The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1857-08-14

ee . Crashf -.
We perceive hat some Of our good old grand
motherty Wall street contemporaries, who shud'
der ct the bare mention Of IN impending huan.
cial revulson, have been "whistling to keep their
courage up" and pronounce all predictions of
general collapse as but the cries of "a bowling
dog" and as utterly fallHcio1s and absurd. A
word or two, therefore, upon this subject may
not be unreasonable or Improbable, even 10 the
heated term" of the dog days.
Our apprehensions of an approaching financial
revulsien have not been shaken, but haze rather
been strengthened, by the facts and developements
of the last two or three months Our importa-
tons of the present year have been excessively
heavy, beyond any precedent, while our exports
have not only been comparatively light but less
than those Of last year With double the quantity
of warehoused goods of this period last year. ae
hare been rocering at this single port since the LIST Of
July sportaios averaging milion Of dollars dry.
And what have we to give in exchange for these
enormous accumulationss Cotton -grains-Ca-
litornia golds Let US zee.
The growing cotton crop is generally admitted
to be a month behind, time, from the backward
nees Of the season. Assuming that 1t will be Is
large as the crop of last year, will it meet the
necessities of the heavy balances against uss
The prices Of the raw material are now too high
to remunerate the manufacturers of cotton goods
and euch goods have been made and are in ware
house largely in excess Of the wants of consum-
ers 1t is, therefore, very doubtful whether the
prevailing prices of the raw material will bear
any additional advance. Should they not, there
will be gap equal to about five hundred thou
sand bales of cotton to be filled up in paying for
our importations The first cotton shipments
may be delayed till the month of December, and
during that month they will probably be very
light. How, then, are we to pay from the cotton
crop for the enormous importations of this sum-
mer, without cotton bills of exchange for three
and half months from this date, and with very
few for December?
Next, with regard to breadstuffh We shall
have abundant, yea, superabundant crops of
these substantials for expectation, If we can
find market But neither England
nor France nor Germany will want our
surplus, for the harvest prospects all
over Europe were never so fattering as now.
One great result will be cheap bread for the mil
lion. at home and abroad; but another result will
almost certainly be deficiency in these exports
equal, perhaps, to another half million bales of
cotton Next, will any country in Europe accept
our railroad bonds any longers No; they have
not taken any of our stocks or bonds, nor have
we made any financial loan of this sort in Lon
don since the commencement of the Russian war.
All but there is the unfailing equilibrium of
our California gold. But let us not even here be
deceived The shipments Of gold from California
Of this year fall short of those of last year each
from two hundred thousand to four hundred thou
sand dollars. The deficiency of 1857, as COM
pared with the shipments of 1856 to August, is
already about four million, and it will be five or
six before the end of the year. Next year it may
be ten million, for as the loose gold of the wash
ings is picked up the work Of collecting the pre-
cious metal is reduced more and more to actual
mining. We must cease, therefore, to rely
upon the inexhaustible resources Of Cali
fornia, and look our liabilities and resources
fairly in the face; and prepare too, for the
consequences Of our inordinste speculstions, ex-
cesses and extravagances of all kinds, in view of
the day Of settlement
We may feel the first decided symptoms of the
coming pressure for money as early as Deem
Der. We ehall, undoubtedly, experience the
pressure of a drain Of specie to Europe by the
next spring but should we contrive to postpone
the balancing Of our accounts even year or
two longer, we shall only be adding in the inter-
val To the burden under which we are even now
staggering. We have been seized with the same
mania of speculation, credits and extravaganza
that eliminated in the collapse of 1887, and the
disease hes now developed itself in proportion to
the facilities and temptations for speculations,
populations and prodigal wastefulne@ of every
description. The inevitable revulsion is but q
question Of time, in the interval TO the Presden-
tial campaign of 1860. The sooner the better !;
for should it be delayed to be thrown upon
us amid the fierce excitements of that cleo
ton, the consequences may be not only the
financial bankruptcy of States, corporations and
people, but fearful shock 10 our political in
situations
The facts are, that we have been extravagant
beyond the utmost limit of our resources great
as they are; that these evils Of reckless specula-
tons, credits and extravagant habits "have in
creased, are increasing, and must be diminished"
and that the only remedy appears to be the ulti-
mate forced collection Of our debts from the i'm
porter of silks and laces In New York to the re-
taller in the wilds Of Arkansas; from the finan-
cier in Wall street to the land speculator in Kan
sas; from the wheat grower Of the Genesee TO the
cotton planter Of Red river, and from the manu-
facturer at Lowell 10 the consumer on the Sacra-
mento. We say, therefore, again, that prudent
men will prepare for the day of reckoning, for
II must come.
The AMERICAN PARTY or New YoRK-WHArs