Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1821-07-10
LIST OF BALANCES. &c.


NAsHINGToN, June 3O.-In the National
inteiiigencer of Wednesday last, we noticed a
request which had been made Of us by "A
friend in Maryland TO publish an exp os,ien oil
the nature of the List of Balances appearing To
DE due TO the government on the Books of the
Third Auditor; and we engaged to comply
with that request.
with that view, we have examined the sub
Ject with some attentions and the result is a
CONVICTION, that, If the document itself could
he published and generally disseminated, with
the explanatory letter of Mr.. Auditor Hagner,
which accompanies it, there would be no ne
cess'ty to explain its true character, which is
on the face oft sufficiently apparent. But the
publication OF the whole is, from its great yo-
lumInousness, impracticable. The same OBJ
lection, however, does not present itself to the
republication of tie Auditors letter accompa
nying the documents transmitted to CONGRESS-:
and, as that document shews how SO many ac-
counts accumulated, why they remained UNI
settled, and the rapid progress which had been
made in settling accounts of such complexity
and variety of details, we annex il to this art
Gle, though we have once before published It
Ii facts, however, continue to be misrepresent-
ed, or misunderstood from the lnisrepresenta-
tion oil others after being once and again put
IN their true light, 1t becomes necessary TO re-
peat the explanations of them. For this pur-
pose, the Auditors letter, with few briefre-
marks, will suffice.
BY the act 81 the Sd March, 1919, TO regulate
tine treasury, War, and Navy Departments, it
IS enjoined on the Comptroller TO Law an an
nual statement before Congress, during the
first week oftheir session, Of The accounts in the
Treasury, War, and Navy Departments, which
may have remained more than three wears nm
settled, or on which balances appear to be due
more than three years prior to the 30th Sep
tember then last past together with state
ment of TIE causes which lave prevented u SET
Hsment OF the accounts, or the recovery ofthe.
baauces due the u. States" tSee cd section
OF the act) In pursuance Of this Injunction
| the list of unsettled accounts; amounting 10
somewhere aboutiifteen millions ofdoIlars. was
prepared and laid before Congress, not as list
| OF balances due to the United States, but &C.
cordlng 70 the Injunction ofthe law, of accounts
unsettled in the office, or or which balances az.
pear to be due more than three years.
| Nothing can more lucidly exhibit the error
OF calling this a List of Balances due TO the u
't'teo STATES, than perusaI of the names ard a
mounts TO be found in it, with the marginal re-
marks to each. We find, for instance, opposed
to fire names more than fire millions ofdouars.
the accounts for the expenditure of which arr.
stated to be in the Office of the Accounting -
hcer, and yet unexamined. On one of these
accounts for upwards of million and quar-
Ter of dollars; the Auditor remarks, that the.
person claims balance Que to finland in a.
mother, ofupwards of million, it is remarked
that the apparent balance due to the govern
ment is less thru JoW Hundred dollars We
VIII rot say, that oil the items are of this des-
| criptlon; but very large proportion of them
Including all those which swell the amount to
IFS present aggregate, are Of accounts unset
tied for the want of time, or at worst for want
of attention ON the part of those who are re-
ported as delinquent. That there are delin-
q1encles to considerable amount, is certain !:
no business of such extent could be transacted
without Il; but to infer from such document
loss to any thing like the amount stated,
would be to shut or eyes 20 the truth present
ed to our view.
The objects ofthe law before referred 20 APP
pear to have been to ascertain first, what ac-
r counts remained IN the several departments
unsettled, and the reasons why they were not
enthusiastically, what balances appeared to
bu due ON accounts wliiun had been settled OF,
for which no accounts had been rendered, and
the reasons why those balances had not hce n
recoyertd-the same law eujoining It upon the
Comptroller TO direct special accounts TO be
made IN cases where in his opinion, further
delay would be injurious to the United States,
for the purpose Of nstituting suits for the re-
pear to have been fully Effected by the List in
question, combined with the extensive and
minute remarks of the Auditor opposite "a
each name, and his explana DRY letter.
The plain state Of tie case, then, is this -
At the commencement Of tie late war, before
! the arrangement Of the departments and par
= tictlariy of the War Department, was as per
; feet asst now Is, it became necessary for tn,
u government 10 advance money TO many indi
. vidualsj for various purposes-for enabling
a them to comply with contracts for supplying
u the army and militia for the quarter mas
ter's department for the recruiting service
o for paying the army and militia, &c. &c.--t,
Il be accounted for when the money should b,
e Expended. At the close Of the war, the IN
IT settled accounts for these expenditures hat
X accumulated 20 such an amount as to induce
Congress, so soon as an idea was formed O
e Their amount, 10 establish an additional Office
,r and clerks for the settlement OF them. a
,e that time the amount OF balances apparentl'
y due, that is, Of accounts debited With none
b. paid, and no; credited by money expended Q
services rendered, was upwards of rs million
a Of dollars, embracing something ike one hi
Pr OF ihe whole expenditure Of the war. W
any BODY ten us that the pers0uy hrl1 ~