The Sun.
London, England, 1863-09-26 00:00:00

If these issues aro not to be receivable in payment of
State taxes, it is inferrible, at least by those who are
not fully informed in regard to such questim4. that it
is because those lames are not as valuable as subsequent
issues by the Government, or for some cause or other
they have not been considered a safe or reliable circulating
medium. No matter what caused the exo:us'ou, it is per-
fectly plain that the effect has been to depreciate the cur-
rency and to arouse in the public mind the suspicion that it
will not ultimately be redeemed. Very few persons in
ordinary business transactions stop to examine the particu-
lar date of a note which they are about to receive. Very
few can remember the particular date of the note, discredited

by the law. The consequence is, as soon as they ascertain
that notes of some date are not receivable in payment of

taxes, and they do not know which, they became shy of re-
ceiving any, and all are discredited. When they are told
that some of the banks will not receive them on deposit, and

,hat some of the railroad and other transportation companies

will not receive them for fare or freight, they of c urse re-

fuse to receiyo them, and a general depreciation ensues,
which it will be found next to impossible thereafter to pre-
vent. In very many cases this money has been paid to our
soldiers, and by them sent home to ply their taxes. Son:e
such cases have been brought to my knowledge; and the

persons who were in this situation, on finding that it was
not receivable in payment of State taxes, have very natu-

rally complained.- if the money was good enough to pay
the soldier, who receives but 11 dols. per month, why is it not
good enough to satisfy the claim of the State when her
agent applies for State dues ? We have no State bank cir-
culation, we have no State Treasury-note circulation, both
of these descriptions of note having been hoarded as fast
as they could be collected by moneyed men. The conse-
quence, therefore, is that the holders of the repudiated
Confederate issues are driven to the necessity of shoving off
those they have, in order to procure such as will enable
them to meet the demands of the State. While it was
not the intention of the Legislatuie to place the tax-
payers in this condition, such is inevitably its effect.
They must have such money as will answer the
rpounrs-
pose, and to obtain it they
as have it, and must pay them such price in these rejectedl
must spray to such pe
Confederate issues as will command it. The onlyl reason
tni
have ever heard assigned in justification of thihs.seogts on
is that it was designed to force persons holdingitt
fironiurrenc
to fund in Confederate bonds, and thus retire
y man who had
circu-
lation. This would all be very well
of his family or the payment these issues in hand had no use sup-
portforttdhifeebmetveee.ritlhteurnffoorrttunheatolythat four-fifths of the
happens, however, for this
toA llretlhieevyeretchesiivredtahielyy
cA3hamvemupnreitsyent
havean dnopmresonsehy3;olusue' 7verfsetr.
wants and the wants of those
an
depienandpeonsstiubiploitnnthanendntne Find-
ing with all such is therefore
cir-
culation thus rejected
ff o cannot be
desirous
into
compelthisvratyh.e
fund-
ing,
Con-
gress, n-
gress, feeling the difficulty, o
uld be fundable
should passed an act which provides that all notes of issues
previous to the Ist of December, 1862,
in 8 per cent. bonds if presented by the 22d of April, 1863;
if not presented by that day, but presented before August
1, 1863, they were then fundable in 7 per cent, bonds; and
these issues are not fundable at all after August Ist. Notes
issued after Dec. 1, 1862, are fundable in 7 per cent. bonds
until August 1, 1863, and after that date in four per cent.
bonds. Notes issued after April 1, 1863, are fundable in 6
per cent. bonds if presented in 12 months from their issue,
but if not so presented they are fundable in 4 per cent.
bonds. This looks to me very much like a repudiation to
some extent of the obligations assumed by the Government,
and it is not, therefore, surprising that such legislation
should have created uneasiness in the public mind, and
aided in bringing about depreciation and a want of confi-
dence in the ultimate payment of these obligations. Other
legislation on the part of Congress has tended strongly
to produce the same conclusion in the public mind.
The mode in which taxes are to be assessed upon credits
in certain contingencies may be mentioned as one that
tends directly to the discredit of the currency. Better
far would it have been to make these issues a legal tender
in payment of debts than to resort to a compulsory process
like this to force its reception by the creditor; and while
this is being done our Legislature is urged to reject the
same paper issues in payment of State taxes. When the
Government casts suspicion upon its currency, and the State
Governments and the banks and railroad companies do the
same thing, the people may well become alarmed. The
consequences cannot fail to be most disastrous. We cannot
change the action of Congress, but we can remedy the errors
of our own legislation, and thus show that we are disposed
to uphold the credit and currency of the Confederacy. I
submit the report of Captain Edward H. Fitzhugh, now in
charge of the Quartermaster-General's office, to which I in-
vite your attention. It presents a clear and succinct state-
ment of the condition of affairs in that office from the orga-
nisation of the State line forces to the present time, and
will doubtless be read with great interest, especially when
it is recollected that just before the State line troops were
disbanded it was quite currently charged that the entire ap-
propriation had been expended. This report shows that
the sum of 1,225,000 dols. had been drawn from the Trea-
sury for that department, and that since the force was dis-
banded 616,517 dols. 92c. had been refunded, leaving the
actual cost of the State line forces, so far as that depart-
ment is concerned, 608,482 dols. Bc. Other property, now
being collected, and which will be turned over to the Con-
federate Government, will further reduce the cost. No re-
port has been received from the Paymaster-General's de-
partment. . . On the 20th of August last a requisition
was made upon me by the Secretary of War for 5,340 slaves,
to work upon the fortifications around Richmond. Copies
of the papers are herewith submitted to your consideration ;
and I particularly invite your attention to the draught made
upon the several counties. The apportionment upon the
counties seem to be entirely arbitrary, and bears very un •
equally. In some cases 5 per cent. of the slaves is called
for, and in other cases less than 1 per cent. Thus, Amelia,
with upwards of 7,000 slaves assessed with taxes in 1862, is
required to furnish 50, while Allegheny, with less than 700,
is required to furnish 30. The county of Albemarle, with
12,681, is called upon for 200, while Brunswick, with 9,212
is called upon for 250. The county of Augusta, with 4,430;
is called upon for 80, while the county of Rockingham, with
2,161, is called upon for 100. Hanover, with 8,521, is called
upon for 30, while Prince Edward, with 5,998; is called upon
for 150. These examples will suffice to show how unequally
this burden is distributed, and I trust that some amend-
ment will be made to the law which will afford protection
against such inequality. The law requires that ' the value
of such slaves as may escape from the Confederate authori-
ties and not return to their owners, or be seized or be killed
by the public enemy, or may by want of due diligence on
the part of the authorities of the Confederate States, in any
manner be lost to the owners, shall be paid by the Conftdo-
rate States to the owners of such slaves, and in like manner
compensation shall be paid for any injury to slaves arising
from the want of due diligence on the part of the authori-
ties of the Confederate States.' Many cases of peculiar
hardship arising from the loss of slaves have been brought
to my attention, and mach complaint has been made by the
owners in consequence of the fact that they have not received
the value as provided for in this Act. In several cases the
only slave capable of field labour that the owner possessed
has been lost, and compensation not having been made he
has been unable to supyly his place. If the value had been
promptly paid the hardship in such cases would have been
greatly relieved. 1 invoke your early attention to this sub-
ject, of so much importance to our common constituents.
I have received a communication from the President of the
Central Railroad, enclosing a report made to him by the
superintendent on a subject of great importance to the road,
and not less to the State and tha Confederacy. The demands
for the transportation of passengers and freight over this
and the other railroads of the State have been very great,
and the roads have been severely taxed to meet them. So
far they have fully met the demands, but it is apparent to
any person who will pass over them that extensive repairs
are now much needed, and must be made, or they will be
broken up and rendered useless. Besides, great difficulty
is experienced in procuring crossties and the necessary sup-
ply of wood for fuel. Labour is indispensably necessary to
relieve them ; and, so far as legislation can aid them, I am
satisfied it will be cheerfully extended. . . I communi-
cate herewith the reports of the board of visitors, the supe-
rintendent and the surgeon of the Virginia Military Insti-
tute, and I commend them to your consideration. They are
deeply interesting, and notwithstanding the embarassmenrs
of the time, they show that the institution is in a very
flourishing condition. When the institution was re-opened
it was seriously apprehended that it would be difficult, if
not impossible, to procuro the requisite supplies for clothing
and feeding the cadets; but I take pleasure in saying that
the judgment and energy of the superintendent have over-
come all difficulties, and the operations of the school have
been regularly kept up. The institution has strongly com-
mended itself to the fostering care of the General Assembly
and the people of Virginia, and I cannot too earnestly press
its claims upon your support and favour. I trust it will be
your pleasure to adopt the recommendations made in the
he
check, a be In e
if it
reports, and thus place it upon a firm and enduring basis,
and enable it gradually to extend the sphere of its useful-
ness. . . The extortioner is still pursuing his heartless
traffic and amassing his gains. The war to him is a godsend,
and he would not have it terminated for any earthly consi-
deration. Ho shares none of its hardships—he suffers none
I of its dangers. He has perhaps hired a substitute who, for
a Pecuniary consideration, agreed to be shot at in his place.
Such men are found everywhere throughout the Confede-
racy, and it is time something were done to put an end to
theirthis
b
r u
uoj no
ce yt : 1,: the hopeki gh
businessat
practical recommendation thatwlwouholuadlvd have
b on vme satki go s
e g
o
did not
eradicate this evil. In the first volume of the Revised Code'
of 1319, page 551, I find an act which was passed in 1777,
entitled ' An act to prevent forestalling, regrating, engros-
sing, and public, venduos,' which,
with very slight amend-
ments,
would, if re-enacted, check in a great measure
this growing evil. I invite your attention to it, and
recommend that some similar act be passed at this
session. The finances of the State are in a
highly prosperous condition—much more prosperous,
indeed, than could have been anticipated under the circum-
stances which surround us. The numerous demands made
upon the Treasury have bees promptly met and satisfied.
Our revenue is increasing, and the people, with that noble
spirit which has ever charaeterised Virginians, cheerfully
pay their taxes, and thus maintain the credit and uphold
the character of the Commonwealth. • • '
Rau/ LETCHEB,"