indemnity . . . . . . . . . . 260,000.00
Treasury notes, acts July 17, 1861 and
prior thereto . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163,011.64
Bonds, April 15, 1842 . . . . . . . . . . 54,061.64
Treasury notes, March 3, 1863 . . . . . . 868,240.00
Temporary loan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,880,900.55
Certificates of indebtedness . . . . . . . 31,000.00
----------------
$14,178,363.83
Debt bearing no interest.
United States notes . . . . . . . . . . . $356,212,473.00
Fractional currency . . . . . . . . . . . 30,929,984.05
Gold certificates of deposit . . . . . . . 18,401,400.00
----------------
$405,543,857.05
Total debt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
$2,639,382,572.68
Amount in treasury, coin . . . . . . . . . $100,690,645.69
Amount in treasury, currency . . . . . . . 37,486,175.24
Amount of debt less cash in treasury . . . . . . . . . . .
$2,501,205,751.75

Besides the amounts thus stated there were large balances due to
loyal states, upon accounts not then rendered or ascertained, and
to individuals for losses sustained during the war.

The ascertained debt consisted of twenty different forms of liability,
some payable in coin and some in lawful money. Much of this debt
was due on demand, but the great body of it was payable in from
one to twenty years, while the unascertained debt was being stated
from time to time and had to be met from accruing revenues. Nearly
$300,000,000 of debt had been paid out of current revenue since
the close of the war. The first recommendation of the committee
was that the debt should be refunded as rapidly as practicable into
bonds bearing as low a rate of interest as possible, payable in
twenty or thirty years, but redeemable at the pleasure of the United
States in five or ten years. This recommendation was based on the
fixed policy of the government to limit the duration of a bond
within its lifetime, and thus leave it to the option of the government
to pay its indebtedness and to reduce the rate of interest after
a brief period, if the condition of the public revenues and of the
money market should enable it to do so.

Here the question arose whether the bon