Edwardsville spectator. [volume] (Edwardsville, Ill.) 1819-1826, 1821-06-05

could be made with propriety, yet they
discovered, on all occasions, a firm at
tachment to the useful and necessary
establishments of the country. The
same, fear, cannot with truth be said
of the majority of the House of Repre-
sentatives. They evidently acted under
panic, arising from the supposed state
of the Treasury. The members of ex
perience and talents in the House hac
not their Just and usual influence ant
the management of the business of The
House fell principally into the hands o
those but little distinguished for talent;
or standing with the nation. An unfor
tunate formation of the important com
mttees doubtless contributed to this unf
usual state of the House, but there were
other and important causes which CO.
operated with it, but which it is not ie-
cessary to trace. The greater pat oil
The majority were governed only by the
wish to make necessary retrenchnrnts ;
but the few who were really hostile to
our military and naval establishments, as
fixed al the termination of the late war,
or who were actuated mainly by Doliti-
cal considerations, as affecting hem
selves or their friends, acquired fran the
times an influence beyond thei Just
standing. Retrenchment, with them,
was the rallying word, and whatever was
was considered as saUed. | ain very far
from being opposed to system of just
retrenchments. The unusual depres-
sion of prices, and the consequent en-
barrassment of very large portion OF
the community made it the imperious
duty of Congress to avoid all useless ex-
pense. But | cannot forget that, in its
proper sense retrenchment can only ap-
ply to the Topping off of imhroher or nse-
less expenditures. To abolish or G.sor-
ganize establishments necessary for the
defence and security of the nation, and
which have been reared with great ex-
pense and labor, ought to be distinguish
ed by very different eplthet. Similar
conduct in private life would invariably
be called folly. Under an erroneous no.
ton of retrenchment, a majority OF the
House, to save the expense OF few
officers, woald have disorganized the
army, had not the Senate arrested their
bill; and it is remarkable with what
perinacity many OF the members of the
House adhered to their bill, with all oil
Its inDertections, against the amendment
Of tho & yybirh rave IN the armV
an excellent organization, though the
difference of expense was reduced to a
few thousand dollars. The same spirit
manifested itself in the House on the
military appropriations. The appropri-
atoms for Notifications u ere reduced
from eight hundred thousd nd dollars, at
which they had been previs usly fixed, TO
two hundred and two tho, sand dollars,
in addition to the balance of the appro-
priation of the preceding Fear; and the
important work on Dauphhe Island, OPP
posite to Mobile Point, W fch is so ne
cessary for the defence, ndt only Of that
Bay, hu, Pensacola and New Orleans,
was left without an appropriation and ii
was with great difficulty that a very
small and inadequate one could be had
for Mobile Point, for which the bill, as
reported by the committee OF ways and
means, made no provision. Tae amount
of the appropriation for the works at Old
Point Comfort and the Rip Raps, and
that at the Rigolets, were also made
qnate. At none of these works viii! the
appropriation enable the government to
meet its engagements with individuals
employed in their erection, and the faith
of the nation will consequently be liable
to be violated, and the arrangements for
carrying on the works destroyed. The
confidence in the public faith will thus
be weakened, which will be felt, to the
loss of the government, in future con-
tracts. All of this is done in the name
of relrenchment, but to attest how truly,
| will examine little more infinitely
the case of the works on Dauphine Island,
for which, as has been stated, no appro-
priation was made.
The Board of Engineers having COM
pleted the survey and plans of the de-
fence for the Gull frontier in 1917, ar
engagements were made shortly after to
commence the system of Notifications
which they recommended. A contract
was formed, on adequate security, to
erect and complete the work recon-
mended on Dauphine Island. Shortly
after, the contractor commenced his ope-
rations, but, owing to the want OF re-
sources on that frontier, as well as his
inexperience, he made for some time but
little progress. But these difficulties
were gradually overcome, and the con-
tract put into a train satisfactory to the
government. On the part ofthe govern.
,,nant ahont one third mart of the ex.