FOOD PRICES.

The prices ruling for native provisions at present are as follows, viz:

Statement showing the total quantity of produce brought down the river Quanza in 1876.

NOTE BY THE CONSUL.-This table is of very little use, a3 no weights are given, but it is all the infor mation I can get from the custom-house.

THE RIVER QUANZA AND ITS COMMERCE.

The Quanza is the great commercial highway of Angola, but only navigable for small craft, owing to its shallowness during the greater part of the year. In February and March it sometimes rises over 20 feet and partly overflows its banks. Trade is only carried on at different stations on the north bank of the river, the south one being still in the hands of the natives, and they will not allow white men to settle there. The Portuguese have an old fortress and church on the south bank called Muxima, but no trade is done there, and the place seems to be going to ruin. The south side is called the Quissama side, and from here very good palm-oil is taken across the river and sold in Dondo. The sand-banks in this river, as well as the bar at its mouth, shift yearly after the rainy season is over, owing to the strong current occa sioned by the heavy rains. After the middle of October the river begins to rise gradually until March, when it is at its highest, and remains more or less stationary until the end of April, beginning to fall early in May. During the dry season the flood tide is felt about 20 miles. In the rainy season a current runs down constantly, with a velocity of from 4 knots at Dondo to 11⁄2 knots at the bar.

Arroba: =32 pounds.

THE ROLLERS AT THE BAR.

A stranger should not attempt to cross the bar without previously having taken soundings from a boat. During the stormy months of the South Atlantic (June, July August, and September) frequent heavy rollers set in and render the navigation over the bar extremely hazardous. As these heavy rollers often come in on perfectly calm days, I presume they are occasioned by gales either at the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn.

NAVIGATION.

The number and description of vessels touching at Loanda during the year 1876 was as follows:

British mail steamers, 11, 11,064 tons; British trading steamer, 1, 351 tons; British bark steamer, 1, 1,269 tons; British men-of-war, 4, 24 guns, 4,722 tons; French man-of-war, 1, 3 guns, 1,740 tons; Dutch trading steamers, 3, 510 tons; American bark, 1, 396 tons; Portuguese mail steamers, 26, 28,516 tons; Portuguese trading steamers, 6, 900 tons; Portuguese barks, 3, 1,133 cubic meters;* Portuguese brigs, 9, 2,475 cubic meters; Portuguese brigantines, 9, 1,567 cubic meters; Portuguese launches, 11, 837 cubic meters; Portuguese schooners, 6, 514 cubic meters: Portuguese cahiques, 29, 1,086 cubic meters.

BANKS, DISCOUNTS, AND EXCHANGE.

All accounts in Loanda are kept in reis, an imaginary coin; 920 reis are equal to a dollar; four mil five, or four thousand five hundred reis, go to one pound English currency. There has been a bank established here for some years, whose rates are as follows: Discount for bills at three months, drawn and accepted in the province, 9 per cent. per annum; interest on loans on property, 9 per cent. per annum; accounts current for consignments of produce, 8 to 9 per cent. per annum.

Bills on Lisbon, 90 days, 34 per cent.; 60 days, 3 per cent.; 30 days, 2 per cent.

Exchange on London: Selling rates-90 days, 524d. per mil reis; 60 days, 524d. per mil reis; 30 days, 52d. per mil reis; 8 days, 513d. per mil reis. Buying rates-90 days, 554d. per mil reis; 60 days, 551d. per mil reis; 30 days, 55d. per mil reis; 8 days, 544d. per mil reis.

STEAM COMMUNICATION.

Communication with Europe is carried on by two lines of monthly steamers, one Portuguese and the other British, and produce from the interior by the Quanza River, by the Quanza River Steam Navigation vessels. This most useful line was originated and started by an American citizen, the late Mr. Augustus A. Silva, commercial agent for the United States, and a merchant of this city.

RAILROADS AND TELEGRAPHS AND PUBLIC WORKS.

The Portuguese Government have sent out a large staff of engineers and workmen to commence making a railway into the interior, passing through the coffee districts. The telegraph wire is to be seen passing over the tops of the houses in Loanda, and it really seems now that the *NOTE BY THE CONSUL.-1.333 cubic meters are equal to one English ton.

resources of this beautiful province will be developed and utilized. A splendid new hospital is in course of construction, and will be com pleted by the end of 1877, and it is also intended that a wharf will be built out into the harbor to enable ships to lie alongside and load or discharge. At present, owing to the shallowness of the harbor, vessels have to anchor about two miles from the custom-house, and all their loading, &c., must be done by lighters. The government also contemplate bringing in fresh water from the river Bengo, a distance of 12 miles, by means of iron pipes. At present fresh water is brought from that river in launches and sold by the barrel, and is very dear.

LOANDA AS A WHALING STATION.

Whaling-vessels on the coast seldom come here, but keep more to the north and south. From reports received lately from different vessels arrived here, whales seem to be very plentiful about this part of the coast. The vessels also could not have a better port to come to for fresh provisions, as they are generally to be had at reasonable rates, and any vessel can come here and lie for six days and take in provisions without paying port charges. The harbor is safe, with good anchorage, easy of entrance, and healthy.

PROTECTION OF AMERICAN INTERESTS.

This port has not been visited by a United States man of war for some years; there are many American ships, whalers and others, engaged in trade along the coast, and it would be well if the national flag could be seen sometimes. The outrage on the American schooner Joseph Nickerson, at Shark's Point, Congo River, was promptly punished, but it was by a British gunboat.

ROB'T S. NEWTON.

RUSSIA.

ODESSA, October 1, 1877. (Received November 28.)

Report upon the financial and commercial depressions and reverses of 1876.

The year 1876 commenced rather gloomily, so far as the general interests of Russia were concerned. The crops of 1875, as well as for several previous years, had been below the average, while the crops of the west of Europe and the United States and the colonies had been very good. Prices had consequently ruled so low that the cultivation of the soil in Russia had been very unprofitable. The planting proprietors had been overwhelmed in debt by successive bad crops and low prices.

A few years ago the government established banks throughout the empire with large capitals. Money became cheap and plentiful and was urged upou borrowers almost without limit. The land-owners borrowed freely and mortgaged their properties to secure these loans. A spirit of wild speculation and extravagance took possession of the people, and for a time all went well. In the fall of 1873 Russia began to feel the effect of the crisis which at that time seemed to pass over the entire world, and the borrowers were warned that the "pay day" had arrived. All kinds of property became enormously depreciated as if by magic. Thousands of properties were pressed by the bauks and money-lenders upon the market, and in most instances found no purchasers except as purchased by creditors themselves. In time the government arranged to afford relief to the suffering people, and authorized the banks to assist borrowers to limited amounts in order to avoid a catastrophe.

In the fall of 1875 the condition of political affairs began to grow threatening and to operate unfavorably upon commercial activity. At a delicate moment the Moscow Loan Bank failed for an enormous amount, and so discredited the Russian banks abroad that capitalists, having little faith in Russian banks and fearing political complications, were seized with a panic, and at once put upon the foreign markets enormous amounts of Russian securities, thus damaging the credit of the Russian Empire. The rouble began to depreciate rapidly, and exchanges to rule higher day after day. With a view of staying this depreciation of the rouble and of public and private credit, the minister of finance at St. Petersburg began early in 1876 to send abroad the gold reserve of the treasury and to draw exchanges against it. This policy he pursued until almost the end of the year, so that on the 31st December the gold reserve had been reduced 101,500,000, and but 4,250,000 had been imported.

It has been officially stated that from the year 1826 to 1874 the mines of Russia had yielded 809,000,000 worth of gold and silver; that 560,000,000 roubles' worth had been exported; and that 463,000,000 worth had been imported. The exports had thus, by 97,000,000, exceeded the imports, so that Russia lost as much of her gold in 1876 as she had lost in the forty-eight previous years. The exportation of this amount, 101,500,000 of gold, had enabled the State Bank to destroy 38,700,000 roubles' worth of her credit notes.

The necessities of the borrowing classes soon compelled the State Bank to reissue large quantities of bank notes without any increase of

the gold reserve. At the end of the year the bank had only reduced its credit notes 2 per cent., and had reduced its gold reserve about 39 per cent. Momentarily there was relief, but toward the end of the year the political shadows began to intensify, and the rouble again began to fall, notwithstanding an enormous export trade that had suddenly sprung up, until, on the 31st December, the rouble of the nominal value of 73.4 cents had depreciated to 55 cents. This depreciation was 43 to 5 per cent. greater than it had been since 1866, or perhaps since the close of the Crimean war. The enormous export of gold, the fall of Russian securities and funds, and the commercial crisis throughout the country so destroyed public and private credit as to cause the minister of finance to adopt certain measures having nothing in common with his former policy. The fictitious keeping up of the rate of exchange ceased, the State Bank reduced its rate of discount, and the duties on home-made sugars intended for exportation were withdrawn. On the 1st November, decrees were promulgated requiring all duties to be paid in gold, or in the paper rouble to be received by the customs officers at a discount of 50 per cent. from the nominal value. The local banks reduced their credits and raised their rates of discount as high in some places as 9 per cent., and at many places funds were only advanced to individuals at a maxi mum of 5,000 roubles a day.

All kinds of energies and industries were languishing, public and private credit and confidence were destroyed, and banks that had only a few years previously urged their favors upon reluctant borrowers were now driving and urging the unfortunate customers to pay up at any sacrifice.

LEANDER E. DYER.

ODESSA AND AZOF PORTS.

ODESSA, October 1, 1877. (Received November 28.)

Report on the trade and commerce of Odessa and the South Russian ports for the year 1876.

IMPORTS AT ODESSA.

During the year the import trade of Odessa increased almost $11,000,000 over that of 1875. This was principally in tea, fruits, tobacco, cotton, cotton yarn, petroleum, coals, and wine. In manu. factured goods there is a large decrease of importations, owing, partly, no doubt, to increased domestic manufactures; cotton, wool, and silk goods, as well as many kinds of iron wares and cutlery, are now being largely manufactured and of a very good quality.

IMPORTS AT THE AZOF PORTS.

There was, however, a loss of imports as well as of exports at the Azof ports, as indeed there was at all the South Russian ports except Odessa and Nicholaif. There was a gain at Odessa of $10,500,000, and at Nich olaif of $600,000; yet there was an increase at all the ports of but $8,000,000.

LARGE EXPORTS OF PRODUCE FROM ODESSA.

As will be seen by the annexed statement No. 1, the export trade con siderably increased during the year, growing from a total of $33,134,373