Year: 1864

Having expressed to Mr.. Trenholm the
qualification felt by. his fellow citizens at
hisaceeptance of the Office of Secretary of the
Treasury, I received in reply the following
letter. Although not intended for .publica-
ton, such is its public interest, that by his
permission, I lay it before you.
| While the schedule of prices adopted by
the Commissioners of this State does not
approximate in its rates the former schedule
of the Virginia Commissioners, it is to be
hoped that satisfactory reasons may be found
for a reduction. .-


I can add nothing to the views expressed
by the Honorable TSeoetary, and will only
remark that, concurring fully in the impor-
tance to the country, of reducing as low as
practicable all prices,.l commend the let
ter to the careful and favorable considera-
ton of every citizen.


NJ. l.. BONHAM.
Treasury DEPARTMENT c. S. A.,
RICHMOND. Aug. 5, 1864.


To HIS ErceUency Governor Bonhana:
DEAR SIR: Your very kind and encour-
aging letter of the 30th ultimo was received
yesterday. If it shall prove to be my hap
py fortune, through the Divine blessing, to
contribute in any degree to the welfare of
my country, I shall be more than compen-
sated for all the labors and anxieties to
which I have been appointed. EXPIRES
sions of confidence and good will on the
part of my fellow. citizens, such as you have
| been good enough to convey to me, are most
grateful and encouraging. I regard the
Treasury of the Confederate States as most
| peculiarly the Treasury of the people, and
there is nothing in the power Of man that
would so soon restore it to condition Of
| ease and prosperity as the universal and gen.
erous support of our people. There is moth
ing in its present circumstances to inspire
alarm, but on the contrary every motive for
confidence. An all pervadipg causeof en-
! barrassment and distress, has been the char
acter of our legislation. However patrioti-
cally intended, it is not to be denied that
thaspeasures adopted by Congress for the
reform of the currency, had the unhappy
effect of inspiring the public mind with
feelings of fear and diStrust as to the course
that would ultimately be pursued in rela-
tion to that part of the public debt that is
represented by the Treasury Notes. Appre.
hensious of ultimate reputation crept like
an all pervading poison into the minds of
the people, and greatly circumscribed and
diminished the purchasing power of the
Notes.


There were many distinguished and pa
triotic men in Congress who earnestly be-
iieved that the great, if not the sole, evil of
the currency was to be found iu its redun-
dancy alone. And reasoning from this pre-,
mise, they inferred that a corresponding re-
duction of this large volume of the pur-
chasing medium, would produce an imme.
diate reduction in the price If all saleable
commodities. Others entertained differ
ent opinion, and believing that the pur-
chasing power and value of these notes had
a critical and sensitive dependence upon the
confidence and good will of those who were
called upon to exchange their substance for
them, insisted thata reduction of the quau-
tity, by any measure that disturbed the con-
| fdence of the people in good faith of the
Government, would lead to universal dis
trust and still greater depreciation.


The majority was, unhappily, found to
be ofthe first opinion, and it must now be
universally admitted, I think, that the poll
cy that prevailed was erroneous and the
consequences precisely such as had been
predicted by those who opposed it. The
immcnse reduction effected by the tax Of
555 per cent levied upon the currency, aud
by the process of compulsory funding, pro.
duccd very little effect upon the prices of
commodities. Everybody regarded, with
distrust, new issue of notes of the same
character as the last, and resting for their
support of circulating medium upon the
same pledges which had ended in disap-
pointment before.


That this is the true difficulty We have to
encounter, think every candid person
must now allow, and I cannot refrain from
indulging the hope that new and souuder
policy will govern our future legislation
The patriotism of Congress is not to be
called in question, nor are we at liberty to
doubt their willingness to renouuce any
policy that may be proven by experience
to be erroneous and mischievous. Our peo.
pie, at the same time, should not be silent;
and in this respect the patriotic citizens of
the great and suffering Commonwealth of
Virginia have set noble example.


On my arrival in Richmond I found that
the Commissioners of prices had fixed the
schedule rates for wheat and corn atS3O and
s24 per bushel respectively, for the months
Of August and September. The feeling of
disappointment and alarm with which l WAS
inspired by this circumstance you can easi
fy imagine. This painful feeling was, how
ever, soon changed for one Of renewed con-
fideuce and hope by the farmers of Virgin
Ia. Public meetings we're held in the agri
cultural counties and resolutions adopted
boldly avowing the impossibility of main-
tanning the public faith if the Government
we're forced by the people to pay such pri
ces for supplies, and patriotica!ly insisting
upon reduction of the standard rates, and
their establishment upon a basis sufficient
iy low to inspire confidence iu the curreucy.
The. result Was that the Commissioners re.
assembled and reduced the schedule prices
to ST. for wheat for the mouth of August