Constitutional Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1824-1832, 1829-12-24

Assistant Surgeons and Mdshipmen nttendim, ov
a.mnolion. are allowed 81 SO per day, and travelling
expenses on returning.
captains acting on Courts of Enquiry and Cou,.s
Martai' are allowed S. per day. Muster Comman
expenses. ~ ""'eii'f9
Officers attending as witnesses, are allowed q, so
anu IIaVcilnS expenses citizens are allowed 81 and
travelling expenses ~ ~
| Officers employed in SURVEYING I'm rbou,s boz, ~,
allowed from 81 so to 3 90 per dav ~
omcers ordered home from fureign stations or m
turning ON sick ticket are allowed their passao.
money Seamen discharged in forarn countries nc
sent home ut the expense of government ~
Uhcers necessarily travelling to this CITY for the
set''eient OF their accounts, allowed trayelIir
tanned. ' ~" e>Peases "'nie de-
t officers taking the place of their suner;o-s ~ o..
temporary command of ships or stations have bcan
al o the pay and emolumcnts of those srnerors
he expenses of officers when sick have be,an ;J
aeouc'ing formerly their whole pay and rations gnI
recently. one half '' a''o
IN addition to all these allowances by executives o.
'hor"y, we have 4 variety of Offices mud a,ono;a,
cmnnating from the same source s'"eNs
Onner the law authorizing the eetnhl;sbr,o,, @
LOCKS zoe inc Secretary of the Nav has creaieatr.
once OF engineer, with salary of 1000 dollars mar,
c"nuii on collars per month for hoa.C when nhen,,
o'' nome, ID cents per mile for his TRAVELLING st
4 sides. f"os Paio pe-.
mere is an Assistant Engineer appointed b, t,. /.
p.,hcPai atA dollars per day, with TRAVELLING n,,S
other expenses. I'M
we have had a Superintendent of Live oa,, n,.,.
at'ons IN Florida, with salary of 100 dollars aa
dollars. saary OF Suo,
! We have had Agents for SURVEYING, live
their expenses. " uueoii 70
custody fee of Is cents per day has been ,o,,.o.
from slave ships. ''1aiis ianceu
We have an Agent at Liberia for receiv;n, AZ;
cans at salary of 1000 dollars and an ont fl sc rg
We have Architects of Navy Hos,;ts,s ,4
eeive salaries of 1900 dollars per wear. CIV rec
On'ii recently, the Navy Department emn,ove, :,
special agent, who was clerk in this Office al -
lowed him per cent on heavy dsbn aHa at'
'ie law expressly provides, that all disburs;nr of
shaii De appointed b. the President, and nomnotas
hany other special agents have been ernp)ovad g.,
pafucuar services and many thousand dolla re- oai
them by way of compensation. P''u'o
fne original authority for most of these aIowan-
eGs exists only III letters from the Secretary of ~
navy 10 the Fourth Auditor For some of t6en, s
even that authority or any other, except nrncado,
can De found. An account has been allowed bv tj[
secretary; another one like it is allowed ON tho
principles; the precedent becomes lnw and ~
Its origin Is forgotten This kind of leoislat;o, h
oeeh as nuctuatng as it has been loose Someone's
more is allowed, and sometimes less; the N,,, - CT
OF complaints ofparttfity and almost FL
that ne has right to some allowance. because n ;e
iiar claim has been allowed to Others The 8uditn
is harassed with arguments drawn from synaJ;a,
the hardship of the case; its similarly, n
ance heretofore made; and because some bn,,a ~
cured improper allowances he is censured be,sns,
r uoss no. put all upon an equality by making i'm
proper allowances to others. Every thing is 6nrb
and uncertain; and, instead of being able a. nna,
turn to some law or lawful regulation; by which n
test cvory claim which is presented he is conn,Id "
looking into prccedents tu 'e'ters' ald
Some boldly claim allowances without law oy mn
thcrlty, because their cases. or others lii. ~ u
were embraced in the estimates On v,h;oh ne .heih
prlations were founded. In their view an
authorizes an expenditure. So far has this ;n,n,,
SION gone that men, employed by contract at prices
less than the estimates, placed upon similar se,v;n
have advanced serious claims to the whole .r,,
estimated. IL IS IN vain to urge that the estimnte
OF oosht oe' BASED on some existing law; that
they form no part of the appropriation law That g.
gress almost uniformly approprates less than is GO
mated without leaving any record explaining ybat
Q pL par my uisapPFoVe. no arguments avail with
those VINO consider custom law or find tbe;z o,,
convenience or their interest in sefino tber 49,,
rules above those Of the Legislative power. Conc
y ess nave confidence that the executive officers VIII
De governed by law IN their estimates: tbey nona
scrutinize them with impression that tbey .re g.
be taken as law after their adjournment. and ins,e
ces are not wanting, where they have been deceivd
INTO appropriations for objects other than those which
the estimates seemed to present Next to ALLOWING
Ihe Executive to make appropriations by his o,,T
authority, is the danger Of considerinp an annron;
alton based estimate without shadow ~ I,, .,
authorIZe the estimate or make the appropriation
necessary, as sufficient authority for expepdpp fIa
money Yet, such has been the practice of The uo,
abuses. S "'uHJ
> 1t may be well supposed, that almost an entin,
want OF legal and fixed system in the allowances
MADE for the department has not obeyed its own
estlmates) must materially affect the accounts Of
tins office, and the appropriations made by Conc
ress. by some new rule, upon come unknoV5n
reason many thousand dollars have been suddenly
} and unexpectedly allowed BY repetition of ihes
allowances, means to pay which have always been
found, the state of the appropriations und conse
i quenty, the accounts of the Department have been
& miserabIy deranged oN"
Fhis leads the to speak of the manner in which,
the public rnonys are drawn from the Treasury and
the accounts kept. = 80
u by acts of Congress it is declared that an moneys
appropriated, shall be applied to the purposes SY
which thew nrlrrnt,rintcl nd -