, 1870-03-24
n MONETARY AND COMMERCIAL,
MONETARY.

WKoSESnAr Eyys1xo, MAncH q.
AZ this time, when the approaching payment
Of the income tax makes the inquisitoriat
method Of it's assessment frceh il peoples
minds, there ia more than the u4t,sI amount of
popular feeling against it. In al the forms Of
tA1aton there is none 80 repngnant to the
feelings Of Americans az that which authorizes
any public officer to pry into ali the secrets of
naintains the appearances and conventional
ties Of socia1 life, and a. no other form Of tax
alton to which We arc now subject permits
this. it is not surprising that more than the
usual number Of appeals ars now
lesye lssRs made dc to 1Dces eo,sre'a Tax not to
which expired by limitation At the close OF last
year. Washington dispatches OF Monday
etAtel that while tho Committee OF WArs and
Means, IN considering the pending Tax bill,
had settled, approximately, the mode and rata
still in a state Of donht about the income tax.
The total receipts for taxes npnn incomes arc
now something over forty millions per annuu,,
being yery l11ge proportion Of the surnlu-
revenue wilh which Mr. Boutwell, il paving on
shc pullie debt At the unnecessarily rapid ra.e
e1tinsuish The whole Of it in thirtv-aye Years. ~
Such rate Of payment, and such forhesranoe
from complaint On the part Of tax-rayet., have
no lreeedents in the history Of any free peo-
pie. and the COMMITTEES Of Wars and Means
ought not to be in doubt an instant about the
rcvivaI Of this moet odious Of The for7ns of
taxation. Some Of the most important Of
the items in the list OF taxes which come under
the head Of income returns, are, Of course.
fair subjects for direct taxation: but, as a gem
erel income ta1 law. With al its present iu-
qui-itotiai plAn Of assessment Aul collection,
it ought never to be revived,
The business public continue to b. come
What nervous about the facility for forgery in th,
alterations Of checks aud drafts by tue erasure
Of inks. It has been demonstrated by actual
experiment that even the blue iuks (which
have been thought proof against Any chemical
ed without leaving the slightest etain upon the
raTer, and We have been made acquainted NTH
f"rae facts which 50 to proEe tlIat any writing
ink. Of Any color. and OF any composition, can
be removed b! the proper eheEnicsl applies
rarcr. In view Of this. banks In some
r4Tts CT the country have exrerimented
With paper tor drafts}, the writing
surface of which had been brought to uni
to1n tint by being printed with 4 network Of
6ne lines; and these lines printed IN soluble
effects cf any application Of chemicals 70 the
letters written over it. but, - has been
proved in the cAee Of the tlue ink and tha
tlaek, there are chemicals thst will entirely
remove the one and leave the Lines Of the
other, which may have interseciesa it, un-
touched. The paper thns tinted sas. there
fore, been proved to he no eafeeuard Against
alteration. The American Bank Note ConpA-
n.y. in view Of these fActs, endeasore1 to gel =
prepared paper which t,y its chemical proper
lies should render al ink mArks rl.cei uron il
indeihle. and, for time, supposed they hAd
succeeded; but it wss found that
the srpGcation Of the proper
chemical agents woula rrmove the mk from even
this paper, and still leave no stsfn. Some ex-
perimenfs hive also been made with paper
rendered sensitive to any chemical application.
20 that it would show the marks Of having
much faith in this, became il the paper i. rem
deted 90 sensitive IL to ehow nx1ks of the
application Of any chemical agent, it would be
too sensitive for ordinary use. and ~ almost
everything we touch md use Is to totae ex-
tent chemical agent, such paper would be
continually giving false a1aE7ns- People would
be RELUCTANT TO purchase drafts made on such
pApcr for fear it should in the course Of
transmission By mail or otherwise come N
accidental contact With ZONE chemical agent
that ~onid leave Z marx. and rau4e refusal OF
its payment. We believe that simple meaas
vii be found as effective ~ any. No method
has been discovered for applying the chemicals
! in anv other than the liquid form, md this in
va1ially leaves Iron the surface Of highly
| finished PAPER din marx, the same as il
that the Light falls ohliquelv upon il, and
comes obl9uelx 10 the eye. Is may always be
tiiscoyer whether any liquid application has
| been made to the spot where the amount Of
money in draft is written
In tho local money market there is little
change to note from the condition OF yester-
| tile community il msintAined, but haA not in.
creased further. Those banks which have ,
share Of tbs present hEga aoconula.ion ot
fund.- to tho credit Of tho City Trcasares, n