Carroll free press. [volume] (Carrollton [Ohio]) 1834-1861, 1848-05-12

lures. il will be apparent that the receipts were
largely Orer-esfimaied, and the expenses still
more largely HndsT-ssiimated. And here We
IGud The true cause Of the sad necessity which
| is now imposed upon US raising loan Of six
teen millionsof dollarsio blame this unfortunate
mistake; for most unfortunate Il IS, both for the
Goverpmcnt and the people. We oil know
that If forty millions instead of lweniy@hree had
then been asked for and pot in the market, Il
would have found ready purchaser; that It
would have been purchased IS proved by tho
fact that bids for more than fifty millions were
made fnr the loan Nhen these twcuty-lhree were
put up for sale. 81 that time Of Unprecedented
commercial prosperity loan TO the amount OF
/ forty millions could have been taken up with
out any serious injury 10 the business aud cur.
rcncy Gf the country; while now. By reason or
its own mistakes. for which it alone is in fault
and alone responsible, the Government must 90
/ into the market for these sixteen millions when
trade is depressed, when money is scarce, when
great commercial disuess prevails, aud slilt
greater is anticipated.
\ Perhaps it wonld not be going too far to say
that, putting wholly out Of view The distress aud
arrangement which the Government must pro-
duce by going now into the money market as Il
/ borrower, for every dollar il bouows it will
cause The loss Of more THAI another dollar 10 the
business Of the country. Aud here he would
add that the Government commItIcd, if posi-.
bic, a still greater blundcr IN the manner in
which the loan was issued. Having got what
the Secretary calls a divorce from the banks,
which the Government had long been suing
for, aud which took effect from the first of the
last year, Just at the moment when the law
went into operation requiring all payments To
the Goyofnmcnl to be made IA specie. aud
which cnlolncd il on thc Government; to paw
its debls in coin also, hc seems to have been in
great haste TO sci up the business of banking IN
a description of paper credit which the records
,. 9rrhe war Of the Revolution and Of the late war
with Great Britain abundanlly prove 10 be FAR
more worthless than bank paper, if pushed to
any great extent beyond what the accruing re-
: venues would absorb. Instead of funding the
loan. and issuing ccuilcmes Of stock for it,
which could not have been returned upon the
Treasury in payment Of Government dues. he
committed the great oversight of issuing, in cx-
change for the specie he borrowed, Govern
ment promsSory notes, commonly called Trea-
sury notes, which are receivable in payment Of
all debts due to The Government. Now, as
these notes are nothing more nor less than AN
anticipation or realizing in advance the rcve-
nues OF the Government, it is perfectly apparent
they should never be pun out, except in case Of
overruling necessity: and it cannot b. pretend.
cd that any such necessity existed then, when
more Than fifty millions were seeking invest
ment, and when specie was more abundant
than il ever had been before in any porOd of
our history. In place Of that abundance great
demand for specie now exists, which has caus-
ed these notes 10 fall below par; and now being
worth less than specie, they are flowing back
into the Treasury in payment Of all Govern.
ment demands aud thus the Government is, or
. shortly must be-, unable 10 meet lis engagements
in specie, in which the Sub-rreasury act di-
reefs the public creditors to be paid. The a.
e mount Of these notes now outstanding is G.
h qual to all the revenues Of the Go, err.
. mcnt for half year to come. 1t should
= have been perfectly obvious to the Secretary.
q when these notes were issued, that as soon as
) specie became scarce they would all be back
upon his hands in payment of customs. lands,
! and other public dues; thus for the time being
beggaring the Treasury, and rendering the for
NAL machinery of the Sub-lreasury nought but
/ depository of Government promlssory notes
/ instead of specie, for which ii was provided
with elaborate care.
| But, passing by this topic, he would proceed
I To assign his reasons more in detail for saying
that the income of the Government had been
, oyer.esmatcd and its expenditures under-es,i.
5 mated. The latter greatly exceeded in amount
, the former For the oycf-estimales the Secre-
, ary Of the Treasury is responsible, and for the
f still more serious under estimates the Secrela-
ry of War is accountable. lie would not
} charge either of those officers with having pur-
poseIy prepared and presented to Congress err
roneous estimates; but he must say that the
e war estimates are 50 wide of the mark as to
, raise suspicious of their good faith. In view of
the magnitude o(the war expenditures, he could
readily imagine that both Of these officers would
| feel strong desire 10 put as good face as pos
sible on the state of their affairs. What men
y desire they can easily persuade themselves To-
1 believe. The Secretary ofthe Treasury there
D fore might, in his desire TO provide means To-
4 meet the public expenses, oycr-estimNte his re-
! ceipts by pretty large per centage without be-
i ing aware of it, aud might at the same time
! firmly believe in realizing the amount. The
r same remark is applicable to the Secretary Of
: War, in the desire he must feel 10 curtail tho
a war expenses as much as possible. But this
G furnishes good reason why their estimates
c should be severely and doubungy scrulinized
d in this House. Great allowances ought also to
= be made for the uncertainty that must always,
= from many causes, hang over future receipts
: aud future war expenditures; but with all this
:, uncertainty, the heads OF the Departments ought
n to be able to make reasonable approach to-
= the truth. Ifthey would keep themselves free
: from difficulty, it would be wise always TO
c make large deductions from their calculations.
Q In private life, if an individual in carrying or
:. his business habtualIy over-esIimates his means
:, and undertakes his expenses, it requires no
, prophet to foretel that he is doomed to be
/ bankrupt, and that too before he is aware of
it.