Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1863-12-17
THE SOUTHERN FINANCES.
A BANKRUPT coNFEDERAcY.
From The Nes York Times Of Tuesday.

VI interest themselves, and
curious interest to the loyal public full exposition Of
the working Of the rebel money making machine given
in the report Of Secretary Memmnger of the rebel Urea
sury Department which laid before their Congress
last week As the pressure of public documents upon
columns has been great lately only furnish
brief synopsis Of this plan for raising the ways and means
of the rebellion:
The receipts into the rebel Treasury from all
from January to September 80 1863 were, in round
NUMBERS 5000 100000 of which $400 900 was raised
by issuing Treasury notes, $l750OOOO0 from loans Of
various kinds principally bearing eight per cent interest
$4 100000 have been raised by war tax tha ro0bng
of Union (sequestraon the Secretary styles it has
yielded nearly $4,000 0oo customs short million; e.
port duty cotton $1,000 while the aggregated genius
of the Conederacy has yielded patent fund OF $4,000
The expenditures have reached within 600 OF the
receipts and 1875 900 900 have been spent for the war
The entire debt Of the Conederacy in round numbers is
000 Of which $500 600 600 Treasury notes
and 800 900 of these notes are in circulation
The Secretary that the amount needed to carry
the Conderacy to the 30th Of june 1864 Is O00
beside the amount Of the undrawn appropriations OF the
last Congress, which reaches $4760OOO OO Aud II the
estimates extended to include the entire year OF
1864, the amount will reach $l427 100000, which,
says the Secretary Congress is formally called upon to
provide Ard so if the legs of the Conederacy last
long, will have at thu end of the year 1864 the respectable
Mr. MemmDger then pertinenty remarks that this the
distinct and tangible form of the problem we are now
required to solve" The currency has BY this time at
estimates to be supplied by Issues of currency
prices again increase, and large additions must be
made to the figures which represent both currency and
estimates" The question Is therefore put in brief be
fore the rebel Congress-reduce the existing currency
and provide supply of from some other source
other than Treasury notes. How is this to be done'
Mr. Memmnger argues that the reduction of the cur
rency will reduce prices IN proportonate ratio and
therefore, if the currency be reduced by the sum OF
$500 900 000 he proposes, the Government will have
just that much less to provide for 10 consequence Of the
depreciation IN prices The Secretary might carry the
proposition little further aud wipe out tho whole amount
and then the COnfederacy would this principle get tic
supplies for nothing prices would be cheap. 1t il
proposed to reduce thu currency from $70000000O to
5000, 100000 But this reduction must be prompt aud
certain for the support Of the Government requires
tinued supplies, and any delay in the action
to relieve the currency aggravates all the difficulties
"Thus," says Mr. Menminger, :" are we fairly con-
froned with the three difficulties to be surmouned"
The difficulties stated thus The currency must be
reduced; the supplies must be raised and the measures
to attain these ends must be prompt and certain. We
quote further:
.In the present expanded state of the currency it
would not be expedient to reduce the circulation s
proper normal standard Ia order to effect the results
demanded by the public interests the contraction must
Of necessity be great and sudden. But it is presumed
that reduction of the entire volume to $500 900 900 will
be sufficient The excess OF currency over this proposed
standard is now about $500 0OO Thus we have be-
fore us demand for $500 900 900 in the course of the
ensuing year. In the present state of the country
manifasty impossible to raise this large by taaes
alone, and therefore, compelled to to the
only other resource presented by experience namely
0an"
Since the war begun the Coniederacy has raised bv
loans $500 600 900 This is large for purely an rcu
tura country says Mr. NJ and then he gives uttersnce TO
followog suggestive remarks in which will be found
admission that in making the rebels counted with
out their host well preliminary excuse in view ot
their probable failure:
cat the of the war no one foresaw the
extent 10 which it would be carried was not expected
that would be called upon to check the advance of
half bu tho uhola
while were shut in to our soil and resources
Our products thought essential the rest of man
KIND aud it was believed that they would and buy
them"
The Confderacy expected to pay the interest on its
debt in specie; the sale of their products to the
world" expected to the specie to flow in upon
them. Unfortunately the blockade accepted by ne,
trail Powers aud the specie didn't flow: the slim rebel
supply soon exhausted interest their bonds bad
to be paid in papers paper money thus rested other
paper and it has accumulated and acted and reacted"
until the whole thing is just about gone up.
The obvious mode of recovery is remarks the Secre-
ary, to restore the specie foundation" This thing has
already been tried by the rebel Congress with miserable
succes6rt at the last session. by the Of cotton
interest bonds this promised WELL but after the fall Of
Vcksburg the Secretary says their credit in Europe
not good Then 1T proposed that the States
should guarantee (endorse the Confederate bonds bat
the States did not have faith the sovency
OF the maker of the paper and that failed then it was
proposed TO tax the peoples the fret tax laid n An
gust 1861 but not collected until 1852 vet so lit
tie the people prepared to espond that the tax was
actually collected from them in only three States In The
rest the States themselves advanced amounts due by
their citizens and aggravated existing evils by issues of
their notes and bonds Consequently there was no
left but to issue Treasury notesand Treasury
notes Issued Another and larger tax was laid by
the last Congress- but the great appreciation of prices
caused that to be totally inadequate further issue
Treasury notes is indeed necessity until other measures
be adopted"
Now Mr.. Memmnger proposes to try loans again; but
in order to negotiate them must make the interest
payable In specie its equivalent" How TO get the
specie Levy tax payaby 10 coin," says Mr.. NJ. A
loan Of S50000O000 would require only $50 900 900 in
specie to pay the interest and this would obviously be
in the power Of the Government to collect" But this
will not permanently reduce the currency In time it
would again become redundant. +" A guarantee must be
given, therefore, that the two hundred million left in cir
culaton shall not be increased"
How to raise the supplies not increase the cur
rency1 Organize loan Of thousand millions payable
in twenty years. interest payable in coin ak per cent
which would require sixty millous then levy tax Of
five per cent upon the ad vsorem value Of all
ty in the Confederacy which, dductng that the hands
of the enemy, would amount to three Thousand millions
yielding hundred and fifty millions less twenty per
cent for Losses, evasons expenses &c. would leave
hundred and twenty millions half Of this to be paid spe-
Gle the interest coupon of this loan the other half in
Treasury notes. This loan would find all the currency
ahoat and leave three hundred millions for supplies.
by making further additions TO the tax Gays the Sec.
rotary the loan be increased from time time
to consolidate the whole public debt; or, the
tnues TO obtain further supplies for ing BY
these the credit OF the Government will be firmly
established confidence will be restored, and the embar
easements which oppress will be removed"
THIS sanguiue fnancer then Celebrates his scheme at
eDRthprefscpg it, however, by an aduration to the