Year: 1865

1903 St8 M0b&0 or loo4
Total exports ... IL 33o367 As75,63e


Excess OF imports. :. .$77l1,0 ,0o5 2,s46,161
Deduct coin and bullion. 1923, ,6A 670,lSo


Balance sg's. U. States s., e,os7 ,524 2l7o,ss7


'The value Of money Is inversely general prices
falling they rise and rising as they fall" The value
purchasing power Of money depends John Stuart
Mill, in the first instance ON demand and supply But
demand and supply in relation to money present them
selves in a somewhat different shape from the demand
and supply of other things The supply Of commodity
the quantity offered for SALE But it Is not usual
to speak of offering money for SALE People are not
usually sad to buy sell money This, however, is
merely accident Of language In point OF fact money
is bought and sold like other things whenever other
things bought and sold for money. Whoever sells
corn or tallow or cotton buys money. Whoever buys
bread wine or clothes sells money to the
dealer In those articles. The money with which
people offering to buy Is money offered for SALE The
supply money then s the quantity Of which people
wanting to lay out-that is all the money they have
in their possession except what they boarding. or at
least keeping by them q reserve for future contn-
gencies The supply Of money, in short, is oil the
money in circulation at the time


Now, far foreign trade is concerned gold is as
much legal tender it was, and it, its direct





much dependent upon it pay the balances of debt
against abroad are at present upon the paper
currency to adjust monetary affairs at home Supply
and demand must therefore regulate its value and under
a diminished supply and augmented demand the en-
hancement Of It's value is natural consequence but
WHILE legal tender at home the rise and fall Of its
value would be only indicated by its purchasing power
without undergoing any change OF It's own nominal
value, it WILL article Of commerce. show 1t In Its
variations Of price from the nominal standard Of the
currency dollar.


Our comments upon the Of the United States
Cutting have called forth letter from Mr. A. Lewis,
the Revenue Agent in this city, in which he agrees with
views upon and Interpretation Of section ninety nine
Of the Internal Revenue law respecting the tax on
brokers' stock sales At the time he complains Of
structures being somewha harsh in relation to the
omission Of the officers to call upon the brokers
for full of their sales prior to the present time
while they accepted from them the tax their commits
sion sales The section referred to is however explicit
enough It imposes . tax Of one-twentieth Of per
upon all sales Of gold securities made by brokers,
without discriminating between what they sell for them
selves and what they sell for Others and although in
ton Of the same act brokers required 10
"make affirmation that all their transactions
made for q commission" this may be accepted
as mere piece Of laundering legislation the intent Of
section 90 still remaining clear Its face But by the
amenda,ory act Of March g. 1885, which took effect
the 1st Of April these dubious words expunged
and after the words and the securites the words or
themselves others ordered to be inserted So
far therefore, the law present stands there be
disputing the liability Of brokers pay the which
they have hitherto imposed upon their customers but
from which they considered themselves exempted. As
whether the words have quoted from the seventy
ninth section will be held by the United States Circuit
Court be sufficient relieve the brokers from the
up the 1st Of April remains to bc seen; but hereafter
the law be open to no misnterpretation in this
particular The only remedy for the brokers' therefore,
lies In the repeal modification Of the tax. That
gold which raised from onetwentieth to Onc-tenth
Of per by the amendatoy act should not be
heavier than that railway and other securities while
government bonds should be entirely exempted. II is
the Of brokers In their customers accounts to
calculate the the currency value Of the coin but
this necessarily implied by the amendatory law,
which is in the words"Upon any sales contracts for
the sale gold and silver bullion and coin onotenth Of
one per centum on tho amount Of such sales
tracts" The latter originated in the desire to check
spocuaons in gold while the duration and issue Of the
matters Of uncertainty but that the war is
ended all restrictions upon the free exchange Of the pre-
cious metals should be removed and 1t is sheer folly for
the government depreciae the value Of Its
tics by taxing hem the effect Of taxation upon the
former being increase Its market price and upon the
latter to lower It.


Finally we SEQ no reason for retracting former
remarks upon the failure of the officers call
full statement Of brokers' sales in the first instance
they consented to receive condionally that por
tion of the which applied to their commission bus
ness only pending legal decision Of the question That
the intent Of the law to tax all sales by brokers'
whether for themselves Others made plain by the
amendment Of March 0, 1896 and such forced inter-
probation of the law that given it by the brokers
equally inconsistent with justice and sense, for
there equality in it. II Congress levied such a tax
would be making brokers bear less than their fair
share of the burden Of taxation and their
suffer than their share; and the aevation of the
class would not coeris pa,iIus be great good


the increased pressure upon the other would be
evil. Equality Of taxation says Mr.. j. 8. Mil, q
maxim Of politics. means equality Of sacrifice.


We are as yet sadly wanting in q scheme Of taxation
calculated to the maximum OF revenue with the
minimum Of Inconvenience to the taxpayers The host
OF petty exactons with which the people have present
TO contend while producing little net in the ag-
gregae WILL IL pcrpetuated, do to disgust them
with taxation altogether than the whole Of the indirect
taxes and place powerful weapon in the hands Of any
ant.axaion party that may arise. Tho committee Of
three taxation authorized by Congress have some hard
work before them; but their labors of investigation
would be all the better directed II attended by little
preparatory knowledge in which connection the follow
ing celebrated maxims Of Adam Smith, embodyng the
qualities desirable in system Of taxation may be found
useful


L. The subjects Of every State ought to contribute to
the support Of the government nearly possible in
proportion TO their respective abes-that is in pro-
portion TO the revenue which they respectively enjoy
under the protection of the State In the or
neglect of this maxim consists what s called the equality
or inequality OF taxation.


2 The tax which each individual n bound 10 pay
ought be certain and arbitrary The time Of pay
ment the Of payment, the quantity TO be paid
ought all 10 be clear and plain TO the contributor and
every other person. Where IL 10 otherwise every per-
subject TO the tar Is put less In the power Of
the axgatherer who either aggravac the tax upon
any obnoxious contributor or exto by the terror Of such
aggravaton present perquisite TO himself The
uncertainty Of taxation encourages the nsolence and
favors the corruption OF order OF men who natu
rally unpopular when thcy neither nsolcnt nor
corrupt The certainty Of what each 'ndvd al ought
pay is in taxation matter Of great importance that
tdavof fIo ncf