The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1866-05-12
From the New York Times
When shall we Pay our Debt?

The burdens of taxation are hard on
the people and hard on industry. No
business man can pass day without
grOaning under them, and no man what
ever, except the rich, can live without
suffering severely from them. The COM
plexity of the taxes, as well as their mag
nitude, troubles us all. There is hardly
anything that escapes taxes, and on near
ly the half of all things they are levied
twice or thrice, or half dozen times,
under variety of forms and upon the
most remarkable pretexts.
The patience with which the country
has borne them is now severely tried
1t has been sustained heretofore by con-
siderations of ofnecessity and of honor
The people themselves-we may almost
say as body-were the owners of the
Government securities, and consequent
ly interested in sustaining the Govern
ment credit at the highest point; and no
one could fail to see that to effect this,
the revenues of the Government must be
large as well as steady. Our national
pride, too, has worked greatly in aid of
the Government in this matter. We are
bound to show an incredulous world
that our debt and credit had broad and
solid basis ; that we could pay the high
est taxes in the world rs well as wage
its greatest war; and that Our financial
honor should not be tarnished, as our en-
emies sneeringly asserted it certainly
would be. Then again, it was univer-
sally felt that in settling the affairs and
closing the accounts Of great war the
Government was compelled to draw
from the people all that Il could without
irreparabIy damaging public interests.
But now we are In the second year Of
peace. Our Government, In all its de-
partments Is, or should be, on the perma-
nent peace basis. On no hand, or in no
quarter, are extraordinary expenses call
ed for. Our estimate of revenues for
this year should be no higher than that
for next year, or for the years Of peace
which we trust are to follow; and our
burdens of taxation no weightier now
than then. We have the advantage of
definite estimates as to the amount that
will be needed, as well IS the amount
that can be raised, and the sources that
will produce it. We can say-so much
for the army and navy $50 much for State
and Interior expenses. We can also say
so much from Customs and so much
from Internal Revenue. And, setting
the one against the other, we can say
SO much surplus Or so much deficiency.
The country is now sufficiently settled
after the pertubations of the war, and its
material interests are in sufficiently
healthy working order, to enable US to
make such estimates with as much accu-
racy as it can be done in ordinary times
in the financial operations OF any nation.
And as the taxpayers are continually
making these estimates--or rather, as
Secretary McCulloch takes the trouble
to do it monthly for their enlightenment
the public are continually kept informed
Of the fact that the receipts Of the Gov
ernment from taxation very greatly ex-
ceed the actual necessities Of the Gov
ernmmt and thae It is intended TO APP
ply the surplus thus raised to reduce the
volume of the national debt. In his late
speech Oh the Loan Bill, Senator SheF-
man used these words:
SDuting the next year the estimated
expenditures of the Goveynnseht are sta
ted a $3.50, ,000O 600 These estimates
have been reduced somewhat by the
bills sent to US by the House of Repre-
s<,nfatives, and it is scarcely possible that