REPORT ON THE FINANCES.

DECEMBER, 1802.

In obedience to the directions of the act, supplementary to the act, entled "An act to establish the Treasury Department," the Secretary of the Treasury respectfully submits the following report.

The permanent revenues of the United States, exclusively of fees, fines and penalties, which, in a general view of the subject may be omitted, consist of duties on merchandise and tonnage, proceeds of the sales of public lands, and duties on postage.

The duties on postage, which were, in the annual report of last year, estimated at 50,000 dollars, have, during the year, ending on the 30th day of September last, yielded 50,500 dollars. The decrease of ship letters, the extension of the establishment through unproductive roads, and the acceleration of the progress of the mail, may, however, cause some defalcation in the receipts of the ensuing year.

Three hundred and twenty-six thousand and fifty-two dollars and eight cents have been received, during the same year, on account of public lands; of which sum, 17,162 dollars and 50 cents were paid in the Treasury, in evidences of the public debt, and 179,575 dollars and 52 cents in specie; the local situation of the Land Offices, not having yet rendered it practicable to draw the balance from the Receivers of Public Moneys.

Three hundred and forty thousand acres of land have been sold for six hundred and eighty thousand dollars, during the year ending on the 31st day of October last; of which quantity near ninety-seven thousand acres were sold on account of pre-emptions claimed by purchasers under John Cleve Symmes, and two hundred and forty-three thousand acres are the result of current sales. The annexed statement (A,) designates the quantities respectively sold in the several districts, and the annual payments receivable on account of the balance of nine hundred and sixty thousand dollars due on hese and the preceding sales.

From those several results it appears probable that the annual receipts under this head will not, on an average, fall short of the sum of four hundred thousand dollars, at which they have been estimated.

Although it had been anticipated that the receipts in the Treasury on account of duties on merchandise and tonnage, could not, for the present year, be affected by the restoration of peace in Europe; yet the sum actually paid has exceeded the most sanguine expectations. Twelve millions two hundred and eighty thousand dollars have been received during the course of the year ending on the 30th day of September last; a sum larger by two millions of dollars than the amount received for the same duties during the preceding, or any other year; and which exceeds by twelve hundred thousand dollars, the aggregate heretofore collected in any one year, on account of both the impost and the internal duties, repealed by an act of last session.

This excess, which had not been calculated upon, is considered, alone, as amply sufficient to cover any possible defalcation which might, during the next and ensuing year, reduce that branch of the revenue below last year's estimate, of nine millions five hundred thousand dollars. Such defalcation is not, however, apprehended; for, although there are not yet sufficient data precisely to ascertain the effect of peace, on the amount of duties; those which are in the possession of this Department tend to corroborate the presumption. that that sum at least, (nine millions and a half,) will hereafter be annually received. The statement (B,) which exhibits a comparative view of that revenue for each quarter, during the last two years, shows that the amount of duties accrued during the nine first months of the present year, exceeds eleven millions three hundred thousand dollars; and, after deducting three millions five hundred thousand dollars, amount of debentures issued during the same period on account of re-exportations of foreign goods, leaves for those three quarters, a balance of more than seven millions eight hundred thousand dollars, subject to no other deduction but the expenses of collection; and from the knowledge already obtained of the importations, during the present quarter, as well as from the gradual diminution of re-exportations, no doubt remains that the nett revenue, accruing during the whole year, will

exceed the estimate.

From present appearances the whole of the permanent revenues of the United States may, therefore, be reasonably computed at ten millions of dollars; of which sum, seven millions three hundred thousand dollars are appropriated for the payment of the principal and interest of the public debt, and two millions seven hundred thousand dollars are applicable to the current expenses of government.

According to the estimates for the year 1803, those expenses will, exclusively of a sum of one hundred and eighty thousand dollars, wanted to cover the Navy deficiencies of the years 1801 and 1802, but including sundry permanent appropriations which make no part of the annual estimates, amount to two millions six hundred and sixty thousand dollars: to witFor the Civil Department, and all domestic expenses of a civil

nature

$680,000

250,000 830,000

900,000 $2,660,000

Neither the payments due on account of the convention with Great Britain, and which will, for three years, amount annually to eight hundred and eighty-eight thousand dollars, nor the instalments and interest on account of the 200,000 dollars loan obtained from the State of Maryland, for the City of Washington, are included in that calculation, as they may be defrayed out of the following resources, which make no part of the permanent revenues, viz:

1st. The surplus of specie in the Treasury, which, as the whole amount there will not at the close of the present year fall much short of five millions of dollars, far exceeds the sum which it is prudent to keep.

2dly. The uncollected arrears of the direct tax, estimated at four hundred thousand dollars. And,

For expenses attending the intercourse with foreign nations, including prize causes and Barbary powers

For the Military and Indian Departments

For the Naval establishment, calculated on a supposition that six frigates shall be kept in constant employment

sly. The outstanding uncollected internal duties, amounting to near seven bendred thousand dollars.

The only embarrassment experienced during the course of last year, arose from the difficulty of procuring the remittances necessary to meet the large ir stalments of the debt due in Holland. The impossibility of obtaining bills on that country, to the amount wanted by government, and the loss which, on account of the rate of exchange, must be incurred by remitting circuitously through England, induced the Secretary of the Treasury to recommend, in a report to the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund, (marked C,) a recourse to bank stock, as the most favorable mode of remitting.

•

Of the five thousand shares in the stock of the Bank of the United States, originally subscribed by the United States, 2,780 shares had been sold in 1796, by virtue of the act, entituled "An act making provision for the payment of certain debts of the United States," and for the purpose of discharging a part of the debt due to the bank. The remaining 2,220 shares were now, under the same authority, sold at 45 per cent. advance. The 1,287,600 dollars which they produced, were, in conformity to the provisions of the said act, applied towards discharging an equal amount of that part of the debt which had become due to the bank before or during the year 1796; and the purchaser of the stock sold, at the same time, to the Treasury, an equal sum in bills on Holland, at 41 cents per guilder, the securing of which large amount, at that rate, was the inducement, on the part of government, to dispose of the bank stock on those terms. As the dividend usually received on the bank stock sold, and the annual interest payable on the debt due to the bank, thus extinguished, were nearly equal, the July half yearly dividend on the stock was, in fact, the premium paid for the purpose of effecting the remittance; and government has thereby been enabled to obtain, without raising the price of exchange, the whole amount wanted to meet the payments due in Holland, till the month of September, 1803.

Exclusively of, and in addition to, the debt of 1,287,600 dollars thus paid to the bank out of the proceeds of the sales of bank shares, a sum of eight millions three hundred and thirty-four thousand seven hundred and fifty-seven dollars and eighty-nine cents, has been paid out of the Treasury during the year, ending on the 30th day of September last, on account of the principal and interest of the public debt; and the payments in part of the principal of the debt made during the same period, have been as followeth:

1st. The payments on account of the principal and interest

of the domestic debt, have been

From which deducting one year's interest on the same

Leaves a sum, applied to the reimbursement of the principal of the 6 per cent. and deferred stocks, of

2d. Paid to foreign officers, and for the registered debt
3d. Principal of domestic loans (exclusively of the 1,287,600

dollars paid out of the proceeds of bank shares) 4th. Evidences of public debt paid for lands 5th. The payments on account of the principal and interest of the foreign debt, have been

From which sum deducting one year's interest and charges, equal to

- 3,310,874 32

462,731 00

$4,628,105 39 3,470,259 75

1,157,845 64 9,603 18

202,400 00 17,162 50

Amounting altogether to four millions one hundred and fifty-two thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine dollars and sixty-six cents. And if to that sum shall be added the

paid on account of the principal of the debt due to the bank, out of the proceeds of the sale of the bank shares, the total amount of debt extinguished during that year, will be found to exceed five millions four hundred and forty thousand dollars

545,015 98

5,440,469 66

The balance of specie in the Treasury, which on the first day of October, 1801, amounted to 2,948,718 dollars, and 73 cents; had encreased on the first October, 1802, to the sum of 4,539,675 dollars, and 57 cents; making a difference in favor of the Treasury, of 1,590,956 dollars, and 84 cents, which last sum added to the above-mentioned payment of 4,152,869 dollars and 66 cents-made out of the Treasury, on account of the principal of the public debt; makes an actual difference in favor of the United States, of more than five millions seven hundred and forty thousand dollars, during that year.

The payments on account of the principal of the public debt, from the 1st day of April, 1801, to the 30th day of September, 1802, (exclusively of, and in addition to the bank debt, discharged out of the proceeds of bank shares,) amounts to, - $5,339,886 44

Viz:

On account of the domestic debt
On account of the foreign debt,
And in repayment of temporary loans,

$1,334,942 81
3,302 543 63
702,400 00

And if to that sum shall be added the increase of specie in the Treasury during the same period, which, (as the amount on the 1st April, 1801, did not exceed 1,794,044 dollars and 85 cents,) amounts to

The difference in favor of the United States, for those eighteen months, will be found equal to eight millions, eighty-five thousand and five hundred and seventeen dollars and sixteen cents.

2,765,858 34

4,152,869 66

1,287,600 00

$5,339,886 44

2,745,630 72

$8,085,517 16

Of the annual appropriation of 7,300,000 dollars, for the principal and interest of the public debt, near three millions nine hundred thousand dollars will be wanted to pay the interest which falls due in the year 1803, and the