Page:Handbook of maritime rights.djvu/102

This page has been validated.
88
MARITIME RIGHTS.

Russian ports in the Baltic, the Russians found little difficulty in bringing their produce, tallow, hemp, and flax, to Memel and Königsberg, Prussian ports near the Russian frontier (by means of the rivers Vistula and Niemen), and there embarking it on board Swedish and Prussian vessels, where, under the Order in Council, it was perfectly safe from capture. In this way the Russian producer was scarcely inconvenienced at all; he sold £10,000,000 a year to England instead of £11,000,000, and he was recouped by the additional price which the English consumer paid him for his slightly enhanced cost of transport; and the Russian rouble (the index of the rate of exchange between the two countries), remained during the whole period of the war at par, 38d. On Lord Clarendon's declaration to the merchants, on March 25th, it fell to 32d., but, on the Order in Council appearing, three days later, it immediately rose again to par.