"royal progress" of the Prince of Wales. These, in connection with the fame of the great Central Park, swell the number of those visitors who seek the city in such increasing numbers, coming and going from Europe. This latter item has reached an importance which is seldom borne in mind. There are no official figures for the number of those who leave the country, but the number of those who return is given in official figures. The numbers who have arrived, in periods of five years, during the last thirty years, have been as follows: It will be observed that the number of females, denoting the proportion of families that travel abroad, has rapidly increased, and during the last five years they have reached 24,368, out of a total number of 130,333 citizens arrived home. These crowds of persons swell the hotel business, both going and coming, and should be doubled to indicate the number of visitors. This would be 260,000 in the last five years, or 52,000 per annum—say 1,000 per week. The expenses and outlay of these persons count several millions, and in the last ten years the sum has increased six-fold. The greater proportion of females indicate that they are not merely business visits, but are the result of those pleasure tours that flow from increasing individual wealth, and the facilities which the great steam lines afford for crossing the ocean. This stream of travel has been a material element in the hotel building in New York and in the progre s of business towards the upper end of the island. The present year seems to promise, therefore, as much local city business for New York as grew out of the Crystal Palace in 1853. That excitement was followed by a partial stagnation of business at the last, and a current of enterprise towards the West, which ultimately reacted in 1857. That section now shows some signs of recovery, but there is yet wanting that decided action which a large foreign demand for breadstuffs would impart. The crops promise well, and there is every element of abundance, should an adequate outlet be offered. The plethora of money is, therefore, very great now in New York. It is probably cheaper than ever at this season, as well at call as on paper. The rates are as follows, comparatively : At the close of 1858, after the severe pinch that followed the panic, money was cheaper than now, because there was little or no employment for it or confidence in promises. Last year, in June, money was worth at "call" two per cent more than now, when it is two-and-a-half per cent cheaper than in January. On good paper it is cheaper than at any time since the panic. This, no doubt, arises from the fact that the market is to a considerable extent purged of the paper tainted by "extension," and also that the demand for money is far less than usual at this season. The line of bank discounts is higher than at the same period last year, when it was rapidly falling. The decline in the value of money this year has been attended by a rise in the rates of exchange and a resumption of the specie shipments. The rate of interest on short paper has fallen one per cent since the middle of April, and sterling bills have risen one per cent since that date, when, also, the shipments of specie recommenced. The rates of bills are as follows: 5.18 a 5.12 41 a 41 41 a 42 364 a 37 73§ a 737 this year had been 15.. 9a 9 Up to the middle of April the shipments of specie $5,394,295, against $12,312,708. Since that date the shipments have been $12,000,000, without much affecting the amount in the city-the supplies from the interior being large. The shipment of the last week in May last year was the largest on record, and it was followed by continued large shipments, without, however, producing any influence upon the value of money. The comparative specie movement has been as follows: GOLD RECEIVED FROM CALIFORNIA AND EXPORTED FROM NEW YORK WEEKLY, WITH THE AMOUNT OF SPECIE IN SUB-TREASURY, AND THE TOTAL IN THE CITY. -1859. --1860. Specie in Total Received. 28.... Feb. 4.. 11... 18... 26.. 1,319,923 Exported. Received. Exported. sub-treasury. in the city. 29,020,862 28,934,870 1,013,780 1,287,967 358,554 1,393,179 1,427,556 382,503 307,106 1,198,711 870,578 152,000 208,955 895,336 155,110 ...... 1,723,352 1,680,743 .... 2,169,197 1,480,115 92,350 9,676,732 592,997 10,012,572 202,000 8,955,203 29,729,199 667,282 8,734,028 31,820,840 115,473 8,237,909 30,139,089 429,260 8,099,409 31,271,247 465,115 8,122,672 31,408,876 706,006 8,026,492 81,447,251 310,088 7,562,885 80,162,017 630,010 7,714,000 31.640,982 241,503 7,531,483 30,764,897 1,455,337 1,774,767 7,668,723 30,848,532 2,355,117 7,041,143 30,856,889 1,926,491 1,382,753 £33.881 2,223,578 1,251,177 1,938,669 5,126,643 1,519,703 1,317,773 6,982,660 30,414,433 29,464,299 30,603,762 6,539,414 29,319,801 6,864,148 30,599,341 1,719,138 6,621,100 31,196,557 1,542,466 6,620,622 30,406,203 1.669,263 1,400,000 1,750,000 6,405,619 81,000,000 Total..... 15,220,560 31,523,188 16,201,312 17,638,614 .... The fall in the rate of money in London has been about the same as in New York; but the unusual spectacle presents itself here of a low rate of money running through two years without exciting any degree of speculation or promoting much business enterprise, beyond very firm prices for city property. The arrivals of gold from California are not so large as last year, and there is far less activity at the Assay-office or the Mint. The operations at the former are as follows: Coin. Bullion. Coin. Bullion. Gold. Coin. Bullion. Bars. Coin. Jan. 14,000 18,000 11,200 14,000 2,478,000 1,800 20,000 647,000 1,910,000 Feb. 5,000 28,000 6,500 24,000 951,000 7,500 932,000 90,000 Mar. 8,000 15,000 23,400 5,500 267,000 1,100 2,500 180,000 142,500 Apr. 8,000 32,000 14,500 10,000 183,000 3,700 3,800 187,000 70,000 May 11,200 20,800 25,500 18,000 176,000 7,000 16,500 230,000 45,000 Tot. 46,200 113,800 81,100 71,500 4,055,000 13,600 '59 31,000 46,000 225,080 42,000 1,875,000 9,900 52,300 2,176,000 3,257,500 21,620 1,884,000 685,600 The pay Of the silver bullion deposited this month at the Mint, $11,000 was of Washoe silver, and the promise from those new mines continues to be large. ments in coin are largely diminished since the beginning of the year. operations show the same feature for the last few months, as follows: $2,575,775 $291,040 $5,259,934 $315,120 $142,000 $3,818,060 575,150 423,650 44,487 523,500 143,000 1,709,787 The comparative stagnation of business throughout the country not only causes money, or capital, to be in less demand, and therefore cheaper, but makes less currency necessary, and, as a consequence, there is an apparent plethora of coin. The law of 1853 provided for the coinage of the fractions of the dollar in silver at a rate of nearly seven per cent depreciation as compared with the silver dollars. This was done in the view of keeping the coin in circulation. The quantity that has been thus coined in the seven-and-a-half years since that act has been nearly $48,000,000. Of this some $3,300,000 has been of domestic silver-mostly from California gold. This supply of silver coin, in a form not profitable for exportation, exercises an important influence upon the amount of money outstanding. The banks do not like to take more than the legal tender-$5-and it passes from hand, being paid away and pushed off in the rapid manner natural to a cheap currency, which most persons had rather pay away than keep. A currency thus active performs more of the exchanges of trade than a sluggish one of the same nominal amount. It is partly to this circumstance that the small-note circulation of the banks bears so much less a proportion to their aggregate credits than formerly, and it also influences the export of the dollar pieces and of the small gold coins, since, when a currency becomes redundant, it is the most valuable coins which go first. The last month has shown a considerable decline in the value of imports as compared with the same month last year, and the entries for warehouse bear a larger proportion to the whole imports than last year. There has been, however, an increase in the quantity of goods in warehouse. The importation of free goods is much less this year than last, when they were large by reason of the articles made free under the tariff of 1857 Total entered at the port....... $18,705,255 $11,454,703 $23,552,646 $16,893,151 Withdrawn from warehouse 2,262,173 2,665,578 1,628,434 2,475,067 .... The quantity of goods received since January 1, has been less than last year, and the amount entered for warehouse has been larger than for any similar period of the last four years, except 1857, although money has been so dear, and there has been an apparent accumulation of about four-and-a-half million dollars in bond:FOREIGN IMPORTS AT NEW YORK FOR FIVE MONTHS, FROM JANUARY 1ST. Total entered at the port........ 105,590,301 $51,668,192 105,095,053 $98,557,286 Withdrawn from warehouse ..... 12,364,162 19,551,824 9,146,490 12,047,280 There has been about $5,000,000 less put upon the market this year than last. The operation for the eleven months shows an increase over any previous year : FOREIGN IMPORTS AT NEW YORK FOR ELEVEN MONTHS ENDING MAY 31. Total for eleven months..... 210,845,041 161,356,894 196,177,486 214,557,929 In separating the foreign dry goods from other merchandise, we find a large portion of the decline under that head. The total of foreign dry goods landed at the port, for the month of May, is larger than for any previous year, except 1859. The quantity entered for consumption direct this year is less than last year : IMPORTS OF FOREIGN DRY GOODS AT NEW YORK FOR THE MONTH OF MAY. Total thrown upon market.. $1,541,115 $8,612,895 $7,547,747 $5,105,627 Total entered at the port... $3,128,379 $3,171,815 $8,104,409 $5,581,598 The quantity withdrawn from warehouse this year is less than half the quantity entered. The receipts of foreign dry goods at the port of New York, since January |