Year: 1870

Au0 SwchVSahy ~ t00 IEUo0UEy - S1O


Funding Bill.


A Washington telegram says that the
Secretary Of the Treasury has found II
necessary to jog the memory Of the
Senate in regard to the Importance Of the
Funding bill that he has, in fact, been
urging the immediate passage of the measure
upon members Of both Houses that he has
assurances that with the bill made law he
could fund several hundred millions of the pub
lie debt within short time that fve-twen-
ties are very nearly at par in Paris that the
ten-fOrtes are in good demand abroad, and
that, in short, the time is favorable for the
funding Of the debt as proposed in his annual
report at the reduced interest of four and a
half per cent. 1t is only fair to add that some
features Of the despatch bear the impress of
speculative motives, and that certain parties
in Wall street have exaggerated Mr.. Bout
wells doings. However, the minor facts are
not essential to the discussion Of the topic.


We presume that 1t is in Difference
to the wishes Of the Secretary that
Mr.. Sherman, of the Finance Committee,
Of the Senate, has given notice that on
Wednesday next he will call up the Funding
bill reported from his committee, and will en-
deavor to keep 1t before the Senate till dis
posed of. He does not know what disposition
will be made of it, as the measure will pro-
badly meet with stiff opposition from the
West. We think that, as in neither party in
Ia thara baruoUw
any of the financial issues of the
day, and that as every member upon
every branch Of the great money. question
has some peculiar scheme or crotchet of his
own, the best thing the responsible party in
power can do is to fall back upon the finan-
cial measures recommended by the President,
including this Funding bill. General Grant
does not propose to jump at once to the moon
in jump to specie payments; he does not
propose to fill every mans pocket with bank
bills by unlimited or excessive issues of paper
money he does not propose to hurry up the
payment of the national debt by an increase, Of
taxes, internal or external nor does he pro-
pose to remove at once our burden Of taxation
anu lc1V6 Iuc ueUL W tahb care VI ltScI. Ills
programme is to reduce expenditures and to
economize as much as possible to tighten the
taxes as far as practi cable without detri-
ment to the public credit; to make no violent
changes in an increase or reduction of the
national currency; to keep up the payment
of the debt as far as we can without incon-
venience to the country, and to fu nd the re-
mainder as fast rs we can at q saving of one
ana half per cent on the interest


We expect, too, that after the inanciers Of
Congress shall have exhausted themselves
in their vain efforts to find some shorter road
to the payment Of the debt and return to
specie than the way indicated by the President,
they will have to come to it at last; and so
we think the best that the Senate can do for q
beginning is to pass the Funding bill accord
ing to the plan of the administration. The
Secretary Of the Treasury is not the wisest
man in the world, but it is evident that he
understands his business better than the
visionary, discordant and lamentably ignorant
fnanciers of Congress.