The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1861-11-09
BURLINGTON, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 18'


Soushern FINANCES. ~ an.
Recent intelligence from the South shows 3 tne
finances Of the ,consprators to be N cenal'ign
approaching . collapse. The treasury noses i Z
sued by the Richmond Government are tne "a
els of the circulating medium A part Of the
financial scheme OF the Confederates was great
produce loan. The planters were persuaded that
to sustain the credit Of the Government they
must in some manner. never clearly explained,
donate portion Of their crops 70 the Govern
ment. The prevailing idea seems - Be that the
Government was TO buy the cotton ana tobacco,
and. somehow or other, make big thing of It.
But the Government discovers that an immense
heap Of raw cotton wonld not be available, %
long 40 the blockade lasts, and while the rebel
policy 10 70 prevent pound Of cotton q tobac.
co from being shipped While there Y no way
of getting cotton to Market the tovernment
has no nse for It. The cohspifatofs calculated
that II they Absolutely forbid the expectation OF
cotton until the blockade were broken, the cot
ton consumers of France end England would
break the blockade. II was treason 70 the re-
bellion few months ago, to say IN the Cotton
States that England would permit the closing OF
the cotton ports later than October November
has come and the blockade 10 tighter than evor,
and the prospect of immediate interference in
American affairs by European Governments il
not 90 great as to be dattering to the Secession
lists. The planters have been accustomed ct this
season to receive heavy advances on their cot
toa, and in the absence of ! market, and the de-
cline Of their hopes in the more than imperial
power of their greatest staple, they call upon
the Govofnment for relief. -.
Mr. Asmminger, of South Carolina, the Con.
federate Secretary Of the Treasury, has issued
circular addressed ITO the Commissioners ap-
pointed 20 receive subscriptions to the Produce
Loan" He has, in the first place, the hard task
of explaining the meaning Of the loan. He ex.
plains that s'the transaction is simply an agree
ment by the planter to lend the Government so
much money" and this agreement gives the
Government $50 much credit" But az the
planter cannot get any money for his cotton, ne
can't lend the money to the Government There
fore it is necessary to wait-until the blockade
10 broken. Various schemes Of relief, Ar. Mem
minger says, have been proposed-either Of
which looks to the issue of an enormous mass OF
Treasury Notes. Mr.. Memminger says: q
"Our inquiry, then, may be narrowed down to
proposal that the Government should issue one
hundred millions Of Treasury notes, to be distri6a
ted among The planting community upon The pledge
Of TIE forthcoming crop
The gentleman confesses alarm at such pro.
posal which he Justly says Is "that new gov
ject all the lessons of experience, and undertake
that which no goverement, however long estab-
lished, has yet succeeded in efiecting."
He supposes the war may cost the South two
hundred millions of dollars, aud .'then the pro-
posal is that, at time when we are called upon
to raise this large sum for the support of the
government, we shall raise further sum of one
hundred millions for the planting interest"
In other words, he says the government is
called upon to ''pay out money which is needful
to its very existence, and receive in exchange
planters notes or produce, which it does not
need, and cAnno., in any way, make use of"
He goes on to show, and has no difficulty in
doing so, that the proposed scheme of reieffor
planters, would cause the depreciation of Treas
ury notes to the extent of the whole issue for
relief, and that the government would therefore
simply sink one hundred millions of its credit.
He says:
If the Government should undertake, for the
sake Of private interests, so large increase Of
issue, it may hazard its entire credit and stabili-
ty. The experiment. is too dangerous, and re-
lief for the planters must be sought in some
other direction and may not that remedy be
found? 7ast
Mr.. Memminger's proposition for relief is re-
freshing. He recommends each class OF the
community to ''endeavor to secure its own ex-
istence by its own exert;ons." He thinks an eff
fort by the planters, who are $50 intelligent"
will result in relief; and he warns them not to
indulge vague expectations OF relief by gov
elnment." His suggestions for relief are:
In the first place, let the planters Immediately
take measures for winter crops, to relieve the
demand for grain and provisions. Let them
proceed to divert part Of their labor from cot
ton and make their own clothing and supplies.
Then let them apply to the great resource pre-
sented by the money capital in banks and pri-
vate hands. Let this capital come forward and
assist the agricultural interest. Heretofore the
banks have employed a large part of their capi-
tai in the purchase Of Northern exchange.
Let them apply this portion to factors accept
tances of planters drafts secured by pledge of
the produce in the planters hands. An exten-
sion Of the time usually allowed on these drafts
would overcome most of the difficulties. This
extension could safely reach the probable time
OF sale of the crops, inasmuch as the suspension
of specie payments throughout the entire con-
federacy relieves each bank from calls for coin.
this character, and will conduct the operation
with such skill as will make them mutually I'd
vantageous.
( There is no wonder that this sort of proceed
ing disheartens the intelligent and exaspera tes
the ignorant of the class with which Mr.. Mem
miDger has to deal. 1t is equivalent to telling
the cotton lords, who have fancied themselves
occupying the throne of the commercial world
that cotton is no longer the monarch, and that
they must 60 to cultiyatingscorn like the vulgar
Yankees, and that in financial affairs they must
look for relief to the banks whose recommends
tiofis that as they have suspended specie pay
ments, there is no danger that their paper will
be redeemed in coin.
10 aoCopto;uod frnun tho Couthopn po~ o~spo-
pers that the planters are sorely troubled BY this
circular from the Confederate Secretary of the
Treasury, whs is discovered to be simply pres-
dirg over . paper mill II il the official an
nouncement of the incapacity Of cotton to aid
the rebellion, and Of the strangulating power Of
the blockade. The distress and anger among the
plantocracyf is excessive. If our feet should
open cotton port or two, the planters may seek
relief through them. The blow at the Southern
coast will fall opportanely. II the planters will
abandon the miserable and suicidal rebellion,
and become loyal citizens Of the United States,
they will speedily find relief in the exchange of
their cotton for gold. Other relief there is none
for them this side of the grave.
The publication of Mr.. Memmnger's circular
will do much good in the assurance which it
gives the world, of the essential bankruptcy Of
the Confederate Government, and the ruin that
it is bringing upon all who support it. The f.
nanciers of Europe will read the weakness and
bankruptcy of hopeless cause in every para
graph Of this curious circular, in which the theo-
rist of cotton royalty and the supremacy of the
South, approaches the confessional, and tells the
planter to raise corn, for cotton will not save
him. aa E Pc
Generals Lane and Sturgis..Their Poll.
- cies Compared.
Gen. Sturgis' command has been following one
day behind Gen. Lane on the road from Kansas
City to Springfield. The correspondent Of the
Cincinnati Commercial, who has been travelling
with Sturgis, was at first bitterly prejudiced
sgainss Lanes 'jayhswkers," but he seems to
have had his eyes opened. Writing from 0sceoIa.
after describing the desolation there, he says:
There is great complaint in this country against
Gen. Lane. When stop at houses as travel
along. and listen to the pathetic stories of the
women-how Lane has taken everything they
had have pitied them from my heart, md
could say no Buckeye could do as he does. The
next Union man met who knew the man Lane
had SO despoiled, would say-"Lane served him
right" Yesterday stopped at farm house
where the post-office was kept; the poor woman
- - &C r,oJ ehct Z 4