Electric and gas motors (statistics) District served by the port as a distributing centre . Statistical tables- Principal imports HARLINGEN report Weights and measures.-The official weights and measures in use in the Netherlands are those of the metric system. Old weights and measures are still in use in various trades and are very numerous and intricate, but as they are not quoted in these reports they need not be converted into British equivalents. Approximate weights of packages of merchandise described in this report :— Bales, Sumatra and Borneo, about 171 lbs. gross; Java, about 176 lbs. gross Tobacco... ... ... ... 12 baulks 18 feet = No. 4415. Reference to previous Report, Annual Series No. 4203. Report on the Trade of the Consular District of Amsterdam for the By MR. CONSUL W. A. CHURCHILL. Finance. The year 1909, from a financial point of view, is reported to have been prosperous. The financial recovery of the United States seems to have had a good effect on this market. A considerable amount of American stocks were sold here at high prices, and towards October a change set in when those stocks were bought back again. Notwithstanding the favourable tone which prevailed in this money market, Netherland State bonds remained generally at a low figure. On October 13, 1909, the Netherlands bank rate was increased to 3 per cent., at which figure it remained during the remainder of the year. Owing to the low rates of exchange during the first half of the year, the bank's stock of gold was increased considerably, but was decreased, however, during the second half when high rates prevailed. The stock of silver at the Netherlands Bank was diminished appreciably in order to make up deficiencies in the Sumatra Mint. The following table shows the fluctuations, at Amsterdam, of the rates of exchange on London: 12.052* To 12.06. † To 12.15. Shares of Dutch East Indian petroleum companies have all risen considerably in value. East Indian stocks were in most cases favourably affected by prosperous conditions prevailing in the sugar and tobacco plantations. The accounts of the chief railways in the Netherlands show an increase of gross profits. The same may be said as regards steamship companies, which are expected to declare satisfactory dividends. The following table indicates the amount of capital that has been subscribed for various enterprises during 1909 : Staatsspoorweg My., 3 per. cent. debenture bonds at 97 Kon. Nederlandsche Stoomboot My., 4 per cent. Kon. Nederlandsche Stoomboot My., ordinary shares at 121 ... Nederlandsche Scheepvaart Unie, ordinary shares at 132 ... Kon. Paketvaart My., 4 per cent. debenture bonds £ ... 580,000 80,000 800,000 160,000 ... ... 80,000 Kon. Hollandsche Lloyd, 4 per cent. debenture bonds 200,000 Algemeene Nederlandsche Indische Electriciteits My., 140,000 400,000 The Algemeene Nederlandsche Indische Electriciteits Maatschappy, whose headquarters are at Amsterdam, have acquired 20 important concessions in the Dutch East Indies for electric tramways, and electric light and power. The magnitude of their operations will necessitate a very large increase in their capital at no distant date. Labour.-The economic conditions of the capital during 1909 compare very favourably with those of the preceding year. The large amount of unemployment that prevailed especially during the winter of 1908 decreased in the following year and now almost everyone is working. There is much activity in the building trades in various districts of the town, and further construction of private and public buildings is anticipated. In other trades conditions are also favourable, and there is no serious unemployment to record. This is perhaps attributable to the flourishing condition of the diamond polishing industry which has provided ample wages to a large number of artisans who form in this city the aristocracy of the working classes. In this profession wages are high and labour has been in regular demand, which has a favourable influence on other trades. The favourable conditions of commerce and industry, the renewal of activity in the building trade, and the fact that no disputes worth mentioning have occurred during the year either on the side of the workmen or that of their employers, have combined to bring prosperity to the wholesale and retail shop trade. Tobacco. Various circumstances have contributed to make the tobacco trade during the past year less remunerative than in former times. Business was reduced in consequence of the increase of import duty in Germany, the United Kingdom and Manila. The trade has also been affected by keen competition in the Netherlands and by the change in the method of buying Java and Sumatra tobacco for the Austro-Hungarian regie, as well as by the rumours of the adoption of a regie system by Switzerland and Peru. During 1909 the Dutch East Indies exported 792,492 bales of tobacco AMSTERDAM. of the 1908 crop to the Netherlands, being 271,358 bales from Sumatra, 15,121 bales from Borneo and 506,013 bales from Java, which were sold at average prices of 110, 76 and 29 c. respectively per half kilo. The total imports of Dutch East Indian tobacco received in the Netherlands during 1909 amounted to 712,903 bales. The tobacco markets in the Netherlands are Amsterdam and Rotterdam, and the share of the former is about six-sevenths of the whole trade. Amsterdam occupies the superior position as it finances nearly all the plantations and is the headquarters of steamship lines to the East Indies. The total value of the shipments of the 1908 crop amounts to 6,148,000l., divided as follows: £ 2,145,000 ... ::: 141,000 3,862,000 As regards qualities Java was inferior and Sumatra superior to the qualities of the preceding crop. The 1909 crop of Java tobacco is reported to be smaller than that of 1908, and the Besoekie crop is said to have suffered considerably from heavy rains. The sales at Amsterdam, including stocks on January 1, 1909, amounted to 249,756 bales of Sumatra, 15,121 bales of Borneo and 342.512 bales of Java. Sugar-The high prices for raw beet sugar at the end of the previous year were not only maintained but improved in the course of the year 1909. The bad and rainy weather during the summer months caused a firm tendency in prices for the new crop. At the beginning of the year, November and December deliveries were quoted at 19s. 2d. per metric ton for 88 per cent. raw beet sugar, but prices rose sharply in November to 11. 5s. Although the sugar standard was low, all Dutch sugar factories will have reason to be satisfied with the results of the year just ended. The factories' estimate of 175,000 tons is already exceeded, and it is probable that the production will be about 200,000 tons. The official figures are: Raw, 160,227 tons, and first marks, 27,407 tons. There are 14 beet sugar factories in the Netherlands, the last having been established during 1909, two other factories are about to be erected, and there are three refineries, two situated in Amsterdam and one at Groningen. The Amsterdam refineries export largely to the United Kingdom and that at Groningen exports entirely to Germany. The area under beetroot cultivation in the Netherlands is a little over 115,000 acres, and the yield is about 10 to 13 tons to the acre. In this Consular district beetroot is grown principally in the provinces of Gelderland, North Holland, Friesland and Groningen. For refiners the margin between raw and refined is reported to have been generally satisfactory during the year under review. The scarcity of raw sugar during the summer months caused a decrease of production, but during November and December demand for refined sugar was active and all refineries then worked at full capacity. Excise duty on sugar in the Netherlands is 21. 58. per metric ton of 100 degrees polarisation. The total amount of revenue under this head |