The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1868-09-18

j.
ary necessity compels you to weal
broadcIoth. But the wants of the peo
pie numbering 5000, 900, divided int,
thirteen States, may be supposed {,
fall something below one numberin,
36,0Oo,ooo, with thirty six States, en-
bracing almosta continent, and extend
ing its foreign service into every bar
of the civilized world, with necessaril
increased expenditures at home, as We
as abroad. Yousay, "TheNational deb
nuts be redeemed;" you admit a re
duction of 1927, 900, 600. This is pret
ty well for you; you tell nearly ha
the truth. The precise reduction u
to the time of your speaking, since tn
close of the war, is S266, ,O00, ,000.-
This has been accomplished, notwith
standing the immense mass of iloatin.
debt, incident to your rebellion, whicl
has teen paid within the last thre
years--the interest upon the publ
debt, the boUnties to soldiers, the larg
sums payed ont through tie Pension
Bureau DC. Please consult the report O
the Secretary Of the Treasury ALLOW
me to institute comparison. You say
Mr.. Buchanan was turned ont of ofiict
for extravaganza; this may he true to
some extent. You admit that his ad
ministration expended $3.50, 900, 900 in
four years. This would be sG4, ,OOO,-
600 per annum paid ont in gold for tn,
ordinary expenses of the government.
1t includes nothing else. Now, in the
comparison, it is fair to follow your
own rule; and to make the money eqnal
to that paid out by the Republican ad
ministration, add fifty per cent. dis
count on paper This makes Mr.. Bu
chanan's expenses equal to 1896, 900, ,OOG
per a.num, if paid in greenbacks.-
But you are bctterat defamation than
in mathematics; you must allow me,
therefore, to correct you further upon
your figures. The total receipts of the
government, from June so, 1865, to
June so, 1865, were $3.50, ,OOO,O 900
ont of this has been paid $500, 900, ,OO0
as interest on the public debt; $780,.
600 600 on the principal; Sl40,OO0,.
600, back pay and bounty, Transports
ton and prize money, n debt con.
tracted during the war, but paid since
the seth of June 1865; $49,3S3, ,S3e
bounty under the act of July %, / sec
Sl0,33O,O00 reimbursed to the States
for war expenses; SlI,OO0,OOO al
lowed by the court of claims for prop
erty destroyed during the war; making
a total of $500, 600, 600, which deduct
from the aggregate receipts, and you
have $685., 900 900, to meet the ordina
ry expenses of the Government, fo1
three years, or 1928, 100000 to each
year. Apply your standard, and re-
duce this to the par value of gold, il
would be worth $4,000, 900 per an
mum, the same Mr.. Buchanan spent
at time when his expenses should not
have exceeded 40 per cent. upon what
is now necessary.
g You attack Mr.. SheTman's funding
bill, and gloat over the Presidents
veto, and your chief objection to the
bill is that under it the government
proposes to pay its debt at 100 cents
to the dollar, while you would have i,
paid at 40 or 50 per cent. discount.
The people do not generally think well
OF man who shaves his own paper, at
40 or so per cent. discount, nor
would honest men and upright nations
regard ours in any other light than
that of dishonesty, should it adopt
your teachings.
The public debt of Great Britain be-
gan to accumulate about the middle
of the 18th century, during the reign
of William the Third, and was conse-
quent upon the wars which characteriz-
ed his administration. In 1892 the prin-
cipal of the debt was 100000, 900
pounds sterling, or about So, ,792, ,651,
$50, greater by more than $1,000, 900,
300, than our debt at its maximum.
Yet England, by consolidating the pub
ic securities, by prompt payment of
interest and the general good manage
ment of her finances, has reduced her
public debt more than one half since
that time. I'm 1861 the population of
Ireland, Scotland and Wales
was 29,756,Ol5, that of the United
States 81 ,429,S6I The revenue rails
ed from England by taxation is now
about $50, 100000 per annum. The
larger portion of her debt is in her
three per cent. copsols. The average
rate ofinterest paid by the European
powers does not exceed four per cent.
1t is worthy of remark here, that du
ring sixty years of almost uninterrupt-
ed Democratic administration, our
Government could never borrow mon
ey at less than five per cent-gen-
orally we paid higher ratcs,-whilst the
Russion debt was funded at three per
cent, the Spanish at three per cent,
the French at 81 per cent, the Turk
ish at six, and the Dutch at p. No
man perhaps ever managed the fiscal
affairs of government better than
did the younger Pitt the finances of
England during twenty years war
with the first Emperor Napoleon;
yet so great man as Lord McCauley
pronounced him superlatively extrava-
CANT and incompetent. Is it wonder
full then that men so small as the lead
ers of the Democratic party should
attack Mr.. Sherman's Bill,-a measure
equally necessary, wise and prudent
as that adopted and carried out by
the younger Pitt? But MIR. Vallandig-
ham says "pay off l,S0o,000,0O0,
of the National Debt with legal ten
ders, and save 40 per cent. of your
debt. Now would you and your par
ty pay the debt with unconstitutional
If you did, you would
convict yourselves, rs party of swim
dlcrs upon your own showing. But
Mr.. Sherman's Funding Bill simply
proposes TO take up the Old six per
cent. bonds by an issue of gold bonds,
bearing one per cent. interest and pay
able in forty years. Il will not stop
to refute the puerile pettiiogging ar
that these bonds are never to
be paid } This will settle all contro-
versy with regard to the character of
the money ultimately to be paid
It will save one third the interest upon
the public debt; it will disembarrass
he Government, by deferring the pay
nent of the principal of the debt.
I'hc interest is about SI4O.O0O,oe0.
The receipts for customs in gold is
bout sI64, ,0Oo, 900 per annum, making
rom this sum alone an excess OF s23,-
'oe, 600 per annum to the creditof the