PUBLIC STOCKS. 



751 



at sixty-five per cent., produced 1,859,850 dollars 

 which was called converted six per cent, stock 

 More exchanged stock was created in 1M2, by tin 

 surrender of nearly 3,000,000 of the old and defer 

 red six per cents. In 1812 additional stock was 

 created by borrowing money to the amount o 

 8,134,700 dollars at six per cent., reimbursable aftei 

 twelve years from Jan. 1, 1813. In 1813 more six 

 per cent, stock, to the amount of 26,607,959, dollars 

 was created by borrowing an additional amount, re- 

 imbursable after twelve years from Jan. ], 1814. 

 In 1814 six per cent, stock, to the amount o 

 15,954,619 dollars was added, reimbursable after 

 twelve years from December, 1814. Underacts of 

 congress of the years 1812, 1813, 1814, and 1815, 

 treasury notes were issued to the amount o; 

 36,680,794 dollars of which there had been paid ofl 

 by December, 1816,32,980,794 dollars, leaving un- 

 paid in January, 1817, 3,700,000 dollars. The whole 

 amount of the debt remaining unpaid Jan. 1, 1817, 

 was estimated at 112,107,862 dollars of which, 

 75,450,930 dollars was contracted during the war ; 

 the remainder, contracted before the war, was 

 36,656.932. In March, 1817, congress passed an 

 act to provide for the redemption of the public debt. 

 By this, all acts making appropriations for the pur- 

 chase or reimbursement of the principal, or for the 

 payment of the interest of the funded debt, are re- 

 pealed, and the annual sum of 10,000,000 dollars is 

 appropriated to the sinking fund, and a further sum 

 of 9,000,000 is appropriated for that year. The act 

 also provides, that after the year 1817, any sum in 

 the treasury above the annual appropriations shall 

 be appropriated to the sinking fund, with the excep- 

 tion of so much as will leave in the treasury at the 

 end of the year the amount of 2,000,000 dollars. The 

 debt now went on diminishing till 1821, when it 

 stoodat89,9S7,427 dollars; but the purchase of Flori- 

 da, in that year, for 5,000,000 dollars increased it, so 

 that it stood, in 1822, at 93.546,676 dollars. In 

 March 1821, five per cent, storks, redeemable after 

 Jan., 1835, were created to the amount of 7,735,296 

 dollars. In May 1824, four and a half per cents, to 

 the amount of 1,739,524 dollars were created, re- 

 deemable after January, 1832, and, in the same 

 year, four and a half per cent, exchanged stocks 

 were created, to the amount of 4,454,727 dollars 

 redeemable after December, 1832 and 1833. In 

 1825, the public debt had been reduced to 83,788,432 

 dollars; in 1828, to 67,475,622 dollars ; in 1830, to 

 48,565,405 dollars ; in January, 1832, to 24,282,879 

 dollars funded, and 39,355 dollars unfunded; in 

 January 1833, the total amount of the public debt 

 in the United States of America, was little more 

 than seven million dollars, and since that time it 

 has been entirely liquidated. It remains yet to be 

 seen how the recent almost universal bankruptcy, 

 that has taken place in the States, owing to the re- 

 nouncement of paper money, may affect the public 

 exchequer. 



XII. South American Stocks. The new S. Ame- 

 rican states, as Buenos Ayres, Chile, Columbia, 

 several years ago, obtained loans in London. These 

 have greatly depreciated, or have merely a nominal 

 value. 



Eraser's Magazine for January, 1832, contains an 

 article entitled the Stock exchange, the subject of 

 which is to show the enormous amount of capital 

 drawn from England in nine years, beginning, say, 

 with 1822, in the shape of loans and joint stock sub. 

 scriptions. From the facts there presented, the fol- 

 lowing table has been prepared. The first column 

 of figures shows the amount loaned ; the second, the 

 rate per cent, at which the loans were made ; the 

 third, the present value per cent. : 



In addition to the above, the writer enumerates, 

 twenty-seven joint stock companies, in behalf of 

 which 6, 145,065 were " exported from the national 

 treasury to distant climes, without the shadow of an 

 equivalent." 



It is impossible to give a complete view of all 

 public stocks. We can here only give a general 

 idea of those of the larger states, and chiefly of those 

 which are now important in the commercial world. 

 States have always laboured to make their notes as 

 easy to be obtained, and used in remote countries, 

 as at home ; so that a capitalist in Prussia may lay 

 out his money not only in all kinds of German stocks, 

 but in those of England, France, Denmark, Spain, 

 and even America ; receive the interest of them 

 with the same ease, and sell them again with the 

 same convenience, as those of his own country. In 

 London, Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfort, Berlin and 

 Leipsic, stocks of all descriptions may be obtained, 

 and the interest on them all paid. Thus a branch 

 of trade has arisen, which, fifty years ago, was un- 

 known ; and one of the consequences of this has 

 been, that stocks have come into competition, 

 like other articles of commerce, and those of equal 

 goodness and security can be exchanged at an equal 

 price ; so that a state whose credit is good, may 

 at any time create new stocks, or dispose of them 

 whenever a profit can be made upon them. Hence, 

 if the stocks of one state are higher than those of 

 another, it may usually be attributed to one of the 

 following causes : 1. That one state enjoys greater 

 redit than another ; 2. That the loans of one have 

 3een negociated on better conditions than those of 

 another, as regards the prospect of gain, premiums, 

 ;he payment of the capital at the time specified, 

 the facility of obtaining the interest, &c. ; 3. That 

 .he buying and selling, or procuring the interest of 

 breign stocks, costs a certain per centage, which, 

 n the case of domestic stocks, is saved. Under 

 certain circumstances, therefore, the price of stocks 

 may be viewed as a standard of the comparative 

 redit of different states. In May, 1823, the five 

 jer cent stocks ot the following countries, created 

 with similar conditions, sold at the following rates : 



1 The Saxon Stocks, t 140-150 



Those of England end Hamburg, . . " J25 130 

 Those of Hanover, Wurtemberg, and other small 



liu 



9. Spanish, 



80 



37, Sc. 



As the price of stocks is affected by various circtim- 

 tances, even though the government punctually 

 ulfils its obligations, speculators are in the habit of 

 mying and selling with a view of turning these 

 fluctuations to account. See Stock-jobbing. 



