Year: 1862

The Houston (Te1ss) Telegraph, of the l2tl
inst, has some reflections on the financial
aspect of tho country. Below We extract from
it the following;


It is known that our government Is accUmu
lating heavy load of debt. 1t is some salts
faction to know that the FedeTsls are piling up
the agony three or four times as high as we are
aud yet that fact does not pay our debts or il
the beast help to pay them.


One thing is most certainly obvious: that we
must very soon discard our old notions Of cheap
government. No government that owes a debt
Of 500,0000,000 eau be cheap, nor can it prevent
the temptation to plumber and corruption, which
the handling of large amounts Of mOney and
the appointment of large numbers of revenue
officers is bound to create. This we hsve TO
contend with whatever plan may be adopted


1t is known that Francs derives u very large
revenue from the monopoly Of the article OF to-
bacco. England gets as much more BY her
duties On the same article This is a Southern
product, and lie all products has an intrinsic
value in those countries which is enough above
its value in our own country to enable these
governments to realize thus largely upon them.


The average value of cotton is, we will say,
10 cents per pound 1t is now sold at 50 to 81
cents in the markets of the wOrld-shOwiug
tina. it has an intrinsic value above the value
realized by the producer.


We have mentioned two articles Of large
Southern production. Let Us add that the bulk
of the naval stores of the world are now from
North Carolina, while the rice fields of South
Carolina and Georgia furnish another very I'M
pOrtant product


Now, suppose our government follow the ex.
ample of England and put duty on these ar
ticles approxmating somewhat to the ditt erence
between their ordinary and their intrinsic value
or the example If France, and m9nOpolizs the
selling of them. Let US suppose the govern
ment pays the planter an average OF twelve
cents for cotton and sells three millions and a
half Of bales (the smallest crop) at eighteen
cents Suppose the cost Of salaries, etc, OF Off
GERS, to attend to the business is 6ve millions
we have one hundred millions of dollars Of
revenue; perhaps we would get fifty millions
more from other staples. This amount would
support our government handsomely and give
us seventy five millions year to pay our debt
It would do more than that it would fix the price
Of staples one year with the other, and do away
with all the speculation now prevailing. Il
would force the world TO which we owe nothing
whatever) to pay our debts in way in which
we have perfect right TO do.


The objection is that it tends TO centralza.
ton; but we must answer that nothing can tend
30 W C5u0AuLAblOu a5 an ouOiuu ucDt'
That is forced upon us and we must do tht
best we can with it


WethrOw out these hints for public reflection.
They are crude. Our main object il presenting
them to-day is to show that Confederate bond:
must always be good, because we have in soul
very hands the means Of retiring them more
rapidly than any large national debt was evel
retired in the history of the world A plan like
the above would always keep them at or abov'
/ par in the markets of the world.