COMMERCE. 



COMMERCIAL INTERCOURSE. 189 



The rise in prices, as compared with last 

 year, extends to every article upon the list, ex- 

 cept some productions of the Southern States, 

 and is very strongly marked with regard to all 

 articles of food. If compared with the year 

 1860, there will be found to be a rise of about 

 150 per cent. 



The exports of general merchandise from 

 New York were on a very limited scale as 

 compared with former years. The exports of 

 breadstuffe to Great Britain and the Con- 

 tinent in 186-4 since September 1, were as 

 follows : 



TTHEAT FEOM 



Quantity, cwt. 



In this return are the exact figures to indi- 

 cate the ratio of decline in our foreign trade. 

 The value of these exports for the four months 

 embraced in the figures, according to the Liv- 

 erpool price in gold, is as follows : 



1361 142,500,000 



1-02 -':. 



1363 $S,909.(V42 



1864. 1,35<\319 



Thus the trade is nearly extinguished. This 

 is due, no doubt, as well to the good harvests 

 of England and Western Europe as to the state 

 of the currency here. The latter cause will, 

 however, continue to act with ever increasing 

 force, because the cost of producing wheat 

 here is enhanced by the higher prices of all 

 the farmer consumes. For instance, it adds to 

 the cost of labor, the cost of transportation, 

 the amount of commissions and interest, and 

 above all, to the taxes, local, State, and fed- 

 eral. These are all no doubt paid in paper, 

 but they enhance the cost upon the exported 

 wheat in proportion to the price of gold. 

 Breadstuffs are not articles of monopoly, like 

 cotton, for which the American article com- 

 mands the markets of the world, but are those 

 in which the sharpest competition exists ; and 

 those of the United States having further to 

 go, at greater cost of transportation, maintain 

 their footing only with difficulty while not sub- 

 jected to taxation. 



During 1864, the number of ships transferred 

 from the American to the British flag was 106 ; 

 the tonnage 92,652. The number transferred 

 since the beginning of the war is 715 ; the ton- 

 nage 480,882. 



The following table shows the quarters of 

 wheat imported into Great Britain for the last 

 nine months of 1864, with the value in pounds 

 sterling. Wheat is now entered in Great Brit- 

 ain by the hundredweight, instead of measure. 

 The quantity bought of the United States, in- 

 cluding California, was about 40 per cent, of 

 the whole purchase, at prices rather less than 

 those paid other countries. Thus the cost of 

 Prussian wheat was 10s. 4d. per cwt., while 

 that of the United States was 9s. 4d. : 



This reduction in the quantities exported, as 

 a matter of course, reduces the supply of bills, 

 and those who are required to remit for sugar 

 and other merchandise avail themselves of a 

 fall in gold to make those remittances, and the 

 fall is thereby checked. On the other hand, 

 much of the gold paid out by the Government 

 is sold, and the banks also, which are making 

 arrangements to convert their business from 

 State to federal authority, are selling gold. 

 Dealing in gold, both buying and selling, has 

 become a very important occupation in this 

 country. The amount collected by the Fed- 

 eral Government in 1864 through the purchase 

 of importers was $102,316,152, or very nearly 

 $2,000,000 per week. One-half of that amount 

 was paid out for interest, and found its way 

 again to the brokers, and the other half was 

 sold by the Treasury in the open market. 

 Thus the Government operation, in collecting, 

 paying, and selling, amounts to $200,000,000 

 per annum; at the same time the importers 

 bought in addition $50,000,000 to remit in 

 payment of goods, and about $12,000,000 ar- 

 rived from California. It is evident from these 

 facts that gold dealing is a leading business, 

 and employs a great number of brokers. It 

 was, however, of a troublesome and hazardous 

 nature, since the gold in bags had to be passed 

 from hand to hand, at more or less risk. For 

 this reason it was determined to make a com- 

 mon depository at the Bank of New York of 

 the gold held, and to transfer it from hand to 

 hand by orders. The amount of gold so de- 

 posited was in the first week of January about 

 $1.200,000. There was besides a good deal of 

 gold deposited with other banks by customers 

 for safe keeping, and in some cases did not 

 enter into the returns of the banks. The gold 

 movement was comparatively as follows : 



Specie in banks and Sub-Treasury December 1. . . f 2S.961,263 



Received from California in December 2.205.619 



Imported from foreign ports in December. 114.976 



Gathered in from hoards in December. 4,876,964 



Supply *36.i:-,-j7 



Exported in December. G.104,377 



Leaves in bank and Sub-Treasury, Jan. 1, 1S65. . . f 30.054,450 



COMMERCIAL INTERCOURSE. Some 

 modification was made in the conditions of 

 commercial intercourse with places within the 

 limits of the insurrectionary States during the 

 year. On June 26th, by order of the Presi- 

 dent, all restrictions on trade in Missouri and 



