FINANCES OF THE UNITED STATES. 



307 



IQ the year 18R1 the amount exported to the 

 East was, it appears, $36,800,000, mostly silver, 

 and from Europe to the United States $34,400,- 

 000. mostly gold, making $71,200,000, without 

 producing any other effect than adverse ex- 

 changes in France, which usually draws some 

 sixty millions in bills on England for goods, 

 silks, wines, &c., sold to the United States. This 

 year those sales did not take place, and she was 

 obliged to remit an equivalent in specie to 

 England, and to rectify it, loans of specie were 

 made in the London market for account of the 

 Bank of France. 



Stocks. The range of the leading stock secu- 

 rities in the past year, as compared with former 



years, is as follows, the highest, lowest, and aver- 

 age quotations for 1859, 1860, and 1861, at the 

 New York Stock Exchange for the stocks most 

 largely dealt in. The fluctuations have been very 

 great, and being produced by causes bearing un- 

 equally upon different portions of the country, 

 show extraordinary changes in relative prices. 

 Bonds of Southern and Border States have 

 suffered a very great decline; on the other 

 hand, railroad shares in the Northern States 

 have shown a great improvement over 1859, 

 and under the influence of the confidence in the 

 Union cause, have reached extraordinary high 

 figures, which may be regarded as excessive for 

 peace prices, and higher than can be maintained. 



AVEEAGE OF STOCK SALES. 



State War Loans. Indiana passed a loan of 

 $2,000,000. It was made pursuant to one of 

 the very few provisions of the amended Con- 

 stitution of Indiana in regard to the creation 

 of new debt, viz. : For the public defence against 

 threatened hostilities. The only other contin- 

 gencies authorizing the exercise of this power 

 are to pay the annual interest on the preexist- 

 ing debt, and to repel invasion and insurrection. 

 The old or preexisting public debt of Indiana 

 is: 



In 5 per cents $5,322,000 



In 2} per cents 2,056,000 



Together $7.377.000 



Involving an annual charge of only $307.225 



These new bonds bear interest at the rate 

 of six per cent, per annum, payable semi-an- 

 nnally in New York, and the principal reim- 

 bursable in twenty years from date. For the 



payment of this interest, and the ultimate 

 _ liquidation of the principal, a special tax has 

 been levied of five cents on each hundred dol- 

 lars in value of the taxable property of the 

 State, which is to be collected annually, nntil 

 the bonds are paid or redeemed. In addition, 

 a regular tax of two cents, and in 1863 and 

 thereafter of five cents is levied for reducing the 

 State debt, making in all, for the years 1861 

 and 1862, seven cents, and for the year 1863 

 and thereafter, 10 cents on each one hundred 

 dollars' valuation of taxables in the State ap- 

 . plicable to the reduction of this loan. The 

 Legislature also, at its last session, pledged for 

 the redemption of this loan, in addition to the 

 tax levy, whatever may be received from the 

 General Government in the way of reimburse- 

 ment of the moneys advanced by the State for 

 war purposes this fund, it is expected, will be 



