The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1868-12-19
Fnforulatton.
Report Of the Secretary 81 sAe
Tr01NuPys

Report Of the Secretary 81 III
Treasury.
The Sseretarys report starts out with tn
statement that, 'slf there IL any question Il
finance or political economy which can b pro
aounssd eettled BY argument and trial, it II, tia
iaoonv ID depfseist.d pspse money 10 in
ivri, % and priv, i1tseests, epositiv
poli.is aancial O. Z which thsrs o.,
b but .i.catien OF "a ;use, to wit: . tom
porary n. .es,t, arising from a unexpected and
pressing emergency; and it follows, consequent
f., that such oircuiatiea should only b tolsra
led until, without financial check. it can bs
withdrawn or made convertible into specie"
He argues at length in favor OF . resumption
Of specie payment, BY the enrichment Of wise and
eQuabls revenue laws, and the enforcement Of
such economy in the use Of public moneys a.
will enable the Government 'either judiciously
to fund or promptly to redeem its broken prom.
isss~
The Secretary favors the resumption Of specie
payment through the retirement, BY funding OF
otherwise, Of q certain portion Of the grsenbsck
currency, and by the legalization Of geld DON.
tracts. He recommends, slss that on January
1st, 1870 United States notes shall cease to be .
legal tender for debts contracted after that date
and that on January let, 1871, they shall cease
to DO legal tender for any debts whatsoever
and that all notes then outstanding shall be con.
vsrted into bonds bearing such rate Of interest
a. Congress shall deem expedisnt. He quotss
from, Daniel Webster 70 show that nothing but
geld and silver can be = constitutional tender in
payment of debts and hints that the Supreme
Court may possibly take the same view of the
question, on cases now pending before it. EEg
The receipts for customs for the last three
years have been as follows: 90,
For the fiscal year ending June
For the fiscal year ending June &
~ 1857 lI0,4II,olO.S0
For the fiscal year ending Jane
80, 1868. ...... 164, AGA 500. SO
The Secretary thinks it safe to put the amount
of our securities held ut the present time in Ed
rope at $3.50 100000, of which not less than
5000, 600 are United States bends, nearly all
of which have left the United States within the
last six years. "Little satisfaction is derived
from the consideration that these securities have
bean transferred in payment of interest and for
foreign commodities and Just as little from the
consideration that probably not over 00,000,.
600 in gold values have been received for these
$S50000,000 of debt"
The gold and silver product of California and
the Territories, since 1S4S, has been upward of
81 300 000,0 900. Allowing that 800 900 900 have
been used in manufactures, and that the coin in
the country has been increased to an equal
$1,000, 900, 000-has gone to other countries in
exchange for their productions"
The Secretary thinks it an important matter
that the interest upon large portion of our Sc
curites is received by citizens of other countries
instead Of our own, and thinks it important that
the debt of the United States should be a home
debt so that the money which is collected for
the taxes may be paid to our own people in way
Of interest; the United Stat are not only able
to pay the interes. on + iebt, but too set a
good example to c''ov rs by steadily and
rapidly reducsng Vt. The repeal of taxes
on manufactures effected durin. the last session
of Congress, is dwelt upon as mistake, embar-
raising the Government and beneftting the man
ufacturer. rather than the consumers. The
latter class he thinks, will experience no relief
until there is corresponding reduction of the
tariff Nevertheless, it will be Improbable to
attempt to restore these taxes i'll the face OF the
opposition which would be made. Therefore he
recommends q tax on sales to make good the loss
of revenue from the tax on manufactures. The
average animal expenses OF the government, in
GLIDING interest, he believes, be kept with
in $3.50 000, 600; and the receipts out not for the
present to exceed S250,0O00O0; and the receipts
ought not for the present to exceed 100000, 00O
the $50,0OO0O0 of surplus to be applied an
nually to the reduction of the debt.
The public debt on tho first of July, 1868,
amounted to
Debt bearing compd interest, $s,Os3OO37 4l SO
" currency 12622 100 CO
40G 4T,313.7j
Matured debt not presented
payment .............. 2O,521 ,j02 "a
Total .............. $2,63G 307 ,049. 10
Amount in Tteasury-
Coin -. go. SlOO5OO56las .
Currency. S0,505,970.97-$ COG, 5322 q
Debt, less cash in Treasury =. $25O5, 200, 1864
Receipts, exclusive OF loans, for the fiscal year
ending June 30, 1868, $405, 1888, Os335. Expend
itures, exclusive of principal of public debt
$377, $40, 9S4S5 Receipts for the quarter end
ing September 30, 1868, exclusive of losus, $685.
&c.,, S6977. Expenditures, exclusive of Interest
on the public debt, sos, 152, 27075. .tf.y 3,
The Secretary estimates that under existing
laws, the receipts and expenditures for the three
quarters ending June 80 1869, will be as follows
From Customs. .$l25, 600, 10000
Lands. l,OOO,0O0OO HH
,l.,. e. Internal rev.
.r' venue. :. 1OO,00O, 10000
Miscellaneous la'
sources. :. 10000, 10000
Receipts :. ...............$2 46 OOO, OOO.O
And that the expenditures for the same porio
if there be no reduction Of the army, will be-
For civil service. $4,000, 10000
Pensions & indians $4,000, 10000
War Department,
including &c. r, sd r.. o.....- ~,
10000 bounties $1,000, 10000
Expenditures. ............. 1851 ,OOO, OOOO