The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1865-12-13

disabled officers and soldiers
The revenue system Of the connt;yi Is
Ia subject Of vital interest toits honor and
prosperity, and should command the earn
est consideration oil Congress. The Sec,
rotary Of the Treasury will laysbefore you
a full aud detailed report of the receipts
and disbursements Of the last fcal year
tflthe first quarter of the present fiscal
year, Of the probable receips and expen-
ditures for the other three quarters, and
the estimates for the year following the
30th of june, 1866. / might content
myself with a reference to that report, in
which you will ind all the information
required for your deliberations and deci,
sion. But the paramount importance of
the subject SO presses itself en- my mind,
that ! cannot but lay before you my views
Of the measures which are required for
the good Character, and I might say, for
the existence Of this people, The life Of
the republic lies certainly in the energy,
virtue and Intelligence Of its citizens but
il is equally true that a good revenue sys.
tenn is the life of an organized govern
ment. I meet you at a time when the
nation has voluntarily burdened itsolf
with a debt unprecedented in our annals.
Vast as is its amount, it fades away into
nothing when compared with the count
less blessings that will be conferred upon
our country and upon man by the preser-
walton Of the nations life. Now, on the
first occasion Of the meeting Of Congress
since the return of peace, it is of the ut
most importance to inaugurate q just pol
icy, which shall at onca be put in motion,
and which shall commend itself to those
who come after its continuance. We
must aim at nothing less thaa the com
plete effacement Of the financial evils that
necessarily followed q state Of civil war.
We must endeavor to apply the earliest
remedy to the deranged state of the cur
rency, aud not shrink from devising a pol.
icy which, without being oppressive to
the people, shall Immediately begin to eff.
feet a reduction Of the debt, and, if per,
sisted in, discharge it fully within a def
initely fixed number Of years.
1t is our fir I duty to prepare in earn
est for our recovery frou. the e%ver-in,
creasing evils Of an iiredeemable curreu-
cy, without q sudden revulsion, and yet
without untimely procrastination. For
that end we must, each in our respective
positions, prepare the way. / hold it
the duty Of the Executive to insist upon
frugality 10 the expenditures; and a
sparing economy is itself a great nation
al resource. OF the banks to which au
thority has been given to issue notes Sc
cured 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 ac-
tive and enterprising couptrymen to be
constantly on their guard, to liquidate
debts contracted in a paper currency,
and, by conducting business as nearly as
possible on q system of cash payments or
short credits, to hold themselves prepared
10 return to the standard Of gold and sill.
yer. To aid our fellow-citizGns in the
prudent management Of their monetary
affairs, and duty devolves on us to dimia-
ish by law the amount Of paper money
now in circulation. Five years ago the
bank. note circulation Of the country
amounted to not much more than two
hundred millions ; now the circulation,
bank and national, exceeds seven hun
bred millions. The simple statement Of
the fact recommends more strongly than
any words Of mine could do, the %necessi-
ty Of our restraining this expansion
The gradual reduction Of the currency is
the only measure that can save the bust
ness Of the country from disastrous calam.
tiles aud..this can DO almost impercepti.
bly, accomplished by gradually funding
the national circulation in securities that
may DO made redeemable at the pleasure
Of the Government.
Our debt is doubly secure-frst in the
actual wealth and still greater undevel.
oped resources of the country; and next
in character of our institutions. The
most intelligent observers among politi.
cal economists have not failed to remark
that the public debt of a country is safe
in proportion as its people arc free that
the debt Of a republic is the safest of all.
Our history confirms and establishes the
theory, and IS, l firmly believe, destined
to give i. a still more signal illustration
The secret Of this superiority springs not
merely from the fact that in a republic
the national obligations are distributed
more widely through countless numbers
in all classes Of society /; it has its root
in the character of our laws. Here all
men contribute to the public welfare, and
bear their fair share Of the public bur-
dens. During the war, under the impul-
SEES Of patriotism, the men of the great
body OF tho people,, without regard to
their own comparative want Of wealth,
thronged to our armies and filed our
fleets Of war, and held themselves ready
to offer their lives. for the public good
Now, in their turn, the property and in
come Of the country should bear their
just proportion Of tie burden of taxa.
ton, while in our impost system, through
means Of which increased vitality is 10.
~cidentally impaired to all the industrial
interests Of the nation, the duties should
DO SO adjusted as to fall most heavily on
articles Of luxury, leaving the necessa-
ries Of life as free from taxation as the
absolute wants Of the Government, eco.
nomieally administered, will justify. No
favored class should demand freedom
from asseasmank. and tha taxea sbould he