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304 but, how far they may have been affected by the civil disturbances, which have unfortunately prevailed since that period, I cannot determine.

When tranquillity is again established, the above means of correspondence will be sufficient for carrying on the general routine of national or individual concerns, as far as regards mere communication; but there will be numerous difficulties to overcome, and many improvements to be adopted, before a commercial connexion upon a large and general scale can be established between the distant points of the republic. At present, the intercourse between the respective states possesses none of the facilities for a flourishing trade or even that interchange of commodities which their reciprocal wants would lead them to adopt. It is true that with regard to some European articles of dry goods, such as cutlery and broad cloth, the spirit of venture has induced the traders of the capital to send into the provinces, at stated seasons, assortments of such