Excluding the sinking-fund, the estimated expenditures will be $294,850,793.43, showing a surplus of $105,149,206.57.

The foregoing estimates of expenditures for the fiscal year 1883 are $56,069,257.60 in excess of those submitted last year, as follows:

The estimates of this Department are submitted as made up by the officers in charge of the public duties to which they respectively pertain, and while exceeding those of last year by the sum of $1,699,332.69, they are in excess of the appropriations made for the Department at the last session of Congress only to the extent of $608.55.

PUBLIC MONEYS.

The monetary transactions of the Government have been conducted through the offices of the United States Treasurer, nine assistant treasurers, one depositary, and one hundred and thirty-two nationalbank depositaries.

The receipts of the Government, amounting during the fiscal year, as shown by warrants, to $474,532,826.57, were deposited as follows: In independent-treasury offices.. In national-bank depositaries.

$343, 800, 718 83 130, 732, 107 74

The quarterly examinations of independent-treasury offices required by law have been duly made, and in addition thereto the offices have been subjected to special examinations by officers of this Department. As far as known there have been no losses to the Government by public officers engaged either in the receipt, safe-keeping, or disburse ment of the public moneys.

By act of Congress, approved March 3, 1857, public disbursing officers were required to place all funds intrusted to them for disbursement, on deposit with a public depositary, and to draw for them only in favor of the persons to whom payment was to be made. The provisions of this law remained unchanged until the act of June 14, 1866, reproduced as section 3620, Revised Statutes, was passed, removing the restrictions as to the method of drawing checks. By an act approved February 27, 1877, that section was so amended as to reenact the provisions of the act of March 3, 1857, concerning disbursing officers' checks, which the Departinent had found impracticable to enforce. The attention of Congress has been called to this matter in the annual reports of the Secretary for years 1857, 1858, and 1878, fully explaining the impracticability of enforcing the law according to the letter as it now stands, and it is recommended that it be so amended that payment may be made and checks drawn under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury.

NATIONAL BANKS.

The report of the Comptroller of the Currency contains full information in reference to the affairs of the national banks. It shows that on October 1 of the present year there were a greater number of banks in operation than at any previous time, the number being 2,132. Their returns show that they had on that day an aggregate capital of $463,821,985; surplus, $128,140,617; individual deposits, $1,070,997,531; loans, $1,169,022,303; and specie, $114,334,736. The aggregate circulation, $360,344,250, as well as the amount of loans and individual deposits, was much larger than at any time since the organization of the system.

The corporate existence of 396 banks will expire previously to February 25, 1883. The Comptroller recommends that an act be passed authorizing any national bank, at any time within two years prior to the

expiration of its corporate existence, to extend its period of succession by amending its articles of association by the votes of shareholders owning two-thirds of the capital of the association, if such association, upon an examination of its affairs, shall be found to be in a satisfactory condition. The law provides that the Comptroller shall issue his certificate authorizing any banking association to commence business, if it shall conform in all respects to the legal requirements. The banks may, therefore, under the present law, continue their existence, and, in the absence of prohibitory legislation, many of them undoubtedly will, on the expiration of their corporate existence, organize new associations, and obtain from the Comptroller authority to continue business. The passage, however, of an act directly authorizing an extension of the corporate existence of the banks, would in many instances save much labor, and avoid the distribution of the present large surplus fund among the shareholders, which would result from liquidation. The passage of a bill authorizing such a renewal of their charters is recommended.

The Comptroller gives official information in tabulated form of the proportion of coin, paper money, and checks used by the national banks, in their business, in each State and principal city. Returns have been obtained from the banks showing their total receipts upon two different dates. The total receipts of 1,966 banks on June 30, last, were $284,714,016, and of 2,132 banks on September 17, $295,233,779. Upon this latter date the receipts were composed of $4,078,044 in gold coin, $500,302 in silver coin, and $13,026,571 in paper money, the remainder, amounting to $277,628,862, being in checks and drafts, including $6,593,337 of clearing-house certificates. The proportion of papermoney and coin was 5.9 per cent., and of checks and drafts 94.1 per cent. The receipts of 48 banks in the city of New York were $165,000,000, and the total percentage of coin and paper money was 1.2 per cent. only, and of checks and drafts 98.8 per cent. The receipts of 237 banks in sixteen reserve cities, including New York, were $243,115,594, and the proportion of checks and drafts was 96.7 per cent. The banks elsewhere reported receipts amounting to $52,118,185, in which the proportion of checks and drafts was 81.7 per cent. These returns show how small an amount of money actually enters into large transactions, and how much its use has been superseded by the machinery of banking, with its modern system of checks, bills of exchange, and clearing-houses.

Full statistics are given in regard to the taxation of the banks, from which it seems that the amount of taxes paid, both by the National

and State banks, to the Federal Government during the last year, has been greater than in any previous year, the total amount collected being $8,493,552 from the former, and $3,762,208 from the latter. The taxes collected by the States have also increased, and the amounts assessed are alleged to be disproportioned to the amount collected upon other moneyed capital. In another part of this report suggestion is made as to a reduction of the taxes upon these institutions. United States five and six per cent. bonds, amounting to $245,601,050, held by the national banks, have been extended with interest at 34 per cent., and it is estimated that the net interest at the current market value, upon all the bonds held by them, does not exceed that rate.

RESERVE.

Previously to the resumption of specie-payments, a reserve was accumulated in the Treasury by the sale of $95,500,000 of bonds, and by the retention of an additional amount of about $40,000,000 from surplus revenues. The policy pursued by this Department, as repeatedly announced to Congress, has been to retain as reserve for the redemption of United States notes, about 40 per cent. of the notes outstanding, and in addition thereto to have sufficient money in the Treasury to meet all other demand obligations outstanding. This policy has been adhered to as rigidly as practicable. The reserve has never fallen below 36 per cent., nor been above 45 per cent. of outstanding notes. The silver certificates issued are payable only in silver coin, and the gold received for these certificates is now available for resumption purposes. There is now in the Treasurer's cash about $25,000,000 of fractional silver coin having only a limited legal-tender value, and not available for resumption purposes. The remainder of this reserve consists chiefly of gold coin. It is generally conceded that, for safe banking, a reserve of 40 per cent. to meet current obligations is necessary. The Government, by the issue of its notes, payable on demand, and its obligation to meet them when presented, is in a position analogous to that of banking, and should therefore act upon principles found to be sound and safe in that business.

SILVER CERTIFICATES.

The Department has issued silver certificates at the several subtreasury offices, upon a deposit of gold coin in like amount with the assistant treasurer at New York, and through this means certificates have been issued for nearly all the silver held by the Treasury. These certificates amount to about $66,000,000, and are now outstanding.

The total

About $34,000,000 of silver dollars are now in circulation. result of this silver coinage is to increase the currency of the country to the extent of about $100,000,000, and to require the Treasurer of the United States to hold the silver coin in which the certificates are payable. On November 1, 1881, the Department held in its cash about $7,000,000 of the certificates, and about $250,000 of the coin for which certificates had not been issued.

The act of February 28, 1878, requiring the issue of silver certificates upon the deposit of standard silver dollars was a part of the policy of the Government to maintain the standard of the silver dollar at or near the value of the standard gold dollar. The same act provided that such certificates should be receivable "for customs, taxes, and all public dues."

The liberal purchase of bullion and coinage of silver dollars by this Government, and the receipt of them by it for public dues, has failed to raise the price of silver bullion to any great extent in the markets of the world.

As is said elsewhere herein, the circulation of some sixty-six millions of silver certificates seems an inexpedient addition to the paper currency. They are made a legal-tender for the purposes named, yet have for their basis about eighty-eight per cent. only of their nominal value. There is no promise from the Government to make good the difference between their actual and nominal value.

There need be no apprehension of a too limited paper circulation. The national banks are ready to issue their notes in such quantity as the laws of trade demand, and as security therefor the Government will hold an equivalent in its own bonds.

The embarrassments which are certain to follow from the endeavor to maintain several standards of value, in the form of paper currency, are too obvious to need discussion.

It is recommended, therefore, that measures be taken for a repeal of the act requiring the issue of such certificates, and the early retirement of them from circulation.

GOLD CERTIFICATES.

Immediately preceding resumption, the issue of certificates upon deposits of gold was discontinued. It was feared that parties might present legal-tender notes based upon a 40 per cent. reserve, obtain the gold therefor, and immediately deposit it for the certificates for which, by law, the Department was required to hold 100 per cent. Though often requested, the Department has ever since refused to