The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1857-12-02
Finance Mt Home ana Abroad.

Finance MT Home and Abroad.
The city banks showed on Monday last an
average specie deposit, for the preceding week,
of over twenty-four millions of dollars Such
an amount of specie was never held in our bank
vaults before; it is perhaps more than was
held in all the Northern States at the time Of
the revulsien of 1887. simultaneously with this
singular aggregation of specie in the banks we
have to note steady and universal contraction
of business and general liquidation among the
merchants. Though it is notorious that the
banks were ready last week to discount almost
every piece of paper that could be had, the loans
show falling of equal to half million or
Whereabouts, showing that merchants required
last week half million less accommodation
than they had the week before. 1t is true that
some specie is going to Europe; but as the cot
ton bills will be coming on so freely-in the
course of the present mOnth-as to pay all we
owe in Europe, that before New Year the specie
drain must have fallen below the receipt from
California The present prospect is that our
banks will hold, all winter, not less than twenty
millions of gold, and that they will have much
smaller demands for accommodation than they
had last year with half as much specie.
Simultaneously with this strange and un-
usual prospect, we learn from the Off
cal returns of the fiscal year 1867 that
during that year the trade of the United States
with the world did not leave us in debt. True,
we took from foreign countries goods to the
amount of 4s,42S,342, while the aggregate
amount of cur produce seh to foreign coun-
tries, and of foreign goods re-exported from
hence, is only S293,sl2, 222; showing an excess
of goods imported over produce exported of
over fifty millions of dollars. But this calcula-
ton does not include our trade in one of our
stapes-gold; of which we sent abroad, last
fiscal year, sos, l36,922, receiving only Sl2,-
46l, 1893; thus leaving enough on the credit side
to turn the general balance in our favor by
over two millions of dollars Last fiscal year
the same tables showed balance of twelve
millions in our favor, which may or may not
have been very accurate; but there is little
doubt of the accuracy of the balance sheet of
this year.
Ii is singular fact enough that Great
Britain is the only country of any consequence
which takes from us more than we take from
her. All other countries sell us far more than
they buy-France, Spain, the Zollverein,
Brazil, Chile, China, &c,,-Great Britain alone
sells us over twelve millions less than we
sell her. But for the fact that Great Bri-
tain serves as banker, not only for US, but
for great many Of our dealers i'm bust
ness, the exchanges would be all the other
way: as il is, we pay all our China, Brazil,
and most of our Spanish debts by bills on
London. Spain is the next most important
country to us, in a commercial point of view.
We take from Spain but little less than sixty
millions of dollars of merchandise chiefly SUI
gars, molasses, &c, from Cuba and the West
Indies-while she takes from us but little over
twenty millions of -four, provisions and manu-
featured goods. If Cuba belonged to us, all
this trade, which would be Occupied before long,
would be part Of our domestic trade.
Our aggregate trade, as we said, is in round
numbers, $3.50, 600 each way per year. Only
few years ago one hundred millions of i'm
ports and eighty millions of exports were con-
sidered enormous. Such has been the fruit of
the steady enterprise Of an industrious people,
and. of late years, the natural consequences of
the discovery of California and Australia and
of the addition Of their aurilerous deposits to
| the specie of the world.
| II is by the way the omission of this conside-
ration from the late report of the French Minis
ter Of Finance which forms the peculiar error
of that document M. Magnc starts with the
statement that during the year 1851, the last of
| the monarchy of July, the budget showed a de-
| felt of 257 100000 francs. The budget of 1851,
the last of the republic, showed similar deficit
| of 100 OOO, 900 francs. The budget of 1867 gave
a surplus of 2O,OOO,OO0 francs, and that of 1868
will show a surplus of 24,O0O,OO0. Hence. he
argues, the empire Is the thing for France. NJ.
Magne overlooks the fact that California and
| Australia have added their gold to the worlds
| stock since the monarchy Of July, and that on
the strength of this gold credit has been vastly
| inflated, trade developed, and a stupcndous i'm
| pulse given to industry aud enterprise through
out the commercial world. In no country have
the imitation and new impulse been so strongly
! felt as in France. There, indeed new life has
been given to trade and industry; the face OF
the country has been revoutionized and yipor
infused where vigor was never felt before. But
| is all this natural and Legitimate? Evidently
not The French imitation, like that Of our own
railroads, has been bubble which only needed
the prick of pin to collapse; the pin will not
be long wanting now. The imitation which
buoyed the empire to its present prosperity was
| common TO all the world, though more felt in
| France than elsewhere and the reaction that Is
taking place here and in England will also be
felt in France with proportionate severity.