TABLE. IX. Showing' the tonnage of the United States for each year, from 1789 to 1820, distinguishing the amount employed in the foreign trade, coasting trade and fisheries.

†These numbers include the enrolled tonnage employed in the whale fishery.

Remarks. The tonnage of the United States increased with astonishing rapidity from 1790 to 1810, when it arrived at its maximum, and amounted to 1,424,783 tons; an amount far greater than that of any other nation in the world except Great Britain; and greater than that of Great Britain and Ireland united, in 1788. The tonnage of all the nations of Europe in 1676, according to Sir William Petty, was only 2,000,000 tons, or about one third more than that of the United States 20 years after the formation of our present government. The most rapid increase was in the tonnage employed in the foreign trade. The reasons for

this have been given in the Remarks on Table VIII. The tonnage employed in the coasting trade has been subject to none of the fluctuations of that employed in the foreign trade, but has regularly as well as rapidly advanced from 103,775 tons in 1790, to 571,058 tons in 1819, having increased more than five fold in less than 30 years.

The tonnage employed in the fisheries has not progressed with the same rapidity. Before the revolutionary war the state of Massachusetts alone employed 24,000 tons of shipping and about 4,000 seamen in the whale fishery; and 28,000 tons of shipping and 4,000 seamen in the cod fishery. These fisheries were destroyed during the revolutionary war, and for many years afterwards did not regain their original importance. To encourage them, Congress, in 1792, granted a bounty to the owners and seamen of the vessels employed in the bank or cod fisheries, and in 1814 this bounty was considerably increased. During the late war with Great Britain our fishermen sustained heavy losses, but since the return of peace they have resumed their occupations, and the fisheries are now in a more flourishing state than at any period since the declaration of our independence. In 1818 there were in the districts of New-Bedford and Nantucket, 72 vessels engaged in the whale fishery, whose aggregate tonnage was 17,158 tons; and this number has since very considerably increased. The tonnage employed in the fisheries is almost exclusively owned in Massachusetts. No state south of New-York ever owned a single vessel employed in the whale fishery.

Questions. 1. In what year was the tonnage of the United States the greatest? 2. What was its amount in 1810? 3. How does this compare with the amount belonging to other nations? 4. Which species of our tonnage has increased most regularly? 5. What was the amount of the tonnage employed in the coasting trade in 1790 ? 6. What was its amount in 1819? 7. Which of the United States is most interested in the fisheries? 8. What amount of tonnage was employed by Massachusetts in the fisheries before the revolutionary war? 9. What amount of tonnage was employed in the fisheries by all the United States in 1819 ? 10. How did the amount in 1819 compare with previous years?

REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE.

TABLE I. Showing the receipts at the Treasury of the United States, for each year, from the commencement of the present government to 1815.

The numbers in this column include not only the duties on spirits distilled, carriages, sales at auction, licences granted to retailers, sugar refined, stamps, &c. which are commonly termed internal duties; but also the proceeds of the direct tax, postage of letters, sales of public lands, and fees on letters patent, fines, penalties and forfeitures.

TABLE II. Showing the aggregate receipts of the Treasury from the 4th of March, 1789, to the 31st of March, 1815.

? Remarks on Tables I. and II. From the last column in Table I. it appears that the receipts were greatest in the years 1812, '13, '14 and '15. This was a period of war with Great Britain, when large sums were demanded for the support of our military and naval establishments. The real revenue, however, during this period, was very small, the principal source of the receipts being loans and treasury notes.

From Table II. it appears that more than nine tenths of the real revenue of the United States since the establishment of our present government, has been derived from the customs; that is, from the duties paid on tonnage and on foreign goods imported into the United States. The internal duties and direct taxes yield very little, being only resorted to in cases of emergency. During the administration of Mr. Adams, from 1797 to 1801, they were considerably productive, but soon after Mr. Jefferson came into office they were abolished, and the dependence was almost exclusively on the customs, until the late wer destroyed our commerce, and reduced the income from that source to less than half its usual amount. Direct taxes and internal duties were then revived, and in 1815 more than half of our real revenue was derived from these sources. The postage of letters was never intended as a source of revenue. The income from the sale of public lands is very rapidly increasing. The number of acres sold during the year 1817 was more than 2,000,000, and the amount of the purchase money was between 4 and $5,000,000.

After 1815, the revenue for several years was much greater than at any former period, owing to the immense quantities of foreign goods which were imported into the country. It continually decreased, however, till the year 1821, when it reached its lowest point of depression, and has since been gradually rising. It may now be estimated, in ordinary years, at about $20,000,000. Soon after the termination of the war, the direct taxes and most of the internal duties were again abolished.

Questions. 1. In which three years were the receipts into the Treasury of the United States the greatest? 2. What were the principal sources of the revenue during these three years? 3. In which four years were the receipts from internal revenue the greatest? 4. What is the principal source of the revenue of the United States? 5. How large a portion of the revenue has usually been derived from the customs?

TABLE IH. Showing the expenditure of the United States, during each year, from the commencement of the present gor

1,260,263 113,563 274,784 1797 1,039,402 62,396| 382,631 1798 2,009,522 16,470 1,381,347 1799 2,466,946 28,302 2,853,031 1800 2,560,878 31 3,448,716 1801 1,672,944 9,000 2,111,424 1,221,148 52,000 915,561 1803 882,055

1802

1804

1805

457,428 758,454

8,583,618

271,374 863,460 11,002,396 395,287 1,006,45511,952,534 195,676 891,624 12,273,376 550,925 997,443 13,270,487 1,215,230 1,110,834 794,692 11,258,983 938,923 53,000 1,139,832 1,186,652 1,084,446 | 12,615,113 768,281 141,000 1,597,500 2,798,126 1,052,42313,598,309

1306 1,383,555 75,000|1,649,631|1,760,421 | 1,211,590 15,021,196

1807 1,388,285 104,825|1,722,064 1808 3,041,434 72,975 1,884,067 1809

3,470,772 212,503 2,427,758 18102,389,923| 82,025|1,654,244 1811 2,122,828 61,8751,965,566 1812 12,022,793 72,845 3,959,365 1813 19,747,013 72,358 9,446,600 1814 20,597,906 10,294 7,311,299

577,825 1,190,560 11,292,292 301,982 1,200,868 16,762,702 166,305 1,148.33113,867.226

81,366 1,103,521 13,309,994 264,904 1,177,430 13,592,604 347,702 1,426,786 22,279,121

209,961 1,606,484 39,190,520 177,179 2,120,960 38,547,915

1815 15,208,794 111,750 8.660,000 | 290,891 1,210,645 25,522,089

* Including Barbary powers.

+ Including miscellaneous items,

TABLE IV. Showing the aggregate expenditures of the Treasury from the 4th of March, 1789, to the 31st of March, 1815.