Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1864-08-19
NO. 81

Xhaustlon, but still struggling with
force the greater and more desperate as il
sees, and because it sees, the near ap-
proach of final and fatal consummatiop
such, in my deliberate Judgment, is the
| present condition of the contest for civil
liberty iu which you are now engaged.
Up to the present moment You have
readily and cheerfully afforded the means
necessary to support your government in
this prOtracted struggle. 1t is your war
You proclaimed it. and you have sustain
ed 1t against traitors everywhere, with 8
patriotic devotion unsurpassed in the
worlds history.
The securities offered are such as should
command your ready confidence. Much
effort has been made to shake public
faith in our national credit, both at home
and abroad. AS yet we have asked no
foreign aid. Calm and self-reliant, our
own means have thus far proved adequate
to our wants. They are yet ample to
meet those of the present and the future
1t still remains for patriotic people to
furnish the needfnl supply. The brave
men who are fighting our battles by land
and sea must be fed and clothed, muni-
tions of war of all kinds must be furnished
or the war must end in defeat and dis
grace This is not the time for any lover
of his country to inquire as to the state
of the money market, or ask whether he
can SO invest his surplus capital as to
yield him a larger return. No return,
and no profit, can be desirable, if follow
ed by national dissolution, or national
disgrace. Present profit, thus acquired,
is but the precursor of future and speedy
destruction. No investment can be SO
surely profitable as that which tends to
insure the national existence.
lam encouraged in the belief that by
the recent legislation of Congress our
finances may soon be placed upon a SCUM
der and more stable footing. The pres
ent deranged condition of che currency
is imputable, in a great degree, to dis
turbances arising from the withdrawal of
necessary checks, often inevitable in time
of war, when expenditures must largely
exceed any possible supply of coin.-
The opportunities thus presented to ac-
quire sudden wealth have led to vicious
speculation, a consequent increase in
prices, and violent huctuation. The rem
edy to be found only ii controlling the
necessity which begets the evil. Hither-
to we have felt the nc3d of more exten-
sive and vigorous taxation. Severe COM
ment has been made upon what seemed
to many an undue timidity and tardiness
of action on the part of Congress-, in
this regard. 1 deem it bat just to say
that very great misapprehension has ex-
listed, and perhaps still exists, upon this
point. Legislators, like all others, have
much to learn in a new condition of af-
fairs. An entirely new system was to
be devised, and that system must neces-
sarily be the growth Of time and exper-
ience. 1t is not strange that first efforts
should have proved imperfect and made
quate To lay heavy burdens on great
and patriotic people in such a manner as
to be equal, and as to occasion the least
amount of suffering or annoyance, re-
quires time and caution, and vast labor /;
and, with all these, experience is need
! full to test the value of the system, and
correct it's errors. Such has been the
work which Congress " as called upon to
perform. l am happy to say that daily
! results are proving the Internal Revenue
! Act to exceed in efficiency the most san
guine expectations of its authors. In
the month of June, 1868, it yield about
four and one-half millions of dollars,
while the corresponding month of this
year returned about fifteen millions, IN
der the same law. Under the new law,
which went into operation on the first
day of the present month, the Treasury
not unfrequenLly receives one million in
a day. AS time and experience enable
the officers employed in collecting the
revenue to enforce the stringent Provi-
sions of the new law, l trust that million
Der day will be found the rule and not
the exception. Still, much space is un-
duobtedly left for improvement in the
law, and in it's administration, as great
or amount of necessary information is
acquired. The proper sources of revenue
and the most effective modes OF obtain
ing it, are best developed in the execu-
tion of existing law. And have caused
measures to be initiated which will, it is
believed, enable Congress SO to improve
and enlarge the system as, when taken in
connection with the revenue from Gus
toms, and other sources, to afford an am
pie and secure basis for the national Gre
dit. Only on such basis, and in a steady
and vigorous restraint upon currency, can
a remedy be found for existing evils
Such restraint can only be exercised when
the government is furnished with means
to provide for it's necessities. But with
out the aid of patriotic people, any gov
ernment is pOwerless, for this or any
other desirable end.
The denominations of the noteS pro-
posed to be issued, ranging from fifty to
five thousand dollars, place these securi-
ties within the reach OF all who ale dis
posed to aid their country. For their
redemption the faith and honor and prop
erty, of that country are solemnly pledg-
ed. A successful issue to this contest,
now believed to be near at hand, will
largely enhance their value to the holder;
and peace once restored, all burdens can
be lightly borne. He who selGshly with
holds his aid in the hope of turning his
available means to greater immediate
profit, is speculating upon his country's
misfortunes, and may find that what
seems to be present gain leads only tc
future loss. l appeal, therefore, with
Sonfidence to loyal and patriotic peo.
pie, and invoke the efforts of all who love
their country, and desire for it a glorious
future, to aid their government in sus
tanning its credit, and placing the credit
upon a stable foundation.
w. P. FESSENDEN,
III.