Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1864-02-26

'iiA"oOu ~ oASii pIVppI.
ton of the CT culation,
little over 10000, 600
Amount Of 800 notes, now
in circulation $500, 600, ocH
Let us secure safe margin for our
estimates, by assuming the present
amount of circulation at $3.50 ,OOO, COO.
To deplete this. we may mention as
the first item the abstraction of all the
hundred dollar notes. This may be
safely anticipated between The present
time and the lst of April next. The
provisions of sections 3 and 4, of the
act, will infallibly secure that. The
next element Of depletion will be the
amount funded in four per cent. stock.
prior to the lst Of April. It might
be supposed, at a casual glance, that
small results are to be expected from
this source for the reason that the
interest being only four per cent, it
would be as great q sacrifice to make
such an investmentas to await the tax
OF thlrty-three md q third per cent.
on the currency, to be imposed on the
LIST of April. But this is an error
Section 2 makes a great difference in
the values of tie bonds and of the
notes, for the uses Of the year 1864
The bonds are receivable according to
their face, in payment Of all Govern
ment dues for 1864, while the curren-
cy, after the LIST Of April, will be sub
jected to q tax or discount of one
third. Suppose, for example, a citi-
zen should owe g tax to the Govern
ment, on the lst of July, of two thou
sand dollars. BY investing that
amount Of the present currency in a
Treasury bond, at any time between
the present and the LIST Of april, he
will have the means Of paying his tax
without loss. But, if he fail to pro-
vide himself vita such bond, and
present himself, currency in hand, to
the collector. it will require three thou
sand dollars Of the same currency to
pay the tax of two thousanddollars. It
IS not to be supposed that men will
be SO negligent Of their interests as to
fail to invest in four per cent bonds
at least enough to meet their antici.
pated taxes. If any individuals con-
cerned SHAFT be too dull or careless to
make such provision, capitalists will
do it for them, and make them pay g
large premium for their neglect.
The amount which will be invested
as q provision for paying taxes may be
conjectured from the probable amount
Of taxes to be paid during the year.
In the last report Of the Secretary of
the Treasury, the proceeds of the tax
on incomes, profits, &C., levied in
April, 1868, and still in force, are es-
timatad at a hundred millions per an
mum. The taxes just imposed are IN
ADDITION to these. A tax Of five per
cent. on real and personal estate, is
estimated in the same report, as prom
lsing gross revenue Of a hundred and
and fifty millions. But the late tax
act does more than levy tax of five
pcf cent. on real and personal estate.
It lays heavy additional duties on
profits, and duties higher than five per
cent. on some articles. The tax laws
of April, 1868, and February, 1854,
in their combined action, will not.
probably, yield less than three hun
dred millions Of dollars during the
present year.
We find from this examination, that be
tween the present time and the LIST of April
Just five weeks from next Friday-there
sils exist the necessity for funding very
large amount. The hundred dollar notes.
when funded, wouid furnish the bonds, in
part, with which taxes can &c paid; but this
sum is insufficient, and as i. is not likely
that they can be exactly distributed the
bonds would not avail to their full extent. e.
Besides this particular prescribed issue,
probably rot less than a hundred and CITY
millions will need to be funded These sub
fractions will reduce the present circulation
10 soRr hundred millions To this must be
added the further issues allowed until the
lst of April, and We have at that time TO-
faj circulation of about s465. 000. 900 -
In reaching this result which is only about
iar9c tfths Of the present circulation. we
aaT9 estimated only for the necessary fund
ing That which may be voluntary We
iilrow in to make the figures good.
!. is obvious, that the great and imn,odi-
ase demand thus created for money by this
necessity for funding to Which we have ref
erred, and sha consequent reduction Of the
currency to little more than halfits present
volume, must greatly increase the value OF
Tie currency, and, conseq uently, its pur-
chasing power. # there be any truth in
The theory that prices are in proportion to
the circulation. then prices must soon and
rapidly fall. But there is still better reason
10 expect this effect. Holders of property
save had comparatively little use for money.