The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1867-12-06

The TreasuFy-Report or Secretary
m'Culioeh...Brief synopsis.
The Treasury report fills seventy.two
octave pamphlets pages, Here MA
brief abridgement Of some Of lts lead!
Ing features: .,, FL
CONDITION or THE pRBr. ~
s, Since the hrst day OF September,
1855, the temporary loans, the certih.l
Gates Of Indebtedness, aud the Eve Der
cent. notes have all been paid. twilh
the exception ofHmall amounts OF each
not presented for paynIent,) the COM
pound intpfeat notes have been re-
dpeed ffpul s2l7 02i, 100 10. 81, 675,0IO,
~. bBO, 900 having been taken up with
three per cent. certihcates;) the seven
and three.tenth notes from $3.50 0O0, 900
20 W. gIS, s00i the United States notes,
including fractional currency, from
$500 3ll 81 10 1857, 81, At 89-while
tDe cash In the Treasury has been IN.
creased from 81, 2ls, O65 is TO SlSS,9eS
Sva ", and the funded debt has been
incteased s6S6, 6Si 500. While this has
been accomplished there has been no
commercial crisis, and (outslde Of the
Southern StalSs, which are still great.
~ suffering from the effects OF the war
nnd the unsettled state OF their indus.
Trial Interests and political affairs no
uonAiderable Embarrassment. -.
REsUMPTIoN. l4tl
In hIsreport for 1866, the Secretary
thought that specie payments should
be resumed by the first of July, 1858, II
not ut az earlier date; but he now ad,
mlts that those expectations cannot be
met, in consequence OF the expense Of
the Indian war, Of the milltarysgov.
ernments In the South, and for other
Obvious reasons. ast f@ III "A
SIN much preliminary work has
been done, and the Secretary thinks
thereis no "insuperable diaiculty In
the way OF an early and permanent re.
storation Of the specie standardb He
thinks that, with favorable crops next
year, and with "no legislation un@yor.
able to contraction at this session, Il
ought not to be delayed beyond the ist
Of January, or at the furthest, they lst
OF July, 1862" He considers the fol.
lowing measures as necessary, II not
Indispensable, to resumption: a5.4I
First, The funding or payment or The
balance OF interest.bearlng notes, and
continued contraction OF the paper
currency. f'-I H4G56 :
Second. The maintenance Of the pub.
lie faith 10 regard 10 the funded debt.
Third. The restoration OF the South.
ern States to their proper relations to
the Federal Government. I7f n
The Secretary thinks that specie pay.
msnts, In respect to the prosperity Of
the country underlies the great ques.
lions OF currency, taxation and recon.
struction.
PUBLIC PATH As TO THE DEBT.
The Secretary insists that the nation
al faith is pledged for the payment of
the bonds, principal as we'll as inter
est, In coin, and that the holders might
have their interest bearing notes con.
verted into bonds. He says that no
member of Congress, prior to 1854, ever
intimated, during the discussion Of the
loan bills, that the bonds were ever to
be redeemable In deprecated curren.
cy, he says:
Good faith and public honor, which
toa nation are Of priceless worth, re.
quire that these contracts should be
complied with in the spirit In which
they were made. The holders of our
bonds ut home and abroad, who under.
stand the character Of the people Of the
United States and the greatness OF the
national resources ought not tolneed an
assurance that they will be 30 complied
with.
In view of the alarm excited by the
doctrines recently promulgated, the
Secretary argues this question at length:
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 con.
sistent. Prior to February 25, 1862,
there was In the United States no law.
full money but specie, consequently Its
Treasury notes, and its bonds previ-
ously issued, were payable in the same
currency. Subsequently all interest
bearing notes were made payable In
lawful money, but no change was made
In the form OF the obligation Of the
bonds.
Thus the seven and three.tenth notes
Issued after that date, the five per cent.
notes, and the compound interest notes,
were made payable In lawful money
while the bonds not being so nude pay.
able have ever been recognized by Con-
Rress, by the Treasury Department,
and by the people, as payable only In
coin. These different classes OF securi-
ties were negotiated with this distinct
understanding an understanding
which is as binding upon the honor Of
the nation MS II 1t were explicitly stated
in the statutes.
TAXATION OPTHE BONDS.
The Secretary says that the exemp.
ton OF the bonds from local taxation is
thought to be not exactly right, and be
''has no hesitation In admitting that he
is In sympathy with this sentiment"
Bat the difficulty with bonds subject to
taxation is, that they would not be
held where taxes are high, but would
be concentrated where taxes are low and
In foreign hands.
After giving the subject careful con.
slderati0n, the Secretary can suggest !
no better way of doing It than by All ia |
sue OF bonds tO.be known as the COLI
solldnted debt Of the United States,
bearing six per cent. interest, and hav.
Ing twenty years to run, into which all
other obligations Of the Government
shall M rapidly MS possible be convert.
ed;-one-slxth pnrt of the interest at
each semi-annual payment 10 be re.
served by the Government and paid
over to the States, according 10 their
population.
By this means all the bonds, where.
ever held, would be taxed alike, and Il |
general distribution OF them secured.
State taxes, including the levies for
county and municipal purposes, now,
rs IA general Thing, exceed one per
cant INIT WhnD tho dahtu IunnrrnH inr