STATISTICS OF EXTERNAL COMMERCE 21 
In the case of imports computed values, that is, values officially 
estimated in accordance with what were believed to be the current 
prices of the time, were introduced, and remained in use till 1870 
inclusive, but from 1871 onwards declared values have been entered 
for imports also. This, observed Mr. (afterwards Sir Robert) Giffen, 
should warn us all to use a great deal of caution in carrying our com- 
parisons of import values farther back than 1870.2 Itis for this reason 
shat the tables in the Appendix are now made to begin with the period 
1871-5. It should be added that according to British practice import 
values are those at the port of arrival, that is, include freight but not 
merchant’s profit, export values those at the port of shipment, ¢ free 
on board’ (f.0.b.). Notes are given on the different tables as to the 
mode of valuation adopted by different countries, but it may be worth 
while to call attention here to the peculiarities of practice in Denmark 
and the United States. Denmark has for imports official values based 
on the prices of the goods in the exporting country with the addition 
of the cost of conveyance to Denmark, and for exports values based 
on the market price in Denmark with the addition of the cost of con- 
veying the goods to their destination. Unlike the export values of 
other countries, accordingly, Danish export values are c.i.f. values, 
that is, are values including cost, insurance, and freight. While the 
Danish practice thus differs from what ia otherwise general in the case 
of exports, it is very important to note that the practice of the United 
States is singular under the head of imports, the import values are 
based on the market value or wholesale prices in the exporting country, 
that is, do not include freight. In the case of exports the values for 
native goods are the declared values at the place of shipment, for goods 
of foreign origin if taken from a warehouse the values at the place of 
import, otherwise the values entered are those at the time and place of 
shipment. 
48. In the commercial statistics of the N. etherlands the use of official 
values like those formerly employed in this country is still maintained. 
The figures on which the value of imports and exports of that country 
in the tables in the former editions of this work were based were taken, 
ike those of other countries, from the Statistical Abstracts Jor Foreign 
Countries, where no warning is given as to their nature. It appears, 
however, that the ‘ values ’ in Dutch returns are based on the prices 
of 1860 or thereabouts. For that reason the tables that in earlier 
editions professed to give the value of the trade of the Netherlands 
have been deleted as worthless, and others have been substituted which 
will serve to indicate how great the divergence now is between the so- 
salled values of the Dutch returns and the approximate actual values.3 
‘ For detailed information as to the methods of computation see a paper by 
Mr. Stephen Bourne in the Jour. Statist. Soc., vol. xxxv. (1872), P- 206. 
* Jour, Stat. Soc., vol. xv. (1882), p. 188. 
*1t will be observed that in one case, Peruvian bark, the so-called value is 
nore than seventy times what may be taken to be near the true value.