Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1875-12-08

than any legislation looking to tho re
demption Of legal-tenders in coin, hu
it would be at the expense OF honor. Tn
legsl-tenders would have no valus tie
yond settling the present liabilities or
properly speaking, Tepudiating them
They would buy noting after the debt
Were all settled. There are few measured
which seem to me important 10 thii
connection, and which ] commend e
your consideration: A repeal OF go much
! OF the legal tender acts as make these
notes receivable for debts contracted
sitter a date 10 be fixed in the act ITSELF
| not la'er than the first Of January,
| 1877. We should then have quotations
at zeal values-not fictitious ones. Gold
would no longer be at premium, bu.
currency at discount; healthy r action
would set IN at once, and with q desire
to make the currency equal to
what it purports to be, the mer.
chants, manufacturers, and states.
men Cf every calling could do business
on fair N gin of profit. The money so
received having no unvsryiug value,
the labOrers, aud all classes who work
flr stipulated pay or salsTy, would re-
ceive more for their income, because
extra Frofit would Io longer be charged
by ca Jitalists to recompeuse them for
the risk Of q downward fluctuating in
the value OF the currency.
SecOnd-That the secretary OF the
treasury be authorized to redeem. say
not to exceed 81 600 GOO a month ofIegal-
tender notes, by issuing in their stead,
long bonds bearing interest at the tate
OF 3.26 per cent. per annum, Ct
denominations ranging from $500 to
$1,000 each. This would, In time, reduce
tue legal-tender notes to a volume tia,
could be kept after, without demand
ing redemption in such large sums, and
so suddenly.
Third-Additionsl power to be given
to the secretary of the treasury TO accu-
mulate gold for the final redemption Of
the currency, increasing the revenue,
curtai. ing expenses, or both. 1t is prefer
able to do both, and recommend a
reduction of the expenditures wherever
it can be done without impsiTing gov
eminent obligations, or crippling the
due execution thereof. One measure for
increasing the revenue, and the only one
| think, is OF the
RESTORATION OF THE DUTY ON TEA
AND COFFEE.
These duties would probably add $18,-
000. 000 to the present amount received
for imports, and would in no way in
crease the prices paid for those articles
by the consumers. These articles are
the products Of countries collecting rev.
enuss from exports, and as Ge sre the
largest consumers reduce the duties they
proportioDally increase them. With
this addition to the revenue many du-
ties now collected and which give but
an insignificant return for the cost of
collection, might be RENTED, and to the
direct advantages of consumers alone. 4
would mention those articles which en-
ter into the manufactures Of all sorts.
All duty paid upon such articles go
directly to the cost of the Article when
here, and must be- paid for
by the consumers. The duties not only
come from the consumers alone but acts
as q protection to foreign manufacturers
of the same completed articles in our
own and distant markets.
CLAIMS AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT.
will suggest or mention another sub
ject tearing upon the problem OF how to
enable the secretary of the treasury to
accumulate balances, It is to devise
some better method OF verifying the
claims against the government than at
present exists through the court OF
elaine, especially those claims growing
out Of the late war. Nothing is more
certain than that large percentage OF
the amounts passed and paid are in part
or wholly fraudulent or are far ia excess
Of the real losses sustained. The large
amount of losses proven, ON R.ot tesii-
mOny according to existing laws, by affi-
davits OF fictitious or unscrupulOus per-
Sons, to have been sustained in small
farms and plantations are not only far
beyond the possible yield Of those places
for any one year, but as every one knows
who has experience in tiIling the soil, and
who has visited the scenes OF the spOila-
tons are, in many instances, more thsn
the individual clsimants were ever
worth, including their personal and real
estate. The report Of the attorney-gen-
ersi, which will be submitted TO congress
at an early day, vii contain a det lied
history OF the awards made and of the
claims pending OF the class here referred
to.
THE REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF
WAR,
this message, gives q de-
tailed account of army operations for
the year just passed, the expenses for its
ETC., with recommends
tons for legislation to which l respect
fully invite your attention. To come OF
these [ invite your special attention
First, the necessity Of MAXI G thirty
thousand dollars OF the appropriation for
the subsistence department available be-
fore thu beginning of the next fiscal
year. Without this the provisions Of
the troops at points distant from supply
and production must either go without
food, or existing laws must be violated
It is not attended with cost to the treas
ury. Second, his recommended of
the enactment of q system Of alnuities
for the families of deceased OftiCecs by
reductions from the monthly
pay of officers. This again is not at
tended with burden on the treasury,
and would fer the future relieve mucn
die tress which every old army officer
has witnessed in the past Of officers dy
ing suddenly CT being hi led, leay-
ing their families without a0y
means Of reaching their friends, if
enough to have friends to sid
them. Third, the repeal of the law
mileage, and return to the
old system. Fourth, the trial with tor
pedOes, unCer the corps OF engineers,
aud al appropriation ior the same;
should war ever occur between the
United States and any maritime power,
lOrpedOes will be among, if not the most
and cheapest auxiliary for the
defense OF tire harboIs, and also in ag-
gressive operations, that we cau have;
hence, 1t is advisable to learn by expert
ment their best construction aud app j.
cation, So we'll as effect. Fifth, per-
nanent organization for the civil GER
vice CORPS; this service has now become
; nece ssity Of pesce, as well ss war, I'M
der the advancement made by the pres
ent able management. Sixth, q renewal
Df the appropriation for compiling the
official records of the war, etc. The
condition of our navy at this time i5 a
subject of satisfaction. 1t does not con-
lain, it is true, any Of the powerful
cruising iron-elads which make so much
IF the maritime strength Of some other
nations, but neither our continent
al situation nor our foreign policy
requires that we should have q large
number of ships of this character.
while this situation and the nature o.
Dur ports continue to make those Of
other nations less dangerous to us under
any circumstances. Our navy does con-
,ain, however, considerable number OF
rOnclads of the monitor class, which,
though not properly cruisers, are power
ful and effective for bsTbor de'ense and |
Tor operations near our own shores. o.
n