The report of the Secretary of the Treasury presents in detail a highly satisfactory exhibit of the state of the finances and the condition of the various branches of the public service administered by that Department.
The ordinary revenues from all sources for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1881, were:
| From customs | $198,159,676.02 |
| From internal revenue | 135,264,385.51 |
| From sales of public lands | 2,201,863.17 |
| From tax on circulation and deposits of national banks | 8,116,115.72 |
| From repayment of interest by Pacific Railway companies | 810,833.80 |
| From sinking fund for Pacific Railway companies | 805,180.54 |
| From customs fees, fines, penalties, etc. | 1,225,514.86 |
| From fees—consular, letters patent, and lands | 2,244,983.98 |
| From proceeds of sales of Government property | 262,174.00 |
| From profits on coinage | 3,468,485.61 |
| From revenues of the District of Columbia | 2,016,199.23 |
| From miscellaneous sources | 6,206,880.13 |
| ______________ | |
| Total ordinary receipts | 360,782,292.57 |
The ordinary expenditures for the same period were:
| For civil expenses | $17,941,177.19 |
| For foreign intercourse | 1,093,954.92 |
| For Indians | 6,514,161.09 |
| For pensions | 50,059,279.62 |
| For the military establishment, including river and harbor improvements and arsenals | 40,466,460.55 |
| For the naval establishment, including vessels, machinery, and improvements at navy-yards | 15,686,671.66 |
| For miscellaneous expenditures, including public buildings, light-houses, and collecting the revenue | 41,837,280.57 |
| For expenditures on account of the District of Columbia | 3,543,912.03 |
| For interest on the public debt | 82,508,741.18 |
| For premium on bonds purchased | 1,061,248.78 |
| ______________ | |
| Total ordinary expenditures | 260,712,887.59 |
Leaving a surplus revenue of $100,069,404.98, which was applied as follows:
| To the redemption of— | |
| Bonds for the sinking fund | $74,371,200.00 |
| Fractional currency for the sinking fund | 109,001.05 |
| Loan of February, 1861 | 7,418,000.00 |
| Ten-forties of 1864 | 2,016,150.00 |
| Five-twenties of 1862 | 18,300.00 |
| Five-twenties of 1864 | 3,400.00 |
| Five-twenties of 1865 | 37,300.00 |
| Consols of 1865 | 143,150.00 |
| Consols of 1867 | 959,150.00 |
| Consols of 1868 | 337,400.00 |
| Texan indemnity stock | 1,000.00 |
| Old demand, compound-interest, and other notes | 18,330.00 |
| And to the increase of cash in the Treasury | 14,637,023.93 |
| ______________ | |
| 100,069,404.98 |
The requirements of the sinking fund for the year amounted to $90,786,064.02, which sum included a balance of $49,817,128.78, not provided for during the previous fiscal year. The sum of $74,480,201.05 was applied to this fund, which left a deficit of $16,305,873.47. The increase of the revenues for 1881 over those of the previous year was $29,352,901.10. It is estimated that the receipts during the present fiscal year will reach $400,000,000 and the expenditures $270,000,000, leaving a surplus of $130,000,000 applicable to the sinking fund and the redemption of the public debt.
I approve the recommendation of the Secretary of the Treasury that provision be made for the early retirement of silver certificates and that the act requiring their issue be repealed. They were issued in pursuance of the policy of the Government to maintain silver at or near the gold standard, and were accordingly made receivable for all customs, taxes, and public dues. About sixty-six millions of them are now outstanding. They form an unnecessary addition to the paper currency, a sufficient amount of which may be readily supplied by the national banks.
In accordance with the act of February 28, 1878, the Treasury Department has monthly caused at least two millions in value of silver bullion to be coined into standard silver dollars. One hundred and two millions of these dollars have been already coined, while only about thirty-four millions are in circulation.