prevalent among those who are generally considered the arbiters of
public affairs has had its influence in contracting the limits of
speculative adventure, thereby circumscribing the general course of
trade throughout the Mediterranean.

In renewing to the department my reports upon the navigation and
general commerce of Gibraltar, I beg to state that there has been a
tolerably fair current business prevailing in American produce during
the past quarter, consisting chiefly in flour, tobacco, and refined
petroleum in cases, imported direct from New York.

The steady demand for American petroleum confirms the fact that
Russian petroleum so far receives but little attention in this market
from the regular traders and consumers, so long as supplies from the
United States can be regularly imported at reasonable prices. It,
however, remains an open question, in the event of lower prices ruling
in the Russian petroleum regions, whether American supplies may not
later on experience some greater competitive foreign interference.

According to the statistical data, steam vessels of all nationalities
have continued to make Gibraltar their port of call, not only for
orders, but also for replenishing their stock of fuel and provisions,
and in larger numbers than ever before, the number in 1888 having
reached 5,712 steam vessels, measuring in all 5,969,563 tons, while in
1887 the number was only 5,187 steam vessels, with an aggregate
tonnage of 5,372,962. This increase cannot but result in considerable
benefit to the coal and maritime traffic, which now forms the most
important portion of the general commerce of Gibraltar, in spite of
the keen competition it experiences from other British and foreign
coaling ports.