New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1862-02-18
A LAST APPEAL AGAINST UNQUALA
puRD NATIONAL INSOLVENCY..

that "the Senate's amendments to tho legal
"teuder [Treasury Motel bill excite regret and
produce Encouragement In tho ways and
l"Mesns Committee" That is bad, certainly;
but then those amendments have dlffused 10
much satisfaction and encouragement among
every body else that the adverse feelings OF the
Ways and Means Committee-supposing them
to exist-are by no means uncomfortable.
Let us see just what it is that these gentle
men-a bare majority, at least, of the Ways
and Means COnmittee-sorrow over.
The Public Debt, says our correspondent
If the mar continues, will be s., 200, 600, 900 by
tho LIST of July, 1863, and 81 800, 900 by
July, 1864. No doubt of it, especially if we
sink into tho slough Of shinplasterlsm to the
full depth contemplated ny the Committee OF
WAYS and Means But the war can no more
last till July, 1864, than a conhagration in this
city could endure so long. In the frat place.
the means of prosecuting it could rot DO found;
secondly. Europe would Mt stand IT. thirdly
bat there is no use in multiplying reasons IN
support Of proposition so undeniabie. with
competent officers at the head OF our present
armies, and reasonable supply of the slnews
of war. the backbone Of the rebellion may
moro easily be broken in sixty days than in
siI years. Our Eastern forces are not nearly
80 efficient to-day as they were two months
ago, when the roads were perfect and the
Gather delightful but, though weakened by
disease. desertion, and the rust Of inaction they
are strong enough to clean Virginia and North
Carolina of armed rebels within thirty days.
The armies of the West are permitted TO
speak for themselves. We are going to knock
tho breath out OF this rebellion before the lst
of July. or we never shall; and all talk Of
two or three years more fighting is calculated
10 destroy tho credit vi the Government and
break tho heart OF tho People. Ii would not
be strange if our brave soldiers, with decent
handling, should virtually end the war while
this abortion of q Congress is Numbering and
muddlug over u provision OF means TO carry
il on which ought to have been made IN De-
cember. To talk Of q prospective and proba-
bic debt Of Twelve OF Eighteen Hundred
Million. is the frat step toward destroying the
National Credit altogether.
But tho Specie Interest clause il objected to
d. creating one currency for Soldiers aud another
for Bankers. Let US tear the sizzard out OF
this clhp|rap.
We who protest against baseless and bound.
le. Shinplastersm deny that the Government
need ever have gone to rags at oil. Had the
War been been pushed in November and De-
cember as it is in February, and had the patriot
ian of tho People been strongly appealed to
for the means of insuring speedy triumph Of
the Nation, We are confident that one Hun
bred Millions per month could have been bor-
rowed at par for at least three months on 100
bonds, aud the Treasury thus kept solvent on
basis of Specie Payment. II was the mex
plicable paralysis of the National arms that
temporarily destroyed the National credit
Hundreds Of thousands who would gladly have
lent tho Government from 500 to 100000
each to pay the soldiers Of Burnside, Grant
aud Thomas, the gallant tars Of Dupont
Godsborough, and Foote, shut their purses
tight on perceiying that what money
there was in the Treasury was devoted
to paying such commissions rs those OF George
T. ID. Morgan and Vim. ii. Aspawal. Had Con-
gress. ON its meeting in December, devoted the
first week of the Session TO reducing It's own
pay to ) 800 per annum and It's mileage TO
ten cents per mile by the most direct mall
route, aud proceeded TO make similar retrench-
mcnts generally; had our armies then advanced
upon the enemy, and had the Government
thereupon appealed TO every loyal citizen to
contribute all he could 10 loan ol Three
/ Hundred Millions at par on $50 bonds, pledg-
ing the country that this sum should be SO ap-
Piled as to use mp the rebellion, there would
have been no hesitation to supply the money II
great deal faster than 1t could be used. Our
slump into Shinpastersm is wholly due to
official incompetency and lmbecllity.
But here we are. What i, t. be done
We say. cling to the payment of interest on
the Public Debt in specie rs our only hope OF
salvation from general stagnation of business
through u worthless Shinplastcr Currency. A
currency based on a National Debt whereof
tho interest is scrupulously paid in com can
deprcciatc very little Every man, who,
every institution, which, has any considerable
amount of it on hand, will necessarily convert
t into bonds 80 as to have it drawing interest.
These bonds will be eagerly caught by
Savings Banks, Insurance Companies, &c., a.
the very best form of Investment, because most
easily and surely converted into currency. We
believe they would depreclate very little,
aud would rise to par If not higher the