Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1874-04-03
THE REPLY OF Ex-SECRETAkY sIEMlITN-
GER To GEN. JOE JOHNSTON.
CHARLESTON. March q. 1871.

To the Editor ofthc Nears G5lt2 CDn.-ifr:
I observe by your paper of yester-
day, which extracts passage from
Gen. Johnston's book, that he follows
the ancient example of our forefather
Adam, in casting the fault Of general
calamity on some other person. He
attributes the failure of the Southern
Confederacy to the blunder of the
Government, st its first institution, in
not possessing itself of tie cotton crop
then in the hands of the planters. =
This cotton according to the .GeneraD
should have been shipped in anticipa-
ton of the blockade, and it would
then have furnished 4 basis for future
credit. AS [ was at that time in charge
of the Treasury Department, the re-
sponsibility Of this failure would rest
chiefly on me; and you W. II therefore
not consider it out of place that l
should correct misrepresentation which
seem to have misled yourself as we'll
AS Gen. Johnston.
The Confederate Government was
organized i'll February, the blockade
was instituted i'll May, thus leaving
period of three months in which the
whole cotton crop on land, say four
millions of bales, ought, according TO
the military fnancier, to have been
got into the hands CT the Confederate
Government, and to have been shipped
abroad. This would have required a
fleet of four tbo1sand ships. allowing
one thousand bales to the SHIP. Where
would these vessels have been procur-
cd, in the face of the notification of
the blockade? and was not as;much OF
the cotton shipped by private enter
prise as could have been shipped by
the Government? When so shipped,
the proceeds of the sale were in most
cases sold to the Government in the
shape of bills of exchange. The SUI
perior advantage Of this plan Is evinc-
ed by the fact that, throughout the
year the Government exchanged its
own notes for bills on England at par,
with which it paid for AL its arms and
munitions of war.
Of course this vast amount Of cotton
could only have been procured in one
of three ways-by seizure, by purchase
or by donation.
Certainly no one, at the first incep-
ton of the Confederacy, would have
ventured to propose to seize upon the
crop then in the hands Of the planters,
and which furnished their only means
Of subsistence.
Could it not, then, have been pur-
chased
At the commencement OF the Gov
eminent the Treasury had not funds to
pay for the table on which the Secre-
tary was writing and the first pur-
cha er of the Government made abroad
were made on the private draft of the
Secretary. There was not to be found
in the whole Confederacy. sheet of
bank note paper on which to print a
note. Forecasting this need, the Sec
rotary had ordered, from England, a
consignment of note paper and Htho-
graphic materials, the vessel contain
ing which was captured on the high
seas and many Of the friends of the
late Colonel Evans, of our city, will re-
member that he nearly lost his life In
the attempt to bring across the lines a
single parcel of note paper. 1t is with
in the memory of the printers CT these
notes, that months elapsed before bonds
or notes could be engraved and print
ed and these constituted orr entire
currency. How, then, was the cotton
to be paid for
And when the mechanical difficulties
were overcome, the financial presented
an equal barrier. The scheme for rails
ing money, adopted by Congress, was
to issue Confederate notes, funding
the redundant notes in lnterest-hear-
ing bonds and all payments at the
Treasury were made with these notes.
The daily demands on the Treasury
exceeded greatly the means of supply
Now, if instead of applying the notes
to the daily payments required at the
Treasury they had been used to pur-
chase cotton, the Treasury would have
found itself filled with cotton. without
any money to meet the wants of the