[Non-Sequitur]

You persist in mis-stating what I said. I said that the South consumed $331 million in imports. You are assuming that $331 came from overseas. All of it did not. So get your facts right.

I suggest you get your terminology straight. Imports, by definition, come from outside of the country. If not from overseas then what was the south importing from Mexico?

[PeaRidge]

"I suggest you get your terminology straight"

Why don't you write the Treasury department and complain. That is their terminology and was used in their record keeping.

For each custom house, inbound goods were labeled "imports". Some were non-dutible by law, some were non-dutible because they came from another part of the country.

The reason you are so confused is that you have been assuming that the inflow of products that were labeled imports were from overseas sources only.

In fact the vast majority of inbound goods for the consumption of the South were northern manufactures.

They were labeled imports, but were not dutiable.

Now do you understand why that $362 was so outlandishly wrong, and your completely wrong conclusion stood out like a sore thumb?