from their expensive and indirect channel into their legitimate route. The prospects of the province were rapidly brightening under his sagacious administration, when Austria took alarm, and effectually impeded all farther progress by closing the only port adapted for the transmission of its mercantile resources. She thus secures for herself a monopoly of trade, forcing the inhabitants of all the Turkish provinces, in that quarter, to purchase their imports at high prices from her, and to sell their produce to Austrian merchants, who, fearing no competition, themselves determine its price. The object of Austria in thus retarding the development of Bosnia is sufficiently obvious, since that which would be a gain to Turkey would be a loss to herself. And were events so to dispose themselves as to render this probable, she would doubtless find a pretext to justify a military occupation of the country. This she has done on several occasions, and the large force now massed upon the northern bank of the Save only awaits some national demonstration to effect an armed intervention. This is, however, trenching upon another subject, to which I may have hereafter to allude. Approximate calculations of the trade of the Herzegovina show that the imports amount annually to about 150,000_l._, while the exports do not produce more than 70,000_l._ This comparison proves that a very large amount of specie must be extracted every year from the country, for which no material counterpoise exists, since the merchandise imported is to supply the wants of the people, and does not consequently tend to enrich the province. It follows therefore, naturally, that it is becoming daily more poverty-stricken, and in place of advancing with advancing civilisation, it is stagnating or even declining in prosperity. These imports are computed to amount to about 70,000 horse-loads in quantity, while the transit trade to Bosnia is estimated at 50,000 more. Of these about 10,000 horse-loads are of salt from Dalmatia. The main source whence these provinces are supplied is Trieste, where large depots exist, established expressly for this purpose. Thither the traders proceed once a year, to lay in a supply of goods for the ensuing twelve months. They purchase at credits varying from six to twelve months, paying high prices for a very indifferent class of goods. These consist for the most part of cotton and woollen manufactures, cotton twist, silks, iron in bars sheets and plates, tin, lead, brass, hardware, glass, sugar, coffee, and other colonial products. Gold lace, velvet, and silks are also imported from Bosna Serai, and silks and some kinds of cotton prints from Constantinople by way of Salonica and Serajevo. Like most semi-civilised nations, the people of Herzegovina are much addicted to showy colours in their dress. Those most in favour are scarlet, green, and blue; but the dyes soon fade, and the cloth is anything but durable. It is invariably of French or German manufacture; is of coarse quality, and is worn next the skin by the country people. In the towns, grey long cloths, dyed dark blue, constitute the principal article of clothing among the Christians, the general character of dress being the same throughout the province. The exports consist of sheep's