Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1866-03-13

House. His highest ambition, think, is, certain
ly it ought to be, that of fnancier. Fame won
in that direction will be permanent. Political pow
er and patronage ephemeral. Can we not trust
him ? Here is bill giving to him the same pow
ers often gave to his immediate predecessors,
while his task is actually greater. More than
million men have been dsbe nded, and it remains
to dismiss and retire the six hundred and fifty
millions of legal tenders which served credita-
bly, through the war. Our present det is S2,716,-
S92, 1872. and during four years less than half
of it has been ermanently funded There yet
mains OF this heavy work 5 657 ,241, ,75S 80 to be
funded Let no one be deceived. All financial
danger yet passed, and the peris of rates OF
interest and even of commercial revulsons before
all our floating and short-time debts shall be
chored IN safe harbors, are so apparent that moth
ng less than consummate Skull with authority
possibly comprehensive IN its proportions as
that heretofore conferred, can De relied upon to
grappe with the work now IN our immediate
front.
The simple question is, will you perpetuate this
~ar-u.ade expansion of tns currency and all its
lmitable brood of evils, or will you authorize
iaancier, VINO shows himself competent for the
task TO retire the excess $ fast sound economy
Will permit There is no danger that this
viii be done too rapidly. The " legal tenders -
sill not be retired until after other oblig atoms
have been gathered up, they must be retain I'd
facilitate all such operations Inc ten days tenn
porary .oan deposits of $ IA, $40 is of
the dearest loans we have, though nominaily draw
ng less than six Der cent. interest, as all bankers
know very well that it is never safe to
than about two thirds of the amount of such loans
because they may be called for, and practically,
whenever money is scarce and really needed by
he borrower then il is TO be wanted and
led for by the lender. When money is plenty
and not wanted, then the Government has no lack
OF these ten-day loans. When it is scarce, then
Dlx, a l.,
judgment, this temporary loan should be paid and
never renewed. Perhaps the certificates Of in
debtedness should be extipguished next. In time
of var such obligations may be accepted, but GER
tainly in time of peace they should not be sought
The CON pound-interest notes will be falling due
a very distant periods and these having two
fold character, one for investment and for cir
culation, might we'll be chosen for early redemp-
ton After this there should be given such ati-
tude as would admit of funding the seventh thirty
notes even before they due.
Those who fear rash attempts al an early re
sumption OF specie payments should be quleted;
1t is simply impossible to take at once any very
long strides in that direction. This is process
only to be successfully accomplished by gradual
and persistent effort. Haste would mar and re-
tari II. Only while currency Is plentiful and
CHEAP is it any object TO exchange it for bonds
make it scarce and dear aud it will not be done.
The desirable securty-and to be main
tained q all limes-must be United States bonds.
The merest tyro in finance understands these facts,
and the Secretary, not being ignorant Of them,
cannot disregard them.
1t is tre that some hostility to a return TO spe-
Gle payments is manifested certain quarters.
1t is to be expected Any system proposed by
the s. cretary Of the Treasury, any bill proposed
by Congress not exhibiting facilities by which the
money y-changers may continue their rapid gains,
will meet with noisy clsmOr the pretense OF
injury TO the general interests OF trade and
merce, and will be dexterously thwarted, unless
we place the Secretary where, to use those terms
which m iiitary operations have made familiar. he
viii be - master OF the slt1atlon. But how
master? Only d minister to do good, not evil,
what all desire 10 have done; that Is to say,
10 fund all of our mstured Indebtedness and debts
soon to mature at lower rates OF interest than
what we now paying, and with longer periods
of time for payment. | am not, confess, one of
those always disposed
o. good still dnd o evil"
II we give the Secretary the law, and with it
our confidence. II may be of more worth to
than to him. OF course, speak in the financial
sense.
If Congress shall practice due economy in its
appropriations, as | persuaded it must and will,
and 1t should be found possible to reduce the mil
itary service within anything like our ancient linn
its, we may nope that the public debt has reached
its maximum, and that hereafter shall pay as
lOe go. 1t is a gratifying fact to knoE that
February l. 1866, deducting moneys IN the Treas
ury, the debt S23, ,957 ,62S less than it was
October 81 1865. By the report of the Secre-
tary of the Treasury, at the commencement Of
the session, it appears tEat deficiency to be pro-
vided for by loans was anticipated of sll2, 1884,
497, well further sum of S32 $50 90l of
Treasury notes, which became due and were paid
in December last, In other words, 1t was expected
that, 10 addition all other resources, IA 49,,
S4s would have TO be supplied by lean. But
at the present time the Secretary of the Treasury
is hoping 20 be able to get along without any new
loan for the present year. and If 1t should appear
otherwise hereafter-as | think it may to the
tent OF fifty to seventyhve millions-there will be
time before the close of the present session to
on the subj ect. The Secretary estimated the re-
ceipts of the Treasury from all for the three
quarters of the year, from and after September
80, 1865, at $305, 800 900; but in four months
they have reached nearly lWothirds of that amount
or SlS2, ,526, ,lS6 10, will appear by the state
ment of the Treasurer, General Spinner, which |
will publish with my remarks:
oetObsr l. l565 to February 1866, eIei.dsg loans
Internal revenue, SlOo, ,s66 80
semaanua duty bank tax ,, 49, a,oO9, ,499
Customs and custom house fees u, 3,69J, ,y64 Al
War and Navy, sales and repayments, 7,096,443 GO
Patent fees, ,4o5 33
Land sales, 5l,2ol 90
Miscellaneous repaymenrs, &c, I,OzO S67 W
Premium coin and cotton sales, y, l2o'377 81
F. T.. SPIsrER, Treasurer United
Treasurer's Office, Washington. February 5, 1866.
in the hrst six days Of the present month j TO-
100000 have been paid to the Army, and the bal
ance in the Treasury at that time 81, 100000
than at the close of last month. The in
crease of nterra revenue above previous estimates
it is expected will be about $2S,O0O,0OO;
and the increase from customs will be largely in
of any thing in our history. The customs
received in gold at New York lone since July l,
1868, under that so-caed prohibitory" tarid
which to '' Isolate the commerce of the Uni
ted States, to make the country a second Japan"
and which our revenue necessities have often
compelled US to increase. follows namely:
July, Ss,9oo,l9O
August l3, 10000
September, 10 o5o,Ot2
October i,064 400
November, l0,l3o.60l
December S,378, 1886
January j., 1866
Total. S7S lo6 500
This will not be far from tSo-tnifds OF the
amount collected in the whole country. These
statements, l think will be satisfactory evidence