The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1865-12-09

| the merchant poarinc, have boon returned
TO the peaceful pursuits ct conmerce
| Since the suppression Of active hostilitiea
on. foreign squadrons have been re-
! more efficient than those employed on
similar service previous to the rebellion
The suggestion Tor the enlargement Of the
navy-yards, and especially for the esta-
blishment Of one in fresh water for iron
clad vessels, is deserving Of consideration,
as is also the Recommendation for diff
| ferent location and more ample grounds
for the Naval Academy.
| In the report Of the Secretary Of War, a
| general summary is given OF the military
| campaigns of 1864 and 1865, ending in the
suppression Of armed resistance to the
The operations OF the general administra-
tive bureau of the War Department during
the last year are detailed, and an estimate
made OF the appropriations that will be re-
quired for military purposes in the fiscal
year commencing the 3Oth Of June, 1866.
| The national military force on the first OF
May, 1865, numbered l 1,000, SIG mon. It is
proposed to reduce the military establish
mont to peace footing, comprehending
$4,000 troops OF all arms, organized so as
to admit of an enlargement by filling up
the ranks to $4,000, if the circumstances of
the country should require an augmenta-
ton of the army. The volunteer force has
from service of over 800, 900 troops, and the
Department is proceeding rapidly in tho
work of further reduction. The war esti-
mates are reduced from $516, ,240, ,131 to
$33, Sl4, ,461, which amount, in the opinion
| of The Department, is adequate for o peace
esta blishmcnt. The mea sures of retrench-
ment IN each bureau and branch of the
service exhibit diligent economy worthy
of commcndation. Reference is also made
in the report of the necessity of providing
for uniform militia system, and to the
propriety of making suitable provision for
wounded and disabled officers and soldiers.
The revenue system Of the country is a
subject of vital interest to Its honor and
prosperity, and should command the earn
est consideration of Congress. The Sccre-
tary of the Treasury will lay before you a
full and detailed report of the receipts and
disbursements of the last fiscal year, of the
first quarter of the present fiscal year, of
the probable receipts and expenditures for
the other three quarters, and the estimate
for the year following the 30th of June,
1866. might content myself with a refer
encc to that report, in which you will find
all the information required for your deli
berations and decision. But the para
mount Importance Of the subject so presses
itself on my own mind, that cannot but
lay before you my views of the measures
which are required for the good character,
and might almost say for the existence,
of this people. The life of a republic lies
certainly in the energy, virtue and intelli-
sence Of its citizens; but it is equally true
that a good revenue system is the life Of an
organized government. I meet you at q
time when the nation has voluntarily bur-
doned itself with debt unprecedented in
our annals. Vast as is its amounts, it fades
away into nothing, when compared to the
countless blessings that will be conferred
upon our country and upon man, by the
preservation of a nations life. Now, on
the first occasion of the meeting of Con-
gross since the return of peace, it is of tho
utmost Importance to inaugurate Just
policy, which shall at once be pat in mo-
tloE, and which shall commend itself to
those who come after US for its continu-
ance. We must aim at nothing less than
the complete effacement of the financial
evils that necessarily followed state Of
civil war. We must endeavor to apply the
earliest remedy to the deranged state of
the currency, and not shrink from devising
policy which, without being oppressive
to the people, shall Immediately begin to
effect reduction Of the debt, and, if per-
sisted in, discharge it fully within def
nitcly fixed number of years.
1t is our first duty to prepare in earnest
for our recovery from the cver-increasing
evils Of an irredccmablc currency, without
a sudden revulsion, and yet without un-
timely procrastination. For that end we
must, each in our respective positions,
prepare the way. l hold it to be the duty
of the Executive to insist upon frugality
III tho expenditures, and sparing econo-
my is itself great national resource. or
the banks to which authority has been
given to issue notes secured by bonds Of
the United States, we may require the
greatest moderation and prudence, and
the law must be rigidly enforced when its
limits are exceeded. We may, each one Of
us, counsel our active and enterprisirg
countrymen to be constantly on their
guard, to liquidate debts contracted in a
paper currency, and, by conducting bust
ness as nearly as possible on a system
of cash payments or short credits, to hold
themselves prepared to return to the
standard of gold and silver. To aid our
fcllow-citiZens in the prudent management