Comte de Paris, History of the Civil War in America. Vol. 2.
Henry Coppee , LL.D., Ed.

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[675] ness, payable at the end of one year and bearing six per cent. interest. These certificates were convertible into any kind of loan known to the government up to the 3d of March, 1863; the demands thus liquidated necessitated the issue of certificates the interest on which was payable in gold. The amount of these certificates was not limited. But all these temporary measures were not of a character to free Mr. Chase from embarrassment; he did not succeed in disposing of the scrip issued on the last loan, and at the end of May the increase of the debt, in consequence of the currency-bill, resolved itself thus:

Paper money	$117,000,000
Certificates of deposit	51,000,000
Certificates of indebtedness	47,000,000
Five-twenties, placed	5,000,000
	————
	$220,000,000

Therefore, out of two hundred and twenty millions, only five belonged to the consolidated debt.

We have seen that, during the last days of the session, Congress had voted a new levy of troops; in order to provide for their immediate support, it passed a law, July 11, 1862, authorizing a new issue of greenbacks to the amount of one hundred and fifty millions, naturally at the depreciated value. The premium on gold, which, after having been reduced to 1.30 per cent. in the month of April, had again risen in anticipation of this measure, continued to increase in direct ratio with the growing difficulties of the Federal treasury. In June, 1862, this premium was as high as twelve per cent.; in July, twenty and twenty-five per cent.¹ The law of July 11th had authorized the issue of treasury notes of small denominations, between five dollars and one, to the amount of thirty-five millions, and the law of July 17th even allowed notes of smaller denomination than those of one dollar to be put in circulation; in order to facilitate the issue of such paper, all bank notes of this description emanating from private establishments were ordered to be suppressed; but the latter clause having been denounced as unconstitutional, it was never applied.

New taxes had to be imposed in order to pay the interest on