The Continental Monthly, Vol. 4, No. 4, October, 1863: Devoted to Literature and National PolicyVarious
History
The Continental Monthly, Vol. 4, No. 4, October, 1863: Devoted to Literature and National Policy
Various
Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; United States -- Politics and government -- 19th century -- Periodicals
Mr. Chase's success has been complete under the most appalling
difficulties. The preceding administration, by their treasonable course,
and anti-coercion heresies, had almost paralyzed the Government. They
had increased the rate of interest of Federal loans from six to nearly
twelve per cent. per annum. Their Vice-president (Mr. Breckenridge),
their Finance Minister (Mr. Cobb), their Secretary of War (Mr. Floyd),
their Secretary of the Interior (Mr. Thompson), are now in the traitor
army. Even the President (Mr. Buchanan), with an evident purpose of
aiding the South to dissolve the Union, had announced in his messages
the absurd political paradox, that _a State has no right to secede, but
that the Government has no right to prevent its secession_. It was a
conspiracy of traitors, at the head of which stood the President,
secretly pledged, at Ostend and Cininnati, to the South (as the price of
their support), to aid them to control or destroy the republic. Thus was
it that, in time of profound peace, when our United States six per
cents. commanded a few weeks before a large premium, and our debt was
less than $65,000,000, that Mr. Buchanan's Secretary of the Treasury
(Mr. Cobb) was borrowing money at an interest of nearly twelve per cent.
per annum. Most fortunately that accursed administration was drawing to
a close, or the temporary overthrow of the Government would have been
effected. Never did any minister of finance undertake a task apparently
so hopeless as that so fully accomplished by Mr. Chase in reviving the
public credit. A single fact will illustrate the extraordinary result.
At the close of the fiscal year ending 1st July, 1860, our public debt
was only $64,769,703, and Secretary Cobb was borrowing money at twelve
per cent. per annum. On the first of July 1863, in the midst of a
stupendous rebellion, our debt was $1,097,274,000, and Mr. Chase had
reduced the average rate of interest to 3.89 per cent. per annum, whilst
the highest rate was 7.30 for a comparatively small sum to be paid off
next year. This is a financial achievement without a parallel in the
history of the world. If I speak on this subject with some enthusiasm,
it is in no egotistical spirit, for Mr. Chase's system differs in many
respects widely from that adopted by me as Minister of Finance during
the Mexican war, and which raised United States _five per cents._ to a
premium. But my system was based on specie, or its real and convertible
equivalent, and would not have answered the present emergency, which, by
our enormous expenditure, necessarily forced a partial and temporary
suspension of specie payments upon our banks and Government. Mr. Chase's
system is exclusively his own, and, in many of its aspects, is without a
precedent in history. When first proposed by him it had very few
friends, and was forced upon a reluctant Congress by the great
emergency, presenting the alternative of its adoption or financial ruin.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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