in blank or to the order of the persons to whom he has consigned the goods specified in the bills.

These bills of lading are, in other words, receipts given by the captain, in which he undertakes to deliver the goods in the same state as he received them-under certain exceptions, such as injury by 'fire, the elements, the king's enemies,' &c. The holders of the bills of lading produce one copy duly indorsed to the captain on the arrival of the ship at her destination; upon the receipt of which, he is bound to discharge the cargo to the person thus proving his title to the goods.

If goods be shipped by a vessel which has been hired by a charter-party, the master of the ship will deliver the bills of lading to the merchant who has chartered the ship; but when the ship is not chartered, but simply takes the goods generally as a carrier, then each person receives a bill of lading, which he forwards to the person who is to discharge the cargo on the arrival of the ship at its destination.

CHAPTER VII.

OF THE EXCHANGES.

THE fluctuation in the rates of exchange, or the difference in price which at various times is paid for a bill of exchange, is influenced by a great variety of circumstances, which are often unseen and unthought of by those whose daily occupation is buying and selling bills of exchange.

Our first enquiry upon entering this subject is : what gives rise to bills of exchange, independently of those bills which are now so much drawn by banks for speculation? Legitimate bills of exchange are brought into existence, in by far the greatest proportion, through the necessity which different countries are under of settling their relative indebtedness-incurred by the importation of each other's produce-independently of the precious metals. A corn merchant at New York ships a cargo to London, and instead of receiving gold or silver, or a cargo of English goods in return, draws

a bill upon the consignee, and sells it upon the New York exchange. The purchaser of the bill has a payment to make in London for a cargo of English goods, and instead of sending gold or silver, or a cargo of corn, he remits the bill to his creditor, who gets it accepted, and obtains the proceeds at maturity.* It will thus be seen that at these two places, London and New York, the price of bills must depend upon the importations which have to be paid for; and the farther the importations exceed the exportations, in such proportion will the exchanges become unfavourable, until that point is reached at which it is cheaper to purchase and remit bullion. It will be seen also that the state of things must have become abnormal before the precious metals will be remitted in payment; but it stands to reason that if a merchant's expenses are very high, he must charge more on the goods he imports to the retail trader, and so on to the consumer, until the demand becomes less and the importation declines. If, however, the exportations bear a reasonable

*The purchaser here alluded to may also be drawn upon from London, and the bill used in the same way by a person who has to remit a sum of money to New York. This will depend upon agree

ment.

proportion to the importations, bills will be procurable at a moderate price, when the exchanges will be neither severe upon buyers nor sellers of bills of exchange.

In considering the effects of a political disturbance such as we see often happening in different parts of the world, it will not need much reflection to understand how great and rapid may be the disorder in commercial affairs. The recent rebellion in the United States offers an example of what a complete state of anarchy may be produced in a country's commerce and currency; unlimited paper issues causing prices to rise and gold to disappear as a circulating medium. Next to nothing being exported, there would be no bills to be had to pay for imports, and the price would rise in consequence to the specie point; gold shipments would be liable to capture by the enemy unless in foreign bottoms; the commercial marine would rapidly decrease, and so forth.

Inland exchange is the employment of bills in the discharge of debts, whereby cash remittances are avoided, the convenience of which is obvious. When two cities have unequal debts, the debtor must pay the balance against it, which causes a

demand for the bills on the city to which the largest account is owing, and, as with any other article, enhances their price. London, for instance, always has a large balance in its favour, being a centre to which payments have constantly to be made, and hence the premium on bills on London. If Liverpool had to remit to London 100,000l. and to receive 50,000l. the demand for bills on London at Liverpool would exceed the supply by the difference.

Foreign exchange is in principle the same as inland, as far as the settlement of indebtedness by bills is considered, but the mode of adjustment is of necessity more complicated, when countries with different standards of value are trading with each other, their different denominations, and the depreciation which may possibly exist in the currency of one or the other.

In foreign exchanges one country always gives another a fixed sum, or piece of money, for an uncertain sum expressed by other coins. The following 'exchange list' will show some of the principal cities that receive from, or give to, London for the £ sterling. The rates given, however, are subject to constant alteration, and are increased or lessened according to the various circumstances