Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1861-1862, 1861-09-10
From tie London Times, August issh.
THE WAR LOAN.

TIE WAR LOAN.
The armies of Xerxes and the wealth Of Solomon
woald bar dly sustain comparison with the hosts Of
and mountains Of money Which at any rate upon paper
are placed at the CON mind OF President Lncoll for the
suppression of the Southern Confedeacy. We may ven
ture perh.p TO pass without too rigorous scrutiny the
bold though somewhat vote by which the
intelligence of the defeat at Manassas received In
Congress The millions 90 precpitately offered repre-
sented probably, the prioo resolution OF the North
TO spend It's last dollar In the preservation Of the Union
but without pressing these loose figures 70 their literal
Import really sstounded at the conclusions which
are forced upon by recent reports. IL used 10 %
thought that this country bad attained an unhappy but
nnapproscbsbe, emineDce Of national indebt dness -
halt entire expenditure 10 ordinary years goes sui
to ply the interest Of borrowed money and when We
were told to look America and TO observe how under
Democratic institutions, q country Is popuous - our
own could not but feel the force Of the contrast We
kaew, indeed that America had al her temptations 10
come and il was occasionally remarked In these col.
umns that the tendency TO extravaganza on the other
side Of the Atlantic rapidly increasing, but the
comparison spll remained striking one. Nov, how
ever critical test has been applied. America Is In
yosed In war; and the rate at which she Is raising
aud money WILL If carefully examined, appear almost
too extraordinary for belief.
The erac. position Of American finances must To to q
great extent matter of estimate, even 10 the country
ITSELF but 1t has been calculated on good authority,
that the actual expenditure Of the Federal Government
the present moment 70 at the rate Of 600 per
annum. This it is true Is less by ss0Oo0OO than the
amount Of our own eIpenditure-fe40 900, O00-in the
heaviest year Of the Crmean War bu, of that
charge was absorbed 10 providing for the interest Of the
national debt and the whole only showed an excess
Of some f35 900 900 ordinary peace eIpend-
ture. In 1853, We spent f5l 900 0O0 in 1854, $780,
900 000 aud not until found ourselves 10 the
very agony OF the struggle that added some 60 per
cent usual outlay. We may say, In Short ths.
the war cost for the twelve months when Il was most
expensive about $50 900 900 Of money, whereas the
civil Is costing the Amerc ms at Its verv outset, AZ
least twice that sum. An expenditure Of f75 coo 900
represents excess Of about $50 900 900 the ord
nary outlay OF the Federal Government and this Is in
cured when the rs, cempgn bas but just been opened
and before the real proportions Of the be sup
posed TO he developed. This, however, though most
omnous fact constitutes by no means the most striking
feature Of the case before u.s.
When we in this country, spending these tens Of
millions upon the in hand were also taxing our
selves in proportion, We met outlay Of es4 900 900
by taxes 10 tn amount of s63 900 900 net oclusy paid
into the EIchequer after the OF collection had been
deducted. In the following year We provided no less
han f5s 100000 to meet aggregate Charge OF f7S'
600 900 20 hat In the two Yeas together added ouy
some $50 00O0 900 TO the national debt. In fact, the
whole war sangunsry and eIhausiDg a. Il has proved
only augmented the public debt by the sum Of ESQ 1885,
coo. Let now contrast these statistics with the
counts received from America The ordinary Federal
smouns 70 about e6 600 00O so that the eX.
taordnsry charge Of the wato be either by taxation
loan, H. have said about eco 0C0 000 But how
do the Americans propose 10 rsiss thsS What proper
ton will they borrow and what proportion will they Wy
oy taxation? As far as can collect from the figures
TRANSMIT ted, they design to borrow the whole. They
have voted fresh taxes undoubtedly but these taxer We
imagine, will do little more than provide for the mere
Interests Of the debts contracted, as 1t Ia phrased
serve as "a basis for loans"
We arrive this conclusion partly by arithemtical cd
cuaton and partly from limitations conveyed bv the
American Journals We told distino ly that, though
ConGuss ready TO authorize any amount OF cans IL
hssiiaed when asked for supplies which TO base them
and observe that though the best affected Of the New
York ba kers did at 1t suggest that provision should be
made TOR meeting II Of the pr cpa they presently
admitted that this arrangement ght be dispensed With
Moreover seems pretty evident that the produce OF the
new taxes will suffice for much mere than the quid
atom the enormous interest," which, as shall pres
emily remark, will be necessarily accruirg. Until get
the estimates Of the Government placed before us, We
do ue more III approximate to the truth BY con-
lecture and computation; but II the Federal revenue
to be doubled by the prooeed1 Of fresh ta<atioD,
the increase Of income uoud be almost all absorbed 10
paying the interest of the d, b shich will probably be
c0Otaetod by this time tweiyemonth In other words
the Americans creating national DEB. o; the
rate OF ECO 900 900 year.
We rntrcat the read,r to observe for moment what
this implies Such urse throws all our borrowing into
the shade. In oil the nine years Of the American war,
from lTT4 TO 1888 we only borrowed fi04 900 goo, In
the twenty-five years Of the great Revolutionary vaS
averaged less than ESQ 900 600 year, and In the ire
msndous year Sl8l4. the loan was but f36 200 OC0 -
Bat this i only halt tie battle The burden OF loan
depends not much the amount OF principal as on
the rate Of interest We borrowed our money, even in
1918, at little above II per cent, and 10 1866 at q lit
tie above per cent The Americans, however, began
by offer of per cent and are at this moment COM
piled to paw 10 IL per cent. We fad, therefore,
that while EGO 900 00J annually would be added to their
national debt. &c, 900 900 annually would be added to
the charge of debt that four years and three
quarters Of their present expenditure would saddle them
With burden equal to that which have incurred In
century and half Mr. Gladstone has 10 prosii some
f2s 600 900 satisfy the public creditors Of Great Bril-
tain In the year 1866 II the American war should be
pro.ract so long, Mr. Chases successor will have to
provide rather more than that sum for the creditors Of
the Union.
II is obvious to remark that the may not be car
ried on SO long, or continued at heavy cos; and
indeed, the exorbitsnt propos OF Congress we're
probable based upon the assumptions that The way to
make short work was to 90 to work unsparingy a. hr'
the history Of the campaign up to the present point
tin,tte 10 suggest peedyermnation OF the strug
gle. The Southernes not likely TO succomb, nor the
Northerners TO retire. Neither Is II at all in accordance
with experience In these matters that the cost Of war
should be diminished goes The scale Of opera.
tions indeed far resolutions 60, has been actually
extend d. The last mail tells that the Volunteer Bills
passed by Congress empowered the President to cal
1000 900 men into the field and il supposed that
half those numbers would be actually raised Napoleon
had not larger army when he crossed the Niemen with
the most prodigious bost ever seen In modern day.
We detect sign therefore, OF any crrailment in
tie Dimensions OF this extraordinary var though may
we'll doubt whether the Americans will frd themselves
ale to borrow quite fast they desire They have
evidently the will rival the most reckless Of States n
this runous race, but they may not have the power.
Their credit il already but ind erep and the terms Of
the market are become less aud less favorable
loan follows loan. This, however Is the only difficulty
likely to operate as check 10 their career.
Correspondence of the A.soeidt.d Pyess.
FKOX FORTRESS MONROE.
FonrRxss MosRoE, Sept. b-The s;eln gu1beat MOI
tceio and the Harriet Lane arrived from Hatteras Inlet
this morning. and report mos, gratifying intelligence.