L. s. d. Vinegar. 003 Wine and lees of wine under 26 degrees of proof spirits... 10 26 Wood and timber, viz: Hewn, per load... Sawed or split, planed or dressed, staves not exceeding 72 Hoops and shovel hilts, per load. Lathwood and firewood. Wood and timber for ship-building and tree-nails, per load... 10 20 20 10 10 10 I have the honor to enclose a copy of a despatch which I have this day forwarded to the Secretary of the Treasury on the subject of sterling exchange. It has been my desire for some time past to present to your excellency some remarks on the subject of sterling exchange. I have hitherto refrained from doing so lest I should obtrude upon a subject outside the proper sphere of my duty. It has, however, been my good fortune to offer suggestions to the government on one or two other points deemed important, which suggestions have been adopted and proved beneficial; and, as Manchester is a city making greater sales of property to American merchants than are made by any other city, all of which merchandise to be invoiced under my own cognizance, and all paid for in sterling exchange, I trust you will pardon me if I ask a few moments attention. The price of sterling exchange outside of certain limits, not very considerable in extent, is governed by the price of gold. It is nevertheless true that the price of gold may be governed, and that absolutely, by the price of exchange; or if not, yet sufficiently so for the purposes set forth in this letter. It is important, to the end that I have in view, to note that the transactions in exchange are, as a rule, bona fide. Persons buy exchange because they want it. The transactions in gold, on the contrary, to a very large extent, are speculative. Persons buy gold because they wish to make a bet on its probable value next week. So that although gold is the basis of exchange, and the operations in gold very much larger than in sterling exchange, yet it is probable that the bona fide transactions in exchange are larger than the bona fide transactions in gold. I mean, simply, that the operations in exchange for necessary purposes are larger than in gold, the transactions in the latter being to such an extent fictitious; as when a Wall street broker sells to another $50,000 to be delivered at a future day, the seller may never expect to deliver nor the buyer to receive a dollar in gold; they "settle" by quotations, and the profit or loss is according as the one may have succeeded in "Bearing down" or the other in "Bulling" up the market. The actual need of gold on the part of the citizen is probably nearly confined his necessities, for the pay ment of duties on foreign merchandise, and to make good such balances abroad as are not provided for by the sales of American productions. The amount of exchange required is equal to the whole value of foreign merchandise purchased; nevertheless, the nominal demand for gold is doubtless immensely greater than that for exchange. However this may be subject to important modifications, it is clearly true that the required amount of exchange is sufficiently large, if it can be governed, to govern in its turn the price of gold. Is the latter advisable on the part of the government? If so, and recent measures adopted as to furnishing gold for customs leads me to suppose that it is, then I am convinced that if government will provide for the sale of gold, deliverable in London, that is to say, sterling exchange, then the price of exchange may be regulated at any given point, provided that point is not lower than exchange is, compared with currency, intrinsically worth. There is doubtless some point at which, during the suspension of specie payments, gold has its proper value. It is also true that there is an extent to which gold may be advanced beyond its real value compared with the currency of the country, and its fluctuations may be influenced by all the appliances which are practiced in Wall street and elsewhere for the purposes of mere speculation. Every change of a cent in the price of gold is a virtual change in the value of everything possessed as property within the United States to about the same extent. Thus it is possible for a few men operating upon eccentricities of public feeling, and compelling to their use every fitful gust of rumor from distant battlefields, and without in fact touching or expecting to touch a dollar in gold, cause fluctuations in commercial values to the extent of millions by a single day's "transactions." If gold may be fairly worth a premium over currency within reasonable limits call its value 110, 120, or 140-my proposition is, to get it gradually reduced to the proper point, and then to hold it there, with slight variations, and to do this mainly through the medium of sterling exchange. For illustration, I will suppose the desired and equitable point of value for gold to be 140. It can never get much above that point if merchants can procure what sterling exchange they want for legitimate purposes at 151 to 152, that being about the relative value of exchange with gold at 140, the sovereign being counted at $4 40 in buying exchange, instead of $4 84.5, its (the sovereign's) real value. Sixty-day sterling exchange is now, while I write, say 190, gold 176, 177. Let government instruct its bankers in London to accept sixty-day drafts, and instruct its bankers in New York (which instructions, in both cases, should, I think, be confidential) to be prepared at all, or at most, times to sell exchange to all who shall apply for it. Direct such New York agent to offer exchange to-day at 188, to-morrow at 186, the third day a little lower still, and from that time it will fall by its own gravity, and the agent will only have to follow it down to 150, where he may hold it, and which point it will reach probably within a month after the process shall have commenced. Gold will then be 138 to 140. If government loses something by this directly, it will not need to be much, and thousands will be indirectly saved for every dollar that is directly lost; and many millions will be saved to the country, besides the advantage of keeping business steady, itself a consideration of great importance in these exceptional times. The greatest blow that the Manchester trade with America has experienced was when the price of exchange fell at once 30 to 40 per cent. Merchants did not recover their senses for three months after it, so great is the fear of wide fluctuations. The same effect was universal throughout the States at home. The direct loss on the sale of exchange as contemplated need not be large, because the government agent will not have to provide the whole, nor a very large part, of the exchange wanted, as other parties will have as much exchange to dispose of as they have now, and be as ready to sell it. And if it should be otherwise, the custom of selling sixty-day bills gives ample time to provide for their payment from the money received from their sale. If a banker of good credit, whom I will suppose to act under instructions, offers exchange for 150, sixty-day bills, after having gradually reduced the rates to that point, other bankers will offer to sell at that rate, and the first-named can, if desirable, buy of others in New York nearly as much as he will sell, and use for the purchase the same currency that he collects for the sale. Thus with great diffidence I submit what I had desired to say on this subject, feeling at the same time that a proposition so obvious must doubtless have often occurred to the government, and perhaps also have been urged by scores of other correspondents than myself, and by the department rejected for good reasons. Nevertheless, looking upon the matter as a business project, and in the light of a commercial experience, I can see no valid reason why the plan should not work as indicated. Hon. SALMON P. CHASE, Secretary of the Treasury. LEEDS-J. W. MARSHALL., Consul. FEBRUARY 9, 1864. I enclose No. 1, a statement of the exports to the United States from this consular district for the year ending September 30, 1863, so far as the consular records exhibit the same. Considerable quantities of goods manufactured in and shipped from this district were invoiced and certified elsewhere, especially at Manchester and Liverpool, so that I am confident the actual exports were much in excess of the result stated, $12,900,509 64. I estimate that the exports from this district to the United States from October 1, 1862, to September 30, 1653, amounted to fifteen or eighteen millions of dollars, paying into our treasury five to six millions in duties. In reference to the state of trade I may observe that while the limited supply of cotton of greatly increased prices pressed heavily on the manufacturing industry of Lancashire, the production of the staple manufactures of Leeds, Bradford, Huddersfield, Halifax, and other towns in Yorkshire engaged in woollen or flax manufacture, was stimulated thereby, and Sheffield was compensated for any slackness in the cutlery trade by an increased demand for iron and steel. Full employment was therefore within the reach of the manufacturing population of this district, and the year may be characterized as one of great prosperity for this interest. Statement showing the exports from Leeds to the United States for the year ended September 30, 1864. Steel, cutlery, iron, &c., &c., manufactures of same.. cotton, silks, &c. Waste, shoddy, flocks, &c..... Carpet and binding for same, rugs, mats.. Skins, leather, &c., &c.. Hair seating, cow's hair... Earthenware, glass bottles. Botanical specimens, book and an album, containing photographs. $6,406,507 07 equal at $4 84 per £ to. 1,581 292 12 9 2,554 1 6 29, 867 7 4 234 12 4 13 2 1 41 3 1,108 4 29 10 3 6 0 119 7 0 Statement of the exports to the United States, from the Leeds consular district, for the year ended September 30, 1863. Wool, flax, cotton, and the manufactures thereof, embracing cloths, worsted stuff goods, tow and woollen yarns, linen thread, cotton and shoe thread, twine, carpets, carpet binding, rugs, mats, hosiery, &c...... Waste, shoddy, flocks.. Iron, steel, and manufactures thereof, embracing machinery, cutlery, &c., optical instruments, umbrella frames, and grindstones.. Skins, leather, grease, &c., &c... Paints, oils, Paris white, and dyestuffs.. Miscellaneous: Ale, brandy, cheese, wood-model, mustard, garden seeds, hair seating, cow's hair, earthenware, glass, cliffstone and coal.. $8, 988, 139 08 3, 729, 432 96 116, 526 97 42, 303 41 Of this amount, $12,900,503 83, there was certified at Bradford. Huddersfield. Hull.......... Total. 24, 101 41 12, 900, 503 83 $6, 406, 507 09 3,750, 994 93 2,043, 264 08 665, 227 97 35, 510 51 12, 901, 504 58 Classified report of invoices, Bradford, nine months preceding Sept'r 30, 1863 I have the honor to advise you that I forward herewith the returns of invoices certified at the consular offices in this district for the quarter ended December 31, 1863, as follows: I beg to inform you that I transmit herewith the returns and invoices certified at the consular offices in this district during the quarter ended March 31, 1864, as follows: Summary statement of the invoices certified at the several offices consular district for the quarters ended June 30 and September Amount certified at Leeds, quarter ended June 30, 1864..... of the Leeds 30, 1864. $998, 126 28 312, 959 38 1,241, 350 71 S01,333 64 2,546, 082 44 1, 459, 144 32 713, 915 34 283, 470 53 |