of the Italian-French and Austrian war of 1859. The capital of the National Bank of Italy is 100,000,000 lire (a lire is of the same value as a franc, 193 cents), and in October, 1868, the outstanding circulation of the bank amounted to 775,879,712 lire, nominally equivalent to $147,417,145 in United States money, or at the rate of about $5,40 per capita of the nearly 27,000,000 of population in 1872. This does not comprise the entire paper currency of the country, but it is the greater part. There is but little specie in circulation, and the bulk of specie in the country is held in the National Bank, which, in October, 1868, held a metallic reserve of 178,000,000 lire, or equal to $83,800,000 in United States money. Silver being a legal tender for any amount in Italy, it is presumable that whatever metallic reserve may be in the bank now is mainly of silver, and also that whatever other coin there may be in the kingdom is almost exclusively silver.

SPAIN.

The National Bank of Spain has a capital of 120,000,000 reals vellon (equivalent to $6,000,000), and issues circulating notes to the amount of 60,000,000 reals vellon, or equivalent to $3,000,000 in United States money. Besides this a portion of the large public debt, which in May, 1872, amounted to $1,511,000,000, has circulated as money. The national government became bankrupt in 1873, the payment of interest on the public debt having ceased in July of that year.

SWITZERLAND.

In Switzerland there are twenty-eight banks, nearly all of which issue notes to circulate as money, the legal limit of such notes issued by each bank being double the amount of its capital. The reform in the banking system of Switzerland, adopted in 1875, requires each bank to receive the notes of all other banks at par, and also that each bank shall keep a metallic reserve on hand equal to one third the amount of its notes in circulation. There has been a large increase of paper money in Switzerland in the last few years, and a corresponding decrease of coin, gold having almost disappeared. The aggregate of paper money in circulation at various periods has been as follows, viz.:

The 72,000,000 francs, equal to $13,800,000, gave a paper money circulation of $5.30 per capita of the 2,600,000 of population, and the legal limit to the ag gregate circulation is 50 francs per capita, which would give at the utmost $26,000,000 of paper circulation. The coin circulation is mainly of silver.

BELGIUM.

The Bank of Belgium had a total of circulating notes outstanding June 1, 1872, equal to $44,712,000 in United States money, and against this held a specie reserve equal to $21,384,000. On February 1, 1873, the circulation had increased to $60,264,000 and the specie to $23,328,000.

SWEDEN.

In Sweden there is the National Bank of Sweden, with a circulation in June, 1872, equal to $14,924,870 ; also twenty-six private banks, with an aggregate circulation at the same date equal to $9,067,600. The notes, both of the national and private banks, are payable in silver. The above aggregate of notes is at the rate of about $5 per capita of the population. The coin circulation is almost entirely of silver.

TOTAL OF PAPER MONEY IN EUROPE.

We may now proceed to make an approximate estimate of the increase of paper money in Europe in twenty-two years by giving the amounts in millions of dollars (omitting six ciphers in each amount), giving the amount in each country for the year nearest to 1854 and again for the year nearest to 1876:

The average of the above periods is seventeen years, and the average increase of paper money something near $62,000,000 per annum. But a point of much significance is that of the total increase of say $1,200,000,000 of paper money in Europe, over $800,000,000 has been made since 1866, thus showing that the period of greatest contraction in the United States has been the period of greatest expansion in Europe.

SUSPENSIONS OF SPECIE PAYMENT IN ALL

COUNTRIES.

THERE

THE UNITED STATES.

HERE have been four periods of suspension of specie payments in the United States in the last sixty-two years. Two were caused by the requirements of the government to carry on wars (1814 and 1861), and two (1839 and 1857) by the collapse of speculation induced by over-issues of bank notes under systems of banking not sufficiently guarded by law in regard to the security of an adequate specie reserve.

In 1814 the government was at war with Great Britain, and conducting extensive operations along the line between Canada and the United States. From 1812 to 1814 the government borrowed in all $45,000,000. Of the first $10,000,000, borrowed in 1812, $6,000,000 was taken by the banks in the middle States, as also a considerable portion of the other loans. The New England people were opposed to the war, and consequently the New England banks took scarcely any of the govern

ment loans.*

The result of these loans to the government was that in 1814 all the banks, except those in New England, suspended specie payments.

As a means of assisting the financial operations of the government, and also to encourage the banks to resume,

* Sumner's History of American Currency, page 65.