Weekly national intelligencer., 1847-04-17
THE EIGHTEEN MILLION LOAN.

0dluiudy last was the uay 10 Whlcn was HHiteu
the reception of Proposals, according to public
advertisement by the Secretary of the Treasury, for
Loan of Eighteen Millions of Dollars, under the
authority of the act of Congress of 2Sth January
last. The loan is founded on Treasury Notes TO
be issued under said act, payable two years after
the date of said notes, with interest," at the rate of
six per cent. per annum; which Treasury Notes
receivable in all payments of duties TO the Govern
ment, and may be funded at the option Of the
holder, at any time within the two years.
The general result of the bids we understand to
be, that offers were received for the Loan to the
aggregate amount of Fify-eight Millions of Dol
lars three times the amount required--al of
which were, more or less, and some of them as
high as two per centum, above par.
This extraordinary offering proves beyond ques-
ton the existence Of an abundance Of unemployed
capital in our country-much OF which is the earn
ing of merchants by the late unprecedentedly high
freghts paid by the Government itself and by the
exporters Of grain to Europe-and proves also, it
must be admitted, a certain confidence of capitalists
in the credit of the Government, greatly assisted,
we believe, by vague expectation which generally
prevails Of an early peace with Mexico. May this
hope prove not to be unfounded, and may il most
speedily be realized
The good fortune of the Administration in draw
ing aid and comfort as it thus does, from the
consequences of the failure of the food crops in
different countries of Europe has hardly ever been
equalled. No longer ago than at the opening OF the
late session of Congress, we ourselves, upon the
authority of the best informed men in our country,
expressed great doubts of the ability of the Govern
ment to obtain further loans on almost any terms.
Upon the same or like authority, precisely the
ground was taken by the Executive and Financial
Departments of the Government. To prove this
we need not refer our readers to the earnest and
almost beseeching appeals of the President in
cessve Messages to Congress to lay additional
taxes to enable the Government to make additional
loans. For our present purpose it is sufficient to
quote the language OF the Secretary Of the 1rea-
sury to the very same effect as ours. Our predic-
ton on the subject bore date on the 18th December
last; the Secretary's on the 2lst of the
month, being contained in an Official Letter to the
Committee of Ways and Means, calling their at
ention to the views submitted in his last annual re-
port in regard to imposing duties on tea and coffee.
" These duties," said he. !" were suggested in view
of the necessity of obtaining the loan therein
|' proposed, and this Department feels bound to
communicate the opinion entertained by it that in
the absence of these duties, ii arM probably be
WHOLLY IMpRAcTIcABLE TO NEGOTIATE THE LOAN
on such terms as would be permitted by Con-
' gress."
The duties were not laid and yet the loan has
been negotiated with unexampled facility! We
would here repeat, chad it not lately more than
once been quoted in our columns,) as applicable to
both anticpations on this head, the poets
adage-
sThe wises schemes of mice and men may fail"
Considering the amount of capital seeking in
vestment, disclosed by this show of hands,
and the certainty of the Government being able to
command further loans for all its probable uses
especially if peace be really at hand-there is good
ground for believing that the successful bidders for
this loan will have made profitable business of it
for it is reasonable to suppose that Government
stock, for which there so much competition
that two-thrds of the bidders are disappointed of
their object will command premium in the
market.