, 1864-12-25
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.
Ad59arnment Of ConEress-The whls.
Ky 1nK-The O0Ht Of yFar-A Contrnst
with Great BF1t2fn-Tho military
Wf0At1on-xeeaFonde of tho Robeia
) An Interview with the .P1a4ldont-

Congress ad}ourns to-day for two weeks.
This is tho short session, and the spirit Of
work is not In tho members. In truth there
Is not a great deal Of now legislation required
this winter. Party spirit Is not rampant or
dogmatic. No partisan ends are to be gained
BY -factlous opposition to necessary measures,
consequently bills arc passed with expedition.
On Tuesday, for example, the Committee Of
Ways and Mems reported q bill changing the
time when the $2.oottax On whisky should
take effect from Feb. 18th to Jan. 1st. After
some spaHtng over Washburnc's amendment
to tax stocks on hand 80 cents per gallon,
which WIS defeated by five votes, the bill
passed by heavy. majority, independent
of party lines. It went to the
Snate fSIa and {ssseraay US :. passed Used y twe-
dent had signed the bill and 1t became law.
It Is cstimated that the act will sate five to
ten millions of dollars Of revenue; and that
the law as 1t now standG-when tho present
stocks arc consumed ill yield ono hundred
sum Eua1cient to pay the interest on the pre-
cent national debt. When the rebeIlfous
statcs are reclaimed and the excise laws cx-
tend to all parts Of the country, the income
from this source will reach one hundred and
fifty millions per year. and 1t is estimated
from the excise On domestic distilled, brcwcd
and viuous beverages during the year 1866, to
which may bo added twenty five millions from
duties on imported spirits. When to this
liquor tax Is added the heavy income from
tobacco In its various forms, q revenue will
be derived FROM those two sources almost
sufficient OF themselves to pay the inter
est on the national debt and support the
army md navy in time Of peace. Most OF
the other taxes after the wnr Is ended may be
repealed or greatly reduced. >.
The tax On incomes @ and manufactures may
be cut down 90 Or CO per cent. Indeed, If
Congress would levy q tax on cotton Of say
three cents per pound, or twelve dollars d
bale, a revenue Of not less than fifty millions
could be obtained from that source, and Ill
taxes on incomes and manufactures might
then be safely abatcd. The tax on the three
articles Of liquor, tobacco and cotton would
supply the Government with an abundance
OF revenue for all It's wants.
While on the subject Of taxation and ex-
penditure, let me make another, observation.
Many people ore appalled at the enormous
suns required to carry on the war but they
must admit that it IS a gigantic war. No
people In the worlds history ever wagcd war
for four consecutive years on 60 gigantic
scale. The expenditures this year reach the
stunning sum Of almost one: thousand mill
lions Of dollars. But out Of this mop-
ey SIX to seven hundred thousand soldiers
had to be fed, clad, paid, transported and
supplied with arms md munitions, and
marched and fought over thousands of miles.
Three hundred thousand Of this number
were paid bountaea; and tens of thousands
are paid pensions for wounds received in the
service Of their country.
war, which had, In part, to be built, and NIL to
be manned and equipped. Many Of the ships
are Of iron, and nearly all arc steamers. Our
navy is more than match to-doy for the
navy Of Great Britain or France. Besides the
army and the navy, are tho civil departments
the Diplomatic, the Interior, the courts,
the leglatiye and executive, costing many
millions q year. to support.
And to these must be added the interest On
the national debt to be paid mainly in coin.
But We should bear in mind that u ten hun
dred millions hare been expended during the
year 1861, 1t was In deprecated currency,
whereof the dollar has been worth but forty
cents In gold on the average, 30 that the ae-
tual expenditure has only been four hundred
millions Of coin, or Its equivalent. This
mighty struggle, carried on By land and sea
one million Of men as soldiers, sa3lors, and
laborers, nnd, another million Of persons at
home to furnish them supplies, has cost bnt
four hundred mi1lfQns of the currency Of in-
te1nationa1 commerce. When we compute
expenditure, wemust usc the coin standard
in order to correctly ascertain the
SUI The sp1a e1penditaro @ or aess B4ta,a du1ing the
Same period, IN = time Of profound peace. waa
ecvcnty three millions Of pounds sterling, Or
three hundred md si1ty-four muliona Of dol
lars In gold THUS It is seen that It costs the peo
pie OF Great Britain almost as much to sup
port their Government In times Of peace as It
does the people Of the United States to sup
port theirs III the midst Of tremendous war
such a war us Great Britain never waged,
md is not able to waEc.
And there Is another important fact that
must not be lost sight Of in this connection,
viz: the British people paid in coin by taxa
tion every dollar Of the three hundred: and
skty-four millions which their Government
expended, wni,.: our people paid by taxation
scarcely onc.thira Of the expenditure Of the
past gear, tue other two-t thirds being borrow,
cd. This shows how the people Of each coun-'
t1y are taxed, and what t.hcy are taxed for. It
Will be hc.duty Of the present Congress- to
provide for at least half Of the outlay By tax
alton. Judge Chase, when Secretary Of the
Treasury Insisted that Mree:fV{hs Of the cost
Of the War should be raised by taxation but
the towards, trimmcss, dcmag aud cop
perheads, constituting hfma}ority Of Con.
Eress, refused TO levy taxes for more than q
fourth or third. Eence the depreciation Of
currency hence the vast Sums to be hor-
rowed hence the rapid increase Of the na-
tional debt. - JIM.