The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1863-10-13
The Indebtedness Of the North.

l 0G 4BOcOttUUCSS ~ tuG NOflhs
In addressing the great Democratic
gathering at philadelphia, on the LIST
inst, Col J. Ross Snow,len, late direc-
tor of the United States mint, made some
curious statements showing the magni-
t,de OF tho financial operations Of the
| Federal Government, as follows:
| The nationa! debt-what Is it now Who
| can tell IAN official statement recently pub.
| lishcd says that it amounted on the Both of
| June last to one thousand one hundred and
| ninetyseven millions two hundred and sew
| enty y four thousand three hundred and sixty
six dollars. 1t consists OF the fullowin.
classes of obligations
Four per cents. ts.......S 28.O59 29s,
rive per cents. lOl ,2.E, ,j3si
| DIX per ccntS ASl ia, ,SIo
Seven and thfeeteDihs per cent. 1S9, ,.i30, 500
Debt not bearing interest. 80. 500, 7a1 ,05s
Total. ...................$ 81 1917 9>74 So
But this frightfui sum total does not in
cludc all the liabilities OF the Government
| see i'll the newspapers Of the day other
items mentioned, namely: United States Ger
tifcates OF Indebtedness; quartermasters'
! vouchess. These and many other items con
| stitute a floating debt, most of which is moi
embraced in tue above financial statement.
ness Of settling army paymastcrs' accounts
may be inferred from the fact that over one
hundred and fifty clerks are employed upon
them at the office OF the second auditor, yet
with all this force, there is year and h.,If's
accunulations OF accounts and claims in that
office.
If We add to the above statement all the
liabilities incurred for warpurposes since HE
;;Oth of June, and claims for damages, pen
sions, bou 1ties, &c, We will not Oyerstate
the total liabilities OF the United States al
the present time a! two thousand millions Of
dollars.
Pennsylvania is about one tenth Of the
Union as it was" Her proportion Of the
national debt ia, therefore, two hundred mil.
lions of dollars. But if we infpovcrisl, aud
destroy the South, depopu!atc her cities, her
towns, and her plantations, the proportion
of the debt to PeDnS ylvania will he Increased
| fifty per cent, making her liabilities for the
war iOnr hundred millions Of dollars. The
expenses of the General Government, for n
purposes, ut tho present time, exceed two
millions of dollars per day that is at the
rate OF seven hundred millions per annnm.
The internal revenue tax now levied is eSti-
mated at one hundred and fifty Millions OF
dollars. II is very doubtful whether that
amount will be collected but, whether it is
Or not, these figures will slow what an i'm
mcnse increase every month and every wear
enormous amount of liabilities.
The debt is now represented by mere
promise to pay, hut it is payable in money,
which the Constitution recognizes 20 be gold
and silver. IL will increase our understand
ing of the amount of the money have
named when VIC consider the weight of those
amounts in gold and silver. The debt is now
say two thousand millions OF dollars this
in gold coin of the United States WdtIad
weigh three thousand eight hundred and
seventyiive tons Ga ton Of gold weighs
about 3,6S3 pounds) 10 move this amount
OH an ordinary road would require $3.50
horses or 92l wagons with four horses. Sill
yer weighs about fifteen times as much as
gold. 1t would, therefore, require L greater
force, in that proportion, to move the above
amount, if estimated in that metal How
much these amounts would weigh in paper,
which has no intrinsic value, have no means
OF calculating.
The valuation of thes property, real and
personal, in Pennsylvania, as fixed by the
revenue board Of 1866, is five hundred aud
ninesysiy millions of dollars. The ascer-
tf ined and registered ~,lebt of the United
States on the Both of june last, alone, with
out reference to other debts aad liabilities,
is nearly twice as great rs tile whole value Of
the assessed property in this Common
wealth Ii we include the estimated debts
before referred to, including claims for dam.
"Scoi Ctc., ttc., VIC tHtti Have u ucDC more
than four times the value of the property Of
all kinds in Pennsy lvania, as returned by the
assessors to the county commissioners.
This comparison also will assist us to form
some adequate idea Of the magnitude of the
national debt.
Again, Boston, in proportion to her pop
ulatiOn, is the richest city in the United
States. The total wealth OF that city, as re-
Gently valued by the assessors, is three hun
lrpt and Two millions of dollars The whole
wealth of that city will not pay the expenses
OF the Government for much more than one
hundred days.