Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1864-11-11
YEARLY ADVERTISING,
LATE REBEL NEWS.
Rebel Finances.

| Rebel Finances.
I,iterestia5 Letter from the former Assistan
Secretary Of the Rebel Treasury on tn
Payment Of The Public Debt.
From the Augusta Chronicle.
AUGUSTA, GA, Oct. ls, 1864.
MY'DEAR SIR-More than year ago you
propouuded to me the question, how shall
We ever pay our government debtP From
Iprudential considerations declined then
to discuss the subject. Now that We are
in sight of our independence, and in q
more recent letter from you my attention
has been called to the promise l made,
cheerfuly comply with your request, believ-
ling that the cause which then invoked my
silence no longer exists.
In the settlement with the creditors OF
the government one rule should be obsery-
ed, which, in my opinion, will remove many,
If not all difficulties, and that is to dojus-
tice alike to obligor aud obltgee, 1t is the
wisest statesmanship, the truest philoso-
ply, and the best faith-sanctioned by
wisdom, sustained by experience, aud
Supported by love. It should be the aim
of government, tie end of society and the
aspiration of religion-besides the pro-
phetic vision discovered it as one of the
trfone requisites of a mans duty, when he
| turned from the vanity of supposing that
offended Diety could be appeased with
thousands of rams or ten thousands of
rivers of oil or the sacrifice of his frst
| born" to the simpler sublimity of Hea-
| Ven's requirement "to do justly, and to
love mercy, and to walk humbly with God"
In applying the rule the true principle,
in my opinion, is to reduce everything to a
specie basis-in other words, whatever rela-
tion Confederate moneybore to specie at the
time the government security was purchas-
ed, preserve the seme relation IN the pay
ment of the obligation, Look at my figures
and listen to my facts.
Congress- has authorized seven loans,
and they have been put upon the market
as soon after the passage of the laws as
was practicable. think it would be fair
and lust to assume six months from the
date of an act authorizing loan ss the
6xed time for ascertaini0g the relation be-
tween gold and Confederate currency, in
order to determine what really was paid,
at the gold value, for the security, and
consequently what should be paid to the
holder in the settlement. 1t required at
least that length Of time to dispose Of any
loan which has been taken.
The first authorized by act of Congress
was in May, 1861, and generally known
as the fifteen million loan, was taken and
paid for either in gold or what was then
should be paid in gold, dollar for dollar
The other dloans were in August, 1861;
May, 1852; February, 1863; April, 1868;
February, 1864, and April, 1854 bearing
Interest at the rate of eight, seven, six,
seven-thirty, six and four per cent. y Had
Iaccess to the amounts issued under each,
and the amount of Treasury notes out
standing, it would appear that the liabil-
| tiles are somewhere in the neighborhood
of ST. 500, ,0o0,0 900. By converting them in-
/ to bonds at gold valuation, under the rule
laid down above, the debt OF the govern
ment would be reduced to $l50,O00, 900.
| Suppose you put it at 100000, 900. The
| government will then have to provide
| $l2, ,o0o, 900 annually TO pay the interest.
l There is another class of creditors that
Justice requires should be placed upon the
4 same footing with the holders of the Sl6,-
900, 600 loan. mean the banks. They
lIoaned the government $4,000, 900 of their
/ notes, thereby expanding their circulation
that amount and incurring an obligation
to be hereafter redeemed in specie. They
| should either have their notes returned to
them for like amount of Confederate
treasury notes or be furnished with that
much gold. 1t will be right and just to
the banks, and beneficial to every indiVid-
ual interest in the country. The dema-
gogue may be frightened at the idea of
| excepting what he terms monopoltes, but
am viewing the subject from the stand
point of even handed justice, and seek not
to enquire the person or persons entitled
to it
From all this you will observe that what
was considered almost impossible on ac-
count of it's magnitude-the payment OF
the public debt-assumes g practical
Ishope. Now, let rs apply the rule with
1 which he started, does this scheme do jus.
ltice alike 70 obligor and obligee2 BY way
of an illustration, suppose the purchaser
of the government security was manu-
Ifaciurer-he sold his goods at 9 price fol
1 jConfederate money, which he would have
1 gladly taken in gold at the relative value
l il then bore to Confederate, currency, il
1 the government had been able TO purchsst
/ With Rold-if. he sold his manufactured or.
/ cles at a dollar yard when ten cents IL
gold would have purchased a Contederst'
idollar, that was really the value Of the ar
ucle sold, aud that Was all he let the gov
ernment have when he purchased the gov
'Iernmeut bond. This Is equally true OF th'
Eagriculturalist, the merchant, the comtnor
carrier, or any one engaged in any iuduE
1 trial pursnit. -ts'e -'5 .,,.s.t
I If, then, the obligss receives what HI
gave for his government security, he oaI
not complain of Injustice. How is it it b
demands Of the obligOr ell he has prom