New-York tribune., 1869-06-03
TIE FINANCES.

Secretary BoutwelPs monthly exhibit shows
that the National Debt has been reduced more
than T,centy Millions Of Dollars, or at the rate OF
Eiqhty Millions per dnnum, in the three months
that have elapsed since Gen. Grants inaugura-
ton. We call that good beginning, cOnsid-
ering that new Congress has been in session,
and has of course made considerable haul
for Pay and Mileage, and that our new dlplo-
mats have had to be provided with outfits.
Of the $3O,366,6OO paid out of the Treasury
in May for all other purposes than the pur-
chase or payment of principal of the National
Debt, s10,S31 900 were paid in satisfaction OF
interest on that Debt, leaving barely $l0,5S5,-
900 as the cost of carrying on the Government
or at the rate of S126,420.000 per annum.
This is rather better than the S9OO,OOO,OOO that
Horatio Seymour asserted at Bridgeport, lit
tie more than year ago, we were paying 10
hold the South in subjugatiOn 1t is cheering yet
we believe it can be bettered. We hope to
see the current cost Of the Government, ex-
cent for Public Debt, brought within $10O,OOO,-
600 per annum before Gen. Grants term ex-
pires. Let us get the remaining States recon
structed and the Indians settled on tit reser-
vations, and we can safely reduce the Army to
10000 men and sell off several acres more oil
Naval vessels.
But we beg to remind Secretary Boutwell,
that the good work of using the surplus in the
Treasury to pay off the Public Debt and reduce
the interest dcCruing thereon, has not yet begun
The cash in the Treasury stood and stands as
follows:
... Peb. ls.. 1862 March lIt June st
7tn2R iss'''a9 l9gts9
1 I5s.S g g. :ss ;s 'ls, ss 5s7S 3
band s3ssi52 ss,s ssSss7s s, siSs@ ss % %
Mr. Boutwell, has thus to-day larger Cur
rency surplus, with a far larger Coin surplus,
than he found in the Treasury; having in
creased the hoard of Coin which he found
there by no less than Sl5,OOO,OOO.
Suppose no had not done this, suppose he
had sold Coin and paid Debt with the pro-
ceeds only to the extent of keeping down the
surplus to the point at which he found it, does
any one imagine that he would have seen gold
at 45 per cent. premium, or that 1t would now
be trying to crawl up to 4OP
Hear what The World says, in trying to
parry the thrusts Of Democratic cOtemporary
which disrelishes the spectacle of pretended
organ of Jackson Democracy playing the little
game of the gold-bulls and doing its best to
discredit the Government and still further de-
range the Currency:
Nobody ever doubted that he boutwell, could, az
any time, depress the price OF gold by Onethg sum
ccntly large amounts for sale THE TRIBUNE, when
is his CHAMPION and organ threw ont intimatOn on
the morning Of the 2st, that II doubling tho weekly
increased eigit-fold II said e1utngly:
Go, Bou.sl improving hs propc'', 70 rT s sss E.
that and doubles hl be ' h,ye pproshsl a
should have bs,s glad see Wis reeag " 'a' ou'' 0
with tins halfuttcrcd threat held over the gold mar
ket and the proof which the Secretary had Just given
that he would htfuy change HE policy as often as he
pleased he Of course bafed all the eaenlaons whe q
had been founded his policy as he first announced H.
of course, Mr.. Boutwell, never pledged
himself to any such "policy" as The World
asserts-that, namely, of selling barely sl,OOOOOO
of Gold per week and buying SlOOO,OOO of
Bonds. His "policy," as we have understood
from the outset, is to use the surplus coin in the
| Treasury 10 reduce the National Debt, aud thus
saUe several Millions per annum that Ire are
needlsssly paying as interest. We do not know,
nor ,cant to know, just how and when
he will so use it: so that he does it at
all. we are content We should have
| given the bulls little dose Of Ten Millions
when they began their operations to put up
the premium, and should have repeated the
same at least thrice if they would enable us to
nav of 100000 in Bonds with Sl,0OO,O0O in
Gold, and put s25O,0OO or over in currency into
the Treasury as the net profit of the operation.
In fact we should have kept doing it till they
had digested at least s7O,OOOOOO of our sSO,OOO,-
900 Gold surplus if they enabled us so long to
realize that profit. But Gov. b. goes his own
way in silence; and the amount Of Gold he sells
this week or next is but an incident Of his
a.