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master-General with power to contract for a South American mail service upon a more liberal basis than the sea and inland postage, by providing as follows:

"For the transportation of foreign mails, including transit across the Isthmus of Panama, $800,000; and the PostmasterGeneral is hereby authorized to enter into contract for the transportation of any part of said foreign mails, after a legal advertisement, with the lowest responsible bidder at a rate not exceeding 50 cents a nautical mile on the trip each way actually traveled between the terminal points: Provided, That the mails so contracted shall be carried on American steamships, and that the aggregate of such contracts shall not exceed onehalf the sum hereby appropriated."

The enforcement of this law would have increased our postal facilities with the South American countries, and brought to us an enlarged commerce, and furnished an easy outlet for the surplus products of our ever-increasing manufactures. But before this law was put into operation the Republican party went out of power. The present administration declined to execute this law, and refused to use a single dollar appropriated by the last Republican administration to encourage our trade with the South American countries.

In the Forty-ninth Congress the Republican Senate attached to the post-office appropriation bill a provision dedicating $800,000 to increasing our mail facilities with the countries of Central and South America, but the Democratic House of Representatives refuse to concur.

And so upon this question the issue is made up between the two parties. The Republican party believes in such liberal pay to American steamship lines for the carriage of our foreign mails as will stimulate American ship-building and promote our foreign commerce. While the Democratic party refuses all aid to American lines even for carrying the United States mails, preferring to pay tribute to our subsidized foreign rivals. It is to be hoped when the Republican party again resumes control of this government it will be able to carry out a policy which will facilitate our foreign trade and restore the Republic to its rightful supremacy on the sea.

INTERNAL REVENUE.

BY HON. GREEN B. RAUM, OF ILLINOIS.

THE total income of the government during the four years of President Buchanan's administration, aside from loans, was $205,126,374, while the expenditures for the same period were $262,500,558, being $57,374,184 in excess of the receipts.

The Morrill tariff act, which was approved by Mr. Buchanan the day before the inauguration of President Lincoln, greatly increased the duties on imports, and laid the foundation for the large receipts which afterwards followed from this source; but as soon as the War of the Rebellion began it was fully realized by Republican statesmen that the preservation of the Union would require not only marshaling of mighty armies, but the expenditure of enormous sums of treasure.

The Session of Congress which convened in December, 1861 immediately took up the subject of providing the Ways and Means for carrying on the war. It was fortunate for the country that the right man for this mighty work was then a member of the House of Representatives, and was appointed Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means. This man was Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania. He possessed the knowledge, experience, influence, and courage for the task.

At the very outset Mr. Stevens insisted that taxation and loans must go hand in hand; that it would be impossible to carry on the war and maintain the credit of the government by raising money by loans only; that the receipts from customs would be totally inadequate to supply the needs of the government; consequently, that resort must be had immediately to direct and internal taxation.

An act was passed June 7th, 1862, levying a direct tax of twenty million dollars, which, under the Constitution, was apportioned amongst the several States according to population. The amount levied against the people of the loyal States was

$15,054,517, and the amount levied against the people of the States in rebellion was $4,945,501. The law provided that this tax should be levied and collected from the real estate of the country. The legislatures of the loyal States wisely made provision for the payment of this tax from the State treasuries. If this course had not been adopted the tax would have been assessed upon all the real estate of the country; it would have taken precedence of and interfered with the State levies; and would no doubt have bred a multiplicity of complications in real-estate titles. This direct tax was enforced in parts of all the rebellious States. The total amount collected in these States was $2,414,284; and there yet remains uncollected of the tax in the the Southern States the sum of $2,531,217-the collection of which has been postponed from time to time. A bill recently passed the Senate of the United States which relieves the people of Southern States from the payment of the amount of this tax due from them, and refunding to the States the amount paid by each of them respectively. The passage of this bill was prevented by the systematic filibustering of a large number of Democrats from the South, who obstructed business for a period of eight days, and finally compelled the House to postpone the consideration of the bill until the next session of Congress.

It seems entirely reasonable that the amount paid by the loyal States shall be refunded, or that the balance due from the Southern States shall be collected. The opponents of the Senate bill are opposed to both propositions.

The delays and difficulties attending the collection of a direct tax from real estate are such, that it seems entirely improbable that another direct tax law will ever be enacted.

On July 1, 1862, an act to provide internal revenue to support the government and to pay interest on the public debt was passed. It was the first of the series of laws creating the present internal-revenue system. This act was followed by the acts of March 3, 1863; March 7, 1864; June 30, 1864; and March 3, 1865.

There probably never was in any country a more far-reaching system of taxation devised-every occupation, business, or

industry, every source of income, every article owned and used for luxurious enjoyment; all railroads, canals, steamboats, ex. press companies; all banks, bankers, brokers, manufacturers jobbers, merchants; all wholesale and retail dealers, and all places of amusement and public entertainment, were required to contribute their share to the great fund necessary to save the Union. Thousands of manufactured articles which entered into the daily consumption of the people were taxed. Here and there the law provided for small exemptions in the interest of the poor; but the whole plan and framework of the system contemplated raising a large revenue from every individual in the land by a tax upon him directly or upon articles which he required for daily use. The men who planned and enacted these laws were elected by the people, and represented the public sentiment of the country; the era was one of patriotism and heroism, and this extraordinary system of taxation was not only acquiesced in, but indorsed by the people, and the payment yearly of the enormous sums of revenue which were collected is one of the strongest possible evidences of the devotion of the people to the cause of the Union.

The receipts from internal-revenue taxation rose from forty one million dollars in 1863, to more than three hundred and ten million dollars in 1866. The following table will be of interest:

INTERNAL REVENUE COLLECTIONS, JULY IST, 1862, TO JUNE 30TH, 1887.

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Bank capital and deposits.......

65,056,539

Adhesive stamps upon proprietary medicines, matches, etc. 209,717,217
Miscellaneous items.....

Oleomargarine and special taxes on dealers therein...

From the direct tax....

From the National banks on capital, circulation, and deposits.......

Total.......

36,064,456

723,948

$3,569.174.618

15.139.981

132.592.753

$3,716,907,352

Thus it will be seen that the receipts of revenue from these laws, called into being by the exigencies of the Civil War, have been during a period of twenty-five years more than three billion seven hundred million dollars, and that $2,264,498,241 were collected from distilled spirits, tobacco and cigars, and malt liquors-articles of indulgence, the purchase of which (and therefore the payment of the tax) might have been avoided at the pleasure of the tax-payer.

While it is true that in 1791, and again in 1813, laws were enacted levying internal taxes upon distilled spirits, carriages, snuff, refined sugars, salt, auction sales, distilleries, licenses for retailing wines and spirits, bills of exchange, bank notes, promissory notes, etc., etc., the taxes were low and the amount of revenue received was small, and but few officers were employed; and the laws were continued only a few years. So in point of fact this broad and comprehensive system of taxation was new and untried. Its extraordinary success has vindicated the wisdom and the capacity of the Republican law-makers who placed these acts upon the statute-books. This new system of taxation was in many respects experimental, both as to the laws and the manner of their enforcement. As an illustration of this, it may be cited that the tax on distilled spirits was first fixed at 20 cents per gallon, and was afterwards changed to 60 cents, $1.50, $2; from which it has been reduced to 90 cents. per gallon, at which it now stands.

The internal-revenue system was made a special study, and it is to the credit of the Republican party that it was brought to the highest degree of perfection and efficiency. During the nine years preceding the inauguration of President Cleveland,

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