APPENDIX.

APPENDIX A.

SAN FRANCISCO, CAL., May 26, 1884.

A. J. BOWIE, JR., ESQ., Present:

DEAR SIR: You will find herewith a statement of the produce of gold in the United States since its discovery in this State in January, 1848, to the close of the fiscal year ending June 30, 1883, prepared by me at your request.

The imperfect methods of collecting and preserving such data in this country are so well known to statisticians and others as to scarcely require any apology for the inaccuracies of these estimates or the indulgence of your readers. I have long been satisfied that the produce of the precious metals in this country, as well as in others, has been considerably exaggerated, and that the tendency to over-estimation is inherent in the methods adopted. My long connection with the mining industries of this coast, however, through metallurgical operations of great magnitude, enables me to eliminate some of the inaccuracies which have crept into published statements, and which have been adopted and repeated by subsequent statisticians.

Undoubtedly the most reliable method of determining the produce of this country in the aggregate is that based upon the deposits of "domestic" gold made at the several mints, as stated in the directors' reports, and the exports of uncoined domestic bullion, as shown by those

of commerce and navigation; though in its distribution both of these reports are necessarily more or less defective in detail, and the latter more particularly contain many palpable errors and omissions.

In order to conform to the data derived from these reports I have stated my estimates in fiscal years instead of calendar years, which are usually adopted by other statisticians. As I only have the mint reports as far back as 1855, I have not the details of foreign gold, old United States gold coin, jewellers' bars, and old plate deposited from 1848 to 1854. I have, therefore, estimated these items for this period at five millions, which I find to be about the excess of the coinage over the "domestic" gold deposited, as shown in the "Summary" tables of the report of 1873. In the navigation reports the uncoined gold exported was not separated from that of gold coin prior to 1855. I have, therefore, estimated the amount for these seven years at $88,479,269, including the $33,479,269 of fine bars made at the Philadelphia mint in 1853 and 1854 and not accounted for in the coinage.

It may be well here to note also another fact which I think has been generally ignored or overlooked, and that is the large amount of private coinage made here by the old United States Assay Office and other coiners from 1849 to 1855, which was almost our only currency on this coast during that period. From the best information I can obtain on this point there could not have been much less than $60,000,000 thus coined for the seven years embraced. Much of this, however, was exported as soon as made, but there could not have been much less than $25,000,000 or $30,000,000 in circulation when the mint here went into operation, April 1, 1854. It then disappeared very rapidly, and I have eliminated the amount entirely by deducting it from the apparent produce of the years 1854, 1855, and 1856, and have added it to that of pre-. vious years, distributing it to the best of my judgment. In addition to this there should be added to the ascer

tained produce of these earlier years an appreciable amount for what was taken out of the country in private hands. In consequence of the high rates charged by steamers in those days on the export of treasure (5 per cent. and primage), a very large amount was thus taken from the country. For several years the deposits at the. Eastern mints exceeded by ten or fifteen millions annually the entire exports from this city, as shown by the CustomHouse records. As every steamer carried from five hundred to one thousand passengers, no inconsiderable amount must have gone abroad in the same way. At a later period, say from 1862 to 1872, more or less gold was thus taken out of the country by returning Chinese, but never to the extent some have supposed. Nearly the whole of this gold was obtained from the establishment of which I was the manager, and I therefore speak advisedly.

It may be well to explain here also the causes of the marked decline in the produce of California gold in certain years. That of 1857 was largely due to the great excitement and resulting exodus from our mining districts incident to the Frazer River discoveries in British Columbia. The rapid decline which is noticeable from about 1863 was due, in part, to the two excessively dry years of 1862-63 and 1863-64, but to a still greater extent to the great loss of mining population resulting from the silver discoveries in Nevada-not less than from fifteen to twenty thousand of our population leaving for that State within a few years following these discoveries. The increase in California gold noticeable from about 1878 is mainly due to the produce of the Standard and other mines in the Bodie district.

While stating the produce of California at about $1,100,000,000, my belief is that it does not exceed $1,050,000,000, if so much. I can trace to this city at least $25,000,000 of uncoined foreign bullion, principally from British Columbia, which has not been accounted for by deposits at the mint or re-exports. I personally know