The New York herald., 1867-08-19
Financial Troubles and Mysteries.

alarmed at the gathering cloud OF financial
troubles. lie is appalled, at the accumulation
of the public debt. lie stands aghast at the
people Of the United States, and which, no says,
although considerably reduced from The maxi
mum they attained in 1866, must probably
exceed $500 100000 per annum. In passing
/ we must say taat our impression is that they
never reached higher annual figure than
| S500,000000 Startled out of the proprietes
OF consistency, our radical neighbor even
echoes the popular outcry for such readjust
! ment and simplifying Of our taxation "as
may render ii considerably less irksome." He
| is bewild sred, moreover, by the seeming
| paradox" Of an immense and steadily incre as
ing migration from countries that owe little
and tax lightly, In comparison to this overbur-
denei republic. He declares it is a puzzle 10
I political economists "that the volume of imml-
grafton should be not merely maintained but
largely augmented under the pressure
| of gigantic debt high tariff, heavy
| internal taxes and an inflated, irredeemable
| currency" Partially recovering his senses,
| he next blunders upon q solution Of the puzzle.
Immigrants are still pouring in at the rate Of
| a thousand per day, and all of them who know
| how to do any thing, and will do it, find en-
ployment and remuneration. Labor is as we'll
paid in the average, and rs comfortably sub
sisted, as IL was when we had next to no debt
light taxes, and q currency convertible into
specie at par. The real estate of the country
could be sold to-day for more money (reduced
to epecie) than it was worth ten years ago.
Most Of our people are prospering many are
am,ssing wealth. Houses are being built on
every hand lands are being improved; new
farms are being hewn out of the fores.
and carved from the wild prairie our rail
roads are being extended at the rate of thou
sand miles perannum and the product Of our
national industry in 1867 will be larger than
that of any former year." We need not null
| tiply words to prove thai this is solution of
| the mysterious puzzle. The American people
| are rioh, Notwithstanding their burdensome
taxation, because Their country is inexhausi-
bly, rich. Ours is new country, with daily
developing resources Of ncal.ulable wealth.
Our cheap and fertile and bounhless lands have
three times tho productive capacity of the old
European countries. Our agricultural iIven-
tions surpass any in the world, and unite with
steamboats,, railways and the telegraph in mar
vellously quickening and facilitating the pro.
| gress of American industry and trade. The ma
tional wealth Is so rapidly &C Dumulsting that tho
public debt, even If it were to remain undi-
minished, would become less and less burden
some in proportion to the Development OF
| gigantic strength to sustain it.
At present, in Iced, many of the taxes (as,
for instance the cotton tax) to which the
people submitted as war measur es are almost
intolerable, because no longer necessary, and
in some cases palpably unjust. Our contem-
porary asks, "Do we not need n new political
economy, recognizing and adapted to this state
of fac.s?r We most certainly do need po!iti-
cal economy adapted to the actual state OF
things but not new one, and by nc means
such high tariff economy as our aeighbor
advocates in his fundamental idea tliat tariff
is something good in itselr-a meNiure which
II would be wise for q communits to adopt.
even if they had no need OF reven.ae. We are
inclined TO agree with political economists OF
quite different school, who ten ch that "tarif''
is another name for "tax," a1d that tax o
any kind can only be more or less of burden
upon the people who pay n, and cannot il
the nature Of things be q benefit to them. Al
the same time we recognize the practical
advantages aud, III q certain sense, the pracd.
cal necessity, OF moderate taxes on articles Of
utility, aud Of high taxcs on articles Of luxury,
including commodities the consumption OF
which is volunsars, and the deprivation o.
which does not irapele production. And, espe-
cially, we insist upon ii that our government
should have snd should use full powers to col
lee, lie dues, without being exposed in the col.
lection of customs and OF internal revenue to
such frightiul losses as have been disclosed by
the imperfect investigation OF recent frauds
upon the Treasury Of the United States. Such
frauds rs have been lately perpetrated op q
colossal scale in the article. of whislley, pstr q
leum and tobacco should hencesorth DC rem
dered impossible.
AS to the influx Of immigrants III spite of on,
own grievous taxation, Il sholl5t be remem
bcred tha, they are glad to escape from th,
tyranny OF taxation withou. representation.
AS to the evil Of AZ inflated currency, tha
matters less than g,.gh, seem to be the case
and our contemporary might not be SO mucl
alarmed II ~ would reflect that II is iroquen
and sudden fluctuations Of the money marke
. that play the mischief, rather than the noml
nally high figures which the price of gold ma,
,, happen TO reach. Let almost any figure bu, re
main steadily the same for long period, snt
i. all transactions are surely and sately accom-
8 modated to il,