New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-06-02
to the wisdom Of the pardon which has re-
suited in such evidence.
TEE NATIONAL FINANCES.

The official statement OF the Public Debt
for the month of May shows decrease during
the month of 81 ,1S9, 456, against $4,456,o3o
for the corresponding month OF last year.
The total decrease for the first eleven months
of the current fiscal year Is $12,96S'26o 20,
against 81, 55O,275 AZ for the same period OF
last year. 1t is now apparent that Messrs'
Dawes and Garfield were greatly out OF their
reckoning when they told the country
ten months ago that the National ex-
penditures would this year be reduced
twenty six millions below what they
were in 1874. They will not be
reduced twenty-six millions, nor the half OF
that sum. What is perhaps more serious mat
ter, the Secretary of the Treasury, instead OF
having surplus revenue sufficient to pay the
bonds which he has called in for the Sinking
Fund, will be short at least sixteen million
dollars. This takes the edge off Mr. Dawess
prediction, made in Congress June %, 1874,
that the demands of the Sinking Fund would
be more than met by the reduction OF e1pendl-
lures. The Secretary of the Treasury Will
be obliged to reduce the cash balances
in the Treasury to get the sixteen
millions he needs, which is sailirg away
from specie payments in 1879, or he
must issue bonds under the authority conferred
on him by the act of JAN IA, 1875, which
will knock the teeth out of the Sinking Fund.
We have already given it as our opinion that
under the circumstances it is the duty of the
Secretary to do his best to make resumption
Of specie payments in 1879 not impossible,
but how can the Treasury resume in 1879 II
its gold coin in the mean while is to be paid
away for the redemption of bonds? This
same Sinking Fund will next year call
for thirty-twO miIliol dollars, and so on
each year adding a million or two to the re-
CURED contribution until the debt is paid of.
The true way to provide for the Sinking Fund
unquestiOnably is to cut down expenditures
and honestly collect the revenues which accrue
from existing taxes If the Sinking Fund is
to be anything more than sham there must
be q real surplus of income over expenditure
large enough to keep it up. From the vigor-
Gus way Secretary Bristow has taken hold OF
the Whisky Ring, we are not without hope
that another year may give him the needed
income.
The Debt statement will be studied in vain
for any indications of the prospective disburse-
ments of coin in redemption of bonds during
the current month. The reported amount of
gold certificates ($19,910,G00) corresponds
with the specie average held by the New-loIk
banks, but the amounts given for the totals
of the five and six per cent bonds and bonds
on which interest has ceased might rs well
have been put down as r, ~ and for any
information they afford. Last month ff-
teen million dollars in bonds called in
behalf of the Syndicate fell due on the
first day of the month, and were transferred
to the class of debt on which interest has
"ceased since maturity" This month five
millions more fell due under precisely the
same circumstances, but are left under the
head of "Dcbt bearing interest" Of fifteen
millions of new bonds taken by the Syndicate
against last months redemption of fve-twen-
ties, only ten millions appear in the Debt
statement. The coin in the Treasury, which
five days ago was reported at over ninety-one
millions, is now given at eghty-four, though
nothing has happened in the interval to make
fifth part of that difference. BY the Debt state
ment only $5,476,O00 of the thirty millions
called for the Sinking Fund, and falling due
nine days hence, appear TO have been paid. III
is possible that several millions more have
been paid on account of this call, but are not
vet entered on the books as thus disposed of.
Although it is quite likely that from the 18th
inst, when interest ceases on the bonds called
for the Sinking Fund, until after the disburse-
ment of the July interest, for five or six
weeks the gold payments from the Treasury
will be large there is nothing to Justify I'M
porters or others i'll specializing for fall IN
gold, since the export demand bids fair to be
strong if we may judge from the current rates
of foreign exchange.