The Portsmouth inquirer. [volume] (Portsmouth, O. [Ohio]) 1849-1855, 1851-09-26
Exportation Of specie.

TIC prosperity, coniesS tOd nibu Stdtincu-
tion in the perusal Of the following article,
which copy from recent Richmond En- |
quirer. II leaves not shadow Of doubt up
on my mind as respects The soundness of the
principles it advocates. and in the hope that
Il may relieve the apprehensions, as it has
mine, 1t has been transferred to my columns.
Let no one be deferred from reading 1t on
account of its length. a It is asubjpct OF
profound general interest, and treated with
great clesrness and ability.--Cisfs AdD.
A panic has ragged for some time at New
York in consequence Of large shipments Of
Specie that have been going on from that
port for several months. Large expectations
Of every other species Of the produce Of the
country only excites the confidence Of that
class Of people in the stability Of affairs;
but if ever specie begins TO leave the coun
Try, they are at once. thrown into thorough
trepida:ion. Whatever ground there may be
in other countries for alarm from such a
source, these fears betray IN this country a.
sad ignorance of political economy, and a
sad want Of practical commercial knowledge.
Currency is not consumed by use Hike other
commodities Of commerce. A certain
amount Of it only is necessary to the busi-
ness of the country. When this amount is
secured. and the channels Of currency be-
come filled, all further-supply is redundant,
becomes comparatively valueless for COM
merc'al purposes, and either remains more
or less useless in the country, or seeks mole
profitable employment abroad, Its price at
home becomes lower than its price abroad,
and it leaves markets wherein supply is
greater, for markets wherein dcandnd is more
active.
The prodigious influx Of specie from Cali
fornia has produced such q result in our
country. Our supplies Of specie have in
creased over and and above the amounts oil
all expectations, some sixty-fve millions OF
dollars since the discovery of that country.
This increase Of specie has induced pro-
portionate augmentation Of paper currency,
and the aggregate volume OF our currency,
has probably been almost doubled. Money
has therefore deprecated, in relative value
with us, while 1t has remained the same
abroad. Specie is, therefore, worth more
abroad than with us, aud stream OF 1t has
flown out from our country for some time.
1t has now apparently ceased, the level OF
pIlttb udNlIIS uCCu lCoIOLCu uuu oh SH"AtSAA
um established.
Instead Of commercial calamity, this
tendency of specie abroad is only one Of
those heaIthful operations of the laws of
trade which prevent over-trading. and cure
those irregular pulsa;ions and spasms in the
commercial system, which are its insepara BILE
attendants. To show the senselessness OF
the panic that has prevailed in New York.
but which is now passing away, the Journal
of Commerce furnishes the following state.
ment of exports and imports up to August
II, 1851:
Receipts of gold and silper into the United States
since the discovery Of gold in California.
Amount from California to 18th
instant $T3,50O,0OO
Do gold and silver by emf
grants 25,0O0,00U
Do foreign do. on freight 100000
Total receipts SlO7,500, ,0oC
Specie exported from
: July /, 1849, to Aug.
II, 1851, from New
York, $S9,576.S50
From other ports 40O0,OOO
Total exports - 4S,o7o,oo'
n Excess of receipts Of specie
], over exports of do S63,923, lot
Since the date of this computation there
has been a further nett excess of imports
} over exports of specie to the amount Of
some S2,000000, making the total quantity
by which the specie of the country has beer
augmented since July, l849, about $3.50, ,00O,.
600.
There are those, however, who attribute
the efflux Of specie to excessive importations
of foreign merchandise. and represent the
country as becomiug rapidly involved in deb
by the operation of the tariff of 1916. They
say we import too much, and it is therefore
that our specie takes wings for another con
tinent. The Journal of Commerce meets
them with the following statement--fron
the record-of ourimports and exports for a
few years past:
Imports into the United States,
> exclusive ofSpecie--year end
, ing June 80, 1850, $164, ,O32, ,O3;
Thirteen months TO July 81,
| 1851, 209,431 'S7t
Total 1913, ,463, ,90E
I; Exports from U. States,
/ exclusive of specie
year ending June
; 80, 1850. $l44,375, 725
Thirteen months end
: ing July 81, 1861, 1S2,340.3Ol
Total -3 328, ,02t
| Excess of imports in twenty five
I months exclusive of specie, $45, ,846,6
The excess which the statement exhibits Ii
Z forty q ve millions only lnr moro than twt
a years, or some seven per cent. upon the tota
S seven hundred millions of import and expor
}. trade-an excess which represents the earn
ings of our shipping and the commissions O
!, do not enter into the statement.
Q So much for exports and imports durin
. t,uo years last past. Those years exhibi
nothing luminous in the operations OF tn
tariff Of 1916. But the Journal of Com
L. -. r. Al