The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1865-12-12
The Treasury Report.

Treasury is n comprehensive review
of the financial situation, in which he
freely expresses his views, and makes
such suggestions to Congress as he
considers best calculated to gradually
emancipate the country from the
evils inseparable from an enormous
national debt and Oh inflated and de-
preciated currency. He moralizes
like one who, disiking his surround
ings, sighs for some Utopia which he
knows to be beyond his reach. He
regrets the plethora of paper money,
and sees that it is undermining the
morals of the people by encouraging
waste and extravaganza, and the only
remedy, in his opinion, is reduction
of the currency. But elsewhere he
qualities his opinion, by saying that
very rapid reduction of it would be
disastrous, though there is no reason
to apprehend that any policy which
Congress may adopt will cause such
q rapid reduction of prices as to pro-
duce very serious embarrassments to
trade, and that the influences of fund
ing upon the money market will suf-
fciently prevent the too rapid with
drawal of legal tenders.
He estimates that the public debt
will amount on the 1st of July next
to 5000, 900, 900, but the unsettled
and accruing claims against the Go
vernment cannot now be computed.
Meanwhile he observes, that if the
expenditures for the remaining three
quarters of the present fiscal year
prove equal to the estimates, there
Will be deficiency to be provided for
by loans of $112, 1914, 947, exclusive of
$50, 536, 901 of five per cent. notes, a
portion of which is now in process of
redemption. Hence he asks for
power to sell six per cent. bonds to
provide the means of meeting this
deficiency, as well as to retire com
pound interest notes, as they mature,
and plain legal tenders. He cannot
understand how the funding of cur
relcy can fail to reduce prices; but
the example of it which he has al
ready furnished has shown that at
least it does not affect the price of
gold, while, without lowering the
price of the necessaries of life, it
exerts depressing influence upon
Government securities. This is be-
cause there is public distrust Of the
worth of the remainder of the cur
rency as compared with gold. He
does net formally endorse the recon-
mendation of the Comptroller of the
Currency for further issue of ma
tlonal bank currency; but he admits
that the South is in great want of
bank circulation, and regrets that the
North received the whole of the au-
thorizcd 3O0,OO0,OOO He recognizes
his own powerlessness, beyond very
narrow limit, when he remarks that
there is more danger to be appre-
hended from the inability of the Go
vernment to reduce it's circulation
rapidly enough than from q too rapid
reduction of it; and it is in part to
prevent financial crisis that is GER
tain to come without it that the Sec.
rotary recommends contraction. He
places great reliance upon the reve-
nuc, and suggests the propriety of
funding the entire indebtedness of
the nation into five per cent. per-
pctual annuities, the interest of
which, supposing the debt to be
5000, 600, 900, would be $50, 200, 900
per annum. BY the application of
100, 100000 to the payment of the
principal, he shows that the debt
would be extinguished i'll little over
twenty-eight years.
Without entering into further
details, however, we may say that the
report is on the whole, conservative,
and calculated to soothe rather than
excite apprehensions Of the adoption
of radical measures.
Ne,r York HerulH