Scientific American Supplement, No. 711 | Page 3

has had its influence in contracting the limits of speculative adventure,
thereby circumscribing the general course of trade throughout the
Mediterranean.
In renewing to the department my reports upon the navigation and
general commerce of Gibraltar, I beg to state that there has been a
tolerably fair current business prevailing in American produce during
the past quarter, consisting chiefly in flour, tobacco, and refined
petroleum in cases, imported direct from New York.

The steady demand for American petroleum confirms the fact that
Russian petroleum so far receives but little attention in this market
from the regular traders and consumers, so long as supplies from the
United States can be regularly imported at reasonable prices. It,
however, remains an open question, in the event of lower prices ruling
in the Russian petroleum regions, whether American supplies may not
later on experience some greater competitive foreign interference.
According to the statistical data, steam vessels of all nationalities have
continued to make Gibraltar their port of call, not only for orders, but
also for replenishing their stock of fuel and provisions, and in larger
numbers than ever before, the number in 1888 having reached 5,712
steam vessels, measuring in all 5,969,563 tons, while in 1887 the
number was only 5,187 steam vessels, with an aggregate tonnage of
5,372,962. This increase cannot but result in considerable benefit to the
coal and maritime traffic, which now forms the most important portion
of the general commerce of Gibraltar, in spite of the keen competition it
experiences from other British and foreign coaling ports.
Freights have also advanced in favor of steamship interests, which,
with higher prices in England for coal, have also caused an advance in
the price of coal at this port, to the benefit of the coal merchants and
others interested in this important trade. At present the ruling price for
steam coal is 24s. per ton, deliverable from alongside of coal hulks
moored in the bay. As near as I have been able to ascertain, the quantity
of coal sold in this market during the past year for supplying merchant
steam vessels has amounted to about 508,000 tons, which is an increase
of about 20,000 tons over the year 1887.
Notwithstanding that plans have already been submitted to the British
government for the construction of a dry dock in Gibraltar, the matter
remains somewhat in suspense, since it meets with some opposition on
the part of the British government, which, in face of the European fever
for general arming, seems more inclined to utilize in another form the
expense which such a work would entail upon the imperial government,
by replacing the obsolete ordnance recently removed from this fortress
and substituting new defenses and guns of the most approved patterns,

a matter which has evidently been receiving, for some time past, the
special attention of the British military authorities, not doubting that the
recent visit to the fortress of the Duke of Cambridge has had some
connection with it. In fact, it is reported that the duke has already
expressed the opinion that this fortress requires a larger number of
artillerymen than are quartered here at present to man its batteries, and
it would seem that this recommendation is likely to be carried out.
It is yet somewhat too early to venture an opinion regarding the
growing crops of cereals in this Spanish neighborhood, but the
agricultural and manufacturing interests in Spain have suffered so much
in the past years that the general feeling in Spain continues to tend
toward establishing increased restrictions against foreign competition
in her home markets. There is every probability that the provinces of
Malaga and Granada may shortly be granted the privilege of cultivating
the tobacco plant under government supervision, as an essay. If
properly managed, it may form an important and lucrative business for
those interested in land and agricultural pursuits.
After many consecutive years of heavy outlays, difficulties, and
constant disappointments, a new English company has recently
succeeded in commencing the construction of a railway from the
neighboring Spanish town of Algeciras to join, via Ronda, the railway
station of Bobadilla, on the railroad line toward Malaga. It is presumed
that when this railroad will be in running order it will greatly benefit
this community, especially if the Spanish government should decide to
establish custom houses at Algeciras and the Spanish lines outside the
gates of this fortress, similar to those existing on the frontiers of France
and Portugal.
That some idea may be formed of the constant important daily
intercourse which exists between this fortress and Spain, I may state
that late police statistics show that 1,887,617 passes were issued to
visitors entering this fortress on daily permits during the year 1888,
1,608,004 entering by the land route and 279,613 by sea. I must,
however, observe that