200 



CONGRESS. (PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.) 



nearly $20,000,000 of this deficiency, and about $23,- 

 000,000 of the remainder was due to the diminished 

 receipts from internal taxation. 



The Secretary estimates the total receipts for the 

 fiscal year which will end June 30, 1885, at 330,000*,- 

 000, and the total expenditures at $290,620/201. 16, in 

 which sum are included the interest on the debt, and 

 the amount payable to the sinking fund. This would 

 leave a surplus for the entire year of about $39,- 

 000,000. 



The value of exports from the United States to for- 

 eign countries during the year ending June 30, 1884, 

 was as follows : 



JJomestic merchandise $724,964.852 



Foreign merchandise 15,548,751 



Total merchandise ... $740,513,609 



gpede 67,133,383 



Total exports of merchandise and specie.. .. $807,646,992 



The cotton and cotton manufactures included in 

 this statement were valued at $208.900,415 ; the bread- 

 stuffs at $162,544,715 ; the provisions at $114,41 6,547, 

 and the mineral oils at $47,103,248. 



During the same period the imports were as fol- 

 low : 



Merchandise. . . $667,697,698 



Gold and silver 37,426,262 



Total $705,123,955 



More than 63 per cent, of the entire value of im- 

 ported merchandise consisted of the following arti- 

 cles: 



Su^arand molasses $103,854,274 



Wool and woolen manufactures 53.542,292 



Silk and its manufactures 49,949,128 



Coffee 49,686,705 



Iron and steel and manufactures thereof. 41,464,599 



Chemicals 88,464,965 



Flax, hemp, jute, and like substances, and manu- 

 factures thereof 83,463,398 



Cotton and manufactures of cotton ^ . . . . 80,464,476 



Hides and skins other than fur-skins 22,350,906 



I concur with the Secretary of the Treasury in rec- 

 ommending the immediate suspension of the coinage 

 of silver dollars, and of the issuance of silver certifi- 

 cates. This is a matter to which in former communi- 

 cations I have more than once invoked the attention 

 of the National Legislature. 



It appears that annually for the past six years there 

 have been coined, in compliance with the require- 

 ments of the act of Feb. 28, 1878, -more than twenty- 

 seven million silver dollars. The number now out- 

 standing is reported by the Secretary to be nearly one 

 hundred and eighty-five million, whereof but little 

 more than forty million, or less than 22 per cent., are 

 in actual circulation. The mere existence of this fact 

 seems to me to furnish of itself a cogent argument for 

 the repeal of the statute which has made such fact 

 possible. 



But there are other and graver considerations that 

 tend in the same direction. 



The Secretary avows his conviction that unless this 

 coinage and the issuance of silver certificates be sus- 

 pended, silver is likely at no distant day to become 

 our sole metallic standard. The commercial disturb- 

 ance and the impairment of national credit that would 

 be thus occasioned can scarcely be overestimated. 



I hope that the Secretary's suggestions respecting 

 the withdrawal from circulation of the one-dollar and 

 two-dollar notes will receive your approval. It is 

 likely that a considerable portion of the silver now 

 encumbering the vaults of the Treasury might thus 

 find its way into the currency. 



While trade-dollars have ceased, for the present at 

 least, to be an element of active disturbance in our 

 currency system, some provision should be made for 

 their surrender to the Government. In view of the 

 circumstances under which they were coined and of 

 the fact that they have never had a legal-tender qual- 



ity, there should be offered for them only a slight ad- 

 vance over their bullion value. 



The Secretary, in the course of his report, consid- 

 ers the propriety of beautifying the designs of our 

 subsidiary silver coins and of so increasing their 

 weight that they may bear their due ratio of value to 

 the standard dollar. His conclusions in this regard 

 are cordially approved. , 



In my annual message of 1882 I recommended the 

 abolition of all excise taxes except those relating to 

 distilled spirits. This recommendation is now re- 

 newed. In case these taxes shall be abolished, the 

 revenues that will still remain to the Government 

 will, in my opinion, not only suffice to meet its rea- 

 sonable expenditures, but will afford a surplus large 

 enough to permit such tariff reduction as may seem to 

 be advisable ^yhen the results of recent revenue laws 

 and commercial treaties shall have shown in what 

 quarters those reductions can be most judiciously 

 effected. 



One of the gravest of the problems which appeal to 

 the wisdom of Congress for solution is the ascertain- 

 ment of the most effective means for increasing our 

 foreign trade and thus relieving the depression under 

 which our industries are now languishing. The Sec- 

 retary of the Treasury advises that the duty of investi- 

 gating this subject be intrusted in the first instance 

 to a competent commission. While fully recognizing 

 the .considerations that may be urged against this 

 course, I am nevertheless of the opinion that, upon 

 the whole, no other would be likely to effect speedier 

 or better results. 



That portion of the Secretary's report which con- 

 cerns the condition of our shipping interests can not 

 fail to command your attention. He emphatically rec- 

 ommends that, as an incentive to the investment of 

 American capital in American steamships, the Gov- 

 ernment shall by liberal payments for mail transpor- 

 tation, or otherwise, lend its active assistance to indi- 

 vidual enterprise, and declares his belief that unless 

 that course be pursued our foreign carrying-trade 

 must remain^ as it is to-day, almost exclusively in the 

 hands of foreigners. 



One phase of this subject is now especially promi- 

 nent, in view of the repeal by the act of June 26, 1884, 

 of all statutory provisions arbitrarily compelling 

 American vessels to carry the mails to and from the 

 United States. As it is necessary to make provision 

 to compensate the owners of such vessels for perform- 

 ing that service after April, 1885, it is hoped that the 

 whole subject will receive early consideration, thai 

 will lead to the enactment of such measures for the 

 revival of our merchant marine as the wisdom of 

 Congress may devise. 



The 3 per cent, bonds of the Government to the 

 amount of more than $100,000.000 have since my last 

 annual message been redeemed by the Treasury. The 

 bonds of that issue still outstanding amount to little 

 over $200,000,000, about one fourth of which will be 

 retired through the operations of the sinking fund 

 during the coming year. As these bonds still consti- 

 tute the chief basis for the circulation of the national 

 banks, the question how to avert the contraction of 

 the currency caused by their retirement is one of con- 

 stantly increasing importance. 



It seems to be generally conceded that the law gov- 

 erning this matter exacts from the banks excessive se- 

 curity, and that upon their present bond deposits a 

 larger circulation than is now allowed may be granted 

 with safety. I hope that the bill which passed the 

 Senate at the last session permitting the issue of notes 

 equal to the face value of the deposited bonds will 

 commend itself to the approval of the House of Kepre- 

 sentatives. 



In the expenses of the War Department the Secre- 

 tary reports a decrease of more than $9,000,000. Of 

 this reduction $5,600,000 was effected in the expendi- 

 tures for rivers and harbors and $2,700,000 in ex- 

 penditures for the Quartermaster's Department. 



Outside of that department the annual expenses of 



