The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1852-05-04

aggregate and moro suddeoly, than any other At th
moment it Is In the ascendancy and 1t Is likely to con-
tinue 40 As the prosperity Of the people at large in
creases-S the masses improve their condition-they
have greater facilities for travelling which general
thing they to the utmost The influx Of gold Is there
fore very important for this interest and it Is by no
means a small one in this country We have capital of
nearly four hundred millions Of dollars invested In these
works of public imprevement-a sum which has some
influence least in the deveopement Of resources
and to depress rather to reduce which train of
favorable events would bring distress perhaps ruin upon
many thousands of most active population Events
likely to happen in the financial world OF character
calculated to advance the nominal value Of this description
of property very materially Railroads intimately
connected with the movements of the country at large
that what deprcsses invariably has SIMILAR effect
on the other trade is active and productive railroads
must prosper Any change in the financial system affects
these works tight money market restricts travel
easy money market increases it. High fares and low
fares depend upon the condition of the people Railroad
shares therefore materially affected for good for
evil by the money market great accession to our sup
ply Of precious metals must not only initiate the market
value Of shares but must give stockholders greater
turns on the investment This effect will without doubt
be realized all investments the income Of which is de-
rived from active operations in connection with trade
but all investments the income of which is fixed the
effect is likely to be most disastrous There be no
augmentation Of interest, increase of income. what
may be the state Of the money market whatever
be the changes in the value of capital expansion
in the value of other property The per interest being
fixed and unalterabe must be received and those who
have been in the receipt Of fair incomes, whose in
comes from such investments have been sufficient under
existing order of things to give them all the nccessass
and many of the uxuries Of lifo will aud. with the
dcpcciang value Of the precious metals serious Cur
aiiment Of their 1t is estimated that in
Europe there at least million of families living
their incomes from investments in public stocks The
public debts Of the nations OF Europe to nearly
ten thousand millions Of dollars with fixed rates of nte-
rest Immense fortunes invested in these securities
and those depending upon them have regulated their ex
pendures accordingly The present value of money has
continued for many ages and property of all kinds reg
lated upon basis which has not deyated percepbly for
hundreds of years The supply Of precious metals
been steady and uniform, and at rate sufficiently large
to meet the wants of the commercial community We
are now about entering upon state of things we
are upon the Of revolution in finance, which will
as progresses and extends the relative value
Of property but in deprecating the value Of money
quire greater amount of the preciou metals pur
chase the same amount of property. Provisions bread
sus all the necessares and luxuries Of life real estate
rents property Of all kinds will advance nominally in
precious metals decreases those
whose resources do not increase in corresponding ratio
will find great difficulty in meeting current expenses
All government securities State stocks annuties bonds
and mortgages-al investments giving fixed returns
must natural consequence in market price
as the revolution goes Governments corporations
will find it easier to pay the interest their debts il
change is made in the rate Of taxation the value of
taxable property must be largely augmented
In 1850, the aggregate value of taxable property
real and personal, in the city of New York was
S2S60s54l6 upon which tax of So 23OS45 e6 was
raised II by any revolution in finance by the influx
ofgod from California and Australia, the taxable pro-
pery OF this city should rapidly expand in value the
realized would be corrcspondingly large and this in
crease in revenue would be required if she expenditures
of the government increased in like proportion As the
nominal expenses of living would grow with the reduced
value of specie presumed that salaries Of Office hold
cs and Of every class Of aborers would increase with
all other things the industrial portion Of the
munity would be in dcplorabe condition as those
who depended upon incomes fixed previous the altera
ons in comparative values OF property and its represcn
tation
We might have included railroad bonds in our list Of
securities having fixed rates of interest for the purpose
of showing the position of holders in the the
probation predicted but there is saving clause
which the difficulty anticipated That is their
conyertbiity into stock which they all possess This
will enable holders to turn their investments of this
class commanding fixed revenue into those which viii
be regulated by the changes going for the
of financial affairs. The conversion Of railroad bonds
into stock must have favorable influence upon the
don of each company reduces the creditors of the
corporations by turning them into debtors 1t in fact
liabilities into asets There will be alternative
for holders Of railroad bonds but this bond drawing
per cent interest may not in few years be worth
one he dppr
catiDg the bonds would increase the value of shares
in the same company hundred per cent. No
greater nducemen than this wanted to bring about at
the proper time conversion Of all the railroad bonds in
the country We shall pursue this subject to greater
length at future day 1t is interesting and highly
important that the effect of such immense accessons to
supply of the precious metals anticipate should
be properly understood and provided for.
The annexed statement exhibits the amount Of specie
and bullion received at Panama by the British Consul
from California and Mexico and from Peru and Chill for
each month in each Of the past two years.
RECEIPTS BULLION SPECIE AT PANAMA ENG
AccouST-lSJD AND 1S1