The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1864-12-23
Biunetr& @euluerM.
sAINI PAIk.:


The rfs..s.y Hspsrs \, a.
We owe NJ. RssssnpM oursthahks d
has furnished na witha Repott which
while open to- objection in some Of it
details, and NOT snarssy sound; d all it
reasonings and conclusions, is upon TIL
whole, a great advance Upon the reports
Of his predecessor. Il ahoeds syideuce o.
financial talent grounded upon common
sense, and trained and developed BY 9
study and knowledge of the great princi'
pies of political economy which Mr.. CHASE
20 seudiously ignored: The styie1s per-
spicuous and pointed. The arrangement i
in coed taste, and it possesses the merit o.
being business-like production. The mes
sage of Mr.. LINCOLN was 90 consistently
negative in its character, that criticism
could hardly find salient point upon
which to hang . metaphor. - The
report Of the Secretary of the Navy
looks very much as if it had been put
through the circumlocution Office. Brey-'
ity Is not the soul of Mr.. GIDEON Wn1Ess
wit. Nor can We admire the bad taste he
displays, in bis sensitive depreciation OF
newspaper criticism, and his defence OF
the Naval Department at the expense OF
Of the Secretary of War. But Mr.. FRs-
sxspzHs report is not open to the objec-
ton of absolute medioority, Of unneces-
sary length, or Of ill-tempered structures
upon the administration Of coordinate de-
partments. 1t is refreshing to rs to have
something to commend, and if in the
course of our remarks we have some fault
to find, it is not because we fail to appre-
ciats the peculiar merits of Mr.. FEssE1DRH.
It appears clear from this report that the
people of the United States must divest
themselves Of any expectations they may
have formed favorable to the negotiation
Of q loan through foreign sources. Says
Mr.. FRssKNDRH
In March, 1868, 1t became necessary to trans.
NIT . considerable amount of funds to London
for o special purpose, for which an appropri-
alton had been made by Congress, and it was
thought advisable to deposit certain amount
of our securities with an eminent London
banker, against which bills might be drawn.
Fve-tWenty bonds to the amount of $40, O00, :
600 were accordingly passed into the hands
of two distinguished citizens, TO whose care
the negotiation was committed. The negO-
tiation failed, and the $40. 900, 900 were re-
turned to the Treasury and disposed Of.
This certainly seems to set at rest the
reiterated falsshoods of the Treasury press
in relation to r"pending negotiations
abroad;" but it IL very hard to recon
Gle with subsequent statement of Mr..
FEsszNDEN, to wit: "This nation has been
able thus far to conduct domestic war
Of unparrelled magnitude and cost, 'cith-
out appealing for aid to any foreign
people" Such an appeal has been made
and failed to meet with q response. We
hope, for the honor Of the government
that it will not be made again. ~ :. i.
The Secretary informs us, under the
head. of receipts and expenditures, esti-
mated and actual, that there was derived
from customs Gin gold) last year, the
Sum of:..;:-..".............Sze5 ZIG 1S2's y
Interest paid. ................. %. $50, AL. Is
Excess. of gold. s4s $50, 7s1. 80
There is law of Congress which makes
it imperative that the gold derived from
customs in excess of the amount required
to pay the interest on the public debt
shall be applied as q sinking fss'td. Mr.
FsssEHnDsN, disregarding this law as in hii
opinion unwise, and Gin fact simply Dor
rowing to lend again, has sold the golt
and used it for other purposes. We nop'
that Congress will hold Mr.. FEssENDEs
and the President to strict accountable
ity for such a fragrant violation of law.
The Secretary estimates the debt OF
July 1st as $1,74o, 69O,4s9. The deb
contracted. for the first quarter ending Oc
tober LIST was $277, s4s, 4722s. Thu
whole amount of increase of debt estima
ted for the year is $57o,727,5os.11. De
duct from this the amount contracted 70
the frstquarter, ($277, s49, 472. 2s) and W
have balance to. be applied to The re
manning three quarters of 1922, s7s, o35.s2
An estimate which makes the expense
for three quarters of fiscal year, only
little in excess of the first quarter, is evi
IDENTITY wrong upon the face of it. g.
In order to facilitate the negotiation {
loans, the Secretary says "such advar
taees should be offered as will induce a
who have anything to spare, to invest j
national securities. These advantages ca
only be found in an increased rate of init
rest, an exemption from public burden
and security Of possession" This oour
try is now paying larger rate of intere'
upon its bonds than. any other nation By
as Mr., FEssENDRN estimates the custom
for the ensuing year at only $4,000, oO'
and as nearly the whole Of this is no