Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1863-12-16

IND provision was made for the issue of.twentvsl
niiions OF dollars in treasury notes. and for bor-
rowing thirty millions Of dollars on bonds. The
arm was revised, and preparatory measures taken
rs succeeding session. These laws were passed in
Nay, and the States Of Virginia, North Carolina,
tennessee and Arkansas having joined the Confsd-
eracy, the Congress adjourned to meet in the City
OF Richmond, in the following month Of July.
rrlor to the assembling Of your predecessors in
Richmond, 1t their third session, near the end Of
July 1861. the President of the United States had
developed in his message the purpose Ito make
the contest short and decisive one, and had called
on congress for 4oo, 900 men and -four hundred
millions of dollars. The Congress had exceeded I
the Executive recommendation, and had authorized
the levy of half isillion of volunteers, besides
largely increasing the regular land and naval forces
OF the United States The necessity thus first be. |
came urgent that financial scheme should be de.
vlsed on basis sufficiently large for the vast pro.
portions OF the contest with which we were threat
ened knowing that the struggle, instead of being |
"short and decisive, would be indefinite in dura.
ton, and could only end when the United States |
Should awaken from their delusion of conquest, |
permanent system was required fully adapted to !
the great exigencies before U.S. !
The plan devised by Congress at that time was
based Oh the theory of issuing treasury notes. con-
Vertble at the pleasure of the holder into eight per
cent bonds, the interest of which was to be paya
BILE in coin, and it was correctly assumed that any
tendency to depreciation that might arise from over
issue OF the currency, would be checked by the
slant exercise of the holders right to fund the
notes at liberal interest paYtble in specie. This
system depended for success on the continued abil.
ty OF the government to pay the interest in specie
and means .were therefore, provided for that pur.
pose IN the law authorizing the issues. An inter-
nal tax, termed war tax, was levied the proceeds
OF which, together with the revenue from imports,
were deemed sufficient for the object Designed
ms scheme required for its operation that our
commerce. with foreign NATIONS should not be sus
pended. 1t was not to be anticipated that such
suspension would be permitted otherwise than by
an effective. blockade; and it was absurd to sup
pose that blockade " sufficient really to prevent
access to our entire coast could be maintained
We had the means, therefore, Gf neutral nations
had not combined to aid our enemies by the sane
ton of an illegal prohibition or their com,nerce,)
to secure the receipt into the Treasury Of com su-
cent to pay the interest on the bonds, ans; t:,us
maintain the Treasury notes at rates nearly cuua.
to par in specie. So long the interest continued
to be thus paid with the reserve of coin preexistng
IN our country, experience sustained the expecta
tons of those who devised the system. Thus on
the first of the following December, coin had only
reached premium of about twenty per cent al
though it bad already become apparent that the
commerce of the country was threatened with per-
manent suspension by reason of the conduct of neu-
trail nations and that the necessary result must be
the exhaustion Of our specie reserve. Whest in the
beginning of the year 1862, was selling at one dol.
lar and thirty cents per bushel not exceeding there
fore, its average price in time of peace The other
agricultural products of the country at similar
moderate rates, thus indicating that there was no
of circulation and that the rste of premium
on specie was heightened by the exceptional causes
snA Iol 80 H.,
sibility of renewing the supply.
This review of the policy of your predecessors is
given IN justice to them, and it exhibits the condi
ton of the finances at the date when the permanent
government was organized.
In the meantime the popular aversion to internal
tax4tion by the general government had Influenced
the legislation of the several States and in only
three them, South Carolina Mississippi and Texas
were the taxes actually collected from the people.
The quotas devolving upon the remaining States
had been raised by the issue of bonds and State
Treasury notes, and the public debt of the country
was thus actually increased instead of being dimn
ished by the taxation imposed by Congress-.
Neither at the first nor second session of the
presen. Congress were means provided by taxation
for maintaining the government the legislation be
ing confined further sales of bonds and
issues of treasury notes. Although repeated efforts
were made to frame proper system of taxation
not exist for your predecessors and which created
grave embarrassment in devisng. any scheme O
taxation. About two thirds of the entire taxahl.
property of the Confederate States consist of land
and slaves. The general power Of taxation vested
in Congress by the provisional Constitution, (Which
! was tobe only temporary in its operaton,) was no
restricted by any other condition than that "ai
duties, imposts and excuses should DO uniform
throughout the States of the Confederacy." Blu
fho
pie that taxation and representation ought to res
on the same basis, specially provides that "repre
sentatives and direct taxes shall be apportionet
among the several States according to their respec
tive NUMBERS which shall be determined by adding
to the whole number Of free persons including thos'
bound to service for term Of years and excluding
Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all slaves"
1t was further ordered that census should b.
made within three years after the first meeting o
the Congress, and that "no captaton or other direc
tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to the census
or enumeration hereinbeore directed to be taken"
1t is plain that under these provisions, captatlof
and direct taxes must be levied in proportion to thu
census when made 1t is also plain that the duty il
imposed on Congress to provide for making census
prior to the 22d February, 1885, 1t may further o.
stated that according to the received construction
the Constitution of the United States "a construction
acquiesced in for upwards of sixty years. taxes OF
seems necessarily to be that in repeating, withou
modification, in our Constitution, this language o
thu Constitution of 1887 our convention intended t!
attach to it the meaning which had been sanctioned
by long and uninterrupted acquiescence
So long as there seemed to be probability Of be
ing able to carry out these provisions OF the Con
stituton in their entirety and in conformity will
the intentions of its authors there was an obvious
difficulty in framing any system Of taxation. 4
law which should exempt from the burthen two
thirds of the property Of the country would be o
unfair to the owners of the remaining third as
would be inadequate to meet the requirements Q
the public service.
The urgency of the need was such, however, that
after very great embarrassment, and more thai
three months of assiduous labor you succeeded il
framing the law of the Oath April, 1868, by whic
you sought to REACH so far as practicable, ever
resource of the country except the capital investe
in real estate and slaves and by means Of an incom
tax and tax in kind on the produce of the soil,
well as by licenses onbusness occupations and pro
fessions, to command resources sufficient for tn
wants of the country. But very large proportion
of these resources could only be made available a
the close of the present and the commencement O
the ensuing year, while the intervening exigence