18.. 25 Mar. 3 10 17 24 $1 Apr. 7 .. 25,005,952 Distant balances. 1,470,787 Short loans. Specie. Circulation. Deposits. Exchange. 12,894,521 13,458,989 19,903,519 7,886,609 12,945,204 13,600,419 19,218,590 8,083,929 1,635,526 24,946,210 12,952,002 13,860,399 20,116,272 8,027,049 1,092,475 24,088,800 13,089,092 13,726,554 19,711,423 8,582,012 1,601,149 24,054,845 12,729,356 13,797,154 19,304,618 8,498,790 1,718,310 23,832,766 12,610,790 13,885,755 19,102,068 8,342,599 1,788,246 23,674,714 12,437,195 13,975,624 18,681,020 8,149,061 1,610,499 23,107,740 12,368,071 14,100,890 18,070,209 8,560,117 1,942,056 14.. 22,422,203 12,290,539 13,638,089 17,849,018 8,179,441 1,608,463 21.. 22,380,033 12,100,687 12,999,204 18,380,033 7,649,069 1,649,060 28.. 21,437,974 11,910,361 12,783,749 17,699,538 7,686,634 1,877,017 May 5.. 21,487,974 11,910,361 12,783,749 17,699,538 7,686,634 1,877,017 12.. 20,545,529 11,672,364 12,258,444 17,442,974 7,213,833 1,763,871 19.. 19,385,119 11,706,007 12,163,609 17,260,226 6,909,386 1,680,480 26 18,588,492 11,593,719 11,900,864 17,938,774 6,599,676 1,596,210 June 2 18,282,807 11,191,024 11,791,799 16,985,565 6,173,783 1,459,051 17,423,118 11,072,236 11,572,259 16,989,587 5,958,996 1,442,041 16,864,692 10,693,389 11,389,389 16,105,586 5,538,830 1,665,076 23 16,821,969 10,223,276 11,138,434 15,319,947 5,067,682 1,739,481 July 7 16,627,125 9.. 16.. 14.. 16,795,836 9,883,812 10,921,057 14,671,491 4,548,395 1,601,540 9,693,954 10,695.884 14,557,417 4,123,242 1,401,804 16,945,426 9,544,793 10,310,824 14,326,547 3,706,020 1,512,608 17,802,024 9,607,448 10,071,383 14,358,384 8,219,947 1,163,961 19,006,951 9,780,130 9,786,684 14,264,107 2,900,039 1,318,398 19,383,879 9,846,131 9,526,934 14,368,664 2,565,150 1,182,381 20,313,484 9,801,183 9,357,964 14,107,235 2,119,789 1,299,462 21,332,818 9,900,424 9,263,874 13,614,301 1,756,034 1,846,814 THE FAILURES IN THE LEATHER TRADE. The recent and heavy failures in the London leather trade have created much surprise among the merchants and bankers there. That of Messrs. STREATFIELD & Co. shows an aggregate liability of £744,000, and the gross assets only £214,000 -a resulting loss of at least £530,000. Of this and other equally unfavorable exhibits, the Banking Atlas, of London, says : The facts which have already been made known under this failure are full of commercial interest. It appears from an inspection of the accounts that at so short a period back as January, 1857, this firm was solvent; and that £365,000, owing to them by customers as good, are now considered as bad debts, and that this amount has gone on increasing up to the time of their failure, until their liabilities have reached the enormous amount above stated. The partners--like many others who have trusted to the same broken reed-appear to have anticipated a recovery of their position from the future profits of their business, and from some other property. These, however, having failed, a suspension took place as the natural consequence of accumulated difficulties. When, however, we hear of firms of such magnitude being crushed under the weight of their own transactions, such examples are of little value, except a commercial lesson can be extracted from them. Here we have an old firm, carrying on an immense business in a particular branch of trade; standing like a sun in the midst of lesser luminaries, through whose borrowed light they shine in their respective orbits; yet in less then three years this firm falls into bankruptcy, dragging down other houses that involve from two to three millions of liabilities. Now, there is a certain class of writers, as well as traders, that are always prophesying" smooth things." They glance at our export tables and find that our foreign and colonial trade have increased; and, therefore, they come at once to the conclusion that prosperity must form the basis of this augmented commerce. Suddenly there is a flaw discovered somewhere. Some "great house is whispered about; then it is openly talked of; at last, it "falls like Lucifer." It then creates a temporary wonderment, and the event is passed. "Overtrading," "speculation," and "accommodation bills," and other reasons are assigned as the cause of such commercial disasters; while lawyers and accountants proceed to divide the assets. If we look a little deeper into the subject we shall discover that these failures are generated by other causes than those we have named. They have their procreating power in that system of money and credit which has long been the hid den curse of our national industry. We are told by the accountant that from January, 1857, "to the time of their failure, there was a gradual increase in the amount of bad debts." Yet were Messrs. STREATFIELD & Co. careful traders. During the past three years the profits of their business amounted in gross to £133,000; out of which they had set for bad debts £108,503; but this was a drop of water in the ocean to stem the torrent against them. There is a hiatus in the accountant's statement which, if filled up, would afford a valuable lesson to the commercial community. How did such a firm as this pass through the crisis of 1857, when the ordinary rate of discount was 10 per cent? And at what cost were those firms sustained in their position who depended upon Messrs. STREATFIELD for assistance? It may be a matter of surprise to find so large an amount of paper under discount; but this is no more than the natural result of a system of credit, which gives to money an unnatural value, until trade and commerce are drawn into the vortex of inextricable debt. We do not say that Messrs. STREATFIELD & Co. may not have been chargeable with imprudence in their business; we are now referring to the credit system under our present money laws, a system that is rapidly tending to centralize the entire power of money dealing in London at any cost. Our merchants and traders are as yet mere children in monetary science. They speak of the "supply" and the "demand" of money, as if it grew up like a garden of cabbages or a field of wheat, instead of making themselves acquainted with the causes which are continually operating to make a given quantity more scarce or more accessible. When merchants and traders shall become as well acquainted with the science of money as the sailor is of navigation, they will understand what it is that causes them to be so frequently shipwrecked in the midst of their fancied prosperity. Other failures in the English leather trade show the following disastrous results :- FINANCES OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. By command of the king and in conformity with the requirements of the corstitution, the following report on the finances of the Kingdom for the biennial period ending with March 31, 1860, is respectfully submitted to the Legislature : The balance in the treasury, April 1, 1858, was...... The receipts during the two years ending March 31st, 1860, have been as follows: From bureau of foreign imposts. internal commerce. 66 fees and perquisites. government realizations miscellaneous receipts..... $213,209 GS 62,528 26 108,841 85 7,873 41 50,564 34 $349 24 The expenditures during the same period have been as follows:- department of the interior... 25,389 31 100,831 49 86,628 94 655,866 68 $656,215 92 $52,326 21 107,821 43 20,000 00 16,065 78 52,706 34 23,742 88 45,494 64 90,928 27 131,821 85 101,985 40 196 15 643,088 40 18,127 52 $656,215 92 Of this, The debt of the government April 1, 1860, was $108,777 33. $100,075 22 bears interest at 12 per cent per annum. On the balance, consisting mainly of outstanding appropriations, no interest is payable. To the amount thus specified should perhaps be added the sum of $20,000, borrowed by the Minister of the Interior, under the provisions of the act approved April 21, 1859, in regard to water works, for which, however, the general treasury is not immediately responsible, as the receipts from water rents are set apart and pledged for the payment of such loan. These receipts now constitute a special fund to be applied solely to that object. BANKING IN NEW SOUTH WALES. An official return illustrative of the position of the joint-stock banks of New South Wales in the quarter ending the 31st of March last, exhibits the following results--Notes in circulation, $896,619; bills in circulation, £28,678; balances due to other banks, £491,561; deposits, £5,354,606; total liabilities, £6,771,464; coin held, £1,409,106; bullion, £35,791; landed property, £229,328; notes and bills of other banks, £67,304; balances due from other banks, £1,309,434; notes and bills discounted and other debts due, £6,253,345; total assets, £9,304,307. The paid up capital amounted to £5,708,012; the last dividends absorbed £357,875, and the amount of reserved profits after the declaration of the dividends was £1,316,240. The rate of dividend varied from 7 to 20 per cent. BANK OF FRANCE. The returns of the Bank of France for the months of June and July of the present year show a commendable increase of circulation as compared with the cash on hand :— |