FINANCES OF THE UNITED STATES. 



303 



Keturns for the fiscal year 1870-'71 show 

 that the ocean commerce of the United States 

 is passing rapidly into the hands of foreign 

 merchants and ship-huilders. In the year 18(50 

 nearly seventy-one per cent, of the foreign 

 commerce of this country was in American 

 ships; in 1864 it had fallen to forty-six per 

 cent. ; in 1868, to forty-four per cent. ; and in 

 1871 it is reported at less than thirty-eight 

 per cent. 



The following tables were compiled at the 

 office of the Financial and Commercial Chron- 

 icle, New York, and show the monthly range 

 of Government securities, and the comparative 

 prices of leading articles of produce in the New 

 York market, the prices of gold, stocks, etc. 



MONTHLY RANGE OP GOVERNMENT SECURITIES, AS REPRESENTED BY ACTUAL SALES AT 

 THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE BOARD DURING THE YEAR 1871. 



