UNITED STATES, FINANCES OF THE. 



779 



than in any year since 1864. They reached 

 the highest point in 1867, when they were 

 $143,781,591.91. The decrease in the surplus 

 revenue was $28,485,818.82. Notwithstanding 

 this falling off, the surplus revenue was greater 

 than in any year since 1867, with the exception 

 of 1882 and 1883. 



The receipts from the various sources of in- 

 ternal revenue during the last two fiscal years 

 were as represented in the table in the adjoin- 

 ing column. 



The State of the Treasury, The following is a 

 comparative statement of the condition of the 

 treasury on Dec. 31, 1883, and Dec. 31, 1884: 



The gold coin and bullion on hand increased 

 from $219,014,739.63 to $234,975,851.95, or 

 $15,961,112.32. The gold certificates actually 

 outstanding ran up from $63,585,140 to $93,- 

 287,420, or $29,702,280, making a reduction in 

 the net gold belonging to the Government of 

 $13,741,167.68 from $155,429,599.63 to $141,- 

 688,431.95. The standard silver dollars on 

 hand increased $27,053,480, and the outstanding 

 silver certificates increased $18,148,190 from 

 $96,717,721 to $114,865,911. The silver dol- 

 lars not represented by certificates in circula- 

 tion ran up from $22,731,664 to $31,636,954. 

 The United States notes owned by the treasury 

 in excess of outstanding clearing-house certifi- 

 cates fell off from $25,084,248 to $11,579,575, 

 or $13,504,673. The aggregate increase in the 

 paper circulation of the country during the 

 year by the issue of gold and silver certificates 

 was $47,850,470. 



The decrease in the gold and United States 

 notes was largely due to payments by the 

 treasury to the Clearing-House in New York. 

 A rule of that association, adopted Nov. 12, 

 1878, prohibited payment of balances between 

 the books at the Clearing- House in silver 

 certificates or silver dollars. The act of July 

 12. 1882, provides that no national banking 

 association shall be a member of a clearing- 

 house in which gold and silver certificates are 



not receivable in payment of balances. Upon 

 the passage of this act, the associated banks, 

 by resolution, amended the rule of 1878 so far 

 as it conflicted with the law ; but, by a tacit 

 agreement among the members of the associa- 

 tion, silver certificates are not tendered at the 

 Clearing-House, and the question of their re- 

 ceivability in payment of balances does not 

 arise. The treasury, since 1878, has been a 

 member of the association. It is usually a 

 debtor in the clearing-house settlements. Prior 

 to August, 1884, it paid balances chiefly in 

 gold or gold certificates. Under this policy 

 the available gold ran down from $155,429,600 

 on Jan. 1, 1884, to $116,479,979 on August 12. 

 In the same time the silver dollars and bullion 

 not represented by outstanding certificates in- 

 creased from $27,266,037 to $48,603,958. The 

 Assistant Treasurer was thereupon directed to 

 pay one half of the Clearing-House balances in 

 United States notes, of which a supply had 

 accumulated beyond the needs of the treasury. 

 This caused an immediate increase in the gold 

 balance, though at the expense of the supply 

 of United States notes. The stock of gold was 

 also increased by the sale, during the latter 

 part of the year, of exchange on the sub-treas- 

 uries in the West and South, payable in silver 

 certificates, in return for deposits of gold in 

 the sub-treasury in New York. By the end 



