nomical administration of its affairs, a thorough enforcement of the Internal Revenue laws, and with no unnecessary appropriations by Congress, the whole of the currency interest and floating indebtedness could be paid by the time specie payments are to be resumed, and the entire debt, if we have no war, within twenty years.

The resumption of specie payment will be to the consumer equal to a reduction of the tariff of forty per cent., as he will save, in the cost of the goods, the premium it now takes to purchase the gold to pay for them; and as the redemption of the legal tenders will cease at the end of the five years, a further reduction of the tariff could be made.

It may be asked why the banks, with no circulation of their own, should be required to redeem the circulation of the Governmont? Because their location and facilities would make them the best agents the Government could use.

To establish sub-treasuries all over the country, to afford equal facilities, would require a large increase of Government offices and great expense, and would tend to centralise the power in the Government, and give the banks really no right to have any voice in deciding the necessity of an increase in the circulation.

Now, let us see what the prospects are of resuming specie payment under the present banking system. The National Bank circulation being redeemable in legal-tenders, it devolves upon the Government to provide the coin to redeem its circulation. Conceding that no financial system can be sound or safe, unless based upon that, whose value is unchaugeable, and which is recognized throughout the civilized world as the true standard of values, we cannot expect to reach that stability and prosperity so essential to the development of our resources, until we have placed our system of finance upon this standard. The question then arises how this object can be accomplished. I can see but two ways. The first is, for the Government to accumulate sufficient gold in the Treasury to justify the redemption of the circulation now out. This must result in a rapid advance in the price of gold, which is needed for duties, and in its attendant evil, inflation, and a sudden and disastrous reaction upon the resumption of specie payment. To save these inflated values, I doubt not a run would be made upon the Treasury, taking the time of the payment of the interest, as the most favorable moment, to such an extent as would deplete it of every dollar in less than a week's time.

The second way is to go on and contract the circulation to such a point as it can be readily and surely met by the gold that can be accumulated without seriously affecting the market. This course must inevitably result in such stringency in the money market, as will necessitate the enforcement of sales of merchandise and securities at any price, in order to realize to meet engagements; all will be sellers, and the importer having no purchasers for his goods, must cease his importations and allow the goods now in bond to remain, and the Government, instead of obtaining gold from its custom duties to redeem its bills, will find it difficult to pay the interest upon its indebtedness. Already the cry is loud and earnest for more circulation, and any further considerable contraction must result in disaster and ruin. Under this state of affairs the burden of taxation will become doubly oppressive, and the people, seeing no prospect of relief, will be driven to repudiation as the only remedy left them.

The next question that presents itself is-Is it the present policy of the Government to redeem the legal tenders in specie at all! Such would not appear to be the intention, if the following extracts from the letter of the Secretary of the Treasury, dated October 7th, 1867, are to be taken as an indication. He states "The United States notes were issued under the pressure of a great necessity, and are, by authority of Congress, being rapidly withdrawn from circulation. No more can be issued under existing laws, nor can I believe that any considerable number of the members of Congress would favor an additional issue for any purpose whatever, much less for the purpose of paying bonds in violation of the express understanding under which they were negotiated."

"The policy of contracting the circulation of United States notes by Congress, and being steadily pursued by the Secretary, should of itself, even if the honor of the nation were not involved in the question, satisfy holders that Five-Twenty bonds will not be called in and paid before maturity in a depreciated currency."

It is very evident, from the foregoing, that the policy is to retire all the legal-tenders, and leave to the National Banks the entire circulation; and should their present issue be found insufficient, as it will be, to transact the business they will be authorized to increase it, with still further profit to themselves.

What assurance have we that the banks will resume specie payment, when all of the legal-tenders are withdrawn from circulation, other thau the general supposition that the matter will regulate itself! It certainly will not be found in the result already exhibited. Some fifty millions have now been withdrawn, and instead of the premium on gold having been correspondingly reduced, it is some ten per cent. higher than it was before the contraction commenced. Under this policy, with the National Bank circulation increased to five hundred millions—the amount considered necessary to transact the business of the country by some of our best financiers-we may abandon all thought of resuming specie payment, and console ourselves with the flattering idea, that because this currency is secured by Government bonds it is "the best the world ever saw."

Shall the receipts of the Internal Revenue be used to retire the legaltenders, instead of reducing the national interest-bearing indebtedness! Shall the people be borne down with taxation to retire a circulation which the Government alone should furnish? Shall the old banking system be revived, to be periodically followed by distrust and suspension? Or, shall we have a system that will reduce the national indebtedness three hundred millions at once, lighten the burden of taxation, and give us a sound and stable currency, based on gold?—are the momentous questions here with presented.

This plan will accomplish the following results:

First. It will cancel three hundred millions of the coin interest indebtedness.

Second. It will redeem, within the five years, three hundred millions of the legal tender notes in gold.

Third. It will virtually cancel four hundred millions of the floating indebtedness, by retaining that amount of the United States notes

bearing no interest for perpetual circulation, which are now being retired at the rate of four millions a month.

Fourth. It will enable the Government to reduce the taxes at least fortyeight millions annually, that amount being now taken from the internal revenue receipts, to retire the legal tenders. As this sum is considerably more than is now received from the tax on incomes, that, the most objectionable feature of our tax system, could be dispensed with.

Fifth. It will enable Government to cancel one hundred millions more of the coin interest indebtedness, should the four hundred millions prove insufficient for the business of the country, as probably it will.

Sixth. It will enable the Government, through its agents, the Banks, to resume specie payment at the end of the five years, as stated. Seventh. It will violate no obligation of the Government, and will open the avenues of trade throughout the whole country, by the confidence it will give to all.

By what other plan can the national indebtedness be reduced seven hundred millions, and the taxes forty-eight millions, annually; or such favorable and important results be produced?

OUR DEBTS AND RESOURCES.

On former occasions we have remarked upon our largely increased taxation, with the purpose of enforcing upon our legislators the necessity for the strictest economy in all appropriations for Federal, State and municipal governments. A long and costly war with the indefinite issue of paper money has engendered a spirit of extravagance which must be checked. Statements of our present burdens tend to this end; they convey a forcible, practical lesson which is much needed at this time. And yet, notwithstanding the usefulness of such statements, incorrect inferences are sometimes drawn from them. Because we are in debt some jump to the conclusion that we are bankrupt. We notice for instance the tables we prepared and published sometime since, showing the rates of taxation in our leading cities, recently copied by a correspondent of the London Times, who called them official, and based arguments upon them to show our inability to pay our debts. It is hardly necessary to say that such conclusions find no justification in the facts stated. We admit that we are in debt, and, compared with anti-war times, very heavily in debt, and we insist that there is great need for economy; we claim too that our tax machinery is very unphilosophical and cumbersome; and yet our ability and disposition to pay all just obligations are beyond question. The experience of the last two years in raising revenue, and consolidating and reducing our Federal debt, bring out in strong light the resources and capabilities of the country. It was a question in the minds of Europeans in 1864 whether a democratic people would submit to be taxed; no one doubts

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OUR DEBTS AND RESOURCES.

417 it now. It was argued then that our burden was more than we could bear, and yet we have paid all our expenses, and reduced our aggregate debt from 2,874 millions in the fall of 1865, to 2,491 millions as given in the last statement. It was claimed that though we might work through our long debt, our short obligations would surely try us; but, on the contrary, since 1865 the temporary loans and debt certificates have disappeared from the schedule altogether, the greenback currency has been curtailed from 433 millions to 357 millions, and the SevenThirties from 830 millions to 334 millions, as also appears in the last monthly statement. When we remember that this is the history of the period immediately succeeding a long war, and among a people unused to taxation, and with no experience in raising large revenues, all will admit that we hardly deserve to be called bankrupt.

Nor are our city and State taxes more than we can very easily, and if they are necessary, very willingly bear. All that our people wish to be convinced of is that they are not being plundered, and that their public servants are economizing their resources. The latter, they insist, shall be done and the former avoided if possible. A moment's reflection as to the aggregate taxable property in New York State shows that with honesty and economy in the future there is no ground for fear. We cannot, however, agree with a recent writer on our State finances, who attempts to show that a debt is not a debt, and the inference from whose remarks is that we pay no taxes. In a former article, before referred to, we gave tables proving very decidedly that taxation among us is no myth but a veritable reality. And yet the resources of the State, both in the actual aggregate of taxable capital, and in the productive industry of the population, are fully ample to sustain the burden. The assessors have but to do their duty thoroughly, to obey the laws of the State just as they read, in regard to making assessments and an amount of taxable property would be found that would surprise every body. The assessed valuation of such property is 1866 amounted to $1,639,432,651. Nobody can doubt that the real value is three times that sum. A moment's examination of the State census of 1865 will make our assertion more clear and difficult of contraverting.

The total number of dwellings enumerated is 594,045, the value of which was estimated at $977,121,378; besides 66,114 to which no value was computed. If their value is reckoned in the same ratio, the sum total would be about $1,080,000,000. It is quite unnecessary to remark that the dwellings enumerated could not be purchased at a fair sale for an amount equivalent to the entire assessed valuation of the State. The same census report gives us the value of farms in the State at $920,349,331; of live stock $127,072,554; of tools and implements $21,181,0991-a total of $1,068,602,9844. It would not be far out of the way to declare that the property included in this category is also equivalent in value to the entire assessmentof the State. The census also embraces returns from 24,527 manufacturing establishments, with a capital of $227,674,187, and an aggregate value of product amounting to $463,609,877. There are no data relating to the capital employed in commerce. Household furniture almost

wholly escapes assessment, yet its aggregate value must be fully twothirds of the value of dwellings. In 1863 there were insured in the insurance companies doing business in this State, personal property to the value of $1,471,000,000, which nobody needs to be informed was but a fraction of the entire amount. The aggregate of these few items is as follows:

It will be seen from these imperfect statistics that the probable value of property in the State of New York cannot be short of $6,000,000,000, and estimating the net profit at 6 per cent., we should have as the annual net income of the State 360 millions-a fair estimate of the resulting profits after deducting all direct taxes. The gross income it is of course very difficult to indicate; but these figures show clearly enough that the production of the State is able to sustain a heavy volume of taxation.

Now, if we enquire as to the annual burden upon this property, we shall find that the State of New York is charged with a direct tax for expenses of Government, maintenance of schools, interest, etc., of about twelve millions of dollars, and that the local taxes probably amount to fifty millions more. It is proper, however, to remark that a considerable portion of this local taxation is for the purpose of defraying the principal of the indebtedness, and therefore cannot be regard ed as permanent. In a short time the aggregate will be less. As to the internal revenue and customs duties of the former the amount paid by each inhabitant of the United States in 1866 was $8 80, and of the latter $5 15, or a total per capita of $13 95. According to the census of last year the population of this State was 3,831,777, and hence the total payments of the State to the United States government during that year was about 43 millions. Of course there is a larger amount than this credited to the State, but as the most of these payments ultimately come out of the consumer, the only correct mode of estimating the actual contribution is on the basis of population. The aggregate, therefore, of taxes, direct and indirect, paid by the people of New York in 1866 was about as follows:

This it will be seen would be equivalent to about two per cent. of the valuation above given. It is hardly necessary to add anything further to show the ability of the State to meet its obligations promptly and easily.