very much to his pain and sorrow, among the young members who had enlisted for the war he had a son!

Another member desired to be excused on the ground that, without his knowledge, two of his sons had not only joined the army, but were already in the field.

Finally, the third member rose, and stood some moments without speaking. He was a venerable man: he looked like the patriarch of the solemn assembly. His hair was white, but his cheek looked "like a rose in the snow." "Friends, we in our weakness cannot foresee the purposes of the great Father of all things; nor should we attempt to scrutinize his almighty designs. It becomes my duty to inform you all that my youngest son, two of my grandsons, and several of my nephews, have also taken up arms in the defence of our beloved country; and I am very much afraid that I could not serve on the committee with any good to our cause."

A reverent silence brooded over the assembly, and for a protracted interval the silence remained unbroken. At last the " mover of the motion" rose, and proposed that "the whole matter should be temporarily postponed."

A very large number of the brave young men of the Society of Friends (Orthodox) have gone to the field, and they have fought with a heroism, and a faith in the endurance of the republic, worthy of the loyalty of their Society to the great principles of humanity and religion. I can make no estimate of their numerical force.

But by far the larger number of the Society of Friends who have joined our army belong to what is popularly known "Hicksites." They embraced the great cause

as

start.

on the From Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Indiana, and other States, it is quite probable that not less than five thousand Quakers have enlisted and fought in our armies. Call them "Orthodox" or "Hicksites," it matters little to us: so long as our fellow-citizens are ready to fight and die for the country, they are our best-beloved brothers.

XXXVIII.

The Nation Taxes itself to Redeem its Pledges and Sustain its Honor.

NEVER, perhaps, was such a sight witnessed as was seen when the Congress of the United States last year enacted the Tax Bill. All direct taxes are odious. Men do not like to have the tax-gatherer come round and unceremoniously thrust his hand into the pockets of his neighbors.

Sir Robert Peel said,

"We have taxed the dependent classes into extreme poverty. Now, to raise money to relieve the Exchequer, we must reverse the order of our financial policy, and tax the rich! Tax incomes. People who have revenue can pay. Remove the duties on bread, and I will take care of the rest. The corn-laws must be abolished. Cobden is right."

On this system our tax was laid for internal revenue.

We saw and knew that great and unforeseen emergencies were impending. A country was to be saved,-not lost. We let our representatives in Congress know that we were all in earnest,―that we must have all the money we needed-no matter how large the sum-to defend from sacrilege the old shrines where we had always worshipped. So Congress had to pass a bill to tax all our people to pay the interest on any amount money we might borrow from each other to carry on the war. Not a decent member of Congress dared to go home and confront his constituents until he had voted for one of the extremest and most intolerable measures of taxation ever heard of on the earth!

of

But this was the act of the people. They meant all they said.

"The Union! It must and shall be preserved." "We will foot the bill." It was the grandest mortgage-deed in history!

"We will pay"-whom? Each other. "My lands and tenements, my household goods,-whatever I have or may have-come, take all; and, if this fail, come and take me, and I leave my all for my share, and go with the flag."

Here was a basis for making a national debt much greater than the debt of England, and due and timely provision made, not only for the payment of its interest, but with the dead certainty of leaving a balance every year, by which the sinking fund should absorb the principal at an early period.

Who ever heard before that the people of a nation asked to be taxed? Who ever before heard that a nation commanded its representatives to tax them? Was it pianos, silver plate, billiard-tables, alone! No! the people came rushing up to the financial altar, eager to pay their quota to sustain a common government erected for the common good, and sustained by the universal will.

This income tax went into operation. It touched every house and home and heart in the country. It spoke its own language.

It said, "I come for money to carry on the war."

We gave; and we will give, till the last shot has left the locker.

In this great crisis, a good man was wanted to put this law into execution. That man was found.

He

Mr. Chase chose Governor Boutwell, of Massachusetts. He accepted the post. It was a hard and a thankless task to fulfil his mission. But he went at it with the firm resolution and the crystal head with which such men always undertake public duties. He entered on chaos; he evolved light. saw confusion; he brought out order. He had a difficult task. For the second time in the United States, a direct tax had to be laid on the income and the real and personal property of our people to sustain the national Government.

Every thing now depended on the way of carrying this statute out.

Governor Boutwell took the work in hand as a matter of business; and he went through his course of duty so well, that few or no men had occasion to complain against him, although he had to make over one hundred decisions, to determine the meaning and application of the Internal Revenue Law. This is extraordinary; for such a case never had existed, and perhaps never will again.

The excise law was passed July 1, 1862, and the country had two months' notice of the time when it would take effect. During these two months, the factories, distilleries, and breweries were in operation constantly. When the 1st of September came, the productions not only fell off, but many establishments were shut, and in others the business was materially diminished. The excessive production of July and August filled the warehouses, consumed the raw material, especially cotton, and left the country without the means or the inducement to continue business upon an extended scale. Consequently, the revenue was for a while moderate, inasmuch as the people had been consuming the stock of free goods. Almost the entire product of whiskey and tobacco for the months previous to February was exported.

The receipts are now about $1,300,000 per week, and increasing each month.

One of the most gratifying facts in the whole matter is the readiness of the people to meet the unusual demands made upon them by the provisions of the excise law; and in none of the States are taxes more readily paid than in Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri.

Should the war be closed during the present year, our wardebt will be less than $1,500,000,000, the interest on which, when funded, will be about $80,000,000, while the revenue from the excise law alone will reach one hundred and fifty millions, for the year 1863-64.

The law was put into operation on the 1st of September last; but there were many delays, and many circumstances calculated to keep the income at a point below the probable average in future. The stamp law was not understood; we were not able to obtain the engravings until December; and the supply of stamps was not adequate till the first of the year. The use of stamps is, in fact, optional with the people, and continues so till the first of this month,-June, 1863. The first arrival in California was since the 15th of February; and the entire receipts for stamps from the country west of the Mississippi River do not amount to one hundred thousand dollars. The receipts from stamps previous to March 1, from the whole country, were $3,603,934 85, and the total revenue to that date is $20,598,336 62.

With the return of peace in the South, our revenue would exceed $225,000,000. Should a tax be levied upon cotton of two to four cents per pound, the income could be increased $20,000,000 at least over the largest sum named. If the war is carried over into the year 1864, our chief additional resource for a time will be to levy a tax upon cotton, without drawback upon exports. This will be a necessary burden upon our manufacturers and upon the manufacturers of Europe. Had England and France disclaimed any sympathy with the rebels, the rebellion would have been suppressed long ago. Were England and France to disavow all sympathy with the Confederacy, and compel their subjects to observe an honest neutrality, the days of the rebellion would soon be numbered. If, however, the rebellion is encouraged, England and France will share the loss and suffering.

Thus manfully and in straightforward style did the American people show the earnestness with which they entered into the serious business of taking care of their country.

They pledged their lives in the field, their fortunes at home, and, above all, their sacred honor.

That debt of gratitude will be paid.