The tories having, from the beginning of the contest, little confidence in continental money, the principal loss fell on the friends of independence. " The generous patriotic spirits," says an eye wit ness, " suffered the injury: the avaricious and idle derived benefit from the confusion." " We have suffered more from this," says the same eye witness, " than from every other cause of calamity: it has killed more men, pervaded and corrupted the choicest interests of our country more, and done more injustice than even the arms and artifices of our enemies." The first recommendation of congress to the states, to raise money by a tax, appears to have been made on the 1•1th of January 1777: but this was•in so indefinite a manner, without any sums be ing mentioned, or quota specified, that it had little or no effect. On the `.2,2d of November in the same year, congress recommended to the states to raise five million dollars in the course of the year 1778, and to pay the same is quarterly instalments. In — _ this recommendation, the.quota of each state was specified, and in consequence thereof, some small sums were raised and paid by some of the states within the year 1778: others made some remittances, long afterwards, when continental money was as 20 to I: but great part of the sum was never paid at all.
At different times in 1779, calls were made on the states for 60 millions to be paid in that year: and 135 millions to be paid in 1780, and six millions annually for 18 years, to commence with 1780, as a fund for sinking loans, and emissions, and paying interest. The dependence was still on continental money, and the system of taxation was merely to support the credit of the paper, by reducing the quantity in circulation. None of these requisitions had the effect intended: nor was it till after conti nental money had ceased to circulate, 'that the states would, to any extent, draw directly on the real resources of the country. When it was found im possible to depend any longer on paper issues, " very strong exertions were made to obtain money from the states, by a tax levied on polls and estates in the old and usual way, and such conviction of the necessity of public supplies generally took place, that considerable sums were obtained in this way." The loans which were negotiated in Europe, were of essential service. The following is an account of those negotiated in France, omitting fractions of dollars, and reckoning five livres eight sols to the dollar.
Besides a loan to the amount of 1,851,851 dollars, negotiated in Holland in 1781: some other loans from Holland: and a small loan from Spain.
Some assistance was derived from the Bank of North America. This institution went into opera tion on the 7th of January 1782, on a capital of 250,000 dollars in specie, supplied by government, and 70,000 subscribed by individuals. The accounts of the government and the bank, from that time to the end of the war, stood as follows, agreeably to a statement made by Mr. Morris, in the Pennsyl vania legislature, in 1785.
The third column shows the amount advanced by the bank, beyond what was paid in by the government. For part of what was advanced, the state of Pennsylvania appears to have been security.
It is not possible to ascertain with certainty the expenses of the revolutionary war. The following is an abstract of an estimate made in 1790, by the Register or the Treasury, and furnished to a com mittee of congress.
In this estimate the issues of paper for each year are valued at the average rate of the exchange for hard money in that year.
It is exclusive of certain debts of the United States, which were incurred at various periods for the support of the war, and which, the Register of the Treasury said, should be taken into a general view of the expense thereof, viz.
Army debt,upon commissioners' cer tificates, For supplies furnished by the citizens of the several states, and for which certificates were issued by the com missioners.
For supplies furnished in the quar ter-master, commissary, hospital, clothing, and marine departments, exclusive of the foraging, For supplies, on accounts settled at the treasury, and for which cer tificates were issued by the regis ter, The foreign expenditures, civil, military, naval, and contingencies, amount, by computation, to the sum of The expenditures of the several states, from the commencement of the war to the establishment of peace, cannot be stated with any degree of certainty. But the United States have granted certain sums for the relief of the several states, to be funded by the general gov ernment, therefore, estimate the amount of said assumption, Estimated expense of thewar, specie, In April 1783, the debt of the United States (exclusive of the state debts) was estimated at S42,000,375, and the annual interest at S2,415,916. As the war had been brought to a close, it became necessary for congress to provide permanent funds for paying the interest. It had been foreseen by many, as Mr. l'itkin remarks, that this could not be done, unless congress had the power to regulate the commerce of the country, or at least, were vested with a power to levy duties on imports. By the articles of confederation, this power was not dele gated to them, but remained in the respective states, which had the right of laying and collecting such duties on imports as they judged proper for their own benefit. Congress could only recom mend to the states the propriety and necessity of delegating to them this power for the benefit of all. Accordingly, as early as the 3d day of July 1781, they had passed a resolution, recommending it to the several states, "as indispensably necessary, that they vest a power in congress, to levy, for the use of the United States, a duty of Jive per cent ad va lorem, upon all goods, wares, and merchandize of foreign growth and manufacture, which may he imported° into any of the said states, from any foreign port, island, or plantation, after the first of May 1781," with the exception of certain articles. They also resolved, at the same time, "that the moneys arising from the said duties, be appropri ated to the discharge of the principal and interest of the debts already contracted, or which may be contracted, on the faith of the United States, for supporting the war, and that the said duties be continued until the said debts be fully and finally discharged." The journals of the old congress show, that this resolution, in the opinion of some members of that body, was not sufficiently extensive. A substitute was, therefore, proposed, couched in more general terms, declaring it to be " indispen sably necessary, that the United States in congress assembled, should be vested with a right of super intending the commercial regulations of every state, that none may take place, which may be partial or contrary to the common interest; and that they should be vested with the exclusive right of levying duties upon all imported articles." This substi tute was negatived, and the resolution which passed, was not accepted by the states.