FINANCES OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Brought forward $78,751,893 26 



Redemption of the public debt.. $3,618,648 77 

 Judgments of Court of Alabama 



Claims 2,363,634 21 



5,972,282 98 



Total expenditures ... $84,724,176 24 



Balance in Treasury September 30, 1876 112,597,526 03 



Total $197,321,702 82 



For the remaining three-quarters of the 

 same fiscal year ending June 30, 1877, it was 

 estimated that the receipts would be : 



From customs $89,445,271 47 



From internal revenue 91,511,65364 



Frain sale of public lands 800,000 00 



From tax on national banks 3,600,000 00 



From reimbursement by Pacific Railways. .. 800,000 00 

 From customs 1 fines, penalties, and forfeit- 

 ures 75,000 00 



From consular, patent, and other fees 1,200,000 00 



From proceeds of sales of public property. . . 250,000 00 

 From miscellaneous sources, including pre- 

 mium on coin 4,000,000 00 



Total net receipts $191,181,925 10 



For the same period it was estimated that 

 the expenditures would be : 



For civil and miscellaneous, Including public 



buildings $39,000,000 00 



For Indians 4,000,000 00 



For pensions 20,000,000 00 



For military establishment 26,500,000 00 



For naval establishment 7,500,000 00 



For interest on the public debt 61,876.860 09 



Total ordinary expenditures $158,876,860 09 



From the statement of actual receipts and 

 expenditures for the tirst quarter ending Sep- 

 tember 30th, and of the estimates of the same 

 for the remaining three-quarters, based upon 

 existing laws, it was expected that the revenues 

 for the fiscal year would yield the sum of $264,- 

 292,449.59, and that the expenditures would 

 amount to $237,628,753.35, which would leave 

 a surplus revenue of $26,663,696.24. The 

 amount which should be applied to the sinking- 

 fund was estimated at $33,705,808.67. The 

 surplus revenues would fall below this amount, 

 by not less than $7,042,110.43. 



During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1876, 

 the public debt was reduced $29,249,381.33, as 

 will appear by the following statement : 



Principal of the debt July 1, 1875 $2,232,284,531 95 



Interest due and unpaid, and accrued inter- 

 est to date 38,647,556 19 



Total debt $2,270,932.088 14 



Cash in the Treasury 14-2,243,361 82 



Debt, less cash in the Treasury. . . $2,128,688.726 32 



Principal of the debt July 1, 1 876 $2,180,395,067 15 



Interest due and unpaid, and accrued inter- 

 est to date 38,514,004 54 



Total debt... $2,218,909,07169 



Cash in the Treasury 119,469,726 70 



Debt, less cash in the Treasury. . . . $2,099,439.344 99 

 Showing a reduction, as above stated, of. . . $29,249,381 33 



By the act of Congress of 1875 the redemp- 

 tion of greenback notes in coin is required in 

 1879. The views of the Secretary on the ade- 

 quacy of the provisions of the measure for re- 



sumption to accomplish its object are important. 

 He says : 



As a further provision deemed essential to the pur- 

 pose of resumption, it is recommended that, in ad- 

 dition to the authority of the Secretary of the Treas- 

 ury already conferred, to provide for redemption of 

 legal-tender notes on and after the day provided for 

 resumption, by the accumulation of an adequate 

 amount of gold to meet the volume of $300,000,000 

 of legal-tender notes, which will then be outstand- 

 ing, by the sale of United States bonds, authority 

 be given him from time to time, as he may deem ex- 

 pedient and the state of the finances admit, to fund 

 these notes into a bond bearing a rate of interest not 

 more than four and one-half per cent., with not less 

 than thirty years to run, with such limitations as to 

 the amount to be so funded in any given period as 

 Congress, in its discretion, rnay determine. 



A sudden accumulation of gold in amounts suffi- 

 cient to meet so large a demand as that contemplated 

 in January, 1879, is deemed impracticable ; while to 

 accumulate in advance of that time would be attended 

 with necessary loss of interest, would be likely to 

 disturb money exchange, and embarrass the funding 

 of our national securities. The present time is re- 

 garded as opportune for the gradual withdrawal of 

 these notes. It is believed they would not be greatly 

 missed from the circulating medium, as their place 

 will readily be supplied by the issue of national- bank 

 notes under this act. 



The act of January 14, 1875, entitled "An act to 

 provide for the resumption of specie payments," as 

 methods of its accomplishment, requires the redemp- 

 tion of the outstanding fractional currency in silver 

 coin ; the increase of the volume of gold coin by 

 cheapening the coinage of gold bullion ; the substi- 

 tution, as the business demands of the country may 

 require, of national-bank notes for the legal-tender 

 notes of the United States in excess of $300,000,000 ; 

 and the ultimate redemption of the entire legal-ten- 

 der notes on and after January 1, 1879, as they shall 

 be presented. 



In pursuance of these provisions the issue of sub- 

 sidiary silver coin and the redemption of fractional 

 currency are successfully progressing; $22,000,000 

 of silver change has been issued, and $13,000,000 of 

 fractional currency redeemed. The capacity of the 

 mints is believed to be equal to the coinage, in the 

 present fiscal year, of the balance of the fractional 

 currency outstanding, and they are now working at 

 their full capacity. 



The coinage of gold bullion for the past year has 

 been 1,949,468 pieces, of the value of $38,178,962.50 

 an increase of $4,624,997.50 over the operations of 

 the previous year; which is an increase compared 

 with the previous year of the amount of gold oper- 

 ated on of $14,327,686. 



Legal-tender notes have been reduced by redemp- 

 tion and the issue of national-bank notes to the 

 amount of $14,464,284, leaving the amount of legal 

 tenders $367,535,716. As the demand for national- 

 bank currency is limited, with slight probability of 

 its immediate increase, the contemplated reduction 

 of these notes in excess of $300,000,000 prior to 

 January, 1879, is not likely to be realized. It is be- 

 lieved that the larger portion of them will at that 

 time remain outstanding. It will be observed that, 

 in contemplation of the act, the Secretary is limited 

 in the issue of silver coin by t'ie sum of fractional 

 currency to be redeemed by it and a reduction of 

 the legal tenders to the amount in excess of $300,- 

 000,000. Besides this he is required to make ade- 

 quate preparation and provision for the redemption, 

 in coin, of legal-tender notes outstanding at the pre- 

 scribed period of resumption. It is apparent that 



probability of retiring 



leyal tenders in excess of the $300,000,000. It will 

 be observed that it is incumbent on the Secretary to 



