The New York herald., 1862-09-08
FINANCIAL AND coMMERcIAL
suxpAr. Sep.. 7. 1864.

| The feature Of the commercial movement Of the
week which ended yesterday Was the very heavy
import Of ary goods and general MERCHANDISE.
\ Five weeks have now elapsed since the new txrsa
went mo operation. a.d a. 10 suuy ssven weeks
since every one kscw nat uwouid 20 ts'o opera
ton on the ist Of August. II cannot. tstrciore. he
! pretended that the articles whsh ere nov being
| imported were ordered An the hope ths. they
would be admitted nnder the Ola rat.. .f dntv.
and the Inference from the import alton re,.rns Il
inevitable tlat the increase al duties psoyss in
| operative g. check importatonS People are con-
sumlng A. many foreign goods ~ evu.
Notwithstanding the incrcs-e In the price.
Il Is possible that the barthcns which
will be laid upon the pubic by No
Tax law may lead 70 . rev development G.
economy in living. hut the experience Of the in
porters does not encourage the hope. Buyers q
imported goods--vIx silks, laces. Preach muslinp
British wooilens. hardware. &c.. &c.ars nov psy-
ing. in addition 10 ths old price, large perocss-
age for the new duty. and snethes large percent
ago for the premium On spocis. Vet. N spiss se
this, the importers state that the jobbes pss-
pared 10 buy freely, and they are consequently
bound TO supply the demand. Leading articles a
dry goods and general meichsndss hsve rsea -
to rs per cent within . year: yet the public hsvs
scarcely curtailed their consumption in any pss-
ceptible degree. The fact recalls 20 mind state
ment which has frequently been made In this
column--namely. that tariffs never excvcise asy
material influence upon the volume Of in
portations into this country, but that that
volume s directly and exclusively dependent
upon the amosmt Of the bank discounts.
Whenever money lis easy, and the banks
are free lenders, importations will increase what
ever the tariff may be. We are now witnessing
q remarkable illustration Of the truth Of this state
ment. The tarin of 1862 was framed for the d.
rect purpose OF excluding such foreign goods -
were not necessaries OF life. The duties were
raised to point which led the importers TO de-
clare that their trade was irretrevab.y ruinod-
Foreign manufacturers urged their governments
to interfere in our war on the ground that our
tariff shu. them out from orr markets. In the face
OF all this we discover that we are importing -
much as usual at this season--considerably more
than we imported at the corresponding per eds OF.
1861 and 1850. The fact should not be lost upon
Congress. Our sarif-especiaIy in regard to
manufactured goods-wl bear further in
crease. So hong as money remains easy.
and profits are made by trading either
with government or with individuals. people
will continue TO consume foreign goods ON
much the same scale as formerly. The duties may
be raised 20 q 33 per cent more without any rea-
sonabie prospect of loss Of revenue.
It viii be remarked that, notwithstanding tho
steady increase in our Imports and the progressive
decrease in our exports, our aggregate exports
tions Of merchandise, produce and coin for tho
year date exceed our aggregate iiaportations by
some ten millions of dollars. Had there been no
export of American stocks from Europe, we should
now have been by this amount creditors OF the
world at large. The price of stocks andthe pre-
. MUM on gold have checked the import Of stocks
for the present; within The past month large
amount of American securities have been sent
abroad.
The following are the official tables OF tho foreign
trade OF the port for the week and since Jan. L.
IsroaIs.
Dry goods ..... 81 e7s45s sss,sol 2i4i. .56s
General merchandise. 2,io6,2io 0Ss4oa ss57,Is1
Total for the week. s4,4ae,47l l52l7ss II 4,seea
Previously reported 165dy226s at,l56 ss 1le 2S DOL
Since january sl69 ss1 ,.3s 95 67sl82 IL I2o SIS
ExroKs PRopuog AND MxRciiANpxx.
ls6o 1851. 1892.
Previously reported. 5s,5934Ss Sssol 4si ssSlIss2
Since January L.. 500 4ss ol5 sS,s9es7s sI 81 SOS
ExPoaIs SYIcIn
1850. 1861. 1862.
For tho weok........ sllss,sss 6ss 2oT
Previously reported. s8.4Os,2a5 oa275s 4ossgsls
Since January L.. $50 SOC lis 6,325 500 Al 39S 21S
The banks last Monday showed specie average
Of $40, ,9S4 being increase Of s5l ,493 from
the week previous; deposits average Of $l4l .95I,
74l being decrease of 81 ,375 500; and loans
average Of 1853 ,27s $50, being an increase Of
s3,a22 ,S4s. The statement which will be made mp
tomorrow will probably show a small decrease
of deposits, and q moderate increase in both the
specie and the loans departments. The bank move
mcnt attracts general attention at present, as 10
serves in measure TO guagc the cbb and flow OF
public confidence Under ordinary circumstances,
in the absence Of any demand for capital in the
interior, money must flow 10 this city for such
employment as may be offered in Wall street. This
movement, however is Liable en the oneh hand to 30
checked by dstrust produced By military disasters;
on the other, 10 be accelerated bypanics produced
by rebel raids In parts OF the West people arc
sending their money to New York for safety.
Elsewhere capitalists keeping their means idls
at home, for fear Of monetary pancs. The banks
are understood to have been free buyers OF gov
ernmcnt securities at the recent decline. Thcy
find it impossible to employ their deposits in mer-
camille paper. There is little mercantile paper
making, aud the note brokers bid so high for what
ever prime paper is set anoat, that the banks are
compelled to deal in government securities for tho
sake OF earning dividends. The specie reserve
continues to increase. The banks now hold far
more specie than they would If business were
active and the war at an end. A large proportion
of the reserve consists OF special deposits, it il
true: but t0all practical intents and purposes
these special deposits serve the same end as .
bank reserve fund.- When our armies resume the
offensive with reasonable prospect Of success,
specie will fall quickly that special dcpostous
will make haste to SELL and the coin will soon nd