Bloomsburg democrat. (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1867-1869, December 16, 1868, Image 1
voL 4 4 XII. Vioosointrg NtitiOnt. rtmt,noiND RVNIY WIIIIINIMAY IN 111.003111 1 131;101, PA., BY IWILLIAMNOX 11. JACOBY. tenNA,—l3 no In &Ironer.. If not pnld within MIX 1N0NT1101.36 rnuNuddltlnnnl will be I itrird, LT No piper dheontlnned until 411 on SHWA its plan exult et Ibu option of Inn &MS Or ADVENTIMINiI. Tee 11111111 COPIATITUTX A /OA XX Iflni annum nem nr three Inprollonc..... subsiviannt Insertion leen Ihuil3 prim Si. 94. 3m. Sr. li ) Oleo oquire, 1,00 I 3Co i 1.00 1 000 1 to 00 Two iquarer, 3,00 I 3,410 I 0.00 1 9,11111 H9O Three .. 3,00 I 7.00 HA)10,1111 1 9, 011 ...rug r sum IMO, 6.60 I 0 . 00 10,Pri lum :WM Malroollllolll. 10,04 12 00 141.00 I 114 1 1 0 XOOO 110, coil Unit 1.9.00 lif On ;hI,OO I 0,00 :1000 COOlO Pllntitorit snot Administrator's Nowt., ..... ...3,09 Mitt floes Mattes. .2,40 ttlbst stilrettisomento haloes ittd itetand tog to ospectitt emptied. Itootottos ttotitett, wstbnut tidvettitttment, twisty. teats to Ittla. rramilleatindiviNitorntema it/pinto in ail' linen, tal miters lie *Oft the`t•rsc sttiotttlutt, PitEMIAPENT'S MESSAGE. Frilobb. (Yawls Hof ma *Milk Wld ICurtjr of litprivesiotirrs recd tho reaasembling of Congret,s, it coin becomes my duty to call your ahem Linn to the stele of the Union, and it) its oontinued disorganized condition ontlee the %miens laws which have been paused upon the ambled of reconstruetiont It may be safely ahsumetf, as an axiom in the government of States, that the gre.liest wrongs inflicted upon a people are catisod by mj UM and arbitrary legidation, or by the unrelenting donee of despotic rulors, m i d that the timely reroeafion ~r a nd opprearive measures is the greadot good that ean be conferred upon a nation. The legislator or ruler who has the wisdom and magnanimity to retrace hie stops, when con vineed of error, will sooner or Inter he re warded with the respect and gratitude of an intelligent and patriotic people. Our own history—although embrneing a period let4s tha►i ` a century nflnrils abundant proof that most, if not all, of our domo-ttio trouble* are directly traceable to vinhition4 of the organic law and excessive lepriplation. The most striking illuStrations of this are furnished by the enactments of the past three yeti* upon the question of reconstruc *ion: After a fair trial they have tadtitanti ally failed and proved pernicious in their remake, and there seems to be no good reas oa why they should longer remain upon the etatute book. States to which the Coned laden guarantees a republican form of goy eminent have been reduced to military de peudenoiee, in each of which the people have been made subject to the arbitrary will of the commanding general. Although the Cuteuitution require/ that each Stale shall be ropremented in Congress, Virginia, lis rireippi and Texas are yet excluded from the two Houses, and contrary to the express provisions of that instrument, were denied participation in the recent election fur President and Vice President of the Pnited Blame. The attempt to place the white population under the domination of per eons of color in the South has impaired, sot destroyed, the kindly relatives that had previously existed between them ; and mu tual distrust has engendered a feeling of am baulky which, leading in some inAaneei to eollision and bloodshed, hae'pretrented that co -,operation between the two rues rn essen tial to the euceess of industrial enterprises la the Southern States. Nor hare the in babitauts of those States alone suffered from the disturbed condition olaffiirs grew- Ing out of those Congressional enactments. The entire Union has been agitated by grave apprehensions of troubles witielt tilieht again Involve the pesos of the nation; iti inter este have been injuriously affected by the derangement of business and labor, and the sonsequent want of prosperity throughout that portion of the country. The Federal Constitution--the woven charter of American rights, under where trim; and salutary provisions we have sue essesfully conducted all our domestic and for sign affairs, sustained ourselves in peace and is war, and become a great ration among the powers of the earth—must assuredly he now adequate to the settlement or questions growing out of' the civil war waged alone flit. Its vindication. This great fed is made most manifest by the condition of the coun -07 when Cookreie assembled in the month of December, 1e65. Civil virile had ceas ed the spirit of rebellion had spent its en tire forte; in the Southern States the peo ple had warmed into national life, and throughout the whole country a healthy re action in public sentiment had taken place. fly th• applioation of the simple yet effect ive provisions of the Constitution, the Ex ecutive Department, with the voluntary aid of the &Mee, had brought the work of re eleration as near completion am was within the scope of its authority, and the nation was encouraged by the prospect of en early and eatiefectory adjustment et all its diffe ankles. Congress, however, intervened aml, refuskqg tomrflot the work so nearly con eumfill,%elined, to admit members from heunrepresented series of _ tea, at.optet, a series of immures which' arrested the progress of' restoration, frustrated all Shill had been so oneeessfully aeomplished, and, afiur three years of agitation' and strife, has left' the country farther from the attainment of union sad fraternal feeling than et the inception of the oongrenional plan of reconstruction. It needs no argument to show that legisla tion which has produced ouch baneful eon nequonooa should . be abrogated, or else wade fro oonibtm toffitgenuino principles of re pullmsa govorsolont. Vidiiiiiiintluenco of party painion and motigoaL s l adios, other sets have been jammed not iiirrgntett by the COllditlitiOth ~ . , ~ .. _. ~ , t 4 ' • -. • •:t.• • c ' , ..... ~ 0 1 oomsßtß 1.,. Congress has Already been made familiar with my views respecting the "tenure of of bill." Experience has proved that its repeal is demanded by the best iuturest4l of the country, and that while it remains in lb= the President (satinet enjoin that rigid immutability of public Wheat; so essential to an honest and efficient execution of the laws. Its revocation would enable the Ex ecutive Department to exercise the power of appointment and removal in necerdance with the originitl design of the Federal Constitu tion. • . $1 3 The act of March 2, 1807, making appro priations for the support of the army fur the year ending June 30, IS4B, and l'or other purposes, contains provisions Which inter l'cre with the President's constitutional rune dons a+ ‘uttonander-in-chief of the army, and deny to States of the Union the right to protect themselves by inenfil of their own These , provisions should be at ones annulled; for while the firm might, iu times ofgreat emergency, seriously embarrass the Faceutive in efforts to employ and direct the common strength of nation for its profession and preservation, the other is contrary to the express declaration of the Constitution, that "a well regulated militia b e i n g necessary to the seenrity of a free State, tlw riglit ui the people to keep and bear arrow shall not be infringed." It is believed that the: repeal of all such laws would be 'tempted by the Aracriean as at heist a partial tel to the fun datnental prini`ipici of the government, end an tiun that hereafter the Constitution is to be made the Nation's safe and unerring guide, They can be prod mil vc of no per benefit to the country, and should not be permitted to stand ;oi ::0 many mon uments of the delleient wisdom which hay characterized our ree , tit leeisialion. The condition of our linanacs detnatolm the early and earnest el otsideration of Con griNt ••• Compared with the growth of our potiolation, the public expenditures have reached an amount unprecedented in VW history. The population of the United Stales in CNO was nearly four millions of people.— Increasing each decade about thirty-three per cent., it reached in 1801 thirty-one mil lion:: --an ioorease of seven hundred per cent en the population in 1 it)11. In 180 it is estimated that it will reach thirty-eight mil lion, or an increase of eight hundred Awl sisty•eight per cent, in:sevooty-nlne years. The annual expenditnres of the Federal Government in 1701 were four million two hundred thousand dollars; in 1821), eigh teen million two hundred thousand dollars ; in Isso, forty-one millions; in 1840, sixty three millions; in isnr., nearly thirteen hundred millions, and in !`43'.1 it is °Rime ted by the Secretary of the Treasury, in his lea annual report, that they will bo three hundred and seventy-two millions. By comparing the public di!..burFetnent4 o f 1469, as e.timated, with those of 1791, it will be reeu that the increase of expendi tnre slime the beginning of the CsorJrninent has been eight thousand six bunked and eighteen p-r column, while the increase of the population for t lie LIITIIO period was only d i d, t h un d re d and sixty-eight per routine. Again the expenses of the government in I Solo, the year of peace immediately prece ding the war, were only sixty-three millions, while in IPtl9, the yeir of pence three years after the war, it is estimated they will he three hundred and seventy-two an increase of flint- hundred mei eighty-nine per cent um, while the increase of population was only twenty-one per eontum for the MUM' period. The s e statistics further show that in 1791 the fumed national expenses Pompom(' with the population, were little more than one dollar tier capita, and in Fill) but two dol lars por capita, while in 1469 they will reach the extravagant nun of nine dollars and s. , veoty-eixla old. per It will be observed that all tlicro stste 1111'ntS refer to and exhibit the disburse meats of peace periods. It may, therefore, be of interest to compare the expenditures of the three war periods—the war with Great Britain, the Mexioan war, and the war of the rebellion. In 1813 the annual expenecs incident to the war of 1812 reached their highest a mount—about thirty-one millions; while our population slightly exceeded eight toil. lions, showing an expenditure of only three dollars and eighty mats per capita, In 1847 the expenditures growing out of the war with Mexico reached fifty-five millions, an d th e 1) 0 1 1 1 4 0 n was about twenty-one allows, giving only two dollars and sixty cents per capita for the war oxpences of that year. In 1863 the expenditures called fur by the rebellion reached die vast amount of twelve hundred and ninety millions, which compared with a population of thir ty four millions, gives thirty-eight dollars and twenty cents per capita. From the fonrth day of Month, 1789, to the thirtieth day of June, 1361, the entire expenditures of the Government were seventeen hundred millions of dollars. Du ring that period we were engaged in wars with Great Britain and Mexico, and were involved itiltuntilitios with powerful Indian tribes; Louisiana was purchased front Fradee at i cost of fifteen millions of dol lars ; Florida. was ceded to us by Spain for five millions; California was acquired from Mexico for fifteen' millie* and the 'Perri- Wry of law Id4es was obtained front Tex as for the mint ton million& Early in 1861 the war of the rebellion commenced ; and from the first of July of that year to the thirtieth of Juno, 1884, the public ex.. riendi reached' di* kW" hMI aggregate at' thirty-throe hundred millions. Throe yaws of peace hate intervened, and during that One the disbureements of the Crov ernment have sumessivelY been hun dred and twenty millions, three hundred . Anil forty-six millions and three hundred and uinety-tbree millions. Adding to those amounts three hundred and sevents-two estimated as necessary for'the tis• cal year ending the 30th of Juno, 1869, we obtain a total expenditure of sixteen hun dred millions of dollars during the four years immediately succeeding the war, or nearly as touch as was expended during, the seventy two years that preceded the rebellion, and embraced the extraordinary expeditures al ready named. These startling facts clearly illustrate the necessity of retrenchment in all branches of the public, servitss '7Abuseswhielt were:tol erated during the war for the preservetipn of the nation will not le endured pry the people, now that' profound pence prevails. The reeeiptv from internal reveuues and CUP tuns have, during the Ipast three years, gradually diminished, and the enutinaance of useless and extraysgaut expenditures will involve us in national bankruptcy, or shst make inevitable an increase of taxes, already too onerous, and in retny3 respects obnox• item on account of their imptisitoriarehar acter.7!, One hundred millions annually are expended for the military force. a parse por tem of whiril is moor.' iu the out:talon of laws both uoneeessaty and noeote.titu timd ; ene,diundred and fifty teitliens eequireil each year to pay the int. re:4 au the public debt; an army of tax patherers poverishes the twine; and paddle agents, placed by Cum:fess beyond the 7 control of the Kseentive, divert from their, Lititiniate pirposes large rums of money which they collect from the people in the saute of the hvernment.r,J loth: bees legislatien r'sitt prudent economy can alone remedy defects and avert evils which, if suffered to exist, can not fail to diminish confidence in the public councils, and weaken the attachment and respect of the people towards their po litical institutions. Without tits proper care the small balance which it is estimated will remain in the Treasury, at thjelo.iSof the present fiscal year, wit net be realists!, anti additional millions he added to the debt wineh is now enumerated i y lt is shown, by the able and eomprrhee. sive ripen of the Sceretny of the Treas. ury, that the receipts; for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1549, were $405,035,003, and that the "expenditures for the same period were $377,340,281, leering iu the Treasury a surplus of 528,297,7U5. It is. estimated that the receipts of the present fiscal year ending June 30, 149, will be *311,31.2,81K and the expenditures °334,- 152,470, showing a small balanue of $5,240,- 398 in favor of the'rgoverinount. For the fiscal year coding June 30, 1870, it is esti. mated that the receipts will amount to 5.3'.:7,• 010,000, and the expenditures to 0:1.,00ts -000, leaving an estimated; surplus of $21,- 000,000, It tineisms!proper, in this connection, to make a iiriof Terrence to:oar imtlic inilell nilneke, which has nessnisolaseil ..nch alarming rtl,idity and assinacil ,4 1 ,1 t .h w i t p. 4 11 proportions. in 1789, when die government commenced o pet at ions un4er the Federal CesiAitutien, it was burdened with an indebtedness of t•crelay-five millions of dollars, created (lu ring the war or the ,Revolution. This amount had been reamed to forty-five lion dollars when in Isl 2 war was declared against Great Mittain. The three years' struggle that 1416761 largely increased the national obligations, and in 1816 they hail attained the sum of ono hawked and twen ty-seven millions. Wise and eetmomitial legislation however, enabled the Govern ment to pay the entire amount within a period or twenty years, and the emingtibh. :mat of the national debt 611od the land with rejoicing, and was one of the great events or Jackson's administration. After its redemption a large sum remained in the Treasury, which was depOsited for safe keeping in the several States, on condition that it shnuld be returned when required 1)y the public wants. In 1819—the year after the termination of an expensive war with Metziee—we found ourselves involved 10 a debt of sixty four millions; and this was the amount owed by the Government in 11.;60, just prior to the outbreak of the rebellion. in the spring of 1861 our civil war comuteneol. Each year of its contin uum made an enormous addition to the debt; and when, in the spring of 1865, the nation successfully emerged front the eon the obligations or the Government had reached the immense sum. of $2, 873,992,- :109. The Secretary of the Treasury shows that on the Ist day of November, PAT, this amount had boon reduced to $2,41,504,450; but at the same time his report exhibits an increase during the past year of $33,625,102; for the debt on the Ist day of November last is stated to have been $2,527,129,1i52. It in estimated by the Secretary diet the rm turns for the past mouth will add to our lia bilities the further sum of Woven millions— making a total increase during thirteen months of forty-six and a half millions. In my message to Congresa of December 3, 1865, it was suggested that a pulley should be devised which, without being op pressive to the people, would at once begin to Ann a reduction of the debt, and, if persisted in, discharge it fully within a 414 nito number of years. The Secretary of the Treasury forcibly recommends legisla tion of this character, and justly urgenjbat the longer It is defined do wore dillhult, st WEDIMDAY, ••• • • ni at become ite twompfiehment. Wit uhonld *am the WiMO preeedcaste establish ed in 1780 and tele, and without further dday ninke'provision for the payment of our (1411$11000S at AK may a whet as notty be pricticablo. The livits of their labors should be enjoyed by our citizens, rather than mud to build up and sustain moneyed mortopuliee in our own and other Weds.— Our foreign debt is already emnputed by the Secretary of the Treasury at eight hun dred and fifty millions; eitiaells of ilweign countries receive interest upon a large por tion of our securities, and American tax payers are made to contribute large rums for their support. The idea that such debt is to become permanent should be at all times disearled, as involving taxation too heavy to be borne, and punned once in every 'sixteen years, at the present rote of interest, of an amount equal to the original sum. This vast debt, if permitted to be come permanent nett increming, mutt event ually be gathered into the hands of a few, and entible them to exert a dangerous and coffin/Mug power in the affair; of the Gov ernment. The TIOTTOWOTS would become servants to the lenders—the lender, the misters of the people. We now pride our solved upon having given freedom to four millions of the colored race; it will then be our shame that forty millions of i wopio, by their own toleration of usurpation:and pref. ligacy, have suffered themselves to become eneleved, a n d merely exchanged slave-own ers fir new laskinastera in the shape of berelleiblere and tex-paherere. Beehive, remittent debts pertain to monarchical goy, ermumits, and, tending to monopolies, per petuities, end clam legislation, aro totally irriesmoileble with free institutions. Intro duced into our: republican system, they would erednally but surely nap its Nubile tioas, eventually subvert our governmental faheie, and erect upon its ruins a moneyed eriNteereey, It is our sacred duty to trans mit unimpaired to our posterity the bless ings of liberty which were bequeathed to us by the foutiders of the Republic, and by our example knelt those who are to follow us earefelly to avoid the dangers which threat en a free and independent people. Various plans tsetse been proposed flir the eaelneut of the public debt. However they may have varied as to the time and mode iu which it should be redeemed, there moms to be a general concurrence as to the pro priety and justice of a reduction in the pres ent rate of interest. The Seereterr of the Treasury in his report reumumenda five per cent. Congress, in a bill passed prior to adjournment on the 27th of July last, agreed upon four an.rfetw and a halt per cent. ; while by many three per cent. has been held to be an amply sufficient return t'or the in vestment. The general impression as to the exothitaney of the existing rate of interest has led to an inquiry in the public mind TO MS‘ltilig the consideration which the Rowe n meteehtte actually received tir it, bonds, mid the conclusion is beeotnine prevalent that the amount which it obtained was in real money three or fur hundred per cent. less than the obligations which it issued in return. It cannot be denied 'hat we are ieyine an extravagant per cottage for the use of the :notify Lorrowed, which was pa per currency, greatly depreeieted below the valet: of coin. fhis fact is apparent when we consider that bondholders receive from the Treasury, upon cash dollar they own in government securities, six per cent. in gold, which is nearly or quite equal to nine per ceut. in currency ; that the bonds are then converted lute capital for the national banks, upon which those iustitutions issue their circulation, bearing six per cent. intereet ; and they are exempt from taxation by the Government and the States, and thereby enheneed two per cent. in the hands of the holders. We thus have an agertente of seventeen per cent., which may be received upon each dollar by the owners of Govern ment securities. A system that produces such maths is justly repelled as favoring a few at the expense of the many, and has led to the further inquiry whether our bond holden., in view of the large profits which they Imo enjoyed, would, themselves be , averse to a settlement of our indebtedness upon a plan which would yield 010A1 a fair remuneratiou, and at the same time be just to the tat-payers of the nation. Our nre timed credit should be sacredly observed ; but in ranking provision for our creditors we should not forget what is duo to the masses of the people., It may be °steamed' that the holders of tour securities have al ready received upon their bonds a &ror amount than their original investment, meowed by a gold standard. Upon this statement of facts it would seem but just and equitable that,the six , per cent. interest now paid by the (government should be ap plied to the reduction of the principal in semi-annual instalments; which in sixteen years and eight months would liquidate the entire national debt. Six per cent. in geld would ut present rates be equal to nine per cent. in currency, and equivalent to the pay ment of the debt ono and a half time in a fraction leas than seventeen years. This, in connection with all the other advantages de. rived from their investment, would afford to the public creditors a fair and liberal com pensation for the use of their capital, and with this they should be satisfied. The les sons of the past admonish the lender that it is not welt to be over . anxiomi in exacting front the borrower riggeomplianee with the letter of the bond. If provision bo made for the payment of the indebtedness of the GOVOMOCIIt, in the manner suggested, our nation will rapidly recover its wonted prosperity. Its interests ~ . . . . . . ' ~- ~ . . . . i ' tom.; IP 0 Dg€II4NI3ER 16,1868. require that some measure should be taken to release the large amount of capital in vested in the securiticevf the Government. ire-notft now merely unproduotive, but in taxation annually consume ono hundred and fifty millions of dollars, widish would otheruise ho used by our enterprising pro -14 in adding to the wealth of the nation. Our commerce, which at one time success fully rivalled that of the gnat maritime Powers, has rapidly (lilt/W.4km], and our industrial interests arolin a depressed and languishing condition. rho development of our inexhaustable'resourees is checked, mid the fertile fields of the South are be coming waste for want of means to till aon. With the release of capital, new pith would he infused into the paralyzed energies of our people, and activity and vigor impared to every branch of industry. Our people need encouragement in their: efforts to re cover from the effects of the rebellion and of injudicious legislation ; and if should be the aim of the Government to stimulate them by the prospect of an early release from the burdens which impede their pros perity. If we cannot take the burdens from their shoulders, we should at least manifest a willingness to help to bear them. In referring to the condition of the cir culating medium, I shall merely reiterate, substantially that portion of my last annual message which relates to that subject. 'rho portion which the currency :of any country should bear to the whole value or the annual produce circulated hydts means is a question upon which politic:al econo mists have not agreed. Nor can it be con• trolled 11 legislation, but must be left to the irrevocable laws:whiclr everywhere reg ulate eommeree and trace. The'circulating medium will ever irresistably flow to (1100 points where it is iu greatest demand. The law of demtrel and supply is as unerring as that which regulates the tides of the ocean : and indeed currency, like the tides, has its ebbs and flows through the commercial world. At the beginning of the' rebellion the bank note circulation of the country amount ed to not much more than two hundred millions of dollars. Now the circulation of National Bank notes and those known as "legal tenders" is nearly seven hundred millions. While it is urged by some that this amount should ho. increased, others contend that a decided reduction is abso lutely essential to the best interests of the country. In view of these diverse opinions it may be well to ascertain the rent value of our paper issues, when .compared with a metalio or converuble currency. For this purpose, lot u inquire how mu oh gold and silver could be purchased by the seven hun dred niilliorMr or 'input , money now in (iron lotion ? Probadly not more than half the amount or the latter—showing that when our paper currency is compared with gold awl silver, its'eononercial value 6 compress ed into three hundred and lilly This striking fact makes it the obvious duty of the Government, as early us may be con sistent with the prineiple.4 of sound politi cal ceonomy, tr.ke suell me asures as wilt enable the holder or its notes and those of the national banks to convert them, without loss, into specie or its equivalent. A re ductions of our paper circulating medium need not nceersarilyifollow.:This howuver, would depend upon the law of demantl and supply, ;1:0101 it:,scull he Lorne in mind that by making legal tender tool bank note,: convenable into coin or its equivalent, their present specie:value in the hands of their holders would be enhanced ono hundred per cent- Legislation for the atxxnnplishtnent of a result so desirable is demanded by the high tst public considerations. The Constitution contemplates that the circulating ,tedium of the country shall be uniform in quality and , value. At tho (into of the formation of that instrument, the country bad just emer ged from the War of the Revolution, and was suffering from the effects of a redun dant and wathlese paper currency. Tho sages of that period were anxious to protect their posterity from , the evils which they themselves had experienced. Ilene, in providing a circulating medium, they con ferred upon Congress the power to coin money and regulate the value thereof, at the same time prohibiting the Status from making anything but gold and silver a ten der in payment of debts. Thu anomalous condition of our currency is in striking contrast with that which was originally designed. Our circulation DOW entbraoes, first, notes of the National Banks which are made receivable for all dues to the Government, excluding imposts, and by all its creditors, excepting in payment of inter est upon its bonds and the securities them selves ; sowntl, legal-tender notes, issued by the Licked States, and which the law re quires shall be received as well in payment of all debts between citisens as of all tiov ertneut dues, excepting imposts; and, third gold and siver coin. By the operation of our preseut system of finance, however, the metalic currency, when collected, is reser ved only tbr one class of Gtwertenent credi tors, who, holding its bowls, semi-annually receive their interest in coin from the Na tional Treasury., There is no reason which will be accepted as satisfactory by the peo ple, why those who defend us on the laud anti protect us on the sea ; the wottioner upon the graitude of nation, boariug the ACM and wounds received while in its per. vice ; the public servants in tjp:u various be. partmoote of the Uovernotent, the fertiler who supplies the soldiers of the army e n d the sailors of the navy; the artisan who toil*, in the nation's lenksho . ebonies and laborers who build gm edifices and construct its forts and vessels of war— should, in payment of their just and hard earned duos, receive depreciated paper, while another class of their countrymen, no more doorving, arepaid in coin of geld and silver. Equal and exact jusdeo require that ull the creditors of the ()averment should be paid ins.,a currency possessing a uniform value. This 'can only be accomplished by the renteration of the currency to the stan dard established by the. Constitution ; and by this means we would remove a discrimi nation whieh may, if it has not already done so, create a prejudice that may become deep rooted and wide spread, and imperil the na tional credit. The feasibility of making our currency correspond with the constitutional standard may be seen Eby. reference to a few facts de rived fretn;eer commercial eitatistiea. The aggregate product of precious me tals itrthe United Steles from Isle:to 0467 amounted to $1,173,000,000, while, for the same period, the next experts efspevie were $741,000,000. This shows an excess of product over net exports of $433,01)0,00. There are in the Treasury 8103,70,985 in coin ; in circulation in the States en tin. Pa cific Coast about $40,000,00e, end a rew millions in the National and other lionks— in all less then $1110,000,000, Takin g into consideration the specie in the country pri or to ISt'), and that produced rinco 1517, and we have more than tt30,000,000 not accounted for by exportatico or by the re turns of the Treasury,fand therefore most probably remaining in the country. These arc important facts and show how completely the interior currency will super cede the better, forcing it from circulation among the masses, and causing it to he ex ported as a mere article of trade, to add to the mo n ey capital of foreign lands. They show .the necessity of retiring our paper money, that the return of gold and silver to the avenues of trade may be invited, and a demand created which will cause the reten tion at home of at least so much of the pro ductions of our rich and inexhaustible gold bearing fields as may be sufficient for pur poses of circulation.; It is unreasonable to expect to return to a sound currency so long es the Iloyernment and batiks, by continu ing to ism irredeemable notes, fill the chan nels of eirculatien:with depreciated paper. Notwithstanding a coiunge by our mints, since . lB49, of eight hundred and seventy four millions of dollars, the people are new strangers to the currency which wan design ed for their use and benefit, awl speoimene of the previous metal. Lcaring the national devices are seldom seer,, except when pro duced to gratify the interest excited by their 'novelty. If depreciated paper is to be continued as the permanent currency of the country, and all our coin iy to beCume a Mere article of trafhe and speculation, to the enhance ment in price of all that!is itolispoomble t o the comfort of the people, it would ho tyke economy to alaitish our mints, thus saving the nation the care and expense ineileut to such establicdtmentv, and let all our precious metals ho exported in bullion. The time has come, however, when the government and national banks should be required to take the most eflieientisteps! and make all necessary arrangements for a resumption of specie payments. Let specie payments once be earnehtly inaugurated by the government and banks. and the value of the paper cir culation would directly approximate a specie tltandaril. Specie payments having been resumed by the government and banks, all notes or bills of paper isrued by either of a less denomi nation than twenty dollars should by law be excluded kw circulation, so that the peo ple may have the benefit and convenience of a gold mid silver currency which in. all their b us iness transactions will be uniform in value at home and abroad. "Every man of property or industry, every aunt who desires to preserve what he honestly posseses, or to maintain what he can honestly earn, has a direct interest in tnaiutaing a safe circulating medium—melt a medium as shall be real and substantial, not liable to vibrato with opinions, not sub ject to be blown up or blown down by the breath of speculation, but to laistable and secure. A disordered currency is ono of the greatest political evils. It undermines the virtues necessary for the support of the social system, and encourages propensities destructive of its happiness; it wars against industry, frugality and economy, and it foe tors the evil spirits of extravagance and speculation." It has been aseerted by one of our profound and most gifted statesmen, that "of all the contrivances for cheating the laboring dames of mankind, none have been more effectual than that which deludes them with paper non"y• This is the most effectual of inventions to fertilize the rich man's fields by the sweat of the poor man's brow. Ordinary tyranny, oppression, ex cessive taxation—these bear lightly on the happiness of the mass of the community compared with a . ftaudulent currency, and the robberies oominitted by depreciated pa per. The Secretary of the interior, in his re port gives valuable information in reference to the interests cent:l.l,3d to the supervision of his dopartmerA, and reviews the opera tions of OA band Office, Pension Office, PP.'.ent Of cc and the Indian Bureau. Poring the first fiscal year ending June 30, IRO, six million six hundred and fifty five thousand and seven bemired acres of public land wore disposed or. The entire curb receipts a( the General Land 011ie* for NUMBER 43. grouter by $284,883 then the anoint real- Mull from the same mune during the pre vious your. The entries under the hew. 0(.44 Mw cover two million throe butKiral un , l twenty-eight thousand Dino handrei and twenty-three sores, nearly ono4ourth of which MY taken nudes the met June 21, 1866, Wadi . apprted Nay 60 the States or.Alsbuma, Louisians nnil Florian, On the :loth of JUTNY, 1868, oun hundred and sixty-nine thousand six hundred met forty-three manes were borne on the poweiun rolls, and during the year ending on that day the total aliment paid for pentium!, in cluding the expenses of Itisbehatniats 424, - Ul 0,982, being $5,391,9211 greater titan ibet expended for like purposets during the pro ceeding year• During the year endinethe 90th7of Sop. tember last, the critenses of the Palest Of fee the receipts by one Imndred and seventy.one dollars; and, including 'm issiles and designs, fourteen thou/wad (dee hundred and filty4hrtm patents Wrelaxed. Treaties with various Indian tribes here been concluded, and will be submitted to the Senate l'er its constitutional action. cordially sanction the stipulations which provide for reserving lands for the various tribes, where they may be encouraged to abandon their nomadic habits and engage in agricultural and industrial pursuits. This policy, inaugurated many years since, has met with signal success, wherever it has been pursued in good faith and with bosom ing liberality by the United States The necessity for extending it as Far me practica ble in our relations with the aboriginal pop ulation is greater now than at any preceding period. Whilst we furnish subsistence and instruction to the Indians, and guarantee the undisturbed enjoyment of their treaty rights, we should habitually insist upon the faithful observance of their agreement to remain Within their respective reeervations. This is the only mode by which collisions with other tribes and with the whites can be avoided, and the safety of our frontier settlements secured. The coinpanici constructing the railway front Omaha to Sacramento have boon most energetically engaged in prosecuting the work, awl it is believed that the line will be completed berm the expiration of the 0a• eel year. The six per cent, bonds issued to these companies annulated, on the iSsh inst. to 644,337,00), and additional work has been perterwed to the extent of 1 3 , 2 00,- 000,000. The Secretary of the Interior in August last invited my attention to the report of a Government director of the Union Pacific railroad company, who had been specially instructed to examine the kxstion, cotw struction and equipment of their road. 1 submitted for the opinion of tho Attorney ;CUM' certain questions in regard to the authority of the Executive which arose up on this report, and those which bad from time to time ken presented by the °amnia sinners afflointed to inspect each successive section of the work. After earefully.cen si the law of the case, he affirmed the right of the Executive to order, if mouse ry, a thorough revision of the entire road. Cominimioners were thereupon appointed to examine this and other lines, and have re °Judy submitted a statement of their inves tigations. of which the report of the Seers. tery of the Interior furnishes spec& imfor to at ion . The report of the Secretary of War eon• taiee information of interest and itnportanco respecting the several Bureaus of the War Department and the operations of the nr my. The strength of our military form. on the :00th of September last was roily eight thousand men, and it is computed that, by the first of Jnnuary neat this num ber will be tit:envied to forty-three thous and. It is the opinion of the Secretary of War that within the next year a considera ble diminution of the infantry force may be made without detriment to the interests of the country; and in vie* of the great ex pense attending the military peace estab lishment, and the absolute Deeossity of re trenchment wherever it can be applied, it is hoped that Congress will sanction the re daction which his report recommends.— While in 1860 sixteen thousand three hun dred men cost the nation $16,472,000, the sum of $65, 682,000 is estimated as nceos• vary for the support of die army during the fiscal year ending Juno 30, 1870. The esti mate* of the War Department for the lea two fiscal years were for 1867, $33,814,461, and for 186, 325,205,669. The actual eV pentlitunts daring the saute periods were, respectively, $'J5.224,415 and $123,246,648. The estimate submitted in Deoember last for the fiscal year ending Juno 30, 1869, was $77,124,707; the expenditures for the first quarter, ending the 30th of September heft, wore $27,219,117, and the Secretary of the Treasury gives $66,000,000 as the amount wbieh will probably be required during the remaining three quarters, if there should be no reduction of the army—making its ag gregate cost for the year considerably in ex cuss of ninety-three millions. The differ ence between the estimates, and expendi tures for the three fiscal years,which here been named is thus shown to 10 $175,513, • 343 fir this angle branch of the pubtie ser vice. The report of the Secretary of the Navy exhibits tho opowarionA of that Departtnent and of the navy during the year. A con siderable reduotion ot the force has boon u t feeted. Thera are forty-two roads carry ing four hundred and eleven guns, in the six squadrons which ire eetablished in dif-