The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1877-01-19

kports amounted to $462, ,063, ,564. while ii
the same period Of 1916 they amounted t.
! $517, 1856, 9l7, an increase in exports O.
/ $65, ,8o2 1853.
But this increase alone would NOT
have produced this change of the bal
ance of trade in our favor. 1t must ex.
tceed our imports in order to bring about
chat result. And this did occur. Our
imports in the first eleven months of 1876
amounted to SAT-, ,S3s, 1871. In 1879 the
amount was but $780,, ,3O1, ,4sl; a difference
of $76, 500, 700 in eur favor as between the
two years. This dimlAution Of imports
added to our increase ofexports amounts
in the eleven months to SA2, ,229, ,053;
which amount justly represents our bal.
ance of gain as between last year and
the year before. The settle ment of this
balance is what has turned the tide OF
gold towards our ports from European
centers OF trade. OF course it is obvious,
that II we can continue to maintain this
course of trade as between this country
and Europe, the gold of that country,
combined with the mineral products OF
this, must 80 accumulate In this as to
speedily overcome the present narrow
margin Of six per cent. between our
greenbaeks and goldj and therefore the
resumption OF specie payments is, to
all intents and purposes, practically
achieved.
Tne principal difficulty that besets us
in this regard lies in the fact that our
bonded indebtedness, both national and
municipal, is 80 heavily held in Europe
as to demand the annual return OF I'M
mense millions to pay the accruing In
terest in that country. This has become
an inevitable necessity, thus deporting
millions of gold every year that would
otherwise remain in our midst as por-
tion OF the available treasure Of the
country and wealth of the people.
In this particular, France has a very
decided advantage over US in the con-
troll of her egal-tender money OF circula-
ton. 1t has been continual query,
how France has been able, during all
| the years of her suspension of specie
payments, to keep her legal-tender cur
rency from discount. The authorized
amounts oflegal-tenders Of France from
August, 1870, to July, 1872, reached the
enormous sum OF s, 400, OO0, 900 francs, or
about $1,7OO000,OOO of our money;
more than four times the amount of our
legal-tenders. Aud yet theirs always
circulated at par.
This circumstance must be taken in
connection with another fact recently
communicated through the columns Of
the London Economist. And this is that
the Bank of France holds nearly three
times as much specie as is held by the
Bank of England. Taking the five great
banks OF Europe-the Bank of Germany,
the Austrian National Bank, the Bank
of Belgium, the Netherlands Bank and
the Bank of England-and the single
Bank OF France holds as much coin and
bullion as all the others combined, viz, {:
S433, ,000, 900 in round numbers.
The problem then is-how could
France, with her enormous indebted
ness, accumulate SO much specie aud
thereby keep her legal-tenders at par
while in state of suspension? The
answer to all this lies in the fact that
hers was strictly domestic debt. She
had no immense sums of gold to send
abroad to meet her liabilities of either
principal or interest. All her payments
Of coin were made to her own people. 1t
consequently remained at home to 6nd
its way back through the channels of
taxes and trade to the vaults of their
Bank. Meanwhile, the vast issues OF
their legal-tenders had stimulated pro-
duction in all the avenues of trade, their
exports became immense; this brought
the balance of trade in Ter favor, and
the gold ofall Europe and Asia streamed
into the Bank OF France, which now
holds as much, and probably more, OF
specie than all the other five great
monied Institutions OF Europe CON-
bined.
1t was not, then, by any severe con-
traction of the volume of her legal
tenders that France has kept them prac-
tieally at par, but by the systematic ac-
cumulation OF specie resources so as to
give assurance of redemption in due
time. And this was aided most materi-
ally by paying her debts into the hands
of her own people, instead of shipping
her treasure abroad, as we are CON-
PEELED to do. This depletion We can
best overcome by creating balance
Of trade in our favor by means OF
increasing our trade exports be-
yond our imports to such a de-
gree as to recall the specie we an
nually send abroad to meet our liabil-
ities on the public debt account. II We
continue this line of policy fer two years
to come as successfully as for the two
years past, our legal tenders, like those of
France, will also be at par; and then re-
sumption will come itself, almost un-
consciously and without shock to any
of industry or trade.