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BANK CIRCULATION-PAST AND PRESENT.

ACCORDING to the report of the Secretary of the Treasury for the year ending June, 1861, the circulation of all the banks in the United States was, in 1856-'57, $214,778,822; in 1857-'58, $155,208,344; in 1858'59, $193,306,818; in 1859-'60, $207,102,477; in 1860-'61, $202,005,767.

This circulation, for the year ending June, 1861, was divided as follows:

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Thus it will be seen that for the Middle, Eastern and Western States, the circulation was about $128,000,000 at that time. To compare, then, the present with the past, let us take the returns we have given in our bank tables this month, and we will form a pretty correct idea of our present position. First, as to the Eastern States, we have

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In, therefore, these three Eastern States there has been an increase, as will be seen, of about 45 per cent. Taking this as the probable rate of increase in the other Eastern States and we have a circulation from that source as follows:

June, 1861.

Increase 45 p. c.

Pres't circulation of East'n States. Circulation of Eastern States, $44,991,285 $20,246,018 $65,237,303

Next look at the returns of the Middle States given in our bank tables.

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Here the increase will be found to be about 41 per cent. Taking the same rate of increase in all the Middle States and we have a circulation from that source as follows:

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By the above it will be seen that these three States of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania issued, in 1861, all but $6,000,000 of the circulation then issued by the Middle States, and that the States of New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Massachusetts issued nearly two-thirds of the circulation of the Eastern States. Hence the calculation we have made as to the circulation of the banks of all the Eastern and Middle States, based upon the present and past circulation of the banks of the States named, may be considered perfectly reliable.

As to the circulation of the Western States, our figures are not as recent as we could wish, and we have not attempted therefore to give their returns in full. Yet from the data we have, there can be no doubt but that their percentage of increase has at least been as great as the other portions of our country. Putting this increase of the Western States at 41 per cent, we have the following statement in full of our present bank circulation:

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The amount of paper issued by the government is $200,000,000 or Of this, however, probably $50,000,000 is held as a reserve by the banks and is not in circulation. We may conclude, therefore, that the following is a pretty correct estimate of the present circulation in the North:

Amount issued by the banks, as above....

Amount issued by government, and now in circulation..

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$184,763,570

150,000,000

$334,763,570

127,852,222

COMMERCIAL CHRONICLE AND REVIEW.

SIGNS OF RECOVERY-PAPER MONEY-ARREARS-CASH BUSINESS-DEMAND FOR MONEY-IMPORTS -INCREASED COST-COUNTERMANDED-TABLE OF IMPORTS-RATE OF DUTIES AND EXCHANGEDUTIES-AVERAGE RATES FRAUDS-EXPORTS-HIGH RATK OF BILLS-TABLE OF EXPORTSDOMESTIC GOODS WHEAT EXPORTED-PRICE IN LIVERPOOL-FREIGHTS-APPARENT LOSS-THE "290"-SPECIE SHIPMENTS-DECLINE OF GRAIN ABROAD-EXCHANGE-RATES OF TABLE - MODE OF QUOTING-PAR OF-DECLINE OF CURRENCY-PARIS BILLS-SALES OF GOLD-BOARD OF BROKERS RESTORATION OF GOLD-TIME SALES-SPECULATIONS-APPARENT LOSS-EFFECT OF SHORT SALES-NEW LOAN-STRINGENT MONEY MARKET-RATE OF NEGOTIATION-GREAT FALL IN PRICEPRICE OF STOCKS-BANK LOANS AND DEPOSITS-CONGRESS-FINANCES-ONLY ONE MODE-LARGE DEBT-HEAVY TAXES NECESSARY.

THERE has been, during the last month, some degree of recovery from the general depression which has lain heavily upon all business since the commencement of the war. The usual effect of long continued inaction begins to show itself in the adaptedness to the existing state of things. There is a certain amount of productive industry in operation, and a consequent demand for supplies and merchandise interchangeably which must take place, and on this basis trade slowly increases in company with that unusual and extra business which grows out of the war supplies required by the government. The large amount of paper money, averaging about $600,000 per day, paid out by the government, has aided the demand for merchandise to some extent, but the amount has borne a very inadequate proportion to the government expenses. The army is in arrears for pay many months, and the smaller channels of business are clogged by that fact-small credits have been created on the basis of the pay which has not been forthcoming, and the consumption of mechandise has been checked. Four months pay of the army exceeds $50,000,000, which, withheld, seriously affects retail business. The debts of contractors and other parties for shipping, construction, &c., form an important item in the demand for money. It is, however, the case that a large proportion of the business done is for casha circustance which rather increases the abundance of money than otherwise. In ordinary years, when business has been conducted on six months paper, discounted at bank, the autumn months are invariably marked by a rise in the value of money, caused by the maturity of paper, to meet which much difficulty is encountered. This year the demand for money has not been felt, but notwithstanding the speculations in stocks money has remained uniformly cheap until it began to be affected by the arrearages of the government. The importation of goods has been similarly influenced, since the demand did not cause a rise in prices equal to the rise in cost, through the high price of exchange, extra duties, and the value of gold. A considerable quantity of goods was, therefore, countermanded, and the amount entered for the month has declined as compared with the previous month, although it is much larger than for the corresponding month last year. The following table gives the imports for the month:

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July..
August
September..
October....

Total, 10 months. 1861.....

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IMPORTS, PORT OF NEW YORK.

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Specie. Free goods. Consumption. Warehouse. Total.
$163,658 $2,552,050 $6,663,396 $3,141,725 $12.620,829

62,007 3,381,473 7,058,174
89,327 8,476,004 10,312,689

3,370,486

4,841,846

13,872,140 18,719,866

26,152 2,232,315

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256,676 1,004,870 8,462,554 3,689,806 13,413,906

$1,202,253 $19,814,625 $91,087,726 $39,165,697 $151,270,301 35,826,053 25,815,026 45,296,493 36,575,280 143,512,857 The decline in importations has been important, but a glance at the table on another page will show that the cost of importation largely increased in October. Thus, exchange averaged in September 128 per cent, in October 141-an increase of 13 per cent; gold in September averaged 19 per cent, in October 28 per cent-an increase of 9 per cent; and in October the tax law began to operate. Thus, an article that cost $1 00 and paid 40 per cent duties, would, in September, cost to import it, $1 76. In October the same article would cost $2 05-a rise of nearly 30 per cent in cost, and this was not warranted by any corresponding rise in market value, and some depression took place in the amount imported, involving a corresponding decline in the government revenues. The average rate of duty collected for October this year is, it appears, 37 per cent, and for the corresponding period last year 26 per cent-an increase of 11 per cent in average duty. The government has not, however, collected all the taxes, since extensive frauds by collusion of clerks in the custom-house of New York have deprived the government of a considerable amount of what was its due. How far these frauds may have affected the accuracy of the sum of the imports there is at present no means of ascertaining. The exports of the port have been enormously large during the month of October, incited, no doubt, to some extent, by the great rise in bills, which at one time reached 52 per cent sterling, giving the shipper a large margin for his bills. Accordingly the sum of the exports far exceeds that for any previous month in the history of the port. Exclusive of specie, the amount has exceeded $20,000,000, and as compared with previous months is as follows:

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July
August..
September..
October...

9,867,614 43,358

372,561

10,048,832

20,832,375

449,948

256,680

8,067,337 1,117,193
3,713,532 417,100
3,085,919 572,572 667,987
6,707,519 179,205 484,265 19,476,947 26,797,936

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Total, 10 months. 46 1861......

$49,550,658 2,699,821 $4,263,668 $120,314,139 $176,828,288

3,294,852 2,037,500 4,332,275 108,464,788 113,129,415

It will be observed that the domestic exports took a large development in the month of July, when the shipping business was acted upon by the exchange in a manner similar to that of October. Bills from 18 per cent in the middle of June, rose to 31 in the middle of July, and exports received a great impetus, which, from the same cause, was much more vigorous in October. The exports of flour in that month were 114,230 bbls. and 8,332,003 bushels of wheat. These two items alone gave $12,000,000 out of the $20,000,000 exported, and were shipped at the expense of the consumers of goods here. Thus, in the month of October extra United States flour was, in Liverpool, 24s. per bbl., or $5 81. In New York it was $6 40, and freights 60 cents, making $7 00, or $1 19 per bbl. more than it realized in Liverpool. The shipper, however, got for his bill 30 per cent above par, in paper, making $1 74 or 55 cents apparent profit. It will be observed that this extra 30 per cent is paid by the importer of goods and charged to the consumers of these goods. Thus the farmer pays in the prices of his tea and coffee the extra price which the shipper of flour gets for his bill. The people cannot pay these increased expenses -hence the decline in the imports. If this extra paper value of exports is deducted from the apparent $20,000,000 of domestic produce shipped, it will be seen that the real amount applicable to the payment of $13,413,000 of imports is only $15,000,000, which hardly covers the amount -leaving for interest on stocks, government naval and diplomatic expenses, remittances of capital for stocks sold on foreign account, and the large bill for Americans traveling abroad, a round sum to be sent in specie, and the amount of the metals forwarded has accordingly been large. It is no doubt the case that the fears created by the operations of the Confederate steamer "290," in destroying so many American vessels, retarded shipments and raised the cost of freight in foreign bottoms. The shipments of specie are made mostly in the British steamers, which are not supposed liable to capture. The comparative shipments of specie have been as follows:

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