The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1859-02-10
SECRETARY COBB'S LETTER.

The Secretary of the Treasury, an nbediaIlpo
to a resolution of the House of Representatives,
sent to that body, on Thursday last, letter, in
which he states the present condition of the
national finances, and admits that the receipts
into the Treasury will be inadequate to the pub
lie necessities. He says that either the expen-
ses of Government must be materially reduced,
or the revenue increased; and as Mr.. Cobb well
knows that the former is impractcable while
his party is in power, he must be understood as
recommending an increase of duties on imports /:
in word, return to the tariff of 1886 So
it seems that while the President and Secretary
of the Treasury differ as to the mode of ilnpo-
sing duties, they entirely concur upon the main
point of the necessity of raising the rates. The
President, it is known, favors specific duties
while the Secretary adheres to the Southern
policy of dd cdtorenl duties. Specific duties
require that given commodity shall paw so
much tax; as for instance, yard of broad
cloth, of specific quality, so many dollars
pair of boots, so many, and so forth. Id uaIo-
rem duties are taxes imposed upon foreign
DIS imported in proportion to their value
and without reference to the quantity The
President favors the former, or protectionist
plan the Secretary the latter, or freetrade plan
The following is abstract of Mr. Cobb's
letter:
"The receipts of the first quarter of the pres
ent fiscal year, ending the Both September,
1853, were $25, 30,879.46, as stated in my AN
nual report to Congress of December 6, 1858
The receipts for the remaining three quarters
were estimated at $38, 500, 900, of which sum
S37 100000 were estimated from customs 1t
was believed that the quarter ending December
81, 1853, would yield $lO,OOO,OOO. The pres
eat quarter, ending the 3lst March, 1859.
SIS, OOO,0 900; and the next quarter, ending 3Oth
June, 1859, $l2,000,000.-
"Since my annual report was submitted to
Congress, returns have been made from nearly
all the ports for the quarter ending the 3lst
December, 1888; and estimating for the few
ports not yet heard from, the total receipts for
the quarter will be about the sum of 50. 200. OOO
For the present quarter, full returns have been
received for the month of January from the
ports of New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and
Baltimore. The receipts from these ports
amount to S4,376, 542.S6 Partial returns have
been received from other ports, but not TO a
sufficient extent to Justify statement of them.
" In reference not only to the customs, but
the public lands and other sources of revenue.
all the information which has been received
at the Department since the date of my annual
| report confirms the correctness of the estimates
| of probable receipts for the present and next
4 fiscal year which then submitted to Congress.
L am therefore OF opinion that the result will
show that the actual receipts for the remaining
| quarters of the present year, and for the next
fiscal year, will not vary materially from the es-
| Inmates already submitted to Congress In sup
port of this opinion, submit to the considera-
ton of Congress comparison of the receipts
from customs for the same months of the two
preceding years and the present year.
In 1861 the receipts from customs for
the quarter ending the 3lst December were
| $l4,243,4 1880. In lS57-'5S the receipts from
customs for the same quarter were Sc 237 ,723.6 SO
In 1883 SO the receipts will probably be
$9,200,000, as | have already stated.
During the fiscal year ending 3Oth June
1857, the importations were very heavy, amount
ing in dutiable goods, exclusive of those i'm
ported, to 1924, l60,835; and the receipts from
customs for that year were S63, 664, 1886. II
the fiscal year ending Both June, 1858, the i'm
portations were much reduced, amounting. il
dutiable goods, exclusive of those exported, to
$202, 293,075 and the receipts from custom.
were $42,046,277.s6. To realize my estimates
the importations of dutiable goods for the pres
ent fiscal year must reach the amount O
S250,OO0,000, besides those exported !; and fol
!, the next fiscal year the sum of $3.50, 900 900.
J Comparing the foregoing statement of re
ceipts, and looking to favorable and health
full reaction in business, l should regard i
; unsafe and unwise TO calculate upon large