Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1828-07-02
Very respectfully.
Your 0h't servant.
IOSEPI NOURSE. Rcc;&ict.
No. 3.
TREASURY DEPARTMENT.


Sra; had tic honor to receive on the 18th
Of last month, your letter of the 9Th. address
scd to me iii pursuance of a resolution of the
COMMITTEE on Retrcnchment of the House of
Representatives, requesting to be informed
whether, N my opinion, there be any officers
in this Department whose services NAV be
dispensed with, without dctrinent to the pub
nc interest. or II The salaries Of any Of them
can he reduced, consistently with Justice and
propTIciy; and. IN general, whether any OF the
expenses incident TO this Department can be
reduced, without lrnpairing the efficacy Of it's
operations.
In reply, beg leave to state that there arc.
at present, ten officers annexed to this De-
yartncnt, VIZ: the ComptroNer's the Treasu-
reTs, the Auditors, the Registers s, that Of the
Commissioner Of the General Land Office,
the Second Comptrocr's, Inc Second Audi
tors, the Third Auditors, the Fourth Audi
tors, and the Fifth Auditors.
There have, heretofore, existed as appcn-
dagoS to the Department, the Offices of As
s!stant Secretary Of the Treasury, Commits
S!onoF of Revenue, Accountant of the War
Department, Purveyor of Public Supplies,
accountant Of the Navy Department, and
additional Accountant Of the War Dc
p0Etnont-all ofwhich have been abolished.
ci the ten subsistiag Offices, above emu
nefatod SIX have been eoeval or nearly so,
III effect, though not under the same names,
with In" earliest establishments Of the Gov
crnn1out. Those Of The ten that were crea-
ted last VIZ the Second Con1ptroIer's, Sc
cond, Third, Fourth. and Fifth Auditors,
were created by the act Of March the Sd.
1877, under special report, cmbodying the
reasons for tho same, made 10 the Senate in
President Madison's time, December 16 !
1870 by the Executive Departments. Bv|
thc same act, the Offices of Accountant and
Additional Accountant Of the War Depart
rno1t, and Accountant Of the Navy DEPART
mcnt, we're abolished. The further recon-
menfatlons ofthat report, to establish an ell
tTc!y new Executive Department, to be de-
nominated the Home Department, and So
IichorShIp to the Treasury were not adopted
by Congress
o. the officers, therefore. who arc now
auxiliary t." thc business Of this Department,
jhore arc IN my opinion, mono that can be
dispensed with, or whose sa.
la7Ics can DC reduced consistently with ius
tcc aud proprlety. They have ali been crea
ted by Congress, on full dclibcration. Divi-
ding The time since the formation of the pre-
sent Government into three periods, the first
from the 4tl Of March, 1889, to the close of
1900; the second from the st of JAN, 1901
to tho close of 1914; the Sd from the 1st Of
Jan. 1915, to tho close of 1927, and the aver
age annual revenue of the nation for the
first period is found to be 1851, $50; for the
second period. S11,OoO,15 Sc; for the third pc
Rod, $22,27Z9O3. Tho average annual ex-
ponditmc for the first period stands at
< G9O,83N; for the second, at S17,612,434;
and for the third, at S27,908,46O
J'dc various loans obtained since the for
'AaGon d The Government arc not included
il t.Io rcceips Of revenue. The expenditures
mbraCc oil payments on account of the
aobt, as well as Revolutionary as that con-
.ractcd since the parchase Of Louisiana and
florida and other heavy payments for OBJ /
octs not belonging to the ordinary annual |
expenses Of Government. This progressive |
increase in thc public revenue and expendi- |
urc tic result oft increase in the popula-
ion, wealth, and general business of the ma
ION, marks the necessity of progressive in
'-oaSo n Tho establishment 0fthis Depart- (,