Portland gazette and Maine advertiser. (Portland, Me.) 1805-1818, 1816-08-06

| ton, made by Legislators TO Legislators OF The
same body, that seems TO DEFY contradiction,
| ana command silence to investigation. III II be
true. it ought TO be known by every person in
Maine; fit be false the public are deeply IN.
teresied to know it, And is there not proof
positive on ibis subjec, upon which the pub
tic NAV rest with confidence | am satisfied
there is, and will proceed to exhibit it from
documents which every man may examine Tor
himself BY a resolve Of the legislature OF
1914 Names proportion OF public expenses
was fixed at S2l6,l3 in every Slo0O,--ws
have thus proportion established to begin
with, that admits of no dispute. The next
piece OF wisdom wanted is actual expenditure
of the state in a time Of peace, when the pub
lie expenses are low but to try the assertion
in the memorial the more effectuaIly, | will
even admit the expenditure incumbered With
the interest of the war-debt into the calcula.
ton, and try the assertion in the memorial by
tnis liberal allowance. The report Of the
Treasurer of tine Commonwealth OF June s,
1916, 10 the legislature, furnisbe. the amount
OF the annual expenses OF the state, including
the interest on the zoor debt, and certain erpen-
SEES arising ont Of the ear ct S322, 1880.
Here are legal and official documents from
whi,'l toslate the case fairly, with every adj
vanage that can be given to the memorial.
THE case stased from these docu.
mfnis.
As $1,000 the whole 7aportionable sum given
by law is 10 1922, $500 the whole amount
OF annual expenditare-,so is s2l6.i3, Names
part OF the apportoaabe sum given by law,
TO Names annual expenses. Aud will these
expenses amount to 100000 as stated in the
memorial No, not by more han thirty
dollars. The amount of Names an-
nua' expenditure, under the war incumbrance
tried from the above facts aud the unerring
rule of proportion, is S69,623,o3. What
then can the public say to The assertion in the
memorial II seems 10 certain degree to
sanction all the unlimited assertions that have
been made in pamphlet entitled" An appeal
to the People OF Maine on the question OF
from beginning 10 end, in the deductions Of
Names proportion of revenue and expendi-
ture, that lave been able to find. Men of
10 knowledge OF The particular mode in which
the books of the treasury Of the common.
wealth are kept, are not TO be trusted to f,se
the gross amounts which may the = arpsar an9
Convert them 10 standard Of in.arinaiion .sf
the public No one, but the Treasurer, or
his clerk, without great pains to investigate
and understood the details, can give the true
amount OF the actual expenditures OF the
state This is clear from all the state.
ments that have been given by thu. separation
writer's compared with the repor OF the reas-
urer. The talscy ofhusting to such source
Of information may be illustrated in The fol.
lowing manner suppose The members OF tie
legislature are TO be paid of, the revenues Of
The state not having been collected sufficient
Tor that parpose The Treasurer bo,rows
$50 900 at the Union Bank, and afterwards
repays the bank Oh. OF the revenues OF the
state when collected now this sum, is neces-
'arily brought into account four times, either
by itself or in connection with other sums>~
irst when borrowed, again " hen paid to the
members of the Legislature, third time (ifnot
done at another time for the sake OF conve-
nence and sysiem) when received from the
revenues Of the state, and again when repaid
to the bank. The mode in which the treasu-
~ books exhibit these entries is immaterial ,
The course Of the business shews the fallacy Of
trusting TO gross amounts as rule by which
TO ascertain annual expenditure. But, as /
before said, the Treasurer alone Cor his clerk)
has The knowledge necessary to prove the fact
and his report before alluded to has done it.
Il il gives the lie directly, to every assertion
made on this subject, by every separaionst in.
Maine, it is not the fault Of the Treasrer.
B.