The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1861-08-03
CswardIy Ar mtes and 0Tumbllng Tax.
Payers.


loan which It PROPOSES IA pat upon the mar
kct. This rcasare Is very important and
often ab.cluteiy necessary to give credit to
the bonds proposed to be sold. The Federal
loan proposed for the present war cannot Re
sold without some such pledge. The capital
lists of the North have informed Mr.. CEASE
that no money can be borrowed, uhles. spe-
cifc revenues are set APART and pledged for
the redemption OF the war loans by the acts
authorizing theta.
The Fedetal Co~ytoss tats itself con-
ffontca by shia iiislcul.y in framing its 6nan-
cial legislation. 1t would be very easy to en-
act law merely directing the sale of four
hundred millions of bonds. But tho bonds
thus auth orized would not be taken By csoi-
talists, and the var fo~s IN - legislative
chambers End :aeit chase of the South i'm
pe'od y the obstacle to which we have
alluded. They must not only vote millions,
bul they must vote taxes Of some sort to liqui-
date the interest and provide for the principal of
those millions.
Their only means of providing for the IL
quidation of the new loans is of course that
of direct taxation. They know very we'll that
the tariff revenues Of the North must always
Southern trade They know that these re-
venues, however productive, will not be ade-
quate TO meet the current expenses Of the Fed
eral Government. They are therefore forced
to resort to some other fund to meet their new
loans, and they have no other fund than what
they may raise from direct taxation.
To direct taxes, therefore, they are obliged
to resort; and an irrepressible conflict has
arisen between tho representatives Of the
landed interests and those of the commercial
interest of the North. The rural members
insist that the tax shall he levied upon all
classes of the COMMUNICATION the income,
salaries and wages of the manufacturing and
commercial classes, rs eell ms upon the lands
of tho farmers. Mr.. CHASE committed the
ndiscretion of recommending the imposition
of direct tax on lard alone, and would have
exempted the urban populations Of the North
from the extra burden. His plan does not
following significant debate took place in the
House on the 26th ult., Mr.. SPALDING, who
is the immediate representative of Mr.. SEW
ARD, leading off:
the direct tax bill, Mr.. Colfax in the chair.
Mr.. Spalding, of New York. obtained the
floor, and in an eiah0rnt. sreech urged the
passage OF the act az matter of pressing ne
aSatt Government "
rtent loans bearing interest at six per cent.
were found unsaleable, or could be disposed
of only at 81 or SIS cents on the dollar; and il
had become absolutely necessary to induce
the capitalists to take loans, by the liberality
Of the rate of interest and by the ample guar.
an tees of their ultimate repayment. He earn
estly asked gentlemen not 10 evade the
sponsibilty of the occasion, but to come
boldly forward to the support of the country,
which must else go int bankruptcy. The
system Of taxation proposed to be introduced
is one which will last for many years, and
whatever defects may be discovered in the
present bill could be remedied in time.
Mr.. EgertCn, of Ohio, opposed the bill
chiefly on the ground that while the lands Of
the farmers, which pay but three per cent,
were pledged to the payment of the expenses
of the war, the wealth OF stock -joboers of
merchant princes and of commission mer-
chants, bringing in not less than ten per cent.
profits, was exempted The common sense
OF the people would, he was sure, revolt
against the bill Better that the country
should temporarily become bankrupt than
that so odious bill should pass. Let it be-
come law and the farming interests of the
whole country would rise up against the war.
Mr. Edwards, OF New Hampshire, thought
this bill could not be forced through The
House by appealing TO the fears OF the MEM
hers, that they would be placed in an attitude
OF hostility to the Administration. The tax,
he con tended, was unequal, and therefore I'M
just, and he had 10 tears that in opposing 1t
he ran counter 10 the wishes of his constit-
uentS.
Mr.. Diven replied that If this Congress
shall adjourn without providing the requisite
means demanded by the Government, they
will be greater das tards than those who He'd
from the battle field on Thursday and Oh
Sunday. He confessed that the probability
of this House adjourning without passing
this bill WAS TO him more appalling than the
dlsaste which befel the Government on
Sunday.
"Ample guarantees for their ultimate repay
ment' must be provided in support of the war
loans, and the taxation proposed must "last
for many years." is the language of an Ad-
ministration leader. An Ohio member resists
the bill as uuduly burdcnsome upon farmers,
and says that the "landed interests of the
whole country will rise up against the war" if
this bill is pushed to passage. Congress will
compromise, by taxing incomes, salaries and
wages as well as lands OF else members will
all unto in voting down the bill altogether.
This is the real test of the duration of the
war. At the first proposal to levy tax abso-
lu'ely necessary to it's maintenance, members
manifest temper to abandon it. If their SOL
diers in the field have no stomach for fight, and
their people at home none for war taxes, it is
clear that the war must break down. If the
dastardism of the farming and commercial
classes is, by Mr.. DIvEs's rule, as great as the
dastardism at Stone Bridge,-these classes
fleeing from taxes as their regiments fed from
our "masked batteries" then, by the double
dastardism, the backbone of the war must
surely be broken. Bankrupt Of money and
bankrupt of pluck, the successful prosecution
of the war is simply out of the question:
With pluck in their armies, they might con-
quer and confscate the funds by which to
prosecute the war. With free and liberal con
tributions of money and taxes by the people,
they might hire foreign soldiers, in the absence
of courage among their own, to carry on the
war. But without courageous armies or will
ing payers, it seems to US that the war
cannot be maintained.
The Premature Bonsting.
The New York Herald. of Monday, July
22d, is the richest newspaper ever published in
this country. We have been so fortunate as
to obtain a cow and shall ,aka care that II l. n