Total coinage.

293,500 $506,000 $1,577,420 $5,536,796

We estimated, in our December number, the total receipts at the United States mints, of California gold, from the date of its discovery in 1848, at $90,000,000; the above official return shows the amount to have been $91,620,583 up to December 1st, so that the total, up to January 1st, 1852, amounts to about $100,000,000. This sum, it will be remembered, has actually been added to our coin; the produce of the mines in addition, must be, as heretofore shown, full half as much more, making the total for the three years and a half about $150,000,000.

The average value of the gold as it comes from the mines and is sent to market, according to the returns from our mint, is about $17 50 per ounce, although some dirty parcels realize as low as $16 50. The promise of a good yield for the coming season is very flattering, and our mint receipts will doubtless exceed $5,000,000 per month. Some action on the part of Congress is necessary to modify the present legal comparative value of the precious metals, or all of the silver change will be abstracted from the country. It has been recommended, that a seignorage be taken from the silver coined at the mint, making the present coin, representing fractional parts of a dollar, about 7 per cent lighter in weight, and retaining gold as the sole legal standard for the country in all sums above five or ten dollars. There seem to be fewer objections to this plan than any other which has been proposed, and we see no good reason why it should not be adopted.

The imports into the country for December will probably exceed the entries for the corresponding month of last year, but the returns are not yet completed. For November there was a slight falling off at our principal ports. At New York the value of free goods entered was about the same, but the receipts of dutiable merchandise show a decline of $504,473, as will be seen by the following comparative statement:

IMPORTS THROWN UPON THE MARKET IN NEW YORK DURING THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER.

Having before given the receipts of California gold, we have omitted it in this comparison, as it cannot properly be classed with foreign imports. The first item of dutiable goods includes $4,399,085 entered directly for consumption, and $1,377,100 withdrawn from warehouse. The value of goods entered warehouse during the month was $938,056 against $798,147 for the same period of

last year; and for the previous month the entries also showed an increase of about $250,000. The withdrawals, however, have increased about $500,000, so that the stock left in bond shows no increase over last year. The imports for eleven months are still in excess of last year, both in dutiable and free goods.

Years.

1851.. 1850..

IMPORTS THROWN UPON THE MARKET AT NEW YORK FOR ELEVEN MONTHS.

Increase......

This increase was most of it during the early part of the year, and consists wholly of merchandise other than dry goods, as will be seen by the following comparative statement, which for greater interest we extend back another year :

IMPORTS OF DRY GOODS AT THE PORT OF NEW YORK FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER.

We have again an excess of goods entered warehouse over the value withdrawn, a state of things which does not appear in the general merchandise account before given, showing that the quantity of dry goods in bond is greater than at the same time last year. This excess is more fully shown in the following comparison:

IMPORTS OF DRY GOODS AT NEW YORK FOR ELEVEN MONTHS, BEGINNING JANUAry 1st.

Total thrown upon the market...... $42,742,888 $56,806,465 $56,369,910

The receipts for duties at New York for the month of November were $1,488,740 09 against $1,642,125 27 for November, 1850. For eleven months at the same port, the receipts were $29,459,976 80, against $26,975,265 98, showing an increase for the first eleven months of the current year of $2,484,710 82.

The exports from New York for the month of November show a material decline in value from the amount for the same period of 1850, except in the item of specie:

The foreign goods include $62,368 free, and $397,597 dutiable. In domestic produce the decline is difficult to account for, as the quantities of articles show little falling off from the shipments of last year.

statement of particulars.

most leading We annex a

EXPORTS FROM NEW YORK TO FOREIGN PORTS FOR FOUR WEEKS, ENDING NOVEMBER 30.

The total exports from New York for eleven months show a large increase over the same period of 1850, but this excess is composed wholly of specie.

Since our last the official statements concerning the Commerce of the country for the fiscal year ending June 30th, 1851, have made their appearance, and will be found under our statistical head. They fully corroborate our previous articles upon this subject, and confirm the fact that the country was never in a more prosperous condition.

COMMERCIAL STATISTICS.

COMMERCE OF BARCELONA.

GENERAL STATEMENT OF IMPORTATIONS ENTERED AT THE CUSTOM-HOUSE AT BARCELONA, DURING THE YEAR COMMENCING JULY 1, 1850, AND ENDING JUNE 30, 1851.

Total....... $152 92 $3,270 65 $3,423 57 $193 60 $77,555 18 $81,172 35

....

....

....

$32,856 81

...

8 64

Total....

$3,285 61 $1,444 69 $7,941 41 $25 28 $45,574 80 The exportations have been made in 31 vessels-five of them national-measuring in all 3,295 tons. The value of the merchandise exported sums up $115,767 50, the duties upon which amount to $142 59. The principal articles exported were:-1,600 pounds cotton, 9,099 head cattle, 45,327 hides, 620,984 lbs. of meat, 12,808 lbs. cocoa, 262,428 lbs. of mulberry wood, 151,403 lbs. cheese, 3,559 lbs. of grease.

EXPORTS OF COFFEE FROM RIO DE JANEIRO.

In the Merchants' Magazine for December, 1851, (vol. 25, page 690,) we published an interesting article on "Coffee: and the Coffee Trade," written for our Magazine by John Gardner, Esq., an intelligent American merchant, residing at Rio De Janeiro, but at that time on a visit to the United States. We now subjoin a statement of exports of coffee from Rio De Janeiro, together with the receipts at the various ports of the United States and Europe, for the last ten years, and from January 1, to September 1, 1851 :

EXPORTS OF COFFEE FROM RIO DE JANEIRO, AND RECEIPTS AT THE VARIOUS PORTS OF THE UNITED STATES and Europe, FOR THE LAST TEN YEARS, AND FROM JANUARY 1 TO SEPTEMBER 1, 1851.

Stock in Rio Janeiro, September 17, 1851, 120,000 bags, of which 70,000 was old

crop, and 50,000 new.