Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1899 American Edition.djvu/1327

 COMMERCE — INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS

971

—

1895

1896

1897

Imports

Exports

Imports

Exports

Imports

Exports

from

to

from 55,500

to

from

to

Russia

51,100

48,600

47,900

73,200

48,300

Sweden and Norway-

9,700

6,100

11,100

5,500

12,200

6,300

Denmark

4,400

16,500

5,900

18,700

7,200

17,000

Germany

52,500

10,000

58,600

10,600

65,700

13,000

Great Britain.

19,300

36,000

24,300

46,800

29,200

51,200

Spain

2,100

5,700

2,200

5,400

2,000

6,000

France.

3,300

11,100

3,800

12,700

5,800

14,600

Various.

Total.

7,900

8,900

11,200

11,300 158,900

7,200

12,300

150,300

142,900

172,600

202,500

168,700

The chief articles of export are : timber (79,400,000 marks in 1897, as against 28,699,000 in 1887), butter (30,300,000), paper, paper mass, and cardboard (15,600,000), iron and iron goods (4,400,000), textiles, leather, hides, tar, and pitch.

The chief imports were :— Cereals (41,000,000 marks), coffee (11,170,000), sugar (6,600,000), iron and hardware (12,800,000), cotton and cottons (13,900,000), woollens (8,500,000), machinery (12,100,000), chemicals, leather ware, tobacco, colours, and oils.

Shipping and Navigation.

The number of vessels which entered and cleared the ports of Finland in 1897 was as follows : —

Entered

Cleared

No.

Tons

No.

Tons

Finnish. Russian. Foreign ,

Total.

5,871

528

1,977

822,907

83,414

962,392

5,848

529

1,977

812,619

82,923

965,635

8,376

1,868,713

8,354

1,861,177

The Finnish commercial navy numbered on January 1, 1898, 1,790 sailing vessels of 248,809 tons, and 218 steamers, 35,103 tons ; total, 2,008 vessels of 283, 912 tons.

Internal Communications.

For internal communications Finland has a remarkable system of lakes connected with each other and with the Gulf of Finland by canals. The number of vessels which passed along the canals in 1896 was 24,332 ; the receipts from vessels, 525,978 marks ; and expeuditure,379,529 marks.

In January, 1898, there were 1,535 miles of railways, all but 20 miles