Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1866-01-12
From the London Times, December %
AMERICAN FINANCE
Review Of sssrstarg necuuoeh's nepors

The report which Mr.. McCulloch, the
Secretary Of the Treasury, has addressed
TO the House Of Representatives is avery
long bot q very able document. tts
length IS a necessary consequence oi 9Ae
financial position Of the Union, As long
as the war lasted the first and main oD-
iect Of each successive Secretary was 10
get money; the Federal Executive were
in the position Of a man whose lou mas
| caught fire, and who therefore enrolls as
sisfsnce for suppressing the flames with
out any very nice ahigglingn Of the mar
ket: be makes the best teIms ne can
and if he has not ready money at bs
bankers he is prepared 70 go into deoJ
as the less of two evils, and II mnst
be confessed that the United states
did go into debt in a very
royal, or, perhaps we should say IN
very republican fashion. Now, however,
the great danger Is removed, a time has
arrived for reviewing calmly what was
done during q period Of greatexeitement
and for bringing order out or the confu-
sion which has followed the hasty meas
Ures and legislation OF the past Mr..
McCullOch has a great task before him,
and it Is obvious that 1t Is his policy as
as well as his duty TO make the Congress
fully acquainted with the existing state
Of affairs. This he has accomplished in
q report to the Speaker Of the House Of
Representatives, which is very vOlumi-
nous, but is more remarkable among
similar official documents Of the States
as being grounded on sound financial
principles. There are, indeed, some
passages in Il Of questionable accuracy,
some anticipations which are, perhaps,
too sanguine to be fully realized; but we
recognize in Mr.. McCuuoch q real hnan-
cier, applying TO the facts before him
methods warranted by economic teach
ing and by the experience Of other
nations.
The Union has, without doubt, come
out OF the civil war stronger than ever ;
bat he would be very injudicious friend
who would deny that it bears, and must
long bear, the scars Of the conflict. The
Federation Is burdened with an enOr-
NOUS debt its home and foreign COM
merce is disOrdered by a currency ruin
onsly inflated, and the industry Of Its
citizens is crippled by a minute and in
quisitorial system Of taxation. Mr.. Nc
CullOch reviews in turn each Of these
evils, and he busies himself in inquiring
how the currency may be reduced, the
burden Of the debt lessened and the taxes
simplifed.
1t is an epoch in the Republic when a
Secretary Of the Treasury Is bold enough
TO denOunce irredeemable issues, and 10
declare that the business Of the States,
far from being in a healthy condition, Is
speculative, feverish, uncertain Such
words coming from English critics might
be, and have been, m~isconstrued but
we hope that Mr.. McCullOch's authority
will arrest attention 70 them. II Is, how
ever, evident that the exchange Of a
I Nr-IaI I.hA e. - s-a.H-a - ~
material element in estimating the
financial condition Of the Union il Ihe
future.
There are many points in Nr. McCul-
loch's plans which invite eminent bu,
at present we must b. satisfied with
stating the plans themselves. It must,
however, be notice. that the possibility
Of keeping the average rate Of interest
on h natiOEAl debt OF the Union as low
as hye Ter cent. depends upon the ex-
emptlCn Of the national creditors from
ali State taxation. Were the holders OF
the bonds Of the Union subject, ike their
feLlOw-ciuZens, 70 taxation within their
several States, and also 70 taxation in
respect Of their capital invested in such
securities, the bonds could not, in Mr..
MeCulloch's opinion, be issued at less
than eight per cent interest. Mr.. McCul-
lOch defends the eXemptionof these bonds
from State taxation, but his reasoning ap-
pears incOuciusIve, and il is known
that the exemption will be severely at
tackled IN Congress. But the pOiHt in
Mr.. McCullOch's scheme which must
strike Englishmen most fOTcioly, IS the
confidence which be invites in the Exec
utive. He asks FOR unlimited power in
the way Of funding the paper currency,
and he asks that & surplus, commencing
at ten millions, SnG gradually increasing
TO forty millions, NAV be entrusted to
the government for the time being.
That such things should be asked for Is
surprising, but if the representatives OF
tax payers are found willing 10 grant
them, We may well De astonished.
Whatever may be the issue, the course
Of financial discussion in the States dur
ing the current session OfCongress. NAV
be watched by Us with advantage, as
those who are in much the same position
may learn nv the avpnviaupa rF ,rhars