The public writers and statesmen of Spain have long held, and still maintain the opinion, that the illicit introduction into that country of British manufactures whose legal import is prohibited, or greatly restricted by heavy duties, is carried on upon a much more extensive scale than what is, or can be, the case. In respect of cotton goods, the fact is particularly insisted upon. It may be confidently asserted, for it is susceptible of proof, that much exaggeration is abroad on the subject. We shall bring some evidence upon the point. There can be no question that, so far as British agency is directly concerned, or British interest involved, in the contraband introduction of cottons, or other manufactures, or tobacco, it is almost exclusively represented by the trade with Gibraltar. We are satisfied, moreover, that the Spanish consumption of cotton goods is overrated, as well as the amount of the clandestine traffic. Señor Marliani an authority generally worthy of great respect, errs on this head with many others of his countrymen. In a late work, entitled De la Influencia del Sistema prohibitiva en la Agricultura, Commercio, y rentas Publicas, he comes to the following calculation:—

Imported direct to Spain,L.34,687
To Gibraltar,608,581
To Portugal, £731,673, of which three-fourths find their way to Spain,540,000
—————
Total,L.1,183,268

Again, Great Britain imports annually into Italy to the amount of £2,005,785 in cotton goods, £500,000 worth of which, it is not too much to assume, go into Spain through the ports of Leghorn and Genoa. Adding together, then, these several items of cotton goods introduced from France and England into Spain by contraband, we arrive at the following startling result:—

FRANCE.
Cotton goods imported into Spain, according to the Government returns,L.1,331,608
ENGLAND.
Cotton goods through Spanish ports,34,637
Through Gibraltar,608,581
Through Portugal,540,000
Through Leghorn, Genoa, &c. &c.500,000
—————
Total, L.3,014,826

An extravagant writer, of the name of Pebrer, carried the estimate up to £5,850,000. Señor Inclan, more moderate, still valued the import and consumption at £2,720,000. A "Cadiz merchant," with another anonymous writer of practical authority, calculated the amount, with more sagacity, at £2,000,000 and £2,110,000 respectively. Señor Marliani is, moreover, of opinion—considering the weight of tobacco, from six to eight millions of pounds, assumed to be imported into Gibraltar for illicit entrance into Spain, on the authority of Mr Porter, but the words and work not expressly quoted; the tobacco, dressed skins, corn, flour, &c. from France, with the illegal import of cottons—that the whole contraband trade carried on in Spain cannot amount to less than the enormous mass of one thousand millions of reals, or say ten millions sterling a-year. Conceding to the full the millions of pounds of tobacco here registered as smuggled from Gibraltar, of which, notwithstanding, we cannot stumble upon the official trace for half the quantity, we must, after due reflection, withhold our assent wholly to this very wide, if not wild, assumption of our Spanish friend. We are inclined, on no slight grounds, to come to the conclusion, that the amount of contraband trade really carried on is here surcharged by not far short of one-half; that it cannot in any case exceed six millions sterling—certainly still a bulk of illegitimate values sufficiently monstrous, and almost incredible. We shall proceed to deal conclusively, however, with that special branch of the traffic for which the materials are most accessible and irrecusable, and the verification of truth therefore scarcely left to the chances of speculation.

First, for the rectification for exact, or official, quantities and values, we give the returns of the total exports of cotton manufactures, taken from the tables of the Board of Trade:—

1840.Cotton manufactures, L.17,567,310
Yarns, 7,101,308

And for 1840 here are the exports to the countries specified:—

Declared Value.
1840.Cottons to Portugal,yards37,002,209L.681,787
Hosiery, lace, small wares, —20,403
Yarn,lbs.175,5452,796
Id.Cottons to Spain,yards355,0407,987
Hosiery, &c. —2,819
Yarn,lbs.—345
Id.Cottons to Gibraltar,yards27,609,345610,456
Hosiery, &c. —21,996
Yarn,lbs.—3,369
Id.Cottons to Italy and Italian Islands,yds.58,866,2781,119,135
Hosiery, &c. —41,197
Yarn,lbs.11,490,034510,040
—————
Total, L.3,022,430

The discrepancies between some of the figures in these returns and those cited by Señor Marliani, arise probably from their respective reference to different years; they are, however, unimportant. We have already shown, that, deducting the re-exports of cottons to Ceuta and the coast of Africa opposite to Gibraltar, the value of those destined for Spain, by way of the Rock; in 1840, could not exceed