Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1868-04-17
From the Raleigh Sentinel.
ANOTHER GUN SPlk D!!
GEN. ABBOTTS LETTER.

Gen. Abbott, as Chairman of the Com
mlttee on Finance. has issued an addres
TO the people in defence of the Radica
party from the charge of providing for ez
travagant taxation. This letter is evident
~ IN reply to the article published in ttr
Sentinel, extensively copied in our Stat
papers, and circulated in pamphlet forr
by the Conservative Executive Commit
tee.
We are glad to find that Gen. Abbott
substantially, by his silence in regard t.
them, admits the statements of the taxes t,
be raised by the first General Assembl,
heretofore made by us. Of course, if b.
had been able to deny the correctness 0
any OF our estimates, he would have spe
clticaliy done so, just as be spends hi
strength in regard to the State debt He
DOES NOT DENY THEM He, there
fore, 0clnaits their correctness:
/. Gen. Abbott does not deny that the
General Assembly, at SIS per day and with
many useless officers, such as reporters fol
Radlce! newspapers, Sergeant-at arms
&c, viii cost $50, 900 more than hereto,
fore.
2. He did not deny, uHd cannot, that the
20 NEW STATE OFFICERS will cost $50, O,O0C
per annum more than heretofore.
! 3. He did not and cannot deny that the
| Penit utiary will cost $3.50, ,000-at least
! SlO0, 600 the first year.
| 4. He did not and cannot deny that the
Common Schools for whites and blacks to-
gether, will cost $500, 900 per annum.
>. He did not and cannot deny that the
University, hereafter to be free for blacks
and whites will cost $25, 900 per annum.
6. He did Lot and cannot deny that the
militia, whom Holden announces his in
tention to arm and equip TO keep down
opposition to his administration, will cost
$500, 600 per annum.
The proposed Constitution violates the
Constitution Of the United States in impo-
sing this duty on the General Assembly,
but it was necessary to enable Holden to
do like Brownlow, and hence this pro
vision.
| Now all the above named expenses are
such as must be incurred right away by the
first General Assembly. Gen. A. did not
deny them, because they are laid down in
black and white in the Constitution. We
did not estimate many other expenses i'm
posed by the Constitution, such as Houses
of Refuge, Drunkard Asylums, &C., be-
cause these may be deferred by the Gen
eral Assembly, if they choose. The expen-
ses above enumerated the General Assem-
bly, must provide for, or break their oaths,
as they must swear to support the COnsti
tuition.
These expenses make $985, 900 more than
the State has ever paid. Now add the tax
alton of last year, $3.50, 900, and we have
81, 245, 600 per annum 10 support the State
GOvernment--nOt counting the interest on the
public debt.
And yet Gen. Abbott does not deny any
one Of them; only makes q general asser-
ton, plainly absurd, as will hereafter ap-
pear.
Gen Abbott estimates the State debt, al
ready existing and to be created under Or
dinances of the Convention, "a S18 1885, 600,
whereas we estimate it from Q6icial data
at SIS, ,476, 500, o difference only of some
$50 600 per annum. Gen. Abbott must
study figures a little more closely, before
he becomes a perfect chairman Of Finance
committees. He takes his figures from the
Freasurer's report to the Convention, which
brings down the outstanding interest to
only October lst, 1867. The ordinance of
the Convention ordering the payment Of
interest, direct the funding of over mil
lion dollars of interest, falling due after
October 1st, 1867, which, added to Gen.
AS figures. makes in round numbers the
debt, as we stated it, $40, ,476, 500. We see
by Mr. Battles letter to d.. Leach, that he
estimates it at SIS, 489, 5O0-$4, 900 more
than we did.
The difference, however, is not very
great Gen. A. says the interest is 81 101-,
284, while we make it, and aCe are right,
81, 168,OO0.
But Gen. Abbott says we have sets off of
bonds and stocks which diminish the State
debt to So, 257, 900, and he quotes from the
Public Treasurer's report, to the General
Assembly of 1865-'66, wherein he says,
"while some of these sets off are unpro-
ductive at present, [ believe IN a short
while, under the revival of trade and travel
they will to o great degree relieve the bur-
den of the public debt
Mr.. Battle had right to make this pre-
diction in January 1866. He could not
anticipate then that hostile, so-called re-
Construction legislation, vile SANDERS by
Infamous partizans, asserting the unsettled
condition Of the South, and ruinous taxa
ton of our staples, cotton and tobacco, on
the whiskey manufacturers of the Western
counties, would prevent "thc revival of
trade and travel" which lie, in common
with all patriots, hoped for. Trade and
travel hu0e not reCired and ane public bur
deus are not, therefore, relieved by the
railroad stocks held by the State. Not q
cent of dividend has been paid the State
and there will not be in any certain time.
Some CT the stocks, as those Of tho Allan
tic and North Carolina Railroad, of the
Western, and the Western n. c. r. R, can
not be expected to be productive for many
years.
| So much for Gen. Abbott's sets of. The
truth is the: for the present the State mus
| look to other sources than dividends from
railroads TO enable her to pay interest Oh
| the public debt.
Gen. Abbott makes a radical mistake as
to our position. We are as much opposed
to reputation as he is. In tact, We are
more so, as he voted for the ordinance pro
viding for the payment Of the interest OIL
the debt dated before and since the war, to
tally iRLoring, and thereby repudlating
bonds issued dwri53g the war, issued for IN
ternal Improvement purposes only. We
think, however, this, DIS well as other mat
ters of detail, should be left to the Gener
al Assembly, who are the best judges as to
the time and manner of commencing pay
ment of interest. Especially We insist thai
Constitution, which imposes, besides the
81, 169, 900 interest, additional burdens oj
81, ,245, 900 per annum, should be votec
down, as not suitable to the people OF NORTH
Carolina. And we are sure that the forcing
our people, by the Legislation of Northern