In transcribing the following table of imports from the Internet Archive online version of the Liverpool entry in the Blackie’s The Imperial Gazetteer, I have expanded the abbreviations for easier reading. The table employs a number of unusual units of measurement, including qrs. (quarters), hhds. (hogsheads), and puncheons. Hogsheads were measurements used for wine, ale, cider. A puncheon, a unit of measurement used for beer, wine, and spirits, was 70-100 gallons. A quarter is a British unit of measurement that refers to a quarter ton, a once-national standard unit for wine, ale, and grain. To complicate matters, at this time a pint of ale and a pint of wine were not the same size! The establishment of the Imperial Gallon simplified matters.
The variation in quantities of goods that passed through Liverpool are difficult to interpret in part because the short period of three years may not indicate trends plus the obvious fact that many of the goods listed may have arrived at London or other ports. — George P. Landow]
| American Provisions, Beef (tces.) | 26,119 | 20,443 | 23,549 |
| American Provisions, Beef (barrels) | 1,249 | 1,270 | 2,6259 |
| American Provisions, Pork (barrels and tces.) | 36,806 | 18,576 | 5,149 |
| American Provisions, Bacon (hundredweights) | 22,231 | 156,297 | 62,231 |
| American Provisions, Lard (barrels) | 49,124 | 74,610 | 54,889 |
| American Provisions, Lard (kegs) | 41,849 | 54,518 | 911 |
| Ashes, American (barrels) | 16,750 | 20,850 | 17,850 |
| Brimstone (tons) | 11,200 | 10,650 | 10,900 |
| Cassia Lignea [Chinese cinnamon] (cases) | 115 | 165 | none |
| Cocoa (barrels and bags) | 12,500 | 8,335 | 10,975 |
| Coffee, B.P. West India (casks) | 2,550 | 3,430 | 2,770 |
| Coffee, B.P. West India (barrels and bags) | 1,820 | 1,815 | 1,115 | Coffee, Ceylon (casks) | 500 | 1,570 | 435 |
| Coffee, Ceylon (bags) | 6,650 | 13,760 | 820 |
| Coffee, All Foreign (casks) | 200 | 10 | 0 |
| Coffee, All Foreign (bags, etc.) | 40,770 | 20,235 | 34,350 |
| Cotton (hundredweights) | 6,734,281 | 6,121,428 | 6,795,535 |
| Dyewoods, Logwood (tons) | 14,350 | 23,550 | 15,700 |
| Dyewoods, Fustic (tons) | 6,300 | 7,450 | 9,950 |
| Dyewoods, Nicaragua wood (tons) | 2,400 | 5,700 | 4,050 |
| Ginger, West India (barrels and bags) | 70 | 235 | 565 |
| Ginger, East India (bags and pockets) | 5,950 | 9,650 | 1,800 |
| Ginger, African (bags &tc.) | 1,380 | 1,170 | 850 |
| Grain, Foreign and Colonial | |||
| Wheat (quarters) | 632,620 | 728,080 | 608,646 |
| Flour (sacks) | 88,334 | 400,220 | 373,653 |
| Flour (barrels) | 1,111,997 | 462,101 | 1,307,850 |
| Oats (quarters) | 184,641 | 204,082 | 152,706 |
| Barley (quarters) | 65,215 | 65,220 | 51,946 |
| Beans (quarters) | 134,284 | 104,846 | 122,564 |
| Peas (quarters) | 43,158 | 31,649 | 21,940 |
| Indian Corn (quarters) | 1,002,439 | 542,785 | 286,043 |
| Indian Corn Meal (barrels) | 62,729 | 4,804 | 4,598 |
| Oatmeal (loads) | 150,287 | 235,493 | 210,059 |
| Guano (tons) | 23,544 | 28,472 | 92,953 |
| Gum Arabic (cases and barrels) | 2,550 | 970 | 2,500 |
| Hides, Ox and Cow (number) | 397,100 | 266,200 | 287,600 |
| Hides, East India (number) | 205,000 | 286,400 | 218,700 |
| Hides, Horse, South American (number) | 129,600 | 139,700 | 77,800 |
| Indigo, East India (chests) | 570 | 405 | 760 |
| Indigo, Spanish (serons) | 110 | 200 | 2,000 |
| Jute (bales) | 63,000 | 83,000 | 95,000 |
| Lac Dye (chests) | 790 | 1,180 | 315 |
| Lac Shell (chests) | 510 | 2,680 | 3,230 |
| Madder (chests) | 2,700 | 3,500 | 3,450 |
| Madder-roots (bales, &c.) | 15,600 | 19,900 | 22,550 |
| Molasses, West India (casks) | 13,300 | 8,865 | 12,500 |
| Molasses, East India (casks) | 1,200 | 745 | 590 |
| Molasses, Foreign (casks) | 13,550 | 8,865 | 12,500 |
| Nitrate of Soda (tons) | 6,830 | 7,860 | 8,070 |
| Olive Oil (tons) | 7,300 | 10,00 | 5,100 |
| Palm Oil (tons) | 17,900 | 16,250 | 23,800 |
| Pepper, East India (bags and pockets) | 7,550 | 8,760 | 3,050 |
| Pimento (barrels and bags) | 1,400 | 3,050 | 1,850 |
| Rice, Easy India (bags) | 297,900 | 314,100 | 184,700 |
| Rice, American (casks) | 11,00 | 10,650 | 2,750 |
| Rum, West India (puncheons) | 8,595 | 8,120 | 8,845 |
| Rum, East India (puncheons) | 370 | 315 | 420 |
| Rum, Foreign (puncheons) | 310 | 260 | 235 |
| Saltpetre, East India (bags) | 48,000 | 42,850 | 44,500 |
| Sugar, B. Plantation (hogheads and tces.) | 30,650 | 25,190 | 28,310 |
| Sugar, Bengal &c. (bags) | 301,400 | 334,250 | 350,950 |
| Sugar, Mauritius. (bags) | 88,600 | 76,500 | 72,000 |
| Sugar, Manilla, Java, &c. (bags) | 7,240 | 22,135 | 59,970 |
| Sugar, Havannah (boxes) | 1,110 | 8,620 | 10,000 |
| Sugar, Brazil (chests) | 6,470 | 4,080 | 3,915 |
| Sugar, Brazil (barrels) | 95,650 | 54,965 | 78,200 |
| Other Foreign (hogheads) | 6,280 | 5,560 | 12,050 |
| Other Foreign (barrels) | 11,300 | 6,080 | 4,950 |
| Sumac (bags) | 82,950 | 98,350 | 88,400 |
| Tar (barrels) | 56,850 | 39,575 | 43,000 |
| Tallow, European (casks) | 26,250 | 16,200 | 16,950 |
| Tallow, American (casks, &c.) | 24,100 | 22,700 | 15,100 |
| Tea (pounds) | 9,197,340 | 9,117,726 | 17,781,049 |
| Tincal and Borax (casks, boxes, &c.) | 700 | 2,540 | 2,675 |
| Tobacco (hogheads) | 13,200 | 12,550 | 10,050 |
| Turpentine (barrels) | 51,300 | 61,600 | 54,500 |
Bibliography
Blackie, Walker Graham. The Imperial Gazetteer: A General Dictionary of Geography, Physical, Political, Statistical and Descriptive. 4 vol South London: Blackie & Son, 1856. Internet Archive online version of a copy in the University of California Library. Web.9 November 2018.
Last modified 11 November 2018