The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1858-02-14

RESULTS or THE COMMERCIAL REVISION OF
1s57.-We published in yesterdays HERALD the
circular of Messrs. Tsppan q McKillop's COM
mercial agency, showing from their books the
number of failures which have taken place
throughout the United States and the British
Provinces during the late financial revulsion,
with the total amount OF liabilities and assets.
From this it appears that the whole number of
failures reported to the agency during this pc
Rod was 6,022, of which 74l were of fraudu-
lent character; while the liabilities amounted
to $685., 335 ,OO0 and the assets to Sl3o,0o0,000,
or forty cents on the dollar. 1t will be remem-
bered that on the 18th Of January last we also
pt5lished the circular of Douglass Co.'S
agency but, as may be seen from the following
Comparative table, they do not vary materially
in their totals except in the number of firms
which are reported as having failed, and in
which there IL u difference Of somewhat less
than thousand -
according 20 According 10
DogdoSsd. Co 7cJ4und 1cKilop.
!, ms On bcoss OF each 2l2S6i -. Ois
Failures rented By Zach S,l2.. 6022
Amount OF liabilities. 800 sol .cop s2s2.3350oo
Amount Of .... =. 155o2i 200 10000 goo
The results presented in the foregoing table
are doubtless the most accurate that could be
obtained Both circulars show that the total
amount of liabilities was about S300,00 900;
and il to this bc added the bank failures, the
railroad failures and the failures of other incor
porated companies, we will have Il SUN total Of
at least four hundred millions Of dollars. The
number Of thcse reported in the circulars re-
ferred to bears propor.i lion Of about two and a
half rer cent TO the number Of establishments
or firms, while the assets may be set down at
forty cents on the dollar. Following out the
calculation still! further. and applying this per
centage Of asscts--that is, forty cents on the
dollar TO the whole number Of firms ats;ed--wc
have q grand total Of = 200. 900 900
From the circular OF Tappau i McKillop.
which shows larger number Of firms, il up
pears the total loss caused by failures during
the past year was about slj0.0o00o0. Correct.
~ speaking, this il moi los in The actual
wealth OF the country. but simply loss OF
credits to that amount. produced by an undue
expansion anG sudden collapse Of The credit
system The aggregate amount OF the ont
standing credits or liabilities Of the commercial
Ivy the liabilities stated In The table. will be
found 70 amount To- about thirteen thousand
millions Of dollars. Of which during the recon
terrible rcvulsion not moro than three hundred
millions turned out to be- bad debts, and even
out Of that amount they had about Que hun
bred and thirty millions of dollars, showing
that the actual los on the total amount Of
credit was but one dollar and fraction to the
hundred. while Of the total number OF firms
not more than one out Of every forty failed to
meet their engagements, and even these show
assets amounting TO little less than one-half
their total liabilities. Incredible as Il may
seem, therefore, il is fact particularly dc.
serving Of consideration that the great revu-
sion and the terrible panic by which il was ac-
compenied were produced by the failure of one
firm out Of every forty 60 meet it, liabilities,
and by the average loss to the creditors OF a
little more than one dollar on every hundred.