FRENCH FINANCES AND FINANCIERS. As to the financial position of France, the National Review says: "Including the two great loans the belief is, that since the coup d'etat, Louis Napoleon has borrowed 1,700,000,000 francs. The expenses incurred by the municipality of Paris on account of the arrangement as to the price of bread, reach between fifty and one hundred million francs. For the embellishment of the city the Parisian authorities have contracted three loans, to an extent of 135,000,000 francs. The sums borrowed for similar purposes by the departments and communes are stated to us at 300,000,000 francs. These facts and figures are alarming enough: what is yet more so, is the establishment of the Credit Mobilier, a society for borrowing and lending on various securities and on an enormous scale. Scarcely one of the ministers, or men connected with the emperor, is free from the reproach of stock-jobbing; their fortunes have been made either by gross favoritism or by speculations in the funds, which, in men placed as they are, and with sinister and secret means of information, is little short of swindling; and the riches thus questionably won are spent in a style of lavish and somewhat vulgar luxury peculiarly offensive both to the taste and the poverty of the cultivated and the noble." PAYMENT OF INTEREST ON STATE BONDS OF MISSOURI. We publish below the several sections of an Act passed at the last session of the "General Assembly of the State of Missouri," and approved by the governor December 7th, 1855. This act is entitled AN ACT TO SECURE THE PROMPT PAYMENT OF THE INTEREST ON STATE BONDS. SECTION 1. There is hereby set apart on the first day of July, 1856, from any moneys in the State Treasury, not otherwise appropriated, the sum of two hundred thousand dollars, as the basis of a State interest fund; and the further sum of one hundred thousand dollars annually thereafter, out of the gross revenue of the State for the period of thirteen years, which said fund shall be denominated "The State Interest Fund." SEC. 2. In case any railroad company to which the credit of the State has been loaned, shall fail to deposit with the treasurer of the State a sum sufficient to meet any interest to fall due, upon any State bond, or upon any bond guarantied by the State, thirty days prior to the time when the said interest shall become due, it shall be the duty of the auditor and treasurer, hereinafter mentioned, to pay to the treasurer of Štate, out of the State interest fund hereby created, the amount of money sufficient to enable said treasurer to pay said interest promptly at maturity; and when such delinquent railroad company shall repay to the treasurer of State the amount so paid for such company, with interest thereon, the same shall be repaid by said treasurer into the said "State Interest Fund." SEC. 3. The treasurer of State and the auditor of public accounts, and their successors in office, are hereby created commissioners of said " State Interest Fund," and they shall have the exclusive control, custody, and care of the same; and it shall be their duty to keep separate accounts of said fund, and make annual reports to the governor of the condition of said fund. SEC. 4. The said commissioners shall invest the said sum of two hundred thousand dollars, and the said annual apportionment of one hundred thousand dollars, in the seven per cent bonds of the State of Missouri, or in the bonds of the United States, or such other States as the General Assembly of this State may from time to time designate, and the interest accruing from time to time on said bonds shall be invested in such bonds, and shall be added to and form part of the said 'State Interest Fund." SEC. 5. The said commissioners shall have power to sell or hypothecate the whole or any part of the bonds belonging to said fund to procure ready money, to meet any demands which may be made upon such fund under the provisions of the second section of this act. The bonds, moneys, and papers belonging to said fund shall be deposited in the State treasury under the immediate care and custody of the treasurer of State for the time being. SEC. 6. The fund created by this act is hereby declared to be sacred and invio lable for the purposes contemplated by this act, and the General Assembly here by pledge the public faith of the State of Missouri, that the fund hereby created shall not be diverted or applied to any other purpose whatever, until the principal and interest of all the State bonds issued and to be issued or guarantied under existing acts shall be fully paid and redeemed in good faith. SEC. 7. The commissioners of said "State Interest Fund" hereby created shall receive such compensation for their services as the General Assembly of this State shall from time to time prescribe by law. SEC. 8. This act shall not be construed to alter, modify, or repeal any former acts of the General Assembly loaning the credit of the State to the railroad companies respectively; nor shall the Governor be authorized to issue any bonds of the State to such railroad companies, while such company or companies shall fail or refuse to repay to the treasurer of State any advance of interest due by said company or companies to said "State Interest Fund." This act to take effect and be in force from and after its passage. COMMERCIAL STATISTICS. COMMERCE AND NAVIGATION OF THE UNITED STATES WITH THE WORLD. The following tables, showing the Commerce and Navigation of the United States with various foreign countries, were communicated to Congress on the 10th of March, 1856. These tables, as will be seen, exhibit the value of exports to, and imports from each country, and the tonnage of American and foreign vessels arriving from, and departing to each country during the years designated. These tables are similar to one or two which we copied from the manuscript tables furnished to our hands by Mr. Nourse, and published in a former number of the Merchants' Magazine:— Years. produce. produce. Total. Value of imports. AMERICAN.- Entered Cleared FOREIGN.- Entered Cleared U. States. U. States. U. States. U. States. 1845 12,380,171 3,170,233 15,500,404 21,595,425 126,417 141,032 1846 13.601,650 1,528.925 15.130,575 23,911.332 113.554 134 679 1847 18.592,531 505,087 19,097,618 24,900,841 139,672 160,657 1848 15.374,885 4,444,425 19,819 310 28,096.031 156,326 132,546 1849 12,523,759 2.986 824 15.510,583 24.363,783 102,017 127,888 1850 17,950,277 1,883,070 19,833.347 27.538,025 114.867 128,747 1851 25,302,085 2.951,061 28,252.146 31,715,553 142,842 163.707 1852 22,190,070 1,800,575 23,990,645 25,890,266 193.242 214,763 1853 25,120,806 1,450,978 26.571.784 33.455.942 189.916 201.181 1854 30,968,252 1,179,729 32.147,981 35.781,893 233,148 230,052 1855 31,623,893 1,254,230 32,878,128 31,609,131 199,695 266,823 SPAIN. 1849 1850 1845 452,091 64.673 516,764 1,759,877 31,498 14,134 10,774 2,115 3,198 17,500 29,637 30,542 43 848 1845 237,092 10,088 247,180 501,784 13,409 12,324 1,804 1,651 2,635 3,650 263,571 2,781 3,169 345,725 2,038 8,900 877,136 887,398 9,991 12,579 3,953 11,469 7,071 9,682 4.004 8,886 5,990 7,948 6,343 12,548 6,187 8,767 13,141 7,495 9,044 The figures for this year are those given by "Commerce and Navigation " for the Papal States. In former reports, the entry is Italy, or Italy generally; or Pontifical States-sometimes both. 2,656 4.542 5,823 6.527 20.178 18,752 6,267 9,947 6.196 11,481 1845 $1,495,754 $355,319 $1,851,073 $709,562 11,740 20,289 1846 1,632,607 749,207 2,331,814 836,372 12,714 23,375 1847 2,874,367 348,190 3,222,557 948,325 28.307 26,617 1848 1,989,764 200,171 2,189,935 1,825,061 20,256 19,870 1849 2,443,064 288,243 2,731,307 1,844,292 21,158 27,862 1850 2,168,357 375,403 2,543,760 2,404,954 23,033 21,428 1851 2,709,393 142,619 2,852,012 2,377,630 16,578 17,654 1852 3,202,767 1,001,003 4,203,770 2,054,043 15,982 34,705 15,538 1853 2,301,038 907,495 3,208,533 2,732,168 28,845 25,124 10,931 4,192 1854 3,848,890 1,158,004 5,006,894 3,462,241 36,480 42,532 13,217 11,171 1855 2,576,354 1,550,886 3,927,240 3,398,690 36,998 37,790 7,048 4,963 5,756 4,068 7,524 3,829 5,940 12,334 .... 1845 2,079,341 196,654 2,275,995 1846 1,178,188 158,553 1,331,741 1847 1,708,655 124,229 1,332,884 5,583,343 16,60 1848 2,063.625 126,388 2,190,013 8,083,496 23,719 1849 1,460,945 122,270 1,583,224 5,513,785 19,418 11,740 1850 1,485,961 119,256 1,605,217 6,593,462 21,969 17,830 7,445 3,106 1851 2,155,945 829,342 2,485,287 7,065,144 27,587 46,217 11,327 10,198 1852 2,480,066 183,111 2,663,177 10,593,950 52,070 67,264 26,009 21,507 1853 3,212,574 524,418 3,736,992 10,573,710 65,899 66,041 26,965 24,808 1854 1,293,925 104,163 1,398,088 10,506,329 57,196 68,658 19,230 18,547 1855 1,533,057 186,372 1,719,429 11,048,726 55,048 101,660 15,767 15,768 7,285,014 21,204 17,477 478 306 1,174 664 • The figures of this year are the aggregate of those given in "Commerce and Navigation" for Austria and Austrian Possessions in Italy, which are substituted for Trieste and other Austrian Ports, in prior reports. The figures for this year are the aggregate of those given in "Commerce and Navigation" for Russia on the Baltic and North Seas, on the Black Sea, and in America, and Asiatic Russia, all of which in former reports were embraced in the single entry-Russia, |