Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1871.djvu/407

 REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE.

37 1

Not, included in this account, are above 7.56 millions of paper money, called Bills of Credit, issued by Government on the guarantee of all the banks and other credit establishments of the empire, united into a State bank by imperial decree of September 1, 1859. The capital of these establishments, which are under the direction and supervision of the Minister of Finance, is stated to amount to 96,241,618 roubles, or 13,748,802/. The note circulation of Russia has increased very rapidly of late years, while the specie has diminished at the same time. There was- —

Jan. 1856

Feb. 1862

„ 1866

Note circulation

Specie

£53,450,553 106,526,443 119,345.930

18,475,582 12,336,705 11,874,312

The guarantee fund of the note circulation not amounting to more than one-tenth, it has been found necessary to give them a forced currency. Notwithstanding this measure, gold and silver has been for many years at a premium, varying from ,10 to 15 per cent.

The destruction of public credit, through an illimited issue of iaper money, is of old standing. In the reign of Catherine II., the first attempt, on a large scale, was made to cover the annual deficits by a very liberal supply of paper roubles, the sum total of which at the death of the Empress, 1796, amounted to 200,000,000. During the subsequent wars with France and Turkey, new emissions of paper followed,, with the consequence that, in 1815, the notes had fallen to 418, that is, one silver rouble was worth four roubles eighteen copecs in paper. Great efforts were now made by the Government to im- prove this state of things, by withdrawing a portion of the paper from circulation. After ten years of improved financial management, there remained, however, still 600,000,000 of notes,, circulating at the rate of three paper roubles to one silver rouble. As a final remedy, the Imperial Government withdrew, in 1843, the whole of the old paper money, introducing, in its stead, a new form of bank notes, with forced currency. By these and other means, particularly the establishment of the State bank above mentioned, the nominal value of the paper money, called Bills of Credit, was considerably raised, so as. to stand only at from 10 to 15 per cent, discount. However, as will be seen from, the above statement, the issue of paper money con- tinues at an increasing rate,. the note circulation having more than doubled in ten years.

The finances of the Grand-duchy of Finland, represented by an average annual revenue and expenditure of 3,000,000 roubles, or about 429,000/., and a public debt of 45,000,000 roubles, or

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