New-York tribune., 1881-03-29

All or the bonds which become redeemable THIS
year are payable after the option natures. at the
pleasure of the United States" at the pleasure
of the Government They can be called only in
the manner authorized and provided by the United
StatesD OF by "the Government" Congress has
authorized and provided three ways in which the
Secretary of the Treasury may call in and redeem
or 60 into the market and buy bonds First he
may buy bonds for the sinking fund under the acts
of February %, 1862. and July Ia, 1870; second,
he may sell the $104 G52. 200 of bonds authorized
by the Refunding act of 1870, and with the pro-
ceeds redeem bonds subject to call and redemption
third, he may, under the provisions of the Bayard
amendment to the Suudry Civil bill passed at the
last session of Congress, use any surplus money in
the Treasury to buy bonds which have become re-
deemable This amendment was drafted in the
Treasury Department and was designed to author
ize the Secretary to call redeemabe bonds whenever
he found that the resources of the Treasury would
enable him to pay for such bonds in addition to the
amount required for the sinking fund. By no stretch
of construction could funds derived from the issue
of interest-bearing certificates of deposit or ln-
debtedness be considered "surplus money in the
Treasury" within the purvew or meaning OF the
Bayard amendment.
In brief even after bonds become redeemable, the
Secretary of the Treasury call them in and pay
them only after he has been specifically authorized
by law to do; and the only authority that has
been conferred upon him IN this respect Is that III
the acts above mentioned and in them only TO the
extent above described. This is the opinion OF an
officer of the Treasury VINO has given much thought
to the subject, and it seems to be>founded on COM
mon sense as we'll as on law.
| Several estimates have been published to the
effect that the surplus revenue for the ten months
ending December 81, 1881, will amount to
800, 600. 900. Probably $S0.000,00o would be
nearer the true figure. The ordinary expenditures
for this month will be unusually heavy by reason OF
| sdeiciency on account of pensions. Probably the
receipts will not show a surplus OF moro than
S4 600 900 applicable to the reduction Of the debt
| Next month, too, the payments will be heavy, as
only about one-half of the pensions efficiency OF
81 800 900 will be paid before April 1. IL should
be remembered, too, that the interest payments IN
April are nearly three times as great as In March,
In estimating the probable surplus during the next
| ten months. another fact ought to be taken into
consideration. The surplus is usually much smaller
in the first six months of any fiscal year than 1t is
i the last six months Thus for the 1rst SIX months
of the fiscal year ended June 80; 1880 the receipts
amounted TO 81 SO. $4,000, and the expenditures 70
$151 ,642 600, leaving surplus OF only VI 543,OOO;
while IN the last six months Of the same scal wear
the receipts were $177, $40 900, and the expendi:
| SCI ,342 900. This may have been an exceptional
| year, but the fact that the last hall, OF q year
1
| fully recognized at the Treasury Department.
IL is understood that the practice to be adopted IN
paving the future interest coupon hves and SKIES
| now outstanding is q matter that is causing the
| officers of the Treasury Department considerable
perplexty The last interest coufon is of the skies,
and on the 1st OF May the last interest coupon will
| be off the fivss. There about $40,000000 cou-
pom skies and about $40, 900 900 coupon fyes out
| standing Unless these bonds shall be redeemed or
! converted into registered bonds soon, some new
method will have to be adopted Of paying the in
tereat upon them. Probably the holders OF the six
per cents would not object to converting their cou;
Don bonds into registered bonds. the latter would
beSr the highest numbers of that class and need not
| be called until all the numbers below them should
ifave beenealed IN md xedeemed. With tho ffve
per cents the reverse woud be true and the holders
OF coupon bonds Of this class would probably not be
willing to surrender them and receive registered I'VE
per cont bonds in exchange which would be subject
TO the first call issued. 1t has been suggested that
| holders of coupon bonds might send them to the
Treasury and receive new coupon bonds IN exchange
The expenses of such an exchange would not be
heavy except in the item of transportation TO and
from Washington. WHAT this item would amount
to il is difficult to estimate but an officer OF the
| Treasury Department thinks it would be about
| 100000. Ii would hardly be equitable to the
holders of bonds to require them to pay the cost OF
transportation and yet, 1t is saId there is no fund
| at the command of the Secretary of the Treasury
| from which this expense could be paid