The North-Carolina standard., 1845-03-19

and of Wild and excessive speculation, which then
! Afasptl over the land Congress was not inscasi.
bic 10 lis tendency to excite and encourage extra
VACANT appropriations and lavish expenditure Of
Iahe public money. This surplus was likewise the
! fruitful theme of Whig dcnunciatlon In connexIon
{ with. Executive patronage. 1t was an evil that
! demanded cure. 1t pressed with disastrous
weight upon the great interests oil the country
/ The avowed object Of all, was to remove ito
make somegpermanent disposition 1t, until the exl-
genccs Of the nation demandedits use. That o5i
.iect has been fully and entirely accomplished
The deposit of The three fist ns;alments was made,
and the remaining fourth postponed, ior2the obyi-
Gus reason, that the three first had exhausted the
! Treasury When the surplus ceased, the reason
: of the law. ceased And Congress was reduced
TO the necessity of disseminating the deposlte law,
or of borrowing the money to fulfil its promises.
1t wisely chose the first of these alternatives that
iof repeating or postponing the further operation
Of The law. 1t was no gift, no graulty, but a
sheer deposite so expressed in the plain words of
the act, so understood by Congress and the States
receiving it on dcposite. This is evidenced by a
report of the Committee on the Surplus ReVcnue
made to the Legislature Of 1887 by Mr. Graham,
! Governor elect In that report the COMMITTEE
saw this fund is talent committed to the Lrgfs-
laiurc, for the proper use of which its members
will be lastly held accountable to their consItu-
ents and country; unless in their hands 1t shall be
made productive of great and lasting dement's 10
the State" But now, sir, we hear different doc
trine proclaimed What W intended TO be de-
posite, is sconstfued into grant and the act view
| ed in the light ola contract. The payment OF the
| fourth instalment is claimed on the ground that
the States have vested righ, thereto. And 1t is
alleged that the General Government has G iven
pledge which must be redeemed, and that it now
has the means to do so.
But Mr. Speaker, what says the President on
that subject? Does his statement warrant the pro-
cecdines, or hold oul any inducement to the pas
sage of this preamble and resolutions? No sir,
uol What the president does say is this:
!; The greatly improved condition of the Treasu-
ry affords a subject for general congra;alalion.
The paralysis which had fallen trade and com
me1ce and which jected the Government 10
The nrcessty Of resorng to loans, and the issue OF
Treasury notes, TO large amount has pas +ed away;
and, after the payment of upwards oil SI,Ooo'ouo
on account Of the interest and in redemption oil
more than $4,000 600 of the public debt. which
falls due on the lst of January next, and setting
ararI upwards Of 50 900 900 for the payment OF
outstanding Treasury notes, and meeting an IN
stalment Of the debts of the corporate cities oil the
District of Columbia-an estimated surplus OF up
wards of 81 600, 900, over and above the existing
appropriations, will remain in the Treasury at the
close of the fiscal year." -
The President does inform us that there will
be a surplus at the end of the present fiscal year
same time, in another part of his message takes
great care to recommend the establishment OF a
sinking fund for the redemption of the National
debt But it is not to the Message of the Presi-
dent that we should look for full extent of the
! National finances we should look rather to the
Report Of the Secretary of the Treasury, where
it will be seen that the balance OF the National
debt, after deductng the payments alluded 10 by
the President in the extract just read, will be up
- q 4 n 1hoi h.
ing this debt the Secretary makes the following
recommendations:
"The Secretary of the Treasury recommends
the establishment of sinking fund TO anticipate
the payments CT the certificates Of stock issued
under the authority Of the Of l942 and 1943
The present time is propItious for laying the
foundation for anticipated redemption OF the
public debt, and for allevatng the burden Of taxa
tion.
prudence, justice, and duty, require that the
annual charges upon the Treasury Tor interest up
on The public debt be lessened and finally extln-
{ guished with all convenient and proper despatch,
and that the burdens Of taxation be lessened.
"The public debt to be provided for after the
first day of January. In the year 1915, viii consist
of the debts assumed by the United States Tor the
several cities in the District of Columbia the two
loans redeemable in 1858 and 1863, respectively
; and such parts of the Treasury notes, old debt
and Mississippi stock, shall not have been then
presented for payment with the annual interest ac
! cruing.
. "The interest upon the two loans amounts tc
The sum Of $S50,S44 II cents, until the 1stday o
July, 1853, and after that to the annual sum oil
RI $500, 0,633 21. The sum of interest from and after
the ls of July, l845 10 the 1st of July, 1858 on
those two loans will amount tine sum of Sc 906,-
E7I8 I6 and the residue redeematle in 1868, to
the sum of Sd Sl30f5 O2; together S1l,69l 773 25
The principal and interest on the two loans, II moi
redeemed before the times limited, will charge the
: Treasury with the Of S26 967,s9l 49,"
h Hence it appears, that although there is now a
surplus beyond the current demands of 81 100000
and upwards yet the Government owes q large
debt, the principal of which ame unts to more than
$4,000, 900, aud that this surplus can be used
and if the powers that be. act wisely, will be used
for the payment of this National debt
Prudence, and the bright example oftbose
who have gone>be(ore u.s. dictate such course as
the first and most natural application Of this fund
The President and Secretary advise it; and it i.
but few days since the House of Representative.
by vote of los yeas to 68 nays, laid upon the
. table the joint resolution for the payment Of tht
f fourth instalment, introduced by Mr.. Davis o
. Kentucky; thus signifying laudable determine
tion 10 the public funds for the legitimate oh
e jects of the government But such disposition
o of the moneys of the Federal Government doe.
not accord with the views of the party in power
4 in North Carolina.
y A national debt presents no cause of alarm tc
y nlodern Wig. 1t is one of the fundamenta
!, articles in his political creed. And trust that
shall not be considered harsh or uncharitabie. il
imputing to the friends of distribution here, Sc,