Trenholm, George Alfred, 1806-1876 to Thomas S. Bocock

Report of the Confederate Treasury Department to the Confederate Congress. Trenholm signs as Confederate Secretary of State. Addressed to Bocock as the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Discusses finances, debts owed by the War Department to individuals for supplies, and increasing taxes to make up the deficit. Provides a detailed accounting of appropriations and expenditures to explain why the November 1864 estimate of $114 million as the "arrear of indebtedness" was too low. Says postponing payment will create the danger of "seriously embarrassing the operations of the War Department." Worries that the burden of this debt on a few citizens is unjust and will discourage delivery of future supplies. He has looked at all alternatives, and concludes that the burden must be equally distributed among all Confederate citizens through taxation. Discusses impact of currency depreciation. Trenholm states, "The reluctance with which I recommend so great a weight of taxation, is overcome only by the momentous character of the occasion that demands it." He goes on to say, "Having an abiding confidence in the righteousness of our cause, and in the intelligence and virtue of our people, I fearlessly recommend the measures demanded for the defence of our honor, and the preservation of our rights."