The amount paid on the public debt during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1885, was $45,993,235.43, and there has been paid since that date and up to November 1, 1885, the sum of $369,828, leaving the amount of the debt at the last-named date $1,514,475,860.47.  There was, however, at that time in the Treasury, applicable to the general purposes of the Government, the sum of $66,818,292.38.

The total receipts for the current fiscal year ending June 30, 1886, ascertained to October 1, 1885, and estimated for the remainder of the year, are $315,000,000.  The expenditures ascertained and estimated for the same time are $245,000,000, leaving a surplus at the close of the year estimated at $70,000,000.

The value of the exports from the United States to foreign countries during the last fiscal year was as follows: 

Domestic merchandise $726,682,946.00
Foreign merchandise 15,506,809.00
742,189,755.00

Gold 8,477,892.00
Silver 33,753,633.00
784,421,280.00

Some of the principal exports, with their values and the percentage they respectively bear to the total exportation, are given as follows: 

Articles.  Value.  Percentage.

Cotton and cotton manufactures         $213,799,049           29.42
Breadstuffs                             160,370,821           22.07
Provisions                              107,332,456           14.77
Oils—­mineral, vegetable, and animal     54,326,202            7.48
Tobacco and its manufactures             24,767,305            3.41
Wood and its manufactures                21,464,322            2.95

Our imports during the year were as follows: 

Merchandise $579,580,053.80
Gold 26,691,696.00
Silver 16,550,627.00

          
                                                                                                      622,822,376.80

The following are given as prominent articles of import during the year, with their values and the percentage they bear to the total importation: 

Articles.  Value.  Percentage.

Sugar and molasses                           $76,738,713      13.29
Coffee                                        46,723,318       8.09
Wool and its manufactures                     44,656,482       7.73
Silk and its manufactures                     40,393,002       6.99
Chemicals, dyes, drugs, and medicines         35,070,816       6.07
Iron and steel and their manufactures         34,563,689       5.98
Flax, hemp, jute, and their manufactures      32,854,874       5.69
Cotton and its manufactures                   28,152,001       4.88
Hides and skins other than fur skins          20,586,443       3.56

Of the entire amount of duties collected 70 per cent was collected from the following articles of import: