frate FRANCE. tures, $6,272,977; cotton, unmanufactured, $26,110,302; grease and soap stock, $1,045,027; iron and steel and manufactures, $1,380,688; oils, mineral, crude, $4,584,562; refined, $932,938; oil, cottonseed, $2,601,526; provisions-tallow, $675,424; hog products, $1,203,487 other meat products, $579,061; tobacco, unmanufactured, $1,832,903; wood and manufactures, $841,963; total value of domestic merchandise, $56,287,631. The principal articles of export to the United States were: Duty-free-Art works, $2,448,713; chemicals, drugs, dyes, $1,511,636, of which $565,927 was argol; hides and skins other than furs, $1,742,80: silk, raw and waste, $938,689; wool, unmanufactured, $2,507,014; total free of duty, $17,731,574. Dutiable-Brushes, $542.069; chemicals, drugs, dyes, $1,544,627; cotton, manufactures of, $3,637,104; chinaware, etc., $1,593,100; feathers, natural, $601,732; feathers and flowers, artificial, $1,608,201; fish, cured, $811,679: fruits, including nuts, $989,388; furs and manufactures, $917,492; glass and glassware, $3,573; hair and manufactures, $502,041; jewelry, $1,174,887; leather and manufactures, $2,599,373; metals, compositions, etc., $946.909; oil, olive, $532,530; perfumes, cosmetics, etc., $582,290; silk, manufactures, $11,323,087; spirits, distilled, $1,071,244; sugar, $1,421,317; vegetables, preserved, $579,180; wines, $4,109,754, of which $3,132,959 was champagne; wools, etc., manufactures, $6,849,831, of which $5,722,666 was dress goods; total dutiable, $49,798,657. Shipping, Railroads, Post-Office, and Telegraphs. (See Index.) Banking. THE BANK OF FRANCE. Though not a State institution, the Bank of France has the exclusive right to issue circulating A History of Banking in All Nations," published recently notes. The following statements, from " by The Journal of Commerce and Commercial Bulletin, show the course of the Bank's circulation and its stock of coin from 1810 to 1896 inclusive. Statistics of coin on hand and the Bank's circulation, in millions and hundred thousands of francs, 1810 to 1896: Coin on Hand Note Circulation Minimum. Average. Maximum. Minimum. Average. 1810. 50.8 34.1 42.0 104.1 92.2 101.2 1820. 218.3 161.8 194.9 171.9 122.2 153.8 1830. 172.5 104.3 145.0 238.6 201.5 223.6 1840. 261.2 216.3 246.9 255.3 203.8 223.4 150. 482.1 427.0 457.8 515.5 436.3 485.6 1860. 573.0 411.4 513.5 805.8 703.6 749.6 18.0. 1,318.5 505.3 1,130.7 1,814.4 1,359.0 1,544.3 2,103.6 1,763.7 1,974.1 2,481.3 2,206.8 2,305.4 15. 2,281.5 2,019.9 2,176.4 3,063.9 2,719.4 2,846.0 16. 2,525.8 2,220.5 2,422.7 2,973.7 2,658.1 2,789.2 2,401.8 2,316.0 2,361.5 2,929.8 2,551.4 2,719.3 2,347.1 2,242.1 2,301.0 2,891.3 2,516.8 2,676.4 19. 2,598.6 2,223.7 2,398.4 3,123.1 2,616.8 2,876.1 1890. 2,592.8 2,360.6 2,513.2 3,259.8 2,893.4 3,060.4 1891 2,641.8 2,358.2 2.553.8 3,288.8 2,922.9 3,084.6 1892. 2,983.5 2,587.2 2,826.5 3,335.7 3,037.0 3,151.3 1893. 3,004.6 2,786.1 2,956.0 3,589.7 3.255.9 3,445.5 1804 1895. 3,304.6 2,951.1 3,083.7 3,675.1 3,314.7 3,476.5 3.390.9 3,176.2 3,294.3 ..: 1896. 3,334.9 3,154.7 3,224.7 3,682.5 3,458.0 • These statistics are carried back to the year 1815 in Volume I of this work, at pages 41 and 42. They are converted from £'s sterling at a value of $5.00 to the £. Classification of the coin on hand in the Bank of France at the end of each year, in millions and hundred thousands of francs, 1870 to 1897: The capital of the Bank of France is estimated at 182,500,000 francs. The commercial discounts of the Bank of France,* in millions and hundred thousands of francs, from 1810 to 1894, were as follows: The condition of the Bank of France is shown below for the weeks ending September 1 and 8, 1893 and the corresponding period of 1897, in thousands of pounds sterling : The following statement, from "A History of Banking in All Nations," Volume III, page 131, shows the amount of paper discounted annually by all the banks of France from 1881 to 1894: The transactions of the Paris Clearing House were as follows for recent years, expressed in milliards of franes, 00,000's omitted: *From "A History of Banking in All Nations," Volume III, page 81: published by The Journal of Commerce and Commercial Bulletin. The Monetary Union between France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Italy was formed in 1865, and was joined by Greece in 1868. The convention was renewed in 1878, 1885, and 1890. These countries have their gold and silver coins of the same weight and fineness, and the same system is followed in Finland, Roumania, Servia, Spain, and, partially, in several of the South American republics. [For gold and silver coins see Index.] There is a double standard of value, gold and silver, the ratio being theoretically 15% to 1. Of silver coins, however, only 5-franc pieces are legal tender, and of these the free coinage has been suspended since 1876. issues. NOTE.-For further information see "Year Book," Volume I, pages 61 and 62, and subsequent 1895. 1896. COINAGE. The amount of money coined in France during recent years has been as follows, in francs: GERMANY. Area and Population. The following statement shows the area and population of the twenty-five States of Germany, and of the Reichsland of Alsace-Lorraine, as returned at the three census periods of 1885, 1890, and 1895: Area Württemberg. 7,528 1,995,185 POPULATION ACCORDING TO OCCUPATION, WITH PERCENTAGE, 1882 AND 1895. Fiscal Affairs. The following statement shows the revenue and expenditure (in thousands of marks) for the last six years, the figures for the last three years being taken from the budget estimates: The amounts raised by customs and excise and stamps were as follows (in thousands of marks): On October 31, 1896, the public debt amounted to 2,126,827,300 marks. Of this amount 450,000,000 bears interest at 4 per cent., 790,000,000 at 3% per cent., and 886,827,300 at 3 per cent. There also exists an unfunded debt, represented by "Reichs-Kassenscheine," or imperial treasure bills, outstanding on March 31, 1895, to the amount of 120,000,000 marks. As a set-off against the debt there exists a variety of invested funds. The fund for invalids consisted of 447,708,900 marks in 1895. The war treasure fund of 120,000,000 marks is not invested, but preserved in gold at Spandau. Agriculture. The total yield of farm products in the years indicated, in metric tons of 2,200 lbs., or hectolitres of 26.417 gallons, and in tons or hectolitres per hectare, was as follows: The number of live stock in the German Empire is shown as follows: The following are the statistics of beet-root sugar production in the Zollgebiet: No. of Kgs. Beet-Root to Produce 1 Kg. of Sugar. 8.27 1892-93.. 401 9,811,940 1,175,137 768,420 241.805 8.35 |