Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1869-09-17

heavily, as have told you, but the wool
OF our Western Reserve is subjected to
such sharp competition that the farmers
there have been almost driven from the
market. In every county in Ohio the
number of sheep has been largely dimin-
ished within the last year and the total
decrease is not less than 100000. Well
has an intelligent writer said sthat our
Legislators have blunderingly discrimina-
ted in favor of the rich against the poor,
the idle classes against tho laboring classes,
and articles of luxury against articles of
necessity" Not blunderingly, for Gov
ernor Hayes was in Congress when this
tariff was revised, and Mr.. Sherman boasts
that for ten years he has taken part in pre-
pairing every law on finance or taxation,
and both are going around the State con-
graduating the people that they are SO
Justly, so evenly, so wisely and so lightly
taxed. [ do not wonder that blr. Sher-
man told as at Canton, and told us truly,
that he never knew the difference between
revenue and protective tariff. These
| gentlemen, when driven on these points,
tell lis that the poor, the laboring men, the
| farmers, do not use imported goods. and
therefore do not pay these tariff duties
| 1t is true they do not use imported goods
and do not pay these duties to the govern
this system. The price of the domestic
article is regulated by the tariff. The
home manufacturer fixes his price that he
may Just nndersell the foreigner. The
consumer pays the price, and he has the
exquisite satisfaction of knowing that none
OF it goes into the Treasury, but all Of it
goes into tho pockets of the manufacturer.
The Commissioner of Internal Revenue,
| Mr. Wells, in his last report, says That the
duty on lumber paid into the Treasury i'll
| 1868 was two million two hundred and fifty
thousand dollars, bnt that it coat the
/ people sixteen millions to collect it. The
duties on salt yielded in 1867 one million
of dollars, but the price Of every buahel
made i'll this country was raised to the
consumer from twenty. three to forty eight
cents a bushel The effect on agricultural
interests produced by this tariff [ need not
illustrate to an Intelligent Western audi
ence You feel it. The effect on com
merce is stated 10y Commissioners Wells to
be such that if ships available for foreign
trade were furnished us without cost we
could not employ them.
THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY PAYS
PREMIUMS ON BONDS.
| said the expenditures were unnecessary
and wastefnl, and that they were all IN the
interest Of odd, inactive capital The
last report of the Secretary shows that he
is boarding $lOi,2 336in coin. and
$50, IA 900 in currency. Why 70
what good purpose I? The customs of O.
half year are there. The people ara paying
six per cent. in gold az interest on the
public debt. and the Secretary il boarding
this immense amount Each month,
with great parade, he sells SIX or nine mil
iiOns and with the proceeds he bnys
bonds, giving in the market for them
| twenty-five per cent above par. They are
now redeemahlo. On their face-by the
lawn equity, they are payable in legal
tender notes. The holders gave legal
tender for them when legal tender notes
were worth not more than half what they
now are, and yet the Secretary of the
Treasury insists on paying premium OF
twenty-five per cent. l Will not argne
again this question. | prefer to rely on
the authority of Sherman, and Norton
and Stevens and Ewing. They say the
bonds are payable in greenbacks. Then
they ought to be so paid ; and the people
are robbed when premium is paid. If
they are payable In gold the Secretary
ought to pay them IN gold, and not buy
up the paper of the government at dis
| count. 1t Is difficult to speak of this con-
duet of the Secretary with the respect
which is due to his high office. 1t costs
the people, as Mr.. Ewing has we'll said,
more than all tho frauds of the Whiskey
ring, and is scarcely more honest than
they. Under this process of paying pre-
MUM the market value of the bonds has
gone up from ten to twelve per cent, and
10 the Secretary excIaims. 'What a
marvel of financial ability My magic
touch has, IN three months, raised 40 high
~ -,
friend, pay Oft few Of your notes in the
same way !; then stint ycnr family, cramp
your business, seize upon the earnings of
your children, and insist on giving to your
creditors twenty-five per cent. more than
your note calls for, and your credit will
improve ; always provided the public does
not consider you STOOL, or the Probate
Court does not consign you to lunatic
asylum.
THE DEBT NOT DIMINISHED.
And in the midst of transactions like
these we hear of largo payments on account
of the public debt, and Governor Hayes
cOngratulates himself that in four months
the debt has been diminished $43, 900, 900.
He says the debt ON the 1st of March was
| So, 525, 600, 900, and on the 1st of August
was 81, 4S1, 10000 Why, gentlemen,
every other Secretary thought the Pacific
Railroad bonds were part OF the puDllc
debt. Chase and McCulloch always inclu-
ded them. They amount to $64, 600, 900.
Add these to the $2,4S1, 100000 and the
total appears to DO $2,545, 600 900, or
twenty million more than in March,
"Figures won't lie - may be very true
saying, but they can be so turned and
twisted that they convey to us common
people, who are not Secretaries but only
taxpayers, very false impression. Ii the
| public debt statement We're made on Au-
gust l, it would show. according to Mr..
Ohase's rule of statement, 81, G62, 900, 900;
according to Mr.. McCulloch's plan, s.
So, 900, 600, instead of 50, 481, 100000 &c
corling to Mr.. Boutwell's plan. But oven
according to his plan the statement shows
an increase of more than eleven millions
of dollars of bonds which bear interest in
coin. And as if these causes combined
were not enough to palsy trade and pro
duce that stagnation which we call " hard
times" the Secretary has continued the
contraction of the currency. On the LEI
of September, 1865. the currency, consist
ing of bank notes and legal tender notes,
amounted to 1861, 625 ,OOO On the lst OF
September, 1868, it amounted to $PG7l, 455,
600, a contraction of $500, 900, 600 in three
years. II the reports published in the
| or. oorpart tho cnfrhnrV on