FORTIA’s TRAVELS IN SWEDEN ". 38 3.

Commerce. The commerce of Gottenburg is very confiderable, and may be lookedupon as conftituting a feventh part of the whole exports, and one fourth of all the im-ports of Sweden ; the ifland of Marjlrand in its neighbourhood, ever fince 1775, has>been a free port. In fpite of the convention between France and Sweden in 1784, bywhich an entrepot was to be granted to the former in exchange for the ifland of St. Bar-tholomew, there is but one Angle French merchant eftablifhed here, (M. Fournier ;)'but this convention has not been executed in every point, and upon this may be ob-ferved that the Swediflt government has taken advantage of the fituation of France , toomuch occupied with concerns of a greater magnitude to attend to thofe of fuch trivial,nature, and has negleded to fulfil all the ftipulations of a treaty, fo binding in itfelf, asto condition, that in cafe of non-conformity on the part of Sweden with its various arti-cles, France is to refume poffeffion of St. Bartholomew ; in a word, it may be faid, that"°ne of the parties is in full pofieffion of the grant made to it, the other not.' In this;town there are ahout a dozen Englifh houfes; the Englilh are better looked upon here-than any other nation. Gottenburg is a long mile ditiant from the North fea, and on.the Gosutha, which is here a very broad river. In the year 1790, there entered itsport feven hundred and feventeen foreign, and five hundred and’ten national fhips;;thence failed for foreign ports feven hundredand feventy nine, and five hundred and .fifty-three to different parts of Sweden . Out of the feven hundred and feventeen which.entered this port, but fixteen were French, (the fame number as arrived at Stockholm .)The number of merchant veffels belonging to Gottenburg is,as dated atprefent, two-hundred and fifty;, it is our opinion however., that it does not exceed two hundredand:ten.

Eajt India Company. This company, notwithffanding it has the privilege of tradingfikewife with India, difpatches one or two and fometimes, but rarely, three fhips inyear to China alone. In January 1791, it poffeffed feven fhips in good condition, and<one on the flocks. This, company is managed in an admirable manner ; it has . four •utredors, one of which is prefident, (Mr. Hoflerman,) and four others at Stockholm , ,'who are only honorary members of the diredion ; no one, not even the King hitnfelf, ,has any right of infpedion into the affairs of this company; the warehoufes, notwith-ftanding they are large, cannot contain more than three cargoes. The veffels in generalfail for China in the month of January ; they are obliged to faw through the ice to get'Io fea. If any order be fent to China , a very exact mode! of what is required muff go -with it, for the Ghinefe copy minutely, even defeds. Oftend and Antwerp hold, manymares in this company.

The following is a table of the exports off produce from Gottenburg , in 1790; which ;be looked upon as lefs than a common year. The war having lafled to the middle

it, and fhipments in confequence were not fo numerous, the fea being open but aJ e w months of that year; for notwithftanding the belligerent powers had no cruizersatw a j the fcarcity of failors, from fo many being employed on board the navy, mufl havehad a fenfible efred on fhipment.

Extort