, 1866-01-13
FROM EUROPE,
Our London Correspondence.

Our London Correspondence.
The Pxeatdentsa McmaRe-Ftnnncfnl
Condition OF the United Stztea-Ad.
vantaEca OF Sinking Rund-The
Expected United States Government
Loan-P1ethorA In the English Mon.
cy Market-Postscr1pt- mud
Shares, etc.. etc.
From Our Own Co1espondentl
LONDON, Dee. 90
TIE PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
doubt whether any message OF any OF your
Prteidente WIS ever received In England with
such general encomiums % the one just sent
TO Congress by Andrew johnson. Our, press
Is unanimous in It's expressions Of approval,
the only shades OF difference between the va
1ious journals being due to matters on which,
from abstract reasons, It was impossible for
them TO agree Leaving the arena Of tho pub
lie press, and cntaring the yazious "world4"
into which society In this metropolis L. broken
up and subdiyided, the good impression pro-
duced by the Message Is stin more marked
I may quote In this connection, the, very
truthful and pertinent remarks Of the Pau
lidU Gazstts OF last Thursday, In relation 10
the JamaIca question and before doing so,
would remind yonz readers that
the paper containing these. remarks
is owned by conservatives" a.
though io1 commercial seasous It usually
sw}ms with tho current Of liberal opinion.
The Gazette says, In reference to popular feel
ing On our Jamaica troubles: q It has shown,
for instance, how very little the press inau-
ences public opinion By mere talk, and how
very much public opinion influences the press.
The Tine. and the 1ai;y 1ss<praph are the
most widely circulated, and might therefore
be supposed to be the most influential papers
IN London, or, indeed, In England. Lach
characteristlcally led oifwith strong advocacy
Of all that had been done. Neither print had
the least effect upon the public. The 'same
tie press and the feeling ofour business men
nnd politicians on the President's Message,
the expressions OF opinion by the latter being
much more complimentary and hearty than
those Of the former !
In the city--that business po1tton OF our
metropolis with which have endeAvored to
make your readers tamillar-Presidept John
son's message was looked for With much
anxiety, and has been received with crest ap-
proval. The two paragraphs In the very
centre OF the messnga-rrtaungt to monopol1es
and Interstate trarel and commcrce-are par
ticularly appreciated, and are considered hern
to toreshndow irrc trade policy on the part
of the Federal Government At NO very dis
tnnt date. II you would allow me to mako
suggestiou, l should propoee that tho
TRIBUNE place forthwith at the head Of its
columns the following two sentences from tho
message:
'Monopo1ies, pe1petuities and class iegisla-
ton are contrary to the genius Of Tres gov
ernsnent, and ought not to be aloved."s =
"No State can be Justified In any device to
taI the transit Of travel and commerce be-
tween States.' p
II these dieta of President johnson ba en-
forced, the Northwest will not much longer
have to complain of losing three bushels Of
grain In getting one bnshel to market, nor Of
having to pay an ezorbitant price for manu-
fnctured goods SO that few Eastern monopo-
lists may roll about 1azily In their car1lages.
finance, and the adytsalIlity Of paying OF
your National Debt, not OF petttng 1t ~ =
National Blessing, are greatly commended,
although some Of our authorities, Judging
from onr own experience, question the posi-
bility Of your 80 doing, Those obleetoss,
possess over other nations; and Americans
themselves, IN the enjoyment OF the ulany
blessings which Providence has shoWered upon
them, are sometimes prone to forget the
sources Of Their Own strength, and the seen
sity they hold for IN early removal Of all their
present difficulties, TINS, for example, while
your country possesses resources with which
those Of no European empire can compare,
your system OF government ls tncompar.
ably cheaper than any yet known. What
with you, Is Left to local action,--th Is state
legislation-with us in ENGLAND Is centralized
up into the General Government; and yet
England, Of all European nations, Is the least
eiyen to Capitalization. Moreover, with US,
government is mainly left to non:.produc..
ing, wealthy class, possessing no Ideas Of
economy a class which Is yerlasting1y sad,
ding our taxpayers with pension lists and
sinecures. Then again, the United States arc
the richest land owners In the world-1 refer
to the "Territofies''-and land is the most
SOLID and unhuctuatlDg Of all wealth and
the doHn-trodden, suffering laborers Of al
climes, are seeking TO increase thnt wealth by
enrolling themselves as citizens under your
Gag and developing your resources. These
premises must be taken into confederation
when discussing the possibility Of paying: of
yonr national debt within giTen period
and they are premises, moreover, upon and
from which political economists IN Europe
have never argued, because they have never
met with such preccdents In their inyeatiga-
tions.
ADVANTAGES OF 4 slNEISG FUND.
Apart from these considerations, and as q
mere affair of financial possibility, it fs easy
for you to pay off your debt within the period
recommended by the President, namely,
thirty years, md that without any extraordi-
nary burdens in the shape Of taxation being
sinking fund is what you reqnlre. "sinkng
fnnds' are, bclieTc, comparatively unknown
to American finance, but we have them OF
various descriptions In Europe, asior example,
l. Sinking funds Of one or two per cent per
annum, pure and simple. 2. Sinking Funds
accumulatiye, increasing with the addition Of
interest saved from prior cancement.' ).
Sinking funds where the bonds are TO- Dc
bought In the market at or under par. Z.
Sinking funds where the bonds are drawn: 6y
lottery at par, and cannot be bought up the
first or second OF these classes being OCCASION
al tr$ h ia hfeH HF
obvious that a sinking fund Of one Per cent
per anuum will pay of given debt IN one
hundred years, and two per cent per annnm
in half that period; but It requires con!lo-
cradle acquaintance g with the subject to nn-
derstand that one per cent per annum accu.
mulatiye, applied at par to five per cent
stock, will pay of the debt In thirtJseycn
years, and that two per cent per aunum accu-
mulattye, Applied at par to q aix per cent stock,
will pay 1t on within "a years. Il may so9nd
like an anomaly, but It Is nevertheless under,
stood by f1nanciers that o stock having smau
interest In conjunction With sinking fund,
is worth more than one with larger interest;
the explanation lying in the fact Of the sink
Ing fund constantly absorbing the ssock,
either by purchase or by Drawings. In times
Of panic and commercial crisis, these partlcu-
lar securities can readily be sold when every
the sinking fund attachment gives sohaity
to them tai beyond the mere figure Of interest.
Peruvian ~ PEI ccnta, favorable example
Of this system, have q S per cent aecumulative
sinking fund, with drawings by, lot for fhe I1
bonds, which ara to be redeemed at par TO
such an extent is this system acted upon 70
Europe that some Of the continental RAILROADS
issue dehentnres bearing only per cent aa,,f msf-
with small accnmulatiye sinking fund, the
bonds being drawn By lot and redsemaeeie Is,t q
par. These bonds, however, do not meet WITH
favor, in the London market, and ge1efaly
find purchasers only in the towns immealanty !.
contiguous to the lines themselves; for. 70
use common expression, "they look great
deal too good 10 be true"
TIE EXPECTED UNITED STATES LOAN.
President Johnson's message and tho report
Of the Secretary of tho Treasury lead ont
capitalists to believe more strongly than eVer
that nc shall soon see the United states, 81, n
the market for loan. Nov, should tnls
turn out to I've the case, you VIII not be sofI}T }T
to learn in advance how yonr proposals VIII
be received On the stock exchanges OF Europe,
and especially in that Of London, which @ sea
| The tone to afl the rest. 30 long ago a. 1877,
| The Committee Of the London Stock Exchange
| made q rule That no State OF natson should be