ABSTRACT
The extraordinary state of the Foreign Exchanges in America during the period with which we have been dealing, is peculiarly difficult to explain in a simple form, but is all the more instructive because it offers the opportunity of viewing the different elements of value in simultaneous and sometimes conflicting operation. The foregoing remarks upon particular instances where the Foreign Exchanges offered peculiar opportunities for analysis, are not intended to be historical or exhaustive, but only illustrative of the general question of interpretation. Remittances to foreign countries combined the advantage of security with that of remunerative employment for capital, and many millions sterling have been sent to Europe for this purpose. Of these it has repeatedly been pointed out, that the balance of indebtedness, in its widest sense, is the most fundamental, entering in a greater or less degree into almost every case in which Foreign Exchanges are concerned.
