IMPORTS AND CUSTOMS. We have previously shown that the Southern States, from the year 1795 to 1816 inclusive, took the lead in Imports by about one million sterling over those of the North. Matters are considerably changed since then, for the report of the Secretary of the Federal Treasury, in relation to imports during the fiscal year terminating June 30th, 1858, proves that whilst the Free States entered goods to the value of $249,446,139, the entire South could only show $33,167,011. The great proportion of the latter came to New Orleans, the amount being nearly twenty millions of dollars, leaving thirteen millions to those ports which formerly surpassed the North in commercial activity. The Customs returns of 1854 amounted to $64,224,190, to which which the South contributed $5,136,969. The United States' tariff has since been altered, and the returns in 1858 (to June 30th) were only $41,789,621: if the above proportion be maintained, the South is not contributing very largely to the expenses of the general government, hich derives its receipts as follows: "STATEMENT OF THE UNITED STATES' REVENUE DURING THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30TH, 1859.* The money derived from the sale of public lands must obviously come chiefly from emigrants, but it is not directly so. When these lands are put into the market, they are bought up by speculators at the rate of $1.25 per acre (about 5s. 3d. English), and resold at greatly advanced prices. This is a most iniquitous system; but the speculators have always been too influential at Washington to allow of its being altered. A Northern representative lately moved that the public lands, when surveyed, should remain ten years before being put up at public sale, in order to give immigrants the opportunity of settling thereon, and thus avoid the fleecing operations of the speculators; but the motion was defeated. *The American Almanack for 1860. The main source of revenue in the United States is the Customs duties; and the Southern States, at the present time, do not furnish more than from three to three and a half millions of dollars as their quota. Thus it has been for years; not merely with regard to one department of Government, but in all. If we examine the Postal statistics, we find the same rule obtaining—the Free States paying for the Slave. POSTAL REVENUE. By the official returns of the Post Office in 1855, we learn that the sum of $1,719,513 accrued from the sale of stamps in the Northern States, to $666,845 in the Southern. The three items of postage collected, registering of letters and newspapers realized $4,670,725 in the North, to $1,553,198 in the South; the total receipts from the Free States being $6,390,238 against $2,220,043 of the Slave. The cost of transmission of the mails was $2,608,295 in the former, to $2,385,953 in the latter. The returns of 1858 give the total cost of the Department at $7,198,816;-$3,402,865 for the North, and $3,795,951 for the South, to which the former contributed $5,335,560, and the latter only $1,810,355. |