The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1867-12-06

pelience of the pasifiteen wears h.s s.n ne eA
Tilted the views then expressed. N"s Jus
THE SHIPPING INTEREST
The shipping interest of the United States
to great degree Frustrated by the war, ha
not revived during the past year. Our ship
yards are, with rare exceptions, inactive. Ou
surplus products are being chiefly transport
ed to foreign countries in foreign vessels
The Secretary Is still forced to admit, IN thu
language OF his last report, "that with un
equaiied facilities for obtaining the materials
and with acknowledged skill in ship bu. king
with thousands OF miles OF seaeoast .indent.
ed with the finest harbors in the world, with
surplus products that require in their trans
portation large and increasing tonnage, we
can neither prohtably build ships nor sue
cessiuliy compete with English ships Ia the
transportation OF our own productions" No
chanse for the better has taken place since
Una. report was made. On the contrary the
inuealions are that the great ship building
interest OF the Eastern and Middle States has
been steadily declining and that consequently
the United States IS ceasing to be a great
maritime power. A return TO specie pay
ments will do much, but will NOT 10
sufficient TO avert this declension and
give activity to our ship-yards. The
materials which enter into the construc-
| tion of vessels should be relieved from taxa
tion by means of drawbacks; or III this may
be regarded as impracticable, subsidies might
be allowed as an Offset TO taxation. II sub
sidies are Objectionable, then it is recon-
mepded that all restrictions upon the regis
tralion OF foreign built vessels be removed, so
that the people of the United States who can
not prolitably build vessels, may be permitted
to purchase them IN the cheapest market. 1t
| Is certainly unwise to retain upon the stat
| ute books a law restrictive upon COM
merce when il no longer accompishes the OBJ
Ject tor which it was enacted. The subject is
one OF great interest to the whole country.
The attention Of CONGRESS is again earnestly
called to 1t. ~ -I.tt.fH
| .. TAX ON LIQUORS.
The duty upon distilled liquors is so high
| that there has been temptation 10 avoid its
payment, which has, to great extent, demOr-
allied both the manufacturers and the officers
OF the revenue. Ajax of two dollars per gal.
| lon upon an article which can be made for
thirty cents would be difficult tax to collect,
even in small country, where appointments
to revenue positions depend upon merit alone,
and where dishonesty is promptly and severe
| ly punished. 1t Is especially difficult in a
| country SO vast as the United States, where
/ politics are apt to influence, if not to control
| selections for Office, and where skill in evad
| ing the requirements OF revenue laws is not
among the least decided characteristics of the
| people. The Secretary Is not Of the opinion
| chad this tax cannot be collected, but he does
not hesitate to say that even If the meter
which has been adopted, and is intended to
be brought into general use, shall accomplish
| what is expected from it, the collection of so
heavy tax with thoroughness will be inn
possible, unless higher standard of qualifi-
| cation for revenue officers than now exists
| shall be established. The views of the Reve-
| nue. Commissioners ON this point are worthy
of especial consideration. } ea ~ F..
REGULATION. fi4s
| But the public faith does not depend alone
| upon adequate revenue laws, nor upon econ
| omy in the administration of the govern
| ment. 1t rests also upon the observance OF
contracts in the spirit as well as in the letter.
| In fact, without this there would be neither
| efficient administration OF revenue laws nor
economy in expenditures. Nothing but alb
| solute insolvency will save from the infamy
| of reputation nation that does not pay its
| debts according to the understanding at the
| time they were contracted; and when ma
tiol voluntarily violates this understanding,
| it will soon be unable, from the very effect OF
| its own example, to enforce its revenue laws
and its expenditures will Only be checked by
| its inability to collect. How much OF the de-
moralization which exists in the revenue SER
vice of the United States Is attributable to
the failure OF the government to redeem the
| leSaltender notes according to their tenor,
would be an interesting subject OF inquiry,
| but hardly appropriate in communication
like this National debts are subject to the
moral law of the nations. Whenever there is
no expression to the contrary, coin payments
| in such obligations are honOrably implied
| The policy OF the government OF the United
| States in regard to the payment Of its debts
| has been uniform and consistent. Prior 10
| February 25, 1852, there was In the United
| States no lawful money but specie, conse-
| quently its treasury notes, and its bonds pre-
viously issued, were payable in the same cur
reacy. Subsequently all interestbearing
| notes were made payable in lawful money,
| bu. no change was made in the form Of the
| obligation Of the bonds. - 7
| But if the honor of the nation were not IL
volved in the question, the inquiry arises, in
| what shall the bonds be paid'i not in coin?
| Some five hundred aud fifteen millions OF
\ 6ve-tweuty bonds are now redeemable accord
ing to u,sir tenor. No one certainly would
propose tnat some OF them shall be called in
and paid in currency now worth seventy
| cents ON the dollar, while the rest shall re-
main unreedeemed until the currency shall
/ be still more deprecated by additions TO its
| volume or appreciated by contraction. The
holders of these bonds stand on the same
/ footing; ii any are to be paid before maturity
| in deprecated currency, the whole sboula
be so paid, and in currency of equal value,
But the government has no United States
! notes in the treasury, and as the annual re-
| ceipts are not likely hereafter to be much I'M
excess of the expenditures and as new loan
| to raise money for the purpose Of violating am
| agreement under which previous loan was
negotiated would be impracticable, there
| would be no way i'm which the bonds now re-
,deemable could be paid as has been proposed,
| except by putting the printing presses again
at work, and issuing more promises, which
must themselves eventually be paid In coin,
converted into coin bonds, or repudiated
This process OF making money seems an easy
one, but our own experience, and the expert
| ence OF every other nation that has tried il.
prove it to be neither judicious nor profitable
| As the paper circulation OF the country is al
ready redundant, it would be lessened in val /
4 ne by every addition to it, and, by the dis
| trust thus created, its depreciation would
doubtless be in greater ratio even than the
additions would bear to the volume TO which
they would be added. 1t is not too much to
| say, that an additional issue Of 500 millions
| OF United States notes would reduce the sew
| en- hundred millions OF paper money now in
circulation to one-half their present value; SO
that legal tender note or national bank
/ note, now worth seventy per cent. in coin,
| would not be worth more than thirty-five per
| cent, even il the apprehension OF further is
sues, did not place 1t on par with confeder-
ate notes at the collapse of the rebellion. The
bonds would of course decline IN value with
the currency in which they would be pay able.
| Can any one seriously propose thus to deprc-
| ciate, if not to render valueless, the money
and securities OF the people? Can any one,
| knowing the effect which such an issue would
have upon the government bonds, upon the
/ currency now afloat, upon business, upon cred
it, upon the public morals, seriously advocate
/ such measure, not as q matter OF necessity,
| but to anticipate the payment of debts due
| many years hence? The statement OF the
proposition exposes its wickedness. Wh.nl
,airly considered it cannot fail to be stamped
with universal condemnation. 1t is propo-
sition that the people OF the United States,
| who own four fifths of the national obliea-
tions, shall by their own deliberate act, rob
and ruin themselves, and at the same time
cover the nation with inexpressible and inef-
faceable disgrace. iaad so
In opposition to all such expedients for
paying, or rather for getting rid OF, the public
debt, Is the upright, world -honored economical
policy of paying every obi alton of the gov
ernment according to the understanding with
which it was created-the policy OF appreciat !
ing the paper dollar until ii shall represent a
dollar in coin, of giving stability to business
and assurance to enterprise, and wiping from
the country the reproach that rests upon it
by reason of the low price of its securities in
the great marts of the world. That this is
the policy which will be sustained by the
people and their representatives, the Secreta-
ry has the fullest confidence. There may
hereafter be nations which, ignoring their
honorary obligations, may look only to their
own statutes for the measure of their liabiI-
lies. If there shall be such nations, the Re-
! nuhJic of the Tinted Statas uiu x,ot IL ,,,,,,I