general merchandise. The Imports viâ Guayaquil represented 94.54 of the total. The slight advance in the value of Exports was the result of an improvement in the cacao trade. In 1901, 23,179,095 kilos of this staple, worth 12,255,015 Sucres, were exported, as compared with 18,791,315 kilos, worth 10,908,319 Sucres, during 1900. The beneficial effect of this improvement had, however, been, to a great extent, counteracted by the decline which had taken place in certain other national products, especially indiarubber, sugar and coffee.

GUAYAQUIL AND QUITO RAILWAY.

According to information furnished by the representative of the Railway Company, the line was opened as far as Guamote in June last, a distance of about 125 miles from Guayaquil. The construction of the portion of the line

between Chimbo and Guamote was exceptionally heavy and presented very great engineering difficulties. From Guamote to Quito is about 130 miles, but the works on this section are of a comparatively light character, twentytwo miles being already graded and ready for the rails. At Guamote the main roads of the country converge, and the traffic of the interior is thus tapped.

EGYPT.

4% Unified Debt outstanding, January, 1903 £55,971,960

* Including New Bonds to the nominal value of £1,503,900 created in 1901 and 1902.

† Including the following Bonds held by the Caisse de la Dette for account of the General Reserve Fund and the Economies Fund, etc. :—

4% Unified Debt

3% Preference Bonds

Domains Loan

Daïra Sanieh Loan

£5,497,040
2,559,480

1,800

329,620

385,900

£8,773,840

The total amount in actual circulation is therefore £94,471,660.

HISTORY OF THE PUBLIC DEBT (FOREIGN).

1862. Seven per Cent. Loan.

£2,195,200 issued in March at 821 per cent., and £1,097,600 at 84 per cent. in August, by Messrs. Frühling and Goschen. Sinking Fund, I per cent. Secured on the Revenue of certain Provinces of the Delta Object, to extinguish the Floating Debt.

1863.--Eight per Cent. Halim Pacha Loan,” £310,000. Issued by the Egyptian Commercial and Trading Company. These Debentures were accepted in payment of allotments of the Seven per Cent. Loan of 1864.

1864. Seven per Cent. Loan, £5,704,200. Issued at 93 per cent. by Messrs. Frühling and Goschen. Redeemable at par in 15 years. Secured on the Moukbala Tax. Converted into Unified Debt in 1880.

1865. Seven per Cent. Daira Loan, £3,387,300.

Issued at 90 per

cent. Redeemable at par by thirty half-yearly drawings.
Secured on the Moukbala Tax. Taken over by the State.
Outstanding balance converted into Unified Debt in 1880.
Issued at 92 per

1866. Seven per Cent. Railway Loan, £3,000,000.

cent. by Messrs. Frühling and Goschen. Repaid at par by six annual drawings of £500,000 by 1st January, 1874. 1867.-Nine per Cent. Daira Loan, £2,080,000. Issued at 90 per cent. by the Imperial Ottoman Bank and Messrs. Oppenheim & Co. Repayable in 14 years by half-yearly Drawings. Secured on the Moukbala Tax. Taken over by the State. Outstanding balance converted into Unified Debt in 1880. 1868. Seven per Cent. Loan, £11,890,000. Issued at 73 per cent. by the Imperial Ottoman Bank, the Société Générale, Messrs. H. Oppenheim and Nephew, and Messrs. Oppenheim & Albert. Sinking Fund, 1 per cent. Government undertook to issue no new Loans for five years from July, 1868.

1870. Seven per Cent. Loan, £7,142,800. Issued at 78 per cent. by the Franco Egyptian Bank. Sinking Fund, 2:35 per cent. Khedive's Daira Loan for the development of the Sugar Cane industry. The Turkish Government declared this issue to be illegal, but the objections of the Sultan

were overcome.

1873. Seven per Cent. Loan, £32,000,000. Issued at 79 per cent. nett by the Imperial Ottoman Bank, Messrs. Bischoffsheim & Goldschmidt, and the Société Générale. Sinking Fund, I per cent. Secured on the Railway Revenues and the Personal, Salt and Land Taxes. Issued to pay off the Floating Debt, then amounting to £28,000,000.

1875. Sir Stephen Cave, commissioned by the British Government at the request of the Khedive to study the Egyptian financial situation, advised a consolidation of the Funded and Floating Debts into a stock of £75,000,000. The Khedive, however, owing to the influence of French houses owning the Floating Debt, issued Decrees in May, 1876, consolidating the Debt into £91,000,000. The Suez Canal shares held by the Khedive were bought by Great Britain for £4,000,000.

1876.-Default took place on the 1865 and 1868 Loans in July, 1876. Interest was paid on the 1864 Loan up to the end of 1876, and the other Loans then went into default.

1877.-First Unification negotiated by Messrs. Goschen and Joubert on behalf of the English and French Bondholders. Excluding the Loans of 1864, 1865 and 1867, the general indebtedness of the State was consolidated into £17,000,000 5 per cent. Preference Stock, secured upon the Railway and Port of Alexandria Revenues, and £59,000,000 7 per cent. Unified Stock. The Loans of 1862, 1868 and 1873 were converted at par, holders receiving 38'4 per cent. Preference and 616 per cent. Unified Stock. The Sinking Funds were calculated to pay off both series of Bonds in 65 years, whilst in the case of the Unified Bonds only 6 per cent. interest was to be paid until 1886, and the remaining 1 per cent. to be devoted to hastening the redemption. This arrangement was adhered to till April, 1879, when only 5 per cent. interest was paid, and from then till the second Unification, in 1880, only 4 per cent.

By a separate arrangement the Daira Floating Debt and the outstanding Bonds of the 1870 Daira Loan were converted at par into a Daia Sanieh Debt for £8,815,430, bearing a minimum interest of 5 per cent., rising to 7 per cent. on the reduction of the capital to £5,000,000 by the I per cent. Sinking Fund. The holders of the Floating Debt received a 10 per cent. bonus in the form of Daira Khassa