of the same in existence at the same periods, from a communication furnished for the Merchants' Magazine by DAVID M. BALFOUR, Esq., of Boston : $288,531,744 ANNUAL PRODUCT AND QUANTITY IN EXISTENCE AT VARIOUS PERIODS. 1492.... $70,000,000 1600... 11,000,000 $6,488,000,000 2,615,000,000 1851... 180,000,000 6,593,000,000 1800... 53,000,000 7,900,000,000 LIABILITIES AND RESOURCES OF THE BANKS IN PENNSYLVANIA. The annual report to the Legislature of Pennsylvania, by the Auditor-General, exhibits the condition of the Banks and Savings Institutions in that State on the first discount day of November, 1857. The aggregate tables of the various banks show the following :- No return has been made by the Alleghany Saving Fund Company, and therefore its figures are not taken into the statement. CONDITION OF THE BANKS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. On the first Monday of January, 1858, the fifty-two banks of New Hampshire reported their condition thus :- SILVER AND GOLD IMPORTED AND EXPORTED BY FRANCE. To meet the demands of Great Britain for silver to be sent to India, the currency and reserve of silver in France have been largely drawn upon during the last three years, as is exhibited by the annexed table : The net export of silver for three years, expressed in dollars, and compared with the net import of gold for the same period is as follows: Net export of silver, $162,426,020; net import of gold, $151,872,344; net loss of coin, three years' $10,553,676. The high prices of goods and produce in the past few years, the loss of silk crops, and the construction of railroads in India, have all facilitated the demand for silver there. The change which has now taken place in respect of prices is counteracted by the expenses of the Indian government to carry on the war, but the drain of silver may be expected to be less. IMPORTS OF SPECIE AND BULLION INTO GREAT BRITAIN, 1855-57. The following table, prepared at London, gives the imports of specie and bullion into Great Britain in 1857. It omits the imports of gold in the hands of passengers from Australia, and the receipts of silver from the continent : The aggregate imports of specie and bullion in 1857 appear to have been about three millions more than in 1856, and nearly four-and-a-half millions more than in 1855. A point of considerable interest is the magnitude and steadiness of the influx of gold from Australia. In 1857 the receipts from that quarter were £1,355,000 more than in 1856, and £720,000 more than in 1855. DECIMAL COINAGE IN CANADA. In the Merchants' Magazine of August, 1857, (vol. xxxvii., page 219.) we stated that the Legislature of Canada had passed an act requiring all the accounts of the governement to be kept in dollars and cents from the 1st of January, 1858; and that to facilitate the general adoption of this system of accounting throughout the province, the banks of Canada had resolved to make a similar change at the same date. We learn from the Montreal Gazette of January 20, 1858, that arrangements have been made for new coins for the new currency, and that Mr. Wyon, Medallist to the Royal Mint, has prepared the designs for the following pieces :-Silver, 20 cents, 10 cents, 5 cents; bronze, 1 cent. The 20 cent piece is intended to be equivalent to 5.066 grains of English standard gold, and will be coined of 71.73 grains of English standard silver. The cent piece will be of the one-hundredth part of the pound avoirdupois. The coinage will represent the head of Her Majesty on one side; on the other will be letters describing the denomination of the piece. For the last eight years a Canadian decimal coinage has been at times talked of-since Mr. Hincks's abortive attempt of 1850 to establish a mint in Canada. STATISTICS OF TRADE AND COMMERCE. LAKE TRADE OF OSWEGO. In July, 1857, (vol. xxxvii., pp. 38-47,) we published a detailed exhibit of the "Trade, Commerce, and Prospects of Oswego," and references to our previous accounts of that city and port. We now give our re-compilation of certain statistics first published by the Oswego Times, showing the exports by lake during 1857, and the imports by lake for a series of years: EXPORTS BY LAKE IN 1857. The exports by lake of the following articles to Canadian and American ports for the year 1857, were Canadian. American. Total. Canadian, American. Total. Flour.. bbls. 79,419 1,270 81,689 Wheat...bush. 52,512 24,060 76,572 Salt.... 52,732 438,236 490,968 Rye ... ...bags 52,597 419,391 441,988 Corn.... Coal...tons 16,612 21,344 37,956 Peas... IMPORTS BY LAKE. The total receipts of grain for four seasons were ..... 4,161 4,161 26,416 37,800 64,216 1,000 1,000 The receipts of principal articles in 1856 and 1857, from Canadian and American ports, and the totals, compare as follows: -Canadian. 1857. 1856. 1857. Wheat .bush. 2,381,632 5,358,026 Corn 2,003,992 13,727 Peas... Flour......bbls. 142,162 63,304 70,768 38,059 202,930 101,363 The following table exhibits the imports for two seasons of certain articles, of which quantities were received in 1857 from both Canadian and American ports. The statistics for 1857 we compile from the Times, and those for 1856 we transfer from page 39, vol. xxxvii., of the Merchants' Magazine : The lumber received in 1856 consisted of 97,321,890 feet from Canadian ports, and 6,398,840 feet from American ports. The imports in 1857 of certain articles, of which quantities were received only from American ports, were— The imports in 1857, of which quantities were received only from Canadian ports, were-Copper ore, 589 tons; lath, 3,252,546 feet; wool, 10,074 pounds ; and 10,145 sheep-skins. LUMBER TRADE OF THE PACIFIC COAST OF THE UNITED STATES. We have heretofore presented accounts of the immense forests of Oregon, Washington, and California, and some statistics of the growing importance of their lumber trade. We now give from the San Francisco Steamer Bulletin of January 20th, 1858, detailed statements of the shipments of domestic lumber from the United States Pacific coast ports to foreign countries during the year 1857. The information in regard to the shipments from Oregon and Washington Territories was furnished by Messrs. W. C. Talbot & Co., of San Francisco. It is gratifying to see that these Pacific ports now furnish China, Australia, and other distant countries with so great quantities of lumber of their own production, especially when only a few years since they imported their own supplies of the same article from the Eastern States. LUMBER SHIPPED FROM COAST PORTS TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES IN 1857. .From Peekalet, W. T., to Honolulu... June..British bark William & Martha 46 ..British bark Tory. July. .Schooner L. P. Foster.. ..Chil. ship Matias Cousino Aug..Bark Georgiana..... .Barkentine Jenny Ford.. ..Schooner L. P. Foster.. Oct...N. G. bark Sea Nymph.. Dec...Sw. bark Canton.... "...British bark Sebastopol. "...Schooner L. P. Foster Feet. 150,000 Sydney 380,000 Sydney 300,000 46 Sydney 300,000 Honolulu... 800,000 150,000 Hong Kong 250,000 66 Hong Kong 275,000 Sydney.. 500,000 Honolulu.. 150,000 June..British ship Hamilton.... ....From Steilacoom to Hong Kong.... June..British bark Jane Catharine.. From Port Madison to Sydney...... Cargo spars Seven cargoes were shipped from Mendocino to various countries in 1857, 266,000 Valparaiso... 260,000 Valparaiso... 170,000 696,000 The total exports from all coast ports during the year were 10,632,000 feet, besides three cargoes of spars, against 8,900,000 feet in 1856. In this connection we give the following extract from the Bulletin's review of the market. January 18th, 1858: LUMBER. "The demand for domestic boards, plank, and scantling, has fallen off during the past month, and stocks having accumulated, prices have declined. Fencing stuff continues in fair request, but at something off from former rates. We note cargo sales within the past week of North coast scantling at $22; three inch plank at $21; fencing stuff here and to arrive at $24 50 a 25 50; and redwood boards at $23 per 1,000 feet." MEASUREMENT OF GRAIN, ETC., IN PHILADELPHIA. In the Merchants' Magazine of February, 1849, (vol. xx., page 217,) we published the statement of the "Public Measurers in Philadelphia," which exhibited their measurement of grain, seeds, salt, and coal, in each year from 1838 to 1848, |