MONEY, WEIGHTS, AND MEASURES
567
Commerce.
Ill 1896 the imports amounted to 40,444,518 francs, and the exports to 34,507,532 francs. The chief imports and exports were as follows : —
Imports
Francs 4,400,000
Exports
Francs
Cottons ,
Cattle
2,000,000
Semolina and groats .
5,700,000
Olive oil .
4,000,000
iron and steel rails .
1,000,000
Wheat .
9,000,000
Sugar, re lined .
2,100,000
Wines
1,500,000
Wheat .
1,900,000
Tanning l)aik .
1,300,000
Collee
1,300,000
Barley
3,000,000
Tanned hides .
1,000,000
Alia and diss .
1,500,000
Timber .
1,100,000
Sponges .
1,200,000
Of the imports 25,563,000 hancs in value were from France; 1,536,000 francs from Algeria ; 3,832,000 francs from Great Britain ; 5,284,000 francs from Italy ; 2,483,000 francs from Malta ; 2,012,000 francs from Russia. Of the exports, 20,223,000 francs went to France ; 5,796,000 francs to Algeria ; 1,472,959 francs to Great Britain ; 3,656,000 francs to Italy ; 1,260,000 francs to Malta. According to French statistics, the special imports into France from Tunis in 1897 amounted to 28,493 935 francs, and the special exi)orts from France to Tunis to 24,385,957 francs.
The commercial intercourse between Tunis and the United Kingdom in each of the last five years, according to the Board of Trade Returns, was as follows : —
1893
£
1894
1895
£
lS9t) £
1807 1
V
Imports into United
!
Kingdom fromTunis
84,705
88,528
72,273
62,434
61,882
Exports of British
1
produce to Tunis .
112,999
226,688
303,384
215,840
208,575 '
The principal imports into Great Britain in 1897 were : esparto grass and other materials for making paper, of the value of 60, 722/. The principal British export to Tunis consisted of cotton manufactures, of the value of 147,297/.
In the year 1897 there entered the 16 ports of the Regency 9,540 vessels of 1,996,929 tons; of these vessels 1,421 of 964,971 tons were Fi-ench ; 2,189 of 756,003 tons were Italian ; and 170 of 147,577 tons were British. The merchant shipi»ing of the Regency comprises 403 vessels of from 10 to 150 tons.
Length of railways, 883 miles, of which 866 miles belong to the State. The State lines are worked by an Algerian company. The short lines (about 16 miles in all) connecting Tunis with Goletta and other suburbs belong to the Italian Ruliattino Company.
There are 2,060 miles of telegraphs and 3,670 miles of wire ; 94 telegraph offices; messages (1897), 526,634. There were in 1897, 244 post ollices ; letters .sent, internal service, 3,084,539; external, 9,732,873.
Money, Weights, and Measures.
The legal coinage consists of pieces similar to the French, the pieces being coined in France.
