The Supreme Court of California has decided that all the bonded debt of that State over $300,000 is unconstitutional, because the law creating the same was not submitted to the vote of the people. There can be little doubt, however, but what the State will make as ample provision for its payment as if it had been legally issued. The amount of the debt, of course, becomes an interesting item, and we have compiled a statement, which, we trust, will be found correct :

MEMORANDUM OF CALIFORNIA STATE BONDS OUTSTANDING JANUARY 1, 1856. Seven per cent-issued under the act of April 28, 1851...

Payable March 1, 1861.

$268,500 00

1,890,300 00

700,000 00

Seven per cent-issued under act of April 19, 1856:

[The law authorizes the issuing of $1,500,000, providing that amount of indebtedness shall accrue prior to January 1, 1857.]

Amount issued to January 1, under the act

Payable July 1, 1875.

Total amount of civil debt of California, January 1, 1856*..

WAR DEBT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.

Twelve per cent-bonds issued under act of February 18, 1851
Interest to January 1, 1856...

Seven per cent-issued under act of May 1, 1852
Interest to January 1, 1856..

Total.

Amount assumed by United States government

Balance owed by California......

300,000 00

$3,158,800 00

$300,000 00 111,145 58

663,905 00

135,500 00

$1,081,610 53

924,000 00

$157,610 53

We have compiled our usual tables, showing the total foreign imports and exports at the port of New York throughout the year. The imports of foreign goods and merchandise for 1856 amounted to $213,556,649, being $55,696,411 in excess of the total for 1855, $32,185,177 in excess of 1854, and $19,458,997 in excess of the total for 1853, which was the largest previous total on record. Before giving our monthly comparison, we annex a brief summary, showing at a glance the total imports at New York for each of the last seven years:—

Under the head of dutiable, we have included above both the dutiable entered directly for consumption and the goods thrown into the bonded warehouses. In the extended table given below these items are separate, but included in the total. The specie which swells the amount for 1850, in the above summary, was mostly from California, then entered from Chagres as from a foreign port, but since ex

* Since the date of the above return, we understand about $300,000 more of the 1875 bonds have been issued, making a total of about $8,500,000 to total State indebtedness.

cluded from the statement of imports. The comparative increase of our imports began before the close of 1852, and the receipts continued very large to November, 1854; from that date they suddenly and rapidly declined, and were comparatively small until July, 1855; since that period they have again increased, and the total for 1856 is the largest on record. Appearances indicate that the increase has again reached its maximum, and that the receipts for the current year will fall a little behind the total for the year just closed.

For convenience, and economy of space, we have placed an extended table of exports, together with the imports, both in monthly items. It will be seen that the total for December, exclusive of specie, is only $773,697 less than the very large shipments for December, 1855, $3,048,406 greater than for December, 1854, and $1,252,362 greater than for. December, 1853. We annex a quarterly statement, showing the course of this trade for the year, compared with the previous

two years :

EXPORTS FROM NEW YORK TO FOREIGN PORTS, EXCLUSIVE OF SPECIE.

Total.......

$67,136,642 $61,207,681 $72,346,562 $83,667,530

The above shows an increase during each quarter of the year except the last. The total exports for 1856, exclusive of specie, are $11,320,968 greater than for 1855, and $19,459,849 greater than for 1854, and are in fact in excess of any previous year upon our record. We also present our usual monthly summary of the exports of specie from New York to foreign ports :

EXPORTS OF SPECIE FROM NEW YORK TO FOREIGN PORTS.

Do. from Boston

$25,096,255 $26,753,356 $37,169,406 $27,625,740 $37,218,766

3,495,006 5,763,517 7,413,437 14,849,470 12,227,059 The specie shipments in 1851, which year we are obliged to omit in our comparison on account of the space, were the largest on our record, amounting to $13,743,209. Next to that year, however, is the total for 1856, it being a trifle larger than for 1854. We have added to the above table, under the appropriate years, the corresponding specie shipments from the port of Boston, a large part of which went overland from New York. These totals do not include any given as shipped from New York, and are, in reality, so much additional shipments from New York.

OREIGN IMPORTS ENTERED AT NEW YORK DURING THE YEARS 1855 AND 1856.

ENTERED FOR CONSUMPTION.

1855.

$8,370,259 $12,556,638

FREE GOODS.

SPECIE.

TOTAL.

1866.

1855.

1856.

1855.

1856.

1855.

1856.

$1,625,254

$1,250,630

$1,341,808

$90,284

$54,364

$12.945.827

$15,578,064

12,081.482

16,036.283

March....

6,765,687 15,781,297

20,256,958

6,343.512 14,530,636 1,422,006

8,020,545 12,518,271 2,716,245

We have also compiled a statement giving a comparison of the goods withdrawn from warehouse, but they are not, of course, to be reckoned with the total entered at the port, as those which were landed here have been already included under the head of entered for warehousing :

Total........

1853.
$1,536,365

1854.

$2,889,516

830,522

1,954,010

697,113

1,701,203

1,229,708

1,151,991

1,049,550

1,588,652 1,782,834

1,548,339

1,181,396

1,422.672 1,702.448 636,832 1,745,864 3,038,056 1,709,052 3,181,318 1,188,983 2,070,544 1,333,068 1,431,775 1,488,986

2,889,884 2,534,732 2,311,341 3,457,706 1,597.437 3,278,982 1,197,650 1,725,544 901,828 1,190,787 1,625,650

$15,693,055 $21,968,395 $23,457,338 $25,722,818

The imports of dry goods are, of course, included in the foregoing statement. The total receipts of dry goods at New York during the year 1856 were $341,318 less than for the year 1853, but $13,520,957 larger than for 1854, and $28,398,831 larger than for 1855, as will appear from the following comparison :

IMPORTS OF DRY GOODS AT NEW YORK FOR THE YEARS

The receipts for cash duties are larger than for any previous year, but have not increased in proportion to the excess of dutiable imports; this excess not being composed of those articles included in the highest schedule :

Total..... $43,088,225 83 $38,096,833 08

We have not space to give a comparison of the different items of general merchandise imported at New York, amounting in all (exclusive of dry goods) to

$118,000,000, but the following comparative summary embraces some of the leading particulars, and will be found very interesting for reference :

IMPORTS OF A FEW LEADING ARTICLES OF GENERAL MERCHANDISE AT NEW YORK, FROM FOREIGN PORTS FOR THE YEARS

In like manner, we have not room for all the particulars of exports, but the following includes a comparison of some of the most important items :—

EXPORTS OF CERTAIN ARTICLES OF DOMESTIC PRODUCE FROM NEW YORK TO FOREIGN PORTS IN THE YEARS