FINANCES OF THE. UNITED STATES. 



991 



great as to bo without a parallel in modern times. 

 At one time in July of thin year, the comim rciul 

 relation of the two metal* VMM 1 to 20.17.* Since 

 the lust-iiuniud dute tin TC ha> been u gradual i< - 

 , thr price ut present ^October 20, 1876) being 

 108iVo cents per standard ounce, corresponding to a 

 ratio of 1 to 17.96. Tlie large purchases of silver by 

 lited States no doubt had a very decided effect 

 in unvoting the decline, and also in promoting the 

 : y in price which has since taken place. If 

 the substitution of silver coin for the fractional cur- 

 r. n. y hud not been undertaken in this country, the 

 price of silver would no doubt have fallen lower 

 than it did in July last, and its appreciation since 

 tlu-n been less than it has been. 



The change in the relative value of the precious 

 metals is not, however, due altogether to the depre- 

 ciation of silver, there evidently having been during 

 the same period, 1871 to 1876, an appreciation of 

 gold ; but it is slight compared with the depreciation 

 of silver. In making this statement in reference to 

 gold, I am aware t hat nearly all the prominent 

 authorities in Europe, including the highly intelli- 

 gent British commission which recently examined 

 and reported on this subject, treat the change in the 

 relative valuation of gold and silver as being solely 

 a depreciation of silver. The new gold coinage of 

 Germany, which commenced in 1872, now amounts 

 to more than $337,000,000 in our money terms. 

 While this coinage has been in progress, Austria 

 and the Netherlands, countries of the silver stand- 

 ard, have each coined gold for the purpose of regu- 

 lating and conducting foreign exchanges, and France 

 has largely increased her stock of that metal. I 

 cannot but think that the demand for gold by these 

 countries and the Scandinavian states, in which 

 there has been recently a change to the gold stand- 

 ard, exceeded the supply available for coinage from 

 the mines of the world, and to a sufficient extent to 

 produce a slight advance in its vnlue. 



The dividing line between the depreciation of sil- 

 ver and the appreciation of gold cannot be accu- 

 rately determined ; but it is very clear that the 



change in the relative value of the two metal* ban 

 been principally caused by depreciation of hilver. 

 The CUUHUH which effected thin unexampled change 

 may be summarized in the order of thtir importance 

 in producing the decline, as follows : First, the 

 change from the silver to the gold standard by the 

 German Empire and the Scandinavian state* ; sec- 

 ond, the use of a forced paper currency in Russia, 

 Austria, and some other countries^ third, dimin- 

 ished demand for export to the Indies and China; 

 fourth, the limitation placed on the coinage of sil- 

 ver by countries of the double standard ; fifth and 

 last, increased production of that metal. 



The. alteration in the relative value of the two 

 metals shows conclusively that then exchange or 

 purchasing power is due in a greater degree to their 

 use as money than has heretofore been generally 

 conceded, and this point must not be lost sight of 

 in considering their probable future relative value. 



The principal sources of revenue to the 

 Government are the receipts from customs 

 and the collections of internal taxes. 



The receipts from customs for the year end- 

 ing June 80, 1875, were $157,167,722.35, and 

 at the corresponding date of 1876 they were 

 $148,071,984.61, a decline of $9,095,737.74. 

 The receipts for the first quarter of the cur- 

 rent fiscal year, 1876-'77, were $37,554,728.53, 

 while for the corresponding period of last year 

 they were $44,233,626.25, showing a decrease 

 of $6,678,897.72. 



For the months of October and November, 

 1876, the receipts were $20,247,043.97, and for 

 the same months of 1875 were $23,936,950.23. 



The following tabular statement shows the 

 comparative receipts from the various sources 

 of internal revenue for the fiscal years ending 

 June 30, 1875 and 1876 respectively : 



The amount of collections, as above re- 

 ported, includes commissions on sales of 

 stamps, paid in kind, and certain sums re- 

 ported as collected, but not deposited, during 

 the fiscal years in question, thus causing an 

 apparent discrepancy between the above 

 amounts of collections and the amounts of 

 such collections shown by warrants covering 

 the deposits into the Treasury. 



The coin values of the exports and imports 

 of the United States for the last fiscal year, as 

 appears from official returns made to and com- 

 piled by the Bureau of Statistics, are as follows: 



Exports of domestic merchandise $525,582,247 



Export* of foreign merchandise 14,802,424 



Total $540.884.671 



Imports of (foods 460,741,190 



Excess of exports over imports $79,648,481 



* This temporary and exceptional ratio of 1 to 20.17 in 

 July, 18T6, compared with that of 1 to 18.88, the avrage 



For the fiscal year 1875 there was an excess 

 of imports over exports amounting to $19,- 

 562,725, showing a difference of $99,206,206. 



Exports of specie and bullion $56.506,805! 



Imports of specie and bullion 16,986,681 



Excess of exports over imports $40,5(59,621 



Total excess of exports of merchandise, and 

 the precious metals over imports $120,218,102 



The value of the exports to the provinces of 

 Ontario and Quebec, during the last fiscal year, 

 as the detailed statements furnished by the 

 Commissioner of Customs of the Dominion of 

 Canada show, amounted to $10,507,568 in ex- 

 cess of that returned by the customs officers 

 of the United States. With this addition, the 

 value of the total exports of the year under 

 consideration would amount to $550,892,234. 



during 1781, showed a change In relative value of 51 ,^ per 

 cent, in a period of ninety -six yean, daring which there were 

 various fluctuations. 





