Lot 1012
Wolcott, Oliver, Jr (1760-1833) Secretary of the U.S. Treasury (1795-1800); he succeeded Alexander Hamilton and furthered Hamilton's economic agenda. Manuscript Document Signed ("Oliv: Wolcott") as Secretary of the Treasury, 4½pp (recto/verso) with integral leaf, 16" x 10", 1798 Nov. 16. Fine except for paper loss in fold below Wolcott's signature, affecting only part of the date. Written in a clerical hand, the document is headed: "The Secretary of the Treasury in pursuance of the request contained in the Letter from the Secretary of War dated the 14th…submits the following view of the Finances of the United States."
This manuscript, evidently prepared for Secretary of War James McHenry, reviews in detail the revenue and the expenditures of the federal government. Revenue, estimated at $8,011,897.84, was obtained from duties on imports and tonnage, domestic distilled spirits, stills, licenses for the retail sale of foreign spirits and wines, refined sugar, and carriages, as well as stamp duties, "which began to be collected on the 1st of July 1798," revenue from the post office, "Dividends on Capital Stock of the Bank of the United States," etc.
Expenditures expected to be incurred include "Mint Establishment…Treaties with Barbary Power…Indian Expences," as well as expenses for Congress, diplomatic expenses, military pensions, lighthouses (not including money for erecting new ones), and appropriations for the foreign debt in 1799; miscellaneous expenses include "charges for the protection of American seamen." reflecting the undeclared war (Quasi-War) which was fought entirely on the sea between the United States and France from 1798 to 1800.
The manuscript explains, that the numbers given are based on finances from previous years and refer to permanent revenue and permanent expenditures "independent of the military and naval establishment," and that to "possess a full view of othe resources of the Treasury, the following provisions made by Acts passed during the last session of Congress ought however to be considered," namely, the direct tax passed in July 1798 (the first federal property tax in the U.S.) and the authorization of a permanent loan of $5 million passed the same month. Wolcott states that further monies could be available by seeking an additional loan against the tax, but not at as favorable a rate, due to the "high value of money at the present time." Probably referring to Jay's Treaty, he adds, "But from the Direct Tax and from Loans there ought to be opposed certain expenditures which will be required to fulfill the stipulations of the Treaty with Great Britain.…" Wolcott concludes by referring McHenry to a May 1, 1798 report presented to the Ways and Means Committ of the House. The importance of public credit to the U.S. economic agenda is reflected in this document, which is incredibly brief by today's standards.
Estimated Value $10,000 - 15,000.
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