The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1869-01-08
pottrg.
THE NATIONAL FINANCES.
Arrangement OF the Report OF the Sec.
rotary OF the Treasury.
TREASURY DEPARTMENT,
-. HnHa

TREASURY DEPARTMENT,
Dec. ], 1865.
In compliance with the requirements Of
law, the Secretary of the Treasury has the
honor to make to Congress the following
report.
THE CURRENCY.
If there is any question in finance or
political economy which can be pronounc-
cd settled by argument and trial, it is, that
"inoonvertible and deprecated paper
money is injurious to public and private
interests, q positive political and financial
evil, for which there can be but one justif-
cation or excuse, to-wit, n temporary neces-
sity arising from an unexpected and press
ing emergency and it follows consequently,
that such a circulation should only be tole-
rated until, without q financial shock, Il
can be Withdrawn or made convertible
into specie. If an irredeemable bank note
circulation is an evidence Of bankrupt or
badly managed banking institutions, which
should be deprived Of their franchises, or
compelled to husband and make available
their resources in order that they may be
prepared at the earliest day practicable to
take up their dishonored obligations, why
should not an irrredcemablc government
currency be regarded as an evidence of bad
management of the national finances, If
not Of national bankruptcy
It Ia vain to expect on the part Of the
people a faithful fulfllment of duties
to the government as long as the govern
ment is faithless TO its own obligations;
nor will those who do not hesitate TO de-
fraud the public revenue long continue
to be scrupulous in their private business.
Justifiable and necessary as the measure
was then regarded, it is now apparent that
an unfortunate step was taken when ire
deemable promises were issued as lawful
money; and especially when they were
made a valid tender in payment Of debts
contracted when specie was the legal as
well as the commercial standard OF value.
The legal-tender notes enabled debtors TO
pay their debts in n currency largely in
terror to that which was alone recognized
rs money ut the time they were incurred,
and thus the validity Of contracts was yir-
tunlly impaired. If all creditors had been
compelled by law to pay into the public
treasury 90 per cent. or TO-, or, indeed,
any portion OF the mounts received by
them from their debtors, such a law would
have been condemned as unequal aud UNI
Just and yet the effect Of it would have
been TO lessen, TO the extent OF the receipts
from this source, the necessity for other
kinds OF taxation, and thus 20 relieve in
some measure the class unjustly, because
~unequally. taxed BY the Legal-Tendc1
acts q portion Of the property Of one class
OF citizens was virtually confiscnted for.thC
benefit Of another, without an increase
thereby Of the public revenues, aud, CON
sequCutly, without any compensation 70
the injured class. There can be no doubt
that these acts have tended to blunt aud
denden the public conscience, nor that
they IRE charReable, in no small degree,
with the decentralization which 30 generally
prevails
GOLD CONTRACTS.
Agreements for the payment OF coin seem
to be the only ones, not contrary 70 good
morals, the performance Of which cannot
be enforced in the courts. 'Coin con-
tracts executed before the passage Of the
Logai-Tender acts, as well aB those execut-
ed since, are satisfied in all the States ex-
cept California by the payment Of the
amounts called for, in deprecated notes.
This shackle upon commerce., this check
upon our national progress, this restriction
upon individual rights, should no longer
be continued. If II be admitted that the
condition Of the country during the war,
and for a time after its close, created a ne
cessity for laws and decisions making prom
issory notes (h|uctuating in value according
TO the result Of battles aud Of speculative
c-ombinations) the medium in which con-
tracts should be discharged, this necessity
NJ longer exists. Steps should now be
taken TO give stability 10 business and Sc
curly 10 enterprise; and to this end, sPE-
CHIC CONTRACTS TO BE EXECUTED IL COIN
should at once be legalized.
The receipts from customs Tor the last
three years have been as follows:
For the fiscal year ending June
81, lsGo, l'9'Olt'6ol6
80, 1867. ................ 176,4lT,sl0.S
For tho fiscal year ending Juno
~, loOb. ......t. s.... ...... IVA 1,559,0b
While it appears from these figures that
the customs receipts since the commence
ment Of the fiscal year 1865 have been, in
u revenue point Of view, entirely %satisfac-
tory, the question naturally arises. what
do these large receipts, under a high tariff,
indicate in regard to our foreign trade and
to our financial relations with foreign ma
tons 2
BONDS mLD N EUROPE.
Il is impossible TO ascertain with prccis-
ion the amount of orr securities held in
Europe, nor is there any perfectly reliable
data for ascertaining, even, what amount
has gone there annually since the first
bonds were issued for the prosecution of
the late war. In his report of 1866, the
Secretary estimated the amount Of United
States securities of different kinds, in
Guiding railroad and other stock,
held in Europe, at 5000, 600, 900,
He soon after became satisfied that
this estimate was too low, by from
one hundred 10 one hundred and fifty mil
lions. 1t would be safe to put the amount
so held at the present time, exclusive of
stocks, at oight hundred and fifty millions
of dollars, Of which not less than six hun
bred millions are United States bonds,
nearly all of which have left the United
States within the last six years. The
amount is formidable; and little s~atisfac-
ton 10 derived from the consideration that
these securities have been transferred in
payment Of interest and for foreign COM
modities; n Just as little from the con-
sideration that probably not over five humid
red millions of dollars in gold val
ues have been received for these
eight hundred and fifty millions of debt. In
this estimate Of our foreign indebtedness,
railroad and other stocks are not included
as they are not q debt, but the evidence
merely OF the ownership Of property in the
United States. Fortunately, for some years
past, individual credits haye been curtnil'
cd, and our foreign and domestic Itrade,
in this particular, has not been unsatis
factory, In addition, then, 10 the stock,
referred 10, and the individual indebted
ness, Of which no acurate estimate can be
made, Europe holds not less than eighi
hundred and fifty millions of American Sc
c%urities, ON nearly all of which interest, ant
on the greater part ofwhich, interest in GOLD
ia being paid. Nor, under the presen.
revenue systems, and with a deprecated
paper currency, 10 the increase Of our for
eign debt likely TO be stayed. With al
abundant harvest and a large surplus o