292 



FINANCES OF THE UNITED STATES. 



the public expenditures of 1870 five years 

 after the close of the war with those of 1860 

 and 1850 : 



TAXES IN THE UNITED STATES. 



The aggregate Federal taxation of the eleven 

 years now closing, computed in currency, from 

 the official statements, is more than $4,500,- 

 000,000. The local taxation, assuming the cen- 

 sus statement for 1870 as an average, is more 

 than $3,000,000,000. The aggregate taxation 

 exceeds $7,500,000,000. 



The number of failures in the United States 

 for the nine months ending September 30, 

 1875, was 5,334, and the aggregate liabilities 

 were $131,172,503. This is greater in number 

 than has ever been recorded before during the 

 same period. 



The range of prices in New York for Gov- 

 ernment securities for the year 1875, and the 

 amount of bonds of each class outstanding on 

 the 31st of December, were as follows: 



The range of prices in London, during 1875, was as follows : 



The following comparisons, from the circular 

 of Messrs. Fisk & Hatch, of New York, on 

 January 6, 1876, show the relative price of 

 Government bonds, and some of the other 

 prominent first-class securities, at two periods : 



The highest price of gold during the year 

 was on October 5th, 117 to 117f, and the 

 lowest lllf to 112i on January 15th. 



"The course of foreign exchange," says the 

 Financial Chronicle, " was not seriously dis- 

 turbed during the year by any irregularity 

 in the commercial transactions between the 

 United States and foreign countries, but rates 

 were greatly depressed at times by specula- 

 tive operations in the New York gold-market 



which led to excessive stringency in gold loans, 

 and also advanced the premium. As all the 

 transactions in exchange are done on a gold 

 basis, the result of such manipulations was to 

 put a check on dealings in exchange, for the 

 time being, and to force rates down to unnat- 

 urally low figures; thus, on the 16th of March 

 the rate for prime sixty-days bankers' sterling 

 was down to 4.79, and again on the 20th of 

 October down to 4.77. Aside from the local 

 and temporary influence here referred to, the 

 tendency of exchange was strong in the first 

 eight months of the year, frequently ruling 

 above specie shipping point, and admitting of 

 the export, prior to September 1st, of $61,877,- 

 998 of specie from the port of New York. The 

 principal financial transaction between this 

 and foreign countries was the negotiation of 

 United States five per cent, bonds abroad, by 

 the syndicate of bankers, and the calling in of 

 like amounts of the 5-20 six per cent, bonds 

 for redemption, all of which was done without 

 any material derangement of the exchanges. 

 In the first two months of the year there were 

 negotiated in London some $36,000,000 of 

 loans, mostly for railroads, of which $12,000,- 

 000 was to replace prior loans then outstand- 

 ing. Subsequently in- the year, there were 



