Abbeville press. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1860-1869, 1868-12-18

| S'lNO mllliOu>-an ltcrcaSc Of fou,
u"dred u"d e'ght, ,:.iss per csa.nn,
"hile tho i',creans .fpopa1s ,,oa ,aaui; Nj
"'y t"en'1-one pcfYoeslum tforg.h.
a"e period." = 81
! With regard 70 tho public dcle. h.
makes tho following alarming s,ulc.
ment:
ln tho Spring Of 1861 our ci. il WA,
! commenced. Each year of lin cur.
uafaoco made an cunrr. urs add;:,o,
>"Hhe debt; aud who, IN tho s,r,n,
i 90, 'he"a,i"u successfully emc,
! ga IRON .he c"t i'ic.,, tho obligation.
u Iho Ho'crEm III, hal .rcuch.d tn,
'm;HS' so sus. of S2,S13 9c,2 900 The
, c'rtar' ot ,ho T'easury SHOWS tha'
"h ~ l.. day M November, 1867
! .i1a nn'"u.t had be-. n reduced 10 ST.
49l~5U4 4,s0; bu, al the same time his
'@I'rL rYnih Is an icruase during til,
pasl year Of $50 G25 l02 for the deb,
.on A.e LIST If n vrtnb bcr lust Is said t.
navo bcc, g 527, ,l29, ,552. 1t is es,:-
mat, d BY tho s. crrlury that the re
! ! u'ns for tho past month " i'll add to
our liabilities lho further snm of e!ov
pn millions making IL .tatul .increase,
during thirteen months, Of. furly.s,x
nd II half miiI,onS."
In tho following paragraphs, the
President dc"!are: his. r,.odo: OF pay.
ing Off tho national dcLt. which has
received the unmcasurosl denunciation
of tho Republican, journals. Greeley
and .aymond exhaust their vocabula-
Iry of ahasc upon the author Of what
they term disgracc!ul t5rudiation.
Says the President: .'''
"Ou:' national credit should be sa-
credly observed; !; but in lhakiny pro.
vision for our creditors we should not
forget what is due to the masses of
the pcop'c. 1t may be assumed that
tie holders Ct our securities have al
ready received upon their bonds a
'arg,'r amount than original invest
ment, measured - !: go.d.. standard
Upon this statement Of facts It would
seem but just and cquitaL!e that the
six per cent interest now paid by the
Gov:crnraent shc:i!;! be applied to the
reduction 2f t;c 2rirc.psl in scmi-ap-
nnal insta!.ocnts:. which, in sixteen
years and eight months, would liqui-
date the cn1irc n&tional debt. Six
per cent. in gold would, at present
rates, be cqual to nine pei cont, in cur
rency, and equivalent % the payn: cnt
of the debt ono and a half time in Il
fraction less than seventeen years.
This. in connection with all the other
advantages derived from their invest
mcnt, would ,:flord to tho public cred
tors 81 !a;r anil liberal compensation
for tho use Of their capital ; and with
this they fEould be satisfied. The
lessons OF the past admoni*h the lender.
tint it is not well to lie over anxious
in cXactins frI."l tho borrower rigid.
com pliance with tho. latscr Of the
boad.'
We&rS disposed to think this the
most Vilneaablc part Of tho Mesa &c,
and that tho President forgcts what
is duo to tho character of tho Gov
ern,nent when he would release it
from a strict compliance with the
tersns Of it's bond.
In viewing the varions departments
Of tho Fdbio service, the Message
presents the following interesting
summary respecting the several blu.
,'cars Of the War Department and
the operations Of tho army. The
strength Of our military force, on tho
3oth Of September last. was forty
eight thousand mon, and it is compu.
ted that, by the first of January next,
this number will be decreased to forty.
thrcc thousand. It is tho opinion Of
the Secretary of War that within the
roxt ysar . considerable dimunition
of the infantry foree may bo made
without dctriment to the Interests of
tho country; and in view of tho
great expense attending the military
peace establishment, and the ABSOLUTE
necessity Of rc:renchment wherever
it can be applied, it is hoped that Con-
gross will sanction the reduction
which his report recommends: While
IN ls60. sixteen thspsaad three hun
drcd mon ccst lhenat;Qn. ts16,472,CQO,
the sum Of sse5, $4,000 is estimated
as necessary fer the s!;aposs Of the
army during. t!Ase dsesal soear ending
June 80, 1874. Tho. eat:lnsatss Of tho
War Department far a.; tho last two tis-
cal years were, for 1867. s33.Sl4,461,
and fQr 1868. s25,ooae69. Aa acs
tual expenditure during the sane pc.
RODS were, respectively, ss5,22a415
aud sl23,246,64s, Tbs estimate sub
mitted in Dec9mber last for The fiscal
year, ondiny 30, 1869, was s77, I38707;
n. n