286 



FINANCES OF THE UNITED STATES. 



first quarters of the fiscal years ending, re- 

 spectively, June 30, 1875 and 1876, were as fol- 

 lows: 



First quarter of 1875 $26,314,615 33 



First quarter of 18T6 28.199,723 50 



Increase ? $1,885,108 17 



The aggregate receipts for the months of 

 October and November, of the current year, 

 were $19,638, 907.19, while for the same months 

 of last year they were $17,476,202.99, showing 

 an increase of $2,162,704.20. 



Since the last annual report to Congress, 

 fifty-six collection districts have been abolished 

 by consolidation with other districts, with an 

 estimated annual saving to the Government of 

 about $170,000. 



During the past fiscal year frauds of unusual 

 character and magnitude were discovered in 

 this branch of the service, which appear to 

 have been carried on with more or less injury 

 to the revenue for several years past. 



The comparative value of the exports and 

 imports of the United States for the last fiscal 

 year, in coin, appears, from official returns to 

 the Bureau of Statistics, to be as follows : 



Exports of domestic goods $499,284,100 



Exports of foreign goods 14,158,611 



Total exports $513,442,711 



Imports of goods 533,005,436 



Excess of imports over exports $19,562,725 



For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1874, the 

 excess of exports over imports was $18,876,698. 



Exports of specie and bullion $92,132,142 



Imports of specie and bullion 20,900,717 



Excess of exports over imports $71,281,425 



Total excess of exports of goods, specie, 

 and bullion, over imports of same $51,668,700 



"While the returns of the values of exports 

 by sea are substantially accurate, it has not been 

 practicable to obtain complete statements of 

 the exports to Canada in railway-cars, owing 

 to the fact that there is no law requiring per- 

 sons exporting merchandise by land convey- 

 ance to file full manifests of the exported goods 

 with collectors of customs. 



The Commissioner of Customs of the Do- 

 minion of Canada has, however, furnished de- 

 tailed statements, from which it appears that 

 the value of exports to Canada, during the last 

 fiscal year, was $15,660,218 in excess of that 

 returned by the customs officers of the United 

 States, which would increase the total exports 

 of the year by that amount (i. e., from $513,- 

 442,711 to $529,102,929), and reduce the ex- 

 cess of imports of merchandise over exports to 

 $3,902,507. 



There was withdrawn from bond for con- 

 sumption, in excess of that entered for ware- 

 house during the past fiscal year, merchandise 

 of the value of $2,992,061. 



The total exportation of specie and bullion 

 was greater than that for the preceding year 

 by $25,501,737; while the exports of domestic 

 goods have decreased in value $70,149,321. 



Importations have decreased to the amount 

 of $34,400,906, as compared with those of the 

 preceding fiscal year, and of $109,024,103, as 

 compared with the fiscal year ending June 30, 

 1873. 



There was an increase in the value of the 

 importation of the following articles : Tea, 

 $1,561,469; fur-skins, undressed, $664,907; 

 fur-skins, dressed, and furs, $486,558 ; argols, 

 $374,108; drugs, chemicals, dyes, etc., $1,309,- 

 864 ; dye-woods in sticks, $405,891 ; gums, 

 $526,364; hides and skins, $2,092,023; silk, 

 raw, $650,298; silk, manufactures of, $384,- 

 141; fancy goods, $1,104,962; fruits, $4,255,- 

 002 ; jute, grasses, and manufactures of, $566,- 

 983 ; precious stones, $1,124,803 ; seeds, $2,- 

 033,766 ; wool and manufactures of, $547,469. 



There was a decrease in value of importa- 

 tions of articles brought back to the United 

 States, of $1,267,286; coffee, $4,457,479; In- 

 dia-rubber, $1,521,239; breadstuff's, $1,557,- 

 840; pig-iron, $1,829,354; bar-iron, $1,294,- 

 174 ; iron rails, $917,977 ; steel rails, $6,908,- 

 148; machinery, $596,714; band, hoop, and 

 scroll iron, $176,512 ; anchors, cables, and 

 chains, $97,776 ; old and scrap iron, $703,006 ; 

 fire-arms, $218,226 ; steel bars, ingots, sheets, 

 and wire, $420,149 ; cutlery and tools, $385,- 

 037 ; other manufactures of iron, $1,770,533 ; 

 barks, $532,625 ; cochineal, $353,134 ; indigo, 

 $331,152; madder, $387,160; nitrate of soda, 

 $369,526 ; soda and salts of, $506,137 ; tin, in 

 bars, blocks, or pigs, $853,557; wood and 

 manufactures of, $2,770,536 ; wood, unmanu- 

 factured, $366,856 ; live animals, $543,815 ; cot- 

 ton manufactures, $455,468; earthen, stone, 

 and china ware, $617,145 ; flax and manufact- 

 ures of, $699,146 ; glass and glassware, $452,- 

 849; hair and manufactures of, $343,986; 

 hemp, raw, $566,664; lead, $714,812; opium 

 and extract of, $502,435; provisions, $517,- 

 499 ; salt, $531,724 ; sugar and molasses, $7,- 

 816,686; tobacco and manufactures of, $1,- 

 844,021 ; wines, spirits, and cordials, $866,942. 



There was an increase in certain articles ex- 

 ported, as follows, the values being stated in 

 currency : Cotton manufactures, $976,042 ; 

 lard, $3,592,503; cheese, $1,760,608; iron 

 manufactures, $1,424,188; sewing-machines, 

 $203,633; drugs and chemicals, $150,592; 

 hides and skins, $2,169,343 ; furs and fur-skins, 

 $1,062,059 ; leather and leather goods, $2,538,- 

 278; brass, $497,098; clocks and parts of, 

 $215,407; copper-ore, $619,128; copper, in 

 pigs, bars, sheets, and old, $919,079; fruits, 

 $639,841; ginseng, $210,166; hops,' $1,258,528; 

 firearms, $3,162,182; lead and manufactures 

 of, $127,265; manures, $332,500; oil-cake, 

 $1,038,940; quicksilver, $495,275; seeds, clo- 

 ver, timothy, and garden, $553,293. 



The exports of domestic gold and silver in 

 excess of the imports were $62,956,412, as 

 against $31,244,780, for the previous year. 



There was a decrease in the value of the ex- 

 portations of the following articles : Agricult- 

 ural implements, $464,381; hogs, $886,622; 



