Wilmington journal., 1873-07-04
The interest due on the above at the
end of present fiscal year, 3Oth OF
September, 1873, Will be as follows:

On eth 5iS,G3G
Total interest due on entire debt. -, ,3I3,S!'o
If the interest be fundedand added
to the principal, which would be the
most favorable course for the State III
this view oe the case, the whole debt
will amount to $37, 713 ,943, the annual
interest on which at 6 per cent. would
be 50, 1852, $780, 5s.
The valuation of the entire real and
personal property i'll North Carolina
is, according to the report of the Au-
ditor of the State, i'll round numbers,
$12O, 900 600. This amount, however,
includes 81, 994, 1S9 of money on hand
and balances to credit at banks and
also So, 7e4, 1888 of solvent credits,
which cannot be fairly con-
sidered as assets, the property,
the value of which these amounts
represent, having been already listed
under some one of the classes, real
estate, farming utensils, horses,
mules, furniture, &c, &c. Taking
this amount then, from the valuation
set down in the Auditors official re-
port, it will be safe to say that the real
and personal property i'll the State will
not exceed $4,000, 1000 Tt will,
therefore, require two dollars and
thirty-eight cents Oh tesery one hun
dred dollars worth of pro3eetg IN the
State, productive and nnprooUetlye,
to meet the annual interest alone.
Our last Revenue Act levied 505
cents Ola every one hundred dollars in
value for State pnrposes-for the gen
eral fund, for asylums Gor insane, and
deaf and dumb and bind nGrsons,
for penitentiary, for additional fund
for educational purposes and to meet
existing deficiency, each Of winch IS
insufficient for the yearly increasing, and
for existing wants. The tax levied in
this Couaa&y for County purposes, and
which is doubtless not above the
average, js 36: cents. Add these to
the interest tax of S2.3S, .an9 we have
d tax of 1926 OH every one ls!l-l0sed
dollars worth of property IN tile State,
simply to keep down interest and to
pay current government expenses,
leaving entirely out OF the account the
township and city taxes and the addi-
tional tax to be levied III 1880 TO create
sinking fund for lie liquidation of
the principal of the debt 1E1e poll
tax is, under our Constitution, applied
exclusively to educational and ehaTit-
atie purposes. OF course it IS simply
impossible for our people 10 pay this
tax and alsoGo meettheirprivato current
expenses and cid and new private
obligations.
Foreseeing this diffie,rssi7, appa-
rently, you suggest that our Governor
can, with the aid Of our banks, so into
the market, sab rosa, and buy on
State account tie bulk of the State
debt, say $50, 0,OOO,000, for about
$4,000, 900 III esl-, and that when it
was known he had f.oac SO, and that
the State had control of fse1 e,y.p bonds,
Per cent. Sterling loan coaI!a 3)e
obtained in London TO enable her 10
reimburse ker banks Here, again, Il
practical difficulty meets MS.
The National tCqrre Icy," and the
Federal laws passed L bolster it mp,
make it impossible for US 10 have any
banks of issue save "Eationai s5aIlks."
The volume of the National Cnrralcy
is by law limited not only in amount,
but in the s3anner OF its distribution
among the dr4k-2rent States. The
amount of this curre1l1r, issued and
in actual circulation III Nolal, Carolina
on 1st November, 1872, was 81 ,;,44 400,
and belonged 80 banks i'll different |
towns scattered tl1Sough the State.
In word, gold and ailse.' being no
longer used as circulating 1tle lium,
the people of North Carolina are
obliged, by Federal law, to transact
their business with a currency that |
averages only one dollar and sirt.y-taDo |
cents per head. and that amounts TO |
osaay seUeaa-te,aths Of one per- cent. Of |
the e1eGlth of the State.
Ten years ago the currency averaged !
tee dollars ttsad tacent.y-si1. cents |
per head and amounted to Just |
taOice seUea-tesstlts Of ons ssor cent. |
Of the wealth of the State. 1T mast |
be borne in mind, too, that the ne
yroes, one-third of our whole popti-
alton, had then no use for currency
It must also be borne in mind that the
credit system, then almost universally
n use with the agricultural portion of
he community. rendered currency
'lmost unnecessary &c large numbers of
he whites also. All lthisis4oW changed,
md black and white. farmer ae--449 me-
hanic, all alike need currency, yet
hey are allowed, under Federal law,
My 81 81 per head, when then we
lad IS 26 per head.
Nor is North Carolina singular in
his respect, as will appear from the
GLOWING table compiled from the
'fficial report of the Comptroller of the