declined until they received 60 per share, at which rate sales were made on that day, since which time they have as gradually advanced, and are now held at 624. We note sales at the board at 62, with an upward tendency. "York and Cumberland Railroad shares, however, were quoted on the 15th January, 1851, at 20; they advanced during the year to $24 per share, and closed on the 15th December at 18 bid. There is some demand for the stock to-day at 181 a 18 per share. In Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad shares there has been nothing done for the last three months. This Company, we learn, will shortly make their annual report, which will show a large increase of business as compared with that of the previous year. The York and Cumberland Railroad Co., we also learn, are steadily increasing in their gross receipts every month, and with the aid of the surplus revenue to be derived from the Baltimore and Susquehanna, may be able, at its next semi-annual report, to pay a fair dividend to its very patient stockholders. Looking to the early connection of this work with the great Sunbury and Erie Railroad, which connection has now become a fixed fact, we do not hesitate to hazard the prediction that to the stockholders it must become, within a few years, one of the most productive stocks in our country." TAXES IN THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. The following schedule exhibits the rate of taxes that are collected in the Sandwich Islands: (Girls residing with their parents are exempt by law from this tax.) SCHOOL TAX. Every male subject of his Majesty, as above...... $2.00 (This tax is for the exclusive support of common schools in the district.) Every foreigner, subject or alien, residing or doing business in the city of Honolulu, if without children under legal age. 3.00 Every foreigner, as above, having children under legal age... 5 00 (This tax to be subject to the order of the School Committee of Honolulu.) TAX ON ANIMALS. For every dog, without exception, if alive on the first day of January. For every mule or ass, as above... PROGRESS OF MAIL TRANSPORTATION IN THE UNITED STATES. STATEMENT OF THE NUMBER OF POST-OFFICES AND LENGTH OF POST ROADS IN THE UNITED STATES-THE ANNUAL AMOUNT PAID FOR MAIL TRANSPORTATION-AND OF RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES OF THE POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT AT PERIODS OF FIVE YEARS, FROM 1790 TO 1835, INCLUSIVE. No. post-offices. L'gth post r'ds. Paid for transport'n. Years. Receipts. Expenditures RECEIPTS, EXPENDITURES, AND EXTENT OF MAIL TRANSPORTATION IN THE UNITED STATES. STATEMENT OF THE NUMBER OF POST-OFFICES, THE LENGTH OF MAIL ROUTES, AND EXTENT OF MAIL TRANSPORTATION IN THE UNITED STATES, AND OF THE RECEIPTS. EXPENDITURES. Total steamboat. Years. No. of postoffices. Length of post roads. and 13,468 155,739 13,778 155,026 13,733 149,732 13,814 142,295 14,103 144,687 14,183 143,940 14,601 149,679 15,146 153,818 16,159 163,208 16,747 167,703 3,889,053 32,481,723 $4,003,776 3,946,450 31,050,075 3,812,738 4,424,262 30,411,729 3,953,315 5,692,402 29,560,403 3,738,307 5,747,355 29,662,269 8,676,161 6,484,592 29,149,677 3,660,231 7,781,828 29,616,670 a2,881,697 8,084,922 30,802,977 63,198,957 8,713,200 32,299,379 3,340,304 8,945,153 33,598,916 c3,882,762 18,417 178,672 10,634,574 35,906,849 d4,575,663 19,796 192,026 13,855,209 Newspapers Compensaand All other Total Paid for tion to All other pamphlets. receipts. receipts. transportation. postmasters. expenses. $585,229 of expenditures. $4,516 $4,543,521 $3,213,042 $1,029,447 $475,745 $4,718,235 566,245 28,742 4,407,726 3,034,813 1,021,379 443,334 4,499,527 572,225 h503,966 5,029,506 4,192,196 1,041,535 441,020 5,674,751 543,277 14,640 4,298,225 2,982,512 995,009 397,231 4,374,753 549,748 11,382 4,237,287 2,912,946 988,230 395,335 4,296,512 608,765 170,845 4,439,841 2,898,630 1,033,112 388,989 4,320,731 f652,142 j645,249 4,089,089 2,597,454 1,042.079 444,798 4,084,332 9643,160 k171,329 4,013,447 2,476,455 1,060,228 434,591 3,971,275 767,334 53,438 4,161,077 2,545,232 1,254,345 527,272 4,326,850 3,397 4,705,176 2,577,407 1,320,921 580,720 4,479,049 4,835 5,499,984 2,965,786 1,549,376 697,790 5,212,953 6,230 6,410,604 8,538,063 1,781,886 958,651 76,278,401 819,016 919,485 88,849,069 e5,369,242 1,035,130 We have omitted, in the above table, cents, for the sake of convenience; the discrepancy is, however, trifling. a Including $210.205 28 received for letter postages of the Government. b Including $163,505 48 received for letter postages of the Government. e Including $35,611 22 of British postages. d Including $147,063 82 of British postages. e Including $58,626 44 of British postages. f Including $22,089 81 received for newspaper and pamphlet postages of the Government. Including $20,942 59 received for newspaper and pamphlet postages of the Government, h Including $462,657 drawn from the Treasury under the act approved 9th Septem- i Including $150,000 drawn from the Treasury under the 21st section of the act of j Including $600,000 drawn from the Treasury under the 21st section of the act of k Including $125,000 drawn from the Treasury under the 2d section of the act of the / Including $233,235 40 paid for British postages, DEBT OF THE UNITED STATES. The subjoined statements of the debt and finances of the United States, is derived from the report of the Secretary of the Treasury : The public registered debt on the 30th November, 1850, was $64,228,238 37; since which period the following reductions have been made, namely : On account of the debt of the cities of the District of Columbia, as sumed by the act of 20th May, 1836..... On account of the old funded and unfunded debt... On account of the loan of 1843... On account of the loan of 1847. On account of Mexican indemnity stock On account of treasury notes paid in specie.. Total ..... ... $60,000 00 2,869 19 230,300 00 1,070,450 00 303,573 92 650 00 $1,667,843 11 In addition to which, the awards under the 15th article of the treaty with Mexico. for which the issue of stock was authorized, amounting to $2,591,213 45, and the instalment under the 12th article of that treaty, amounting to $3,242,400, have been paid in cash. The public debt on the 20th of November, 1851, was $62,560,395 26, as follows, namely: Old funded and unfunded debt, payable on presentation.... . . $116,716 79 840,000 00 135,711 64 Loan of January 28, 1847, due 1st January, 1868. Loan of April 15th, 1842, due 31st December, 1862, payable or fundable on presentation.. Loan of March 3d, 1843, due 1st July, 1853... Loan of July 22, 1846, due 12th November, 1856... Treasury notes issued under act of 28th January, 1847, payable or fundable on presentation..... Treasury notes issued under act of 22d July, 1846, payable or fundable on presentation. .... 17,550 00 9,500 00 8,198,686 03 6,237,931 35 4,999,149 45 26,265,150 00 14,740,000 00 $62,560,395 26 Total.... The total receipts from all sources for the last fiscal year amounted to $52,312,979 87, which, with the balance in the treasury on the 1st of July, 1850, of $6,604,544 49, gave, as the total available means for the year ending 30th June last, the sum of $58.917,524 36. Of this amount, $49,017,567 92 were received from customs. The receipts for the quarter ending 30th September last were $15,561,511 83, of which $14,754,909 34 were from customs; for the corresponding quarter of the previous year the customs yielded the gross sum of $14,764,043 05. It is presumed that the receipts for the three remaining quarters of the current fiscal year will not exceed those of the corresponding quarters of the last year, and hence the receipts from that source have been estimated at $49,000,000. The estimated total receipts for the current fiscal year amount to $51,500,000. The total expenditures are estimated at $50,952,902 59. Total receipts for the next fiscal year are estimated at $51,800,000. SAVINGS BANKS IN MASSACHUSETTS. An official circular, requiring returns from savings institutions in Massachusetts, was issued by Governor Boutwell on the 9th of October, 1850. It had reference to their condition on the last Saturday of May, 1851. These returns, which were duly received, have been arranged and published under the supervision and direction of Mr. Walker, Secretary of the Commonwealth. The following summary is derived from report. It speaks well for the prudence and economy of the industrial classes in the old "Bay State." AGGREGATE CONDITION OF SAVINGS BANKS IN MASSACHUSETTS. Number of depositors.... 86,537 $15,554,088 58 Public funds... Loans on public funds. Bank stock... Loans on bank stock... .... $126,137 49 306,290 00 100,853 88 Railroad stock .... Loans on railroad stock.... 1,200.657 29 Invested in real estate 28,200 00 Loans in mortg. of real estate 4,256,437 85 2,824,576 61 Loans to county or town... 1,875,827 11 399,705 00 Loans on Personal security. 4,652,128 48 252,868 31 Cash on hand.. Depos. in b'ks, bearing int'st Rate and amount of ordinary dividend, for last year.. { Average annual per cent of dividends of last five years.... 232,186 06 A fraction over 4 78-100 A fraction over 6 21-100 48,707 36 Eight savings banks were incorporated at the last session of the General Court. The average annual per cent of dividends for the last five years in the above table is calculated in the returns of 34 banks. UNITED STATES MINT. We extract from the Report of the Secretary of the Treasury, (dated Dec. 26, 1851,) all that relates to the Mint of the United States. Aside from the information embodied, it contains some valuable suggestions: The operations of the Mint during the past year have been conducted with efficiency. and with highly satisfactory results. Under the present system the depositors promptly receive the value of their bullion so soon as it is assayed; and though the deposits are made in large masses at short intervals, on the arrival of the California steamers, yet the assays are made and the payments commence usually within forty-eight hours, and the whole generally completed within an average of five or six days after these heavy amounts of bullion-frequently by two and three hundred different depositors -are received at the Mint; and the whole duty is performed without any charge to the depositors, except a mere fractional per centage for the actual cost of separating the bullion. It is believed that equal facilities are not presented to individuals by the mints of any other nation as are now given by the Mint of the United States. The realization of the value of these large quantities of bullion by the owners of it without loss, within a few days after it arrives in the United States, is accomplished by means of the heavy bullion fund which can at present be spared without inconvenience from the excess of means in the treasury. It may, however, not always be convenient to keep so large an amount reserved for this purpose from the public funds; and even if it were otherwise, the amount of this fund applied to the purchase and extinguishment of so much of the national debt, would save nearly $400,000 annually, in interest now paid by the treasury. It is believed this saving could be effected, and all the advantages at present enjoyed by the depositors of gold or other bullion still retained, if, instead of paying the Mint certificates in cash, as is now done, Congress would make them receivable for all dues to the Government, under suitable restrictions as to the time and place of their receipt. I can see no reasonable objection to such use of these certificates, as they are the evidences of so much bullion already in the actual possession of the Government, and for which the coin itself would be forthcoming, generally in a few days, and always in a few weeks. In connection with the subject of the Mint, I deem it my duty to call the attention of Congress to the present standard value of gold and silver, as established by existing laws. The relation of gold to silver in the legal coinage of the United States, is as 1 to 15.988; in Great Britain, as 1 to 14.288; and in France, as 1 to 15.499. Thus it will be seen, that one ounce in pure gold will, in the United States, be equal to that produced from the coinage of 15.988 ounces of pure silver; in Great Britain, it will be equal to that derived from only 14.288 ounces pure silver; and in France, to 15.499 So soon, therefore, as the state of our foreign Commerce, as is now the case, requires an exportation of specie, it is obvious that our silver coin must be exported whilst it can be procured, till the demand for exportation is supplied. ounces. From the operation of this law of Commerce arises the present scarcity of our silver currency. At this time, though our silver coin commands a premium in exchange for gold, it is, notwithstanding, still found more advantageous for shipment abroad than gold. In consequence of the premium on silver, though the relative legal value between it and the latter is as 1 to 15.988, the real intrinsic market value is only about 1 to 15.675. A debtor, then, who offers silver in payment, must give it at the rate of 15.988 ounces in coin, by which he loses 313-thousandths of an ounce; for with 15.675 ounces he could purchase one ounce of gold, which latter would be a legal tender for the same debt. It is to be borne in mind, however, that though the relative value of coin in Great Britain is as 1 to 14.288, that is not the relative bullion value of the two metals, which is about 1 to 15.716, the silver coin of that country being about ten per cent less in value than silver bullion of the same weight; that is to say, the silver coin of that kingdom will go ten per cent farther in paying debts than an equal weight of pure silver bullion at the standard value. A difference so great in the value of the two species of coin has not, of course, been the result of either miscalculation or mistake, but was brought about by design, and with the same views which it is believed will render it necessary for us to adopt a similar plan, in order to retain and maintain a silver currency. The obvious policy of this system was to secure the gold and silver coinage of Great Britain against the fluctuations arising from the relative value of gold and silver bullion there. In Great Britain 14.288 ounces of silver coin are equal in payment to 15.988 ounces in the United States, and 15.499 in France. It is very clear, then, that there is no inducement to export silver coin to either country from Great Britain. Though the British government manufactures one hundred shillings in coin from bullion intrinsically worth only ninety shillings, it does not permit individuals to bring ninety shillings in bullion to the Mint and receive in exchange one hundred shillings in coin; but, on the contrary, the community is obliged to pay the par value for all the silver coin it requires. It must give £5 in pure gold or silver for one hundred shillings in coin. Coinage being a monopoly by the government, the latter can impose such terms as it deems necessary and advisable, and the public, within certain limits, will pay the government its own price for the benefit of the mint stamp. In fixing, therefore, the proper relative value which should be established between our gold and silver coins, it should not be done with regard to the value of our coins in reference to foreign coin. but as to their intrinsic value as bullion in foreign countries. The relative value of our gold and silver coin is, as already stated, as 1 to 15.988; and the bullion value of our silver coin in England is 15.716-being a difference of 272-thousandths, or nearly two per cent. It follows, then, as a matter of course, that on all occasions where the course of our foreign trade requires heavy shipments abroad, our silver coin will be first sought after for that purpose, even at a premium, and consequently will disappear from circulation, as it has already done to a very great extent. There seems to be but one immediate and direct remedy for this evil; and that is the one which has already been adopted in Great Britain, of changing the relative value between gold and silver coin by reducing the intrinsic value of the latter. The opinion of the officers of the Mint (in which judicious persons, whose opinions are entitled to great weight, concur) is, that this change could be advantageously made, by making our dollar weigh 384 grains, and the smaller coins in proportion; so that 800 ounces of such coin should be worth by tale exactly $1,000. The director of the Mint, in a communication on the subject, says: “If such a scale of weights were adopted, the relation of silver in such pieces to gold would be as 14.884 to 1, and if the present true relation or bullion value is about 15.675 to 1, the new proposed silver coin would be over-valued by law about five per cent-a very small advance, and far less than in British silver, or in the worn Spanish coin which now monopolizes our circulation." In the adjustment of this subject, it will be necessary to consider the depreciation in the value of gold which may have taken place already, or shall hereafter occur, in consequence of the immense additional supplies which have been, and will, no doubt, continue to be, thrown into circulation from California, Australia, and other countries. This consideration might justify a much greater present over-valuation of silver coin, as the future depreciation of gold will probably soon overcome the limit of the present proposed advance. If this plan is adopted by Congress, it of course will involve the necessity of making silver coin a legal tender only for debts of small amount-say not exceeding ten dollars, which is about the same limit (forty shillings) which has been established in Great Britain. |