Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1869-12-08

for the transaction OF the busines,
of the country cannot be fixed accu
rately since the close Of the war
as il is necessary TO pay for merchandise
importedaby the Transfer Of Government
bonds and other evidences OF indebted
ness 70 other countries, 50 long then il
will bepractieable to resu ne and main
tain specie payment when the products
| Of industry exported shall be equal snb-
stantially 10 the products of other cOun-
| tries imported. There will be no demand
| for specie for export except what may
arise from the circumstances that oDT
bonds abroad are sent home to be~sold.
/ When the credit of the country shall be
/ fully established in Europe, and there
: shall bo no doubt either of our ability or
/ our disposition TO meet all of our obliga-
I tiOns, bonds heretofore, and now, TO a
| large extent held by merchants and bank
ers will be transferred to capitalists for per-
manent investment. When this change
shall have taken place. the probability Of
o; securities being sent home, under the
influence of political or financial disturb
ances in England is very light, and when,
as q concurring fact, our exports, eXclu-
sive of public securities, shall be equal to
Odr imports, specie payment may be re-
sumed without even a temporary embar-
rassment to the business OF the country.
The estimated receipts undergraduates
iOl Allb AAAlNt AGlAuAkAAAh AiGdlAGlo VI NAlf
fiscal year ending June l3, 1870 are as
follows: Receipts from customs, Sl35, ,000,-
eco; internal revenue, sl27 100000; lands,
S4 100000: miscellaneous sources, s., 600, =
0C0; total, $3.50 900, zoo. Expenditures,
civil service. $4,000 coo; pensions and In
dams, 81 .000,0d0; War Department, Si0,
510,000; Navy Department, Sl41,GOO; in
tarest on public debt, S93, 600; total,
500, ,250, 900.
VLa f;,raooinrr aeti,,atae Of racait,ta .,,.
made upon the assumption that the laws
now in force relating to customs and in
ternal reveBae. will not be so changed as
to materially anect the revenue, and the
estimates of expenditures are based upon
tbe superstition that no extraordinary ap-
preparation will be made.
cannot omit to call the attention of
Congress. % the inadequacy of the salaries
paid to officers in the Treasury Depart
ment who exercise discretion and whose
acts on behalf Ofthe Government affect di-
rectlY its expenditures or revenues. Some
of the salaries were fixed when the Gov
ernment was organized, o hers when new
officers were added, and out few of them
have been increased recently. 1t is un-
qUestionably true that persons having
equal abilities, and clothed with similar
responsibility, receive much larger COM
DensatiOn from individuals and corpora
Jions. Although many of the officers now
in public service are likely TO continue,
from the circumstance that their vocation
has led them aside from the ordinary
channels of business, vet rs an act of JUS
tice to them, and in the interest of the
Government, l recommend an increase
of their pay. Speaking &c neralIy. this in
crease Of pay should extend to revenue
officers in custom service, as collectors,
surveyors, naval officers, and especially
to appraisers and examiners in the ap-
praser's department. Should the recon-
mendation to repeal the laws granting
shares of penalties and fines and forfeit
ures to public officers be adopted it will
be necessary to increase the salaries of
collectors, naval officers and surveyors at
all the principal parts of the country. 1t
is plain truth that the Government has |
no right to expect the services of such |
Ompetent men as appraisers and exam
ners at the present inadequate salaries in
the large cities. They are insufficient for
the support Ofa family, and, under such
the Government is not |
without responsibility when it places its |
they are compelled to choose be-
tween dishonesty on the one
one hand and penury on the other. The
of the Assistant Treasurer and |
the principal officers should also be in
creased; and for substantially tha same
reasons u utS Decn 4Ounu Impossible Tor |
the last few wears to obtain the services of !
the most efficient clerks in the Treasury
Department except by additions to their !
lawful salaries through an appropriation
placed in the hands of the Secretary for |
that purpose. The distribution of this ap- |
is an unpleasant duty for the |
and cannot be performed with
out producing jealousy and discomfort |
among the department. Speaking gene |
rally, it may be said the heads of bureaus5 |
chief clerks, and clerks in charge of di- |
visions are iuadequately compensated for |
the services they perform. The rOutine |
Of business Of the department can be per- |
formed in a satisfactory manner by clerks |
receiving he compensation now provided |
by ne Law, but men on whose discretion |
snd Judgment the Government relies for |
the proper transaction OF the business of /
.hc country, and whose lahOrs are not lin |
tied TO the ordinary hours of duty, should |
be made to feel that they are properly |
GEO. S. BOUTWELL,,
Sec'y of the Treasury.