The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1862-01-22

Hot. hecpiUS ILLS III TeCoiiSCtloL, Ict Vi as
certain as nearly as may be our precise po-
sition. This State has expended for the
General Government about $450, 900, and
has been repaid tho sum of $4,000. The
State has sold her bonds to the amount Of
about 100000 The proceeds of said sale
$lS4, 900, and the $50, 900 received from the
General Government have been applied to
paying the expenses incurred by ths State,
leaving unpaid and due wholly, believe, to
our own, people, about 1886, 900, for which
they hold or can receive warrants drawn on
the War and Defence Fund. If the amount
expended by the State, which is to be reim-
burscd by the General Government, be $780,
000, there is now due the State $4,000,
| and il the Federal tax should be $500, 600,
and the State should assume it, there, would
be due the General Government the sum Of
$1S2, 500, being the entire amount of the tax,
! less the amount now due the State, and the
| fifteen per cent. for assumption AMI collect
ion which must be assessed upon and paid
by our people. tos9 s aag
But we must provide also for the payment
of the amount due our own citizens. This
must be done by assessing the amount as .
! tax and by either actually collecting the mon.
| ey and paying it to the holders of the war.
rants, or by authorizing those holding war
| rants to surrender them to the Auditor, and
receive in lieu of them other warrants Of the
| amount of five dollars each, which shall be
receivable in payment Of the Federal tax
These warrants being ofsmall amounts, and
being all receivable during the present yeer
for taxes, would be much more valuable to
! the holders than the present ones. Should
| this course be deemed advisable, it will be
| necessary, in order to meet the demand
made upon us by the Federal Government,
to levy q tax Of about 1858 500, of which
| $ls2, 500 must be collected in money, and
| $l86, 900 may be paid in warrants outstand-
ing against the War and Defense Fund
! Our State debt will have been increased by
| $500, 600, and we will not have any money
in our Treasury wherewith to meet further
military expenses, should they be necessary
| 1t will be observed that the sums given are
generally estimated. Absolute precision
could not in some cases be arrived at, but it
will be found the estimates approximate very
nearly the truth. If this should not be deem
ed advisable, we can present our claim
against the General Government, receive the
amount due the State, pay the outstanding
warrants in the hands of our people, and
either collect in money the Federal Tax and
pay it to the General Government, retaining
the fifteen per cent. for so doing or allow
! the General Government to collect the whole
without interference on our part. In view
Of the actual condition of our affairs and the
want ofpromptitude with which our taxes
are paid, am inclined to favor the plan first
recommended If I had assurance that our
taxes would be paid as they should be, 7
| mould ,,>,,oh v>rof.,. tb<, ,,oa,,J
Intimately connected with the subject Of
taxation and revenue, is the question as to
the kind Of money which shall be received for
taxes. Under our present laws. specie only
is receivable for public dues. In view Of
the recent suspension ofspecie payments by
the Gener al Government and the Banks of
the Eastern States, it becomes question Of
great importance whether we can, and I
urgently recommend to you such change in
our law as win allow the payment of taxes
with United States Treasury notes and the
notes Of the State Bank Of Iowa. 1t is true
the United States Treasury, notes are not
payable in specie, but it is the interest of all
loyal citizens to keep them at par, and the
! receipt of them for taxes by the loval States
would tend much to that end. The State
Bank of Iowa is required by the law creating
/ it, at all times, to redeem its circulation in
coin, and believe it expects and is fully
prepared to meet that requisition. If. as it
seems to me we must and should receive for
revenue the United States Treasury notes
not redecmable in specie, cannot see the
wisdom or justice Of refusing to receive the
notes of our Banks, that are SO redeemable,
especially when by so doing, we make the
payment of taxes more easy to our people
and more certain to the State, and at the
same time aid to some extent in keeping in
circulation among us currency which has,
and in my judgment deserves, the confidence
of the people. sisys
MILITARY AFFAIRS.
The report Of the Adjutant General here
with submitted, shows the number and des-
cription Of troops raised in this State for
United States service to be Sixteen Regi-
ments ofInfantry, Four of Cavalry. Three
Batteries of Artillery and one Independent
campany Of Cavalry for frontier service. Oh
these the fifteenth and Sixteenth Regiments
Of Infantry are not fully organized. In ad-
dition, Col. Koch and Col Rankin are en-
gagged IN raising Regiments Of Infantry.
which II completed, viii make the Seven
teenth and Eighteenth Regiments Of that
arm Of the service. I
It is matter Of much qualification TO me
that our State has thus promptly responded
to the demands made upon it by the United
States for aid in this perilous crisis of our
conntry's history, and it Is also matter oi
great pride to me that the troops OF our State,
| whether tried in the exhausting service Of
the camp, the march, or in the fiery ordeal
Of the e.feld, have never been found