ESTIMATED VALUE OF THE ANNUAL QUANTITIES OF GOLD AND SILVER PLACED IN THE MARKETS OF THE WORLD AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY-SAY IN THE YEAR 1800: Gold. £1,920,000 560,000 140,000 200,000 88,000 280,000 650,000 80,000 180,000 £7,840,000 £3,258,000 7,840,000 £11,098,000 ESTIMATED VALUE OF THE ANNUAL QUANTITIES OF GOLD AND SILVER PLACED IN THE MARKETS OF THE WORLD IMMEDIATELY BEFORE THE DISCOVERY OF THE CALIFORNIAN MINES, OR SAY IN THE EARLY PART OF 1848. Silver. £6,200,000 Gold. £2,100,000 1,320,000 360,000 210,000 4,100,000 550,000 "Comparing these two statements, the results are as follows: YEAR 1848 COMPARED WITH 1800. "Comparing the two periods in the most general manner, we find that the annual "The greater increase in the annual supply of gold than in that of silver before 1848, arose almost wholly from the Russian supplies. These supplies had proceeded at the rate of about £4,000,000 a year for about ten years prior to 1848; so that, generally, for nearly ten years prior to the discovery of California, the annual supplies of gold had been far greater in proportion than the annual supplies of silver. "The produce of California, up to the end of 1851, has been fully £30,000,000 sterling, or $150,000,000; of which £14,000,000 sterling was obtained in 1851. "The produce of Australia, to the end of 1851, during six months only, was not less than £500,000 sterling, and most likely £1,000,000 sterling, "The disposal of all this produce becomes the important and interesting question. STATEMENT FROM OFFICIAL SOURCES OF THE VALUE OF THE COINAGE OF GOLD, THE PRODUCE OF THE UNITED STATES TERRITORY, AT THE FOUR MINTS OF THE UNITED STATES, (PHILADELPHIA, NEW ORLEANS, CHARLOTTE, AND Dahlonega,) DURING THE YEARS AS From the establishment of the oldest of the mints in 1792 to the end of 1847, 55 years...... 2,561,000 2,561,000 Total...... £3,135,000 £22,169,000 STATEMENT FROM OFFICIAL SOURCES OF THE VALUE OF THE COINAGE OF GOLD AND SILVER AT PARIS DURING THE YEARS AS UNDER. NOTE. It is important to bear in mind that the £15,330,000 of gold coinage shown above was not derived wholly from new supplies of gold, but was obtained to a considerable extent by the conversion into coin of a part of the gold bullion previously existing in the markets of Europe, and especially in France. The published accounts do not enable us to state precisely what portion of the £15,330,000 was old and what new gold bullion; but perhaps more than half or even three-fourths was old. The general effect of the evidence furnished by these two tables is as follows: In the United States there has been actually coined and added to the circulation of that country since 1848.... ..gold £19,000,000 In France there has been a similar coinage of.. 15,000,000 Making together..... 84,000,000 Deduct for French gold coin obtained from old stock of bullion already in Europe prior to 1848, say.......... 10,000,000 24,000,000 California supply...... 39,000,000 Surplus added to floating stock in market...... 6,000,000 "Judging from the present amount (£20,000,000) of bullion in the Bank of England it is probable that these figures are not very far from the truth. "The amount of metallic money in France has, for the last two hundred years, been enormous. Paper money never took root there. In 1843, the amount, as estimated by M. Leon Faucher, was thus: Gold coin.. Silver coin.. Total ..... £14,000,000 stg. 120,000,000 £134,000,000 "Both metals are legal tender in France, as in the United States. Until 1850, silver was the cheaper metal, and therefore silver was mostly sent to the French mint to be coined, and gold coin was withdrawn from circulation as soon as issued. Since 1850, this state of things disappeared. The agio on gold ceased; and in and from 1851, gold has been at a discount in Paris, compared with silver. This gave rise to the enormous increase in the gold coinage of France, or, in other words, gold became the cheaper metal. Gold will take the place of silver, independently of any aid from government, while the existing mint regulations are continued. It is so in the United States, where, since the act of Congress in 1834, gold has been overvalued as compared with silver, and hence the strong tendency to introduce gold into the currency, in place of silver. The conclusion drawn from these facts is this: "That so long as the process, which has been going on so extensively since 1849, in the United States and France, of introducing a gold coinage in replacement of silver continues, the effect will be to lessen very much the effect of the new supplies, both (1) upon the relative values of gold and silver, and (2) upon the general state of trade and prices. "And this position is readily illustrated. For, if instead of £24,000,000 stg. of gold having been absorbed for coin (out of £30,000,000 produced) since 1848, leaving only £6,000,000 of gold to operate by way of positive addition to the previous stock of that metal, the whole £30,000,000 had been left so to operate, it is tolerably plain that the effects would have been much more serious and startling than any which have hitherto been observed. "We may, perhaps, reckon with certainty on the continuance of the present absorption of gold as coin, at the rate of £20,000,000 a year, for some time to come; but then no change must take place in the mint legislation of the countries at present having a double standard.' "It is stated, on good authority, that Australia will supply this year £10,000,000 stg; and California £15,000,000 stg. The immediate effect of this supply, caused by its accumulation at the fountainhead of circulation, the commercial capitals of the world, is to lower the rate of interest until the bulk of it be taken thoroughly into the circulation of the world, displacing other currency-silver and paper. "The increased amount of gold will greatly stimulate production, which, in the opinion of practical men of eminence and ability, will at first lower the prices of commodities, notwithstanding the large supplies of gold, before they can be rendered higher, which can only be the result of a very large demand and consumption, which will, however, ensue. Where there is a large and excessive amount of floating capital, the tendency is always towards its conversion, more or less gradual, into fixed capital. Any sudden conversion of this kind would change an easy money market into a comparatively tight one." PRODUCTION OF THE PRECIOUS METALS FROM 1492 TO 1852. An officer of the United States Treasury Department at Washington, in answer to a semi-official inquiry made at the Department, has presented an elaborate report, estimating the production of the precious metals from 1492 to 1852. The writer, after an examination of the standard authors upon the subject, Humboldt, McCulloch, and Jacobs, estimates the total product of the world, exclusive of Australia, as follows: The present annual product of the precious metals, the writer estimates as follows: All South America... Add for any probable increase, according to the best authorities.. Hungary, Saxony, and Northern Asia.. Russia, at the highest estimate of late years. Africa and South Asia (a rough estimate) Carolina, Georgia, etc California Total... $30,710,000 3,290,000 4,000,000 20,000,000 1,000,000 500,000 64,500,000 $124,000,000 The compiler of the estimate remarks:-" It is not clearly expressed by any of the authorities quoted, whether the amounts of the precious metals stated to have been produced at different periods, applies to the amount coined or to the entire production, but the inference is strongly in favor of the latter. "The limited production of gold and silver in the last years of the fifteenth century, may be very naturally accounted for in the limited number of people who at first ventured to explore the New World, and in the scarcity of those metals in the lands first occupied by Columbus; but it will, perhaps, excite surprise to find that the first deposits of California gold in the mints of the United States, in the year 1851, exceed the highest annual production of gold and silver in Mexico and South America by nearly 40 per cent." CAPITAL AND DIVIDENDS OF BANKS IN NEW YORK. We give below a statement of the capital and dividends of the several banks in the city of New York for the first half of the year 1852, as compared with the same time in 1851. The capital which paid dividends last year averaged 4 per cent for the preceding six months. This year $4,592,500 of new capital pays dividends, and the average is slightly less. For the sake of comparison, we give the aggregate capital and dividends of the banks in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, as follows: CONDITION OF THE BANKS OF SOUTH CAROLINA. In the Merchants' Magazine for September 1851, (vol. xxv., page 353,) we published under our "JOURNAL OF BANKING, CURRENCY, AND FINANCE" a detailed statement of the condition of each bank in South Carolina, from the official copy of their returns, made to the Controller-General, for June 30th, 1851; and in the number for November, 1851, (same volume, page 615,) and also in the Merchants' Magazine for April, 1852, (vol. xxvi., p. 475,) we gave the aggregate condition of all the banks in the State, the former for the 31st of August, 1851, and the latter for the 31st of December, 1851. We now subjoin a similar aggregate statement of their Auditor for the 31st of March, 1852:-* DEBTS DUE BY THE SEVERAL BANKS OF SOUTH CAROLINA ON THE 31ST OF MARCH, 1852. Capital stock Bills in circulation... Net profits on hand. Balances due to banks in this State.. Balances due to banks in other States. Total liabilities...... $5,991,885 73 3,933,779 12 647,948 25 1,253,914 69 328,894 87 .13,675 00 29,543 39 RESOURCES OF THE SEVERAL BANKS ON THE 31ST OF MARCH, 1852. 522,909 80 1,759,160 11 2,543,449 41 $17,025,159 87 $682,912 62 224,765 77 416,111 47 20,765 00 106,981 94 165,737 51 7,024,718 90 221,660 77 486,849 81 2,452,896 86 568,828 45 906,705 61 837,938 67 491,385 66 87,087 50 Total resources of the banks.... 1,519,121 92 320,833 79 50.793 10 439,064 53 $17,025,159 87 * This statement embraces the Bank of the State of South of Carolina, and the Branch of the same at Columbia; the South-Western Railroad Bank; the Planters' and Mechanics' Bauk; Union Bank of Charleston; State Bank of South Carolina; and the Bank of South Carolina. + And all other moneys due, exclusive of bills in circulation, profits on hand, balances due other banke, and money bearing interest. |