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

the United States Treasury for the year ending
June 80, l76l, were only S41,476 ,29O. Union
men ard Union measures, however, though facing
all soats of embarrassments, changed these sorry
figures that our receipts for 1868 l12,-
6S7 ,290, and more than twice that sum in 1864,
or S264, ,626 I'll, and in 1865 the receipts were
1888, IA ,605 while the actual and estimated re-
ceipts for the present year exceed $3.50 900 900,
and over 100000 900 if the receipts IN gold
were to be estimated at their value 10 paper
rency. A considerable trade with the British
| Provinces, for more than ten years entire y un-
| taxed, may soon, IN consequence OF the termina-
ton OF the reciprocity treaty, be expected also TO
yield moderate addition 10 our revenue, and it
Is difficult TO why the United States, long after
the Imperial Government of Great Britain has
| abolished laws giving any preference to colonial
produce, should be urged to admit such produce
on any more favorable terms than those conceded
to other nations. If entire receipts 10
be no more upon average than they were for
1868, 1864, and 1865, and could be wholly de-
voted to the payment of our national debt, that
could ali be paid, large as 1t Is, IN less than
twelve years and if the receipts should be equal
to the revenues Of the present Year, and the
whole could be applied, the entire debt could
be PAID IN less Than SIX years. W e are how deal
ing with large sums successfully under many ad-
verse circumstances and each coming year will
remove some OF these dis advantages, and thus
| tighten our burdens until our complete emancipa-
ton from debt tlkes place.
1t is always pleasau, To talk OF removing taxes
and to vote against their imposition, especially
| obnoxious taxes, and there none that not
obnoxious to somebody. The war being closed,
there are some taxes now, many petty supports,
which our necessities longer compel To ad
here to, and they will, therefore, be likely to be
abandoned with very great aacrity, and in their
| place We may have some compensation by tax
on raw cotton. On these points most cordially
=
Mr. Wells. Yet | may venture an opinion that
Congress will not by any modtcatio4 OF the rev.
enue laws reduce the receipts of the Treasury 10
any large extent until our debt Is permanently
! funded, and never below the point which will
cover our ordinary expenses, the interest on the
/ public debt, and respectable and genuine sink
ing fund of far from htty million dollars TO be
/ applied to the principal. Small sacrifices now
will largely diminish the magnitude Of our future
membranes, and what We psy this year viii be
pad al seveuty-hve cents on the dollar. Next
year it may cost the round hundred.
There is nothing IN this bill in relation 10 a
sinking fund, because there be nothing in the
hocus pOcits performance Of setting apart per
cent. OF sums borrowed, through such compound
OF trick and science, a. m ke il run race with
| The ninety niue per cent, and il a few years
come out ahead ; yet it 5 10 be hoped that the
I law on this subject, which seems 20 have been
respected by few and obeyed BY nobody, vii be
super eded, and tHat certain specific revenues
possibly that derived from whisky will be set
apart in some proper revenue bill aud applied
nualy to the reduction Of the principal of our
public debt. This would be a sinking fund that
all could understand, and about " hich there
be no faacy
On some future occasion, but not now, | may
undertake TO show with hat comparative the
United States carry It's present load Of debt,
tor ieeI assured II can be shown that rs securl-
ties the safest and best in the world. | earn
estly desire that our own people shall hold them.
hope the time Will never come when foreigners
viii prize our bonds hi -her than We d ourse yes
IT, IN tqGei c. Of our paper being be ow the
par of gold, there is prof, TO be III 4de OF thirty
per cent. any other sum, with interest upon it
for years, in investments made 70 bonds, de-
sire the whole OF That proft-Lot less than five
hundred milIOns-to be secured by our own peo-
pie There Is in the bill, TO be sure, authority
gwen make foreign loan, and such authority
has repeatedly been given, though never used, and
even power to send agent abroad has been
granted heretofore. That done IN the act Of
July IT, 1861. The Secretary of the Treasury
was authorized by the act Of June so, 1864, to
dispose Of SiOO 600 900. or part thereof, Eu-
rope, and, 10 quote the words OF the lav, - on
such terms he may deem most advisable
again, longer ago than March }, 1865, the
Secretary Of the Treasury empowered to dis
pose of any of the bonds or obligations author
Z t.
and such and under such conditions as he
may think advisable.
am persuaded the power to negotiate abroad,
il lodged with the Secretary, will give the United
States the advantage Of an option III the disposal
of very large amount OF obligations, and ,ha.
will create competition where 1t might otherwise
be strangled. Inc power Is wanted, not for the
purpose OF cornerlng anybody, but to prevent b.
ny cornered ourselves. The testimony Of both
the predecessors Of Nr. McCuiluch has been that
this privilege part should be retained al
though neither uced it, and there is not much
probability that it viii oe actually required
If | thought il likely to be used TO any extent |
do not deny that | should be one of the last
to give il any oouHtenance, Our debt abroad is
already quite large enough A loan 10 our own
people, payable principle and interest at home IS
very different from one which annually drains the
whole country OF gold and silver to be paid out
abroad to aliens and absentees. Interest paid
abroad returns no more forever, bat paid out at
home it breeds in and tertilizss every locality
where it is distributed. Besides this, New York
is getting TO be, especially wiki the large trans
actions of the Government included, d money
center not much inferior 10 London ITSELF 70
day. in New York. money, with United States
bonds collateral security, be had at an in
terest of four to five per cent. In London the
bank is eight per cent with prospect OF
going higher. tur better paid labor has added
something to the wages of labor throughout the
civilized world, and usually larger rate of in
terest has drawn and viii draw ,..uch OF the un-
employed capital OF the older nations until some
| thing like equilibrium shall be established. |
do not suppose there could be loan obtained
abroad with the interest more than one per cent
less than at home, and certainly the value of our
bonds at New York will regulate their price
abroad. Ii London affects New York, 90 does
New York affect London, II the Jog prevails in
one oity, they light up the gss in the other. The
loss OF time In the Transmission and receipt of
funds, and the expense, exchange, and insurance.
would leave very little to be gained in the terms
of foreign loan.
Beyond all this, however, unusual facilities
ought not in my opinion, to be furnished for the
Introduction of foreign luxures. or, in other
words, for the Introduction OF merchandise not
indispensable to our daily use, and for which, be-
yond the ordinary mercantile profit, the United
States are to pay an adGit.ona. roat OF twenty
FIVE to sotty per cent. iii gold in tive to twenty
years hence. This expansion of the credit sys-
TEN is attended with danger. AT New York
alone the gold value of the imports :sotn July /,