INTRODUCTION
extensive areas embraced by the British empire, but this want is met
more or less in other ways. First, the self-governing portions of the
empire maintain representatives under various titles, who make it part
of their business to disseminate information likely to promote trade
between the mother country and the dominions which they represent.
Then, in the case of the other parts of the empire, the Colonial Office
issues from time to time reports similar in their content to those received
from consuls in foreign countries. Thirdly, in recent years the home
government has appointed trade commissioners to various parts of the
world, including those belonging to the empire.
83. The establishment of chambers of commerce, or voluntary
associations of merchants in different localities, is now almost universal,
and similar chambers are now getting established by merchants of
different countries in foreign cities where a large amount of business
is conducted. It isin keeping with modern tendencies that an Associa-
tion of British Chambers of Commerce and an International Chamber
of Commerce have now been formed.
34. Another method of promoting national commerce now coming
into more and more general use all the world over is the establishment
of commercial libraries and museums, the nature of which will be under-
stood from an account of one of the largest and best institutions of
the kind in Europe. That referred to is the State Commercial Museum
at Brussels, the first of severalerected in Belgium with the aim of furnish-
ing Belgian manufacturers with the means of practically learning the
articles of commerce preferred in various foreign countries, and the
conditions under which such articles can be profitably exported.” The
collection of articles exhibited in the museum has been selected with
three objects: *1, exportation ; 2, importation ; 3, packing and pre-
paration of samples’! ‘The classification adopted is not geographical,
but by similarity of produce, apart from nationality. That is to say,
that all goods of similar type (say linings) are juxtaposed, in order that
manufacturer, merchant, buyer, and workman may compare the
material, skill in weaving, price, dye, finish, and make-up of the
merchandise of different nationalities. A manufacturer, say of
blankets, is thus enabled to confine his inquiries concerning these
bextiles, and if he wishes for information in relation to them he rings an
electric bell fixed in the case, which intimates to the attendant both who
has called for his services, and the register which will be required. The
numbers on the patterns correspond throughout with the registers
containing data as to origin, price, duty, carriage, packing, season of
sale, as also with the catalogue and the duplicates from which cuttings,
for imitation, can be obtained.’? Exhibitions are a kind of temporary
commercial museum, and floating exhibitions intended to convey
samples of a country’s commodities to various stations in distant
i2
' Cons. Rep., Ann. Ser. 76, p. 20.
! Lond. Chamb. of Com. Journ. 1886, Oct. Supp. p. 10.