The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1864-01-11
FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL.


SUNDAY. Jan 10, 1864.
Secretary Chase. in his recent incomprehensible
and contradictory report on the state Of the finances
OF the country, uses the following language which,
standing by itself, appears sufficiently plain and
simple; but when taken in connection with other
portions Of the document il assumes the veil of
ambiguity. He says ''the limit prescribed by
law to the issue Of United States notes has been
reached. and the Secretary thinks it clear
ly inexpedient to increase the amount.
When circulation exceeds the legitimate re-
quirements for real payments and exchanged.
no addition to its volume viii increase its value.
On the contrary, such addition tends inevitably to
depreciation and depreciation, if addition be con
tinued, sct0 find its only practical limit in he utter
soorflljeSsnesS Of the augmented mass" Now, If
we could fasten the Secretary of the Treasury to
these sentiments, uttered by himself, We should
still have hope that the finances OF the
nation would be saved from sinking 10
the worthless and degraded condition In
which we find the bonds and notes OF the
rebel coniederacy. But, as Mr.. Chase promises
everything and performs nothing that results in
the least practical benefit towards sustaining the
credit of the country almost despair Of his
ability to preserve the financial integrity of the
Union to the end Of his term Of Office which is but
little over year hence. Immediately after the
first grand battle of the rebellion, in 1861, Mr..
Chase as we have before stated, secured seat
in the first train Of cars which left Wash
ington for New York. The Treasury was
then empty, and he implored the moneyed
institutions and men of this city to loan him
one hundred and fifty millions of dollars He
stated that the necessity for the stoppage ofspece
not hc I'D IN md
that the rebellion should be crushed in ninety
days. Under these promises the money was easily
obtained; but when he returned to Washington he
Immediately surrounded by regiment of
shoddy contrac tors and the declarations he had
made in New York vanished from his mind. Nothing
was easier than for Mr.. Chase to have maintained
his faith, so far as it related to the pre-
servation Of specie payments. In regard to the
putting down Of the rebellion that portion Of his
promise might also have been performed probably
within a few weeks of the time specified had not
the attempt been made to manage the war in
Washington, and to move our armies by the click
of the telegraph. Two years and half have
passed since the first visit of Mr. Chase to this city
in an official capacity on the errand above alluded
to. In that time he has added to the
currency four hundred and sixty-fve mil
lions of irredeemable Treasury notes; the
specie basis has been abandoned, and coin, which
in February last commanded premium of seven
ty-two per cent, has been placed far beyond the
reach Of the trading community; the paper pro-
mises Of the Treasury are to-day at depreciation
Of thrty-fve per cent the value of labor has been
reduced nearly one-half, and the pay of the sol.
dier Ia proportonately lessened; the rebel leaders
are yet as defiant as they were the day after the
first battle of Bull run; the Army OF the Potomac,
which placed in the field to strike at the heart
of the rebellion, has been four times ruined
by those who assumed to manage it in easy chairs
at the national capital, and is now cncamped no
nearer its object than it when it received the
first order from General Mcclellan as its COM
mander-in-chief; and the debt of the country has
grown to the enormous sum Of sixteen hundred
millions OF dollars. This is a simple view of our
present condition; and, under all these accumulat-
cd and rapidly accommodating burdens, MI. Chase
seems apparently unconcerned, merely telling the
people what disasters are likely to follow his plan
Of imitation, and giving promises of relief which
he has no idea Of redeeming. Through his blum.
dering financial system and the bungling manner
in which the war is managed in Washington, gold
rose in the early part of last year to 49, and great
fears were entertained that the premium would
reach one hundred per cent; but there was gene
raj at the head Of forces in the Southwest who
was, fortunately for the country, too far re-
moved from the seat of government to be
influenced by orders, whose brilliant opera.
tions soon caused q reduction in the rela.
tive value OF CON- and raised the dropping spirits
of the people, who were pouring their wealth into
the lap Of the government only to enrich the con.
tractors and give encouragement to stockjobbing.
II ia the prospect Of General Grants future
success in the field that keeps the premium on
coin from again advancing, probably higher than
any point it has yet attained, and not any antic-
pated action of Secretary Chase or the admins
tration; and it is General Grants prospective sue
cess in the Presidential election in 1854 that buoys
up the hopes Of the people, numbers the days Of
the rebellion, and preserves life in our financial
system.
The following table viii show the prices Of stocks
at the close Of the past ave weeks
Dec12. Dec.1o Dec26 Jdn.2. Jdn.e.
Missouri es........ 6s e6K SO 66x 67X