The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1861-09-09
The Army and Money Votes Of the Federal
Congress.
From the London Times. AUG. 10

fioih tur IcHuUn Times, aug. ~.
The armies Of xerxes and the wealth of SOL
omon would hardly sustain a com parfson with
the hosts OF men and mountains of money
which--at any rate, uuon papor--are placed
at the command OF President Lincoln for the
suppression OF the Southern Confederacv -
We may venture, perhaps, to pass without 100
rigorous q scrutiny the bold though some
what gasconaGing, vote BY which the inteIIi.
gence OF the defeat al Manassa was received in
Congress. The millions SO psecipitately Of
fared represented, probably, the patriotic res-
oiutiou CT the North 10 spend its last dollar in
| the preservation of the Union bnt, without
pressing these loose figures TO their literal i'm
| port, we are really astounded at the concla-
sions which are forced upon us by recent re-
| ports. 1t used TO be thought that this coun.
try hoa attained an uahappy but unap-
| pfc2cfable eminence in national ndebt-
edness. Half our entire expenditure in
ofdinary years goes still to pay the inter-
est OF borrowed money. and when we
were told To look at America and OBJ
serve how, unfter democratic institutions, q
country as PopuioUs as our own could be gov.
erned at quarter of the expense, we could
not but feel the force OF the contrast. We Erep
indeed thct 7nzerica had al! her eptatioas to come
aad il scas occasionally rcmarksI an these cotnmas
that The tendency to ertraroQdnce on e other aide of
the Atlantic was rapidly increasing, but the
comparison still remained striking one
Now, however, a critical test has been ap-
piled. America is involved in war; and the
rate at which she is raising men and money
will, if carefully examined, appear almost too
extraordinary for belief.
The exact position of American finances
must be to u great extent q matter of estimate
even in the country itself; but it has been cali
culated, on good authority, that the actual ex-
penditrfe Of the Federal Government at the
present moment is at the rate of about s75 o0o,-
900 per annum. This, it is true, is less by Co.
000,o0o than the amount of our own expendi-
ture-fsl 200, ,o00-in the heaviest year of the
Crimean war; but one-third of that charge
WAS absorbed in providing for the interest Of
the national debt, and the whole sum only
showed an excess of some G35, ,00n, ,Go0 over our
ordinary place expenditure. In 1858 we spent
s5 600 900 in 1Aj4, 5000, 600 and it was not
until we found ourselves in the very agony of
tie struggle that added some six xty per cent
10 our usual outlay. We may say, in short,
that the war cost for the twelve, months
when il was most expensive fbout $50 600 GEO
Of money, whereas the civil war is costing the
Americans at its very outset at least twice
| that sum An expenditure of E75 900 900 rep
FtselltS an excess OF about G60 o0J, 900, on
the ordinary outlay OF che Federal Govern
ment, and this incurred when the first cam
pagn has just been opened, and before the real
proportions OF the war can be supposed to be
developed. This, however, though Il most omi-
nous fact constitutes by no means the most
striking feature of the case before us.
When we, IN this country, were spending
I these tens OF millions upon the war in hand,
| we Were also taxing ourselves in proportion.
! We met an outlay of ES4 100000 by fa3es TO
! the amount OF t63, 900 800 net, actually paid
/ in 20 the Exehequer after the costs of coilec
! ton had been deducted, In the following
! year we provided no less than s68 go to
meet an aggregate charge OF f7G,u0a.g09, So
! that in the two years together " added oaly y
/ some t31,900 ,0Q9 to the national aCbI In fact
! the whole war, sanguinary and exhaustng
! Is L proved, only augmented the public debt
! by the SUM o! t32.793o ol0. Let US now con-
: tfasI these statistics with the accounts re-
/ Ccl.eG from America. The ordinary Federal
! revenue amounts TO about SIC, 900 GOO so that
+; the extraordinary charge of the war, to be
met either by taxation or loan, is, as we have
said, about f60, 800 900. But now do the Amer
! leans propose TO raise this? What proportiou q
! will they borrow, and what proportion Will
/ they levy by toXation? As fDf as we can coll
! lect from the figures iran sAlitted, they de-
! sign TO borrow the whole Tney have voted
! fresh taxes, undoubtedly; but these taxes,
| we imagine, viii do little more than provide
/ for the mere interest OF the debts contracted,
| or, as II is phrased, serve aS "a basis for
! loans. = We arrive al this conclusion party
! by artthmeticai calculation, and partly
/ from intialations conveyed by the American
/ journals
! We are told distinctly that, though Congress
: was ready II authorize cny amount OF leans,
! X hfsitated when asked for supplies on which
! 20 base them; and we observe that though the
/ best affected ci the New York bankers did at
! FIRST suggest th5t provision snouId be made fos
! meeting part of the princi pal, they presently
! admitted teat this arrangement might De dis
/ pensed with. Moreover, 1t seems pretty evil
! daat That the produce Of the new taxes viii
hot sLitiee tOr Tau1n more than the liguida tiOn
!
| presently remark, viii be beineessantly accruing.
/ Until we get the estimates of the Government
placed before us we can do little more than
] approximate To tie truth by con- pjecttTe and
/ rlputation: bur, If the Federal revenue were
/ 10 be doubled by the proceeds of fresh TAXA
/ tion, the increase Of Income would be almost
all absorbed il paying the interest Of the debt
waich Will probably be contracted by this
/ u1ae tWelNenoDth. III other words, the Am
+ 2ric&ns ere now creating national debt al
| the rate of go, 900 600 year.
-,
I1enL what this implies. Such a course throws
I all cur borrowing Into the shade. IN all the
niEc years OF the American Waf, from IVA to
I l1sS, we only borrowed fl14 0o0.0e1. In the
III Nenty-iJyo years Of the great Revolutionary
/ war We averaged less Than E3G,HtG,o6a a year
and In the tremendous year isl5-l4 the loan
WIS bGt $50, ,oo0 ,001 But this is but only hal
tlie battle. Tie burthen OF a loan depends
not So much ou fAe amount OF principal us on
the rate OF interest. We borrowed cur money
even IL 1915 ut q little above four and 81 hal
per cent, and Ia 1886 at a little above three
per CENT The Americans, however, began b,
an offer OF seven per cent, and are at this mo.
! ment compelled 10 pty ten or twelve per cent
! We find therefore, that while 660,00o, 900 an
nualiy would be added to their National debt,
tt, htJ,UV0 annually WCult be added 10 the
| charge OF that debt, that four years and
/ three-quarters Of their present expenditure
| would saddle them with n burthen equal to
that which ave have incurred in a century and
q hai4. Af. Gladstone has 10 provide some
G2s, s,000, coo to satisfy the public creditors oi
| Great Britain. Ia the year 1866, if the AMER
! len war should be protraeied So song, Mr..
/ Clase's successor VIII have TO provide rather
| nore than that sum ior tie creditors or the
( Union.
1t is Obvious to remark that the war may no,
| be carried ON so long, or continued at so heavy
| u cost; anG, indeed, the eSorbitant propositions
| of Congress were probably based upon fhe as
| SUMPTION that the WY 10 make sisoTt Norii
WAS u so TO NOlA uaspaTingly at first. But
the Eisiory OF t:e campaign up to Iae pfeseiii
! point contains little 10 nggest Il speedy terni.
| nation OF the struggle. The Sortherners are
I not likely 10 succuinb. nor the Eortherners u
| relire. Neither is it IL all III accordance with
! experience liz these matters that the cost of a
| war should be diminished as it goes on. The
scale 0f operations indeed, as far rs resolu-
tions 30, has been actually extended. The Issi
in1l Tells us tnat the volunteer bills passed
| by Congress empower the President 10 call one
million men ihto TIE iield, and ii was assupposed
/ that half those numbers would ee actually
| raised. Napoleon had not u larger army her
! lie crossed the Nielneu With the inosf protli.
gieas host ever seen ia m0dern days. We car
4 eetect no sign, therefore, of any cIriSilrneEi
! III the dimensions of this extraordinary war
! though we May we'll doubt whether ths
! Americans will find themselves atsae 10 hor.
/ row quite so fast rs they desire .Ikey hay,
evidently the will 10 rival the most reeaies.
! OF states in this ruipous race bat taes. may
( not have the power. Their credit e q fge. ( !
! but Indifferent ant. the terms Of tks irsr...;
are saTe TO become less ant. less Favorable as
loan fellows loan. This, however, is the only
| difficulty likely TO operate as check TO thels
| cafter. The desire for 4 com mpronaise. already
discernshie in the Glasses ON whom THE ex.
/ neases OF the war will fall, yottid be inefIse-
1 tife ia comparison with tie passions Of the
( ntAHitusse exempted from taxation. We see
/ III short, denlocricy in q crisis W tazsh brings
ail its various ffetensions 10 trial. lts tAAti-
tafioas are certainly rot calculated 10 maks
men pacific. OF this unnatural war would
never have been adopted and prosaeutess Al il
4 h4s been. As certainly have they no tenden-
ey TO promote pubile sconoaay Tor the ex pen
ttlture eI the Americans is aeyena an esa.n,
i pie We shall now be able to note their op-
! Grafton on popular opinion. and observe how