Alexandria gazette & daily advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1817-1822, 1821-01-27

years. AT 10 O'Clock, r. u. raIeupe"s
thermometer stood at 10 degrees. Al mid.
night il had fallen to 4. and at half past 8
the following morning. stood as low as two
degrees is. So degrees below the point
of conselation. The river has been frozen
10 hard for several days as to bear men and
horses. and yesterday morning sleigh with
horses, set ont for fort Washington, on
the ice, with full complement Of visitors.
From The Men York Daily .adpe-ti,e'.
THE following extract Of letter. is from
person thoroughly acquainted with the
public affairs of the United States, and par
ticularly well informed in their financial con-
Germs. The subject to which it relates is a
very interesting one, and has occupied the
attention OF many who wondered at the SIN
guar TACT tha, the country should be furnish
Ell, at such short interval, with two state
ments of their fiscal affairs so extremely un.
like each other, and both from the same
source. lflhere is any department of the 60
yernnent that requires strict exactness, and
punctiiious accuracy, it is that OF the treasu-
~. The enquiries made by our carrespon-
dent are far from unimportant, and we hope
will receive the attention which in our OPT
MON they merritt
Extract oil letter from gentleman in the
country, to his friend in this city, dated
January 18th. 1891.
AS to the statement in the presidents
message, relative TO the amount OF the pub
lie deb, in September. 49, 5, and the amount
since paid, it was mere flourish, and cal
culaied for stage effect. To make the a.
mount i58 millions, al that time, he has in
Guided several items, which have never, TO
our knowledge, been considered (and they
ought not to be considered as part OF the
public debt.
Many things in the secretary's report
want explanation; and some, believe, can.
not be satisfactorily explained. By the last
report, inaccuracies have been discovered
TO a large amount; aud il seems that the def.
cit is not so great as was stated in the annu.
al report by a,793, lo3 dolls. II. Why then.
il may be asked, has the secretary required
loan to the amount, or Dearly The amount,
of the deficit stated in the first report? Is
the difference real, or is il nominal?-and is
50 large a SUN required for the service Of
1891? Are the reasons given satisfactory {;
and if so were they no; equally in the knowl-
edge OF lhe secretary on the LIST as on the 3ist
Of Decemberi II is presumed be as well
knew on the former, as on the latter day that
the coo, 900 dollars, special deposit in the
treasury, in, as was supposed, bad bank
noiss, was unavailable, and that the same
amount of revenue, collected in the western
states and Louisiana, could not be available
during 1890: and il cannot be supposed, that
ia that short period, he had learned, that
one million ofdollars, surplus, ought always
TO be in the treasury; and yet why were not
these things stated in the first report, and
ssed as reasons tor increasing the amount of
the loan?
Another reason is also given for raising
the sum of seven millions by loan, and that
is, that you must borrow SUN large enough
to pay out of it, the interest OF the sum bor-
rowed, because the secretary says, in The
last report. that "the interest of the debt
thus created will increase the public expen-
diiure, and render the amount, proposed to
be raised, indispensable" The annual in
terest of seven millions, at 6 per cent. will
be AGO, 900. This is new mode of making
up deficits in time of peace. 1t may also
be asked, why,it was not known on the lst
OF Dec. that the balance of appropria-
tons for the civil list, and miscellaneous
objects, would mol be required? Aud how
il should happen, shat.on the LIST Of January,
1891, there would be in the hands Of the
tre; surer, as agent OF the war and navy de-
partpents. snug little sum of 9s7, cal dolls
29--nearlya million, which might be taken
for the coming year, and yet the secretary
be ignorant OF i, al the time of making his
annual report?
Another question may he asked-Why,m
the annual report, the payments for The mi.
litary department, during the last quarter Of
1890, should be estimated at 1, SOC. 600 dol
hers, and in The last report should be estl-
mated at only 75s, 1853 dollars' "a differ
ence OF more than one million one hundred
M II