Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1868-12-08
r EP ORT
OF The
SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY.

This important and eagerly looked for docu-
ment is an elaborate affair this year, covering
some fifty lone pamphlet pages.
Secretary McCulloch takes occasion to re-
state the views heretofore expressed by him in
regard 10 the currency, the revenue, and the
public debt.
The Secretary still adheres to the opinion SO
frequently expressed by him, that reduction
of the paper circulation of the country until IL
appreciated To the specie standard was the true
solution OF our financial problem. Blu As this
polcy was emphatIcdllly condemned by Con-
gresS, and II is now TOO late To rrtuTn t. IL, he
recommends the following meas the
next best calculated to effect the desired result:
Steps should now be taken TO give stability
To business ana security to enterprise; and To
TINS end, specific contracts TO be executed in
coin should ct once be legalized. Perhaps no
law could BE- passed which would BE- produc-
tive of better suits with SO little private or
Puollc inconvenience. Such law would
simply enable the citizen 10 do what the Gov
erment Is deing In its receipts for customs, and
In the payment of its bonded debt; il would
m, rely authorize the enforcement of contracts
yoluntIrially entered into, according 10
their letter. The effect OF such q law would
be TO cheek the outflow Of specie to other
countries, by creating necessity for the of
1t at home to encourage exterprises extending
into the future, by removing all uncertainty in
regard to the value OF the currency with which
they are 10 be carried on. Such a law would
remove a formidable embarrassment in our
again with specie as the standard OF value,
and show how groundless Is the appreL ms on
so generally existing, that Withdrawal OF de-
preciated notes or the appreciation OF thpS.,
notes TO par, would produce q scarcity OF
money, by proving that specie, expelled from
the country by an inferior circulating medium,
Will return again when IT Is made the bIsis OF
contracts, and is peeded In their Performance
The Secretary recommends, in addition to
tn enactment by which contracts Tor the pay
ment OF com can be enforced, that it be de-
IGr - fE.ar NJ thn Aarr r,,fV
eighteen hundred aud seventy, United States
notes shall cease to be legal tender In pay
meEt Of all private debts subseq quently con-
tracteG. and that after the first day of January,
eighteen hundred and seventy-one, they shall
cease 10 be a legal tender on any contract, or
for an purpose whatever. except Government
dues, tor which they are now receivable. The
law should also authorize the conversion OF
these notes, at the pleasure of the holders Into
bonds, bearing such rate of interest as NAV p,.
authorized by Congress on the debt into
which the present outstanding bonds may ba
funded. L he period for which they would
continue 10 be- u legal tender would be sufi-
cient TO enable the people and the banks
10 prepare Ior the contemplated change, and
the privilege Of their version would save
them from depreciation. What has been said
by The Secretary IN his previous reports on the
perm cIous effects upon bus and the public
morals of in con vertIbIe legal-render notes, AMI
what l. SAID in this report upon thu advantages
winch would result from legalIzIng com con-
tlacts, sustain this recommendations. Ii NAV
not be lmpTopeT. however, TO suggest another
reason for dIyesting these notes D. heir Legal
tender character by lesislatiVl action. Al
though the decision of the com. have been
generally favorable 10 the cons t.tUtiOnality OF
The acts by which they We're authorized. grave
Oonbts are entrTtalned by many of the abIest
lawyers OF the country rs TO the correctness of
that they have not yet bgen sustained by Tn.
Supreme Court OF the Uni.eG y ales.
No one can tail to perceive how important 1t
IL that the legislation recommended should
precede a decision (from which there can be No
appeaD that United States notes are not, under
tIe Federal Constitution, legal tender.
The receipts from customs Tor the last three
wears nave been as follows
For he fiscal year ending June 30,
1860 ...S.I9,Oi6,65l j-
For the fiscal year ending June
81, lo6. ....-...-.. E6.il1,o10 g
For the fiscal year ending June
hi. ~ :, TO-, ;s :; ,r ,S o.
customs receipts nee the commencement Of
TIE fiscal year 1865 have been, in a revenue
point OF view, entirely satisfactory, the question
naturally arises, what do these large receipts
foreign 'Iade and 10 our financial relations
Will tC gn nations.
TWO -ds OF the impOrta:ions Of the Unitel
State - OF articles which, IN economical
TIM, Id he pronounced luXuries. Tae
war "a. reduEOdnt currency have brought
about uneAampled extravaganza, which can
only lie satisfied by the most costly produces O.:
foreign countries. No exception could be taken
10 such lInpOrtatlons If they were paid for IN
our CwT productions. This, unfortunately, is
not the fac. Tney are annually swsllin@ our
foreign debt, V thout increasing our aUllity 10
pay il. How djsd- rous such 4 course OF trade,
II long continued, Ilust be, II requires no spin:
Of prophecy TO predict.
Nor is IL an uuImportant matter thai the ~
teTesi upon Il large portion OF our securities Is
received by Citizens of other countries instead
of our own. 1.-THE interest upon pubic den.
- paid out where the Xes to provide To- 1t ar,
Collected, the debt, although a burden upon the
mass OF taxpayers who are not holders ~ Sc
cuTl'ics, NAV be- so managed As not to y" Il So
we're burden upon the nation. III" mUC-y
which goes into IN" / reaSury by means OF
taxes, will How on yain into the same COM
munity IN the payne NJ OF interest; aud were il
not tor the expenses attending it, the process
would not, ~ Il purely economical view, be an
exhaus unE Oh. IL ne bonds o. the United
States Were equally distributed among the p,o-
PIE OF the different States, there would be less
compliant OF IA. debt than l. now heard. Anti
tax parties VIII attain strength only in those
States In which few bonds are held. If the
people OF the West are sensible of n, bur-
GenS Of + ederal taxation J.an are those Cf tue
Eastern States, IL Is because they are not hold
ers 10 thr same extenI oi national securities.
a nation that owes heavily must have its
own people Tor creditors. Ii il does not the
debt wiirbe dead weight upon ITS industry,
and VIII b. quite likely % force II eventually
INTO bankruptcy. The United STATE ar. NO
only able TO pay the interest on their debt, bu,
10 set good example 10 O.her nations Dy stead
lily and rapidly reducing tnat debt. What Is
now required, as has been already intlmated,
vent further expectation of our bonds, and i'm
The regular course Of trade TO bring back to
the country those that have been exported but
which " III also tend 10 restcrs. those important
interests That are now languIshIng, as tue re-
sult OF the war and All verse legislation The
hrst aud most important OF these measures are
those which shall bring about, without an-
necessary delay, the restoration OF the specie
standard. The financial difficulties under
which the country is labOTing, may be traced
dire ctly 10 the issue, and continuance in cIrcu-
lation, OF irredeemable promises as lawful
money. The country will no, be really and
reliably prosperous until there Is a return TO
specie payments.
The following is a statement of receipts from
internal revenues tor the last thre. fiscal
years
For year ending June 30, lsG6 80, O. 226,sl3 AZ
or year ending June 81, loGI.... 266, W, ,537 a.
For year ending June 81, lSj3... I9l,GS7, $50 Al
II thus appears that the in terual reven ue
ceiPs for the year ending C,e 30, 1867, fell be-
low the receipts for the yer ending June g.,
1e6G, Si3159 275 20, and that the recepts for the
year ending June 81, lS6-. tell short Of the re-
ceipts for le67, S14S3 ,9ie W. The receipts for
the hrs; icur months Of the present fiscal year
were Sie,.36,3i S1. If the receipts for these
months are an index OF those for tue remaining
eight the receipts for the present fiscal wear
Will bs Sli6, ,2U9UIi.
This large reduction of Internal reyeuue re-
ceipts is attributable both to inefficient collec-
tons, and 10 q reduction OF taxes. 1t is quite
obvious tn the receipts from customs cannot
be maintained without An increase of exports
or OF our foreign debt. II the receipts from
customs should be diminished even with large