Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1828-1831, 1830-06-19


IDLY and exactly agreed Dut the utter insgniHconce
d TINS iact IN any point OF view that affect my
Character las he evidently int ends should by attach
ng 40 much Importance" TO it'll or m any respect
whatever viii DO pnirly perceived when Il 10 rem
cmbercd' what no has already remarked himself, |
Ihat The quarterly returns to the Treasury Depart
nent ore required by law to be accompanied by !
vouchers necessary to the and prompt settle
ncnt thereof whereas the monthly returns to the |
Navy Department are only "staten,ents upon which
advances are to be made to tho Aqcnts"-that is, |
'ney are 'ptendod 10 show the Secretary what sums
Of money have been expended during the month"; cud
Tor what objects. and so To enablc hun TO SEQ what
further sums are likely to be wanting for any branch
OF the service. Now as the monthly returns shew
al the actual payments account md the quarter
iy rctsrns can shcv only such of them rs are duiy
coueaed sit ~ hardly necessary to remark" as il
must be entirely obvious to any one but the Sccrea-
ry himself, shat they should" not agree or at
least can hardly ever be found TO do But if any
one not convcrsant with the business should ask why
the partial payments cannot appear in the quarterly
return when receipts taken for them Of course
answer 1t IS only because the Department, to savo
itseif from the intolerab'e trouble of examining so
many separate receipts, requires its Agents TO send
up single rouehers for the pkoie sums, which Gun
only be obtained whom the work in hand, or other
business, iscomplcted. For example, was in the
nIo! OF paying out large sums, from day to day.
what are called allotment tickets Tor tickets on
which part of the pay accruing to absent sailors is
pad TO their wives. or other assgnees al home and
these sums were accordingly stated in my monthly
D.
pear in my quarterly returns until the tickets had
run out and the whole were settled at the end OF
the term or cruzc. In like manner had often In ue
contracts IN hand for work, ard supplies extending
through months and years; and here too nv paw
mcn's on account. though noted on nv monthly re-
turns, were always necessarily omitted in my quar-
teTy ones as they were lying for the vouchers
Which could only be had when the work was finish
ed or the contract closed. II IS entirely plnn
therefore. that although the two sets of accounts
Should always agree IN their statements of the sums
rece'red from the Department, (as mine always did
thcy can hardly ever agree in their statements of the
suus ois5ursed As to what is nicely added there
fore, that "this agreement found IN the accounts
OF the other principal Agents" can only saw that
VI 1t Is really the fact disbursed the 81 ate
OF business at their stations must have been very
Inherent from that which existed at this place or il
is most marvellous coincidence indeed. A, all e.
vents, 1atter myself have clearly Showed that
dler""ce between the two sorts Of accounts Gun be
OF no significance for the plain that although
they are for the same period, they not the Sec
rotary asserts) "for the purpose" but emanate
from different authorities, relate to different objects
embrace different subject and have in fact no real
conneSion with each other, After this, The gross
lns,nuation which he has founded upon the natural
and inevitable want OF agreement in the statements
OF disbursements inmy monthly g. quarterly returns
must appear TO all honest minds as mean as it is
false.
As to what the Secretary adds that "the paper
marked contains synopsis of these discrepancies
from 1892 TO June 30th 1899" if he means to have
IL understood that there such discrepancies in
my account prior to that period, to let in the in
terence that they crept in after it, is only necessary
TO say that made no monthly returns before 1929:
the Department, es have already remarked having
hs' begun TO require them ty lis order passed in that
year And as ohc assertion thst this document SHE We
TINT Mr. King had for the last years (w,tI The
exception OF short tmo preceding his removal from
his ofhce) etained in his hands, uackno,oiedyed 10
the Macy Department. amount of the public mo.
MES averaging from 10000 to SAC, 900 per annum-
answer that It is not true that ever had any baan
ees in my hand, Of any amount that were not duly
acknowledged 10 the Department in my monthly re-
turns, and TO the Treasury Department IN my quar-
tery Indeed, it is worthy of special that
u Is from synopsis OF those very returns that he pre-
tends - show the average balances i'll my hands,
But how then, could thcy have been 'unacknowiedg-
ed" when they must necessarily have been stated in
those returns before they could lave been embraced
in his synopsis of them' Tho fasehood of this part of
The charge IS thus branded its face, end the dup
city OF the rest must be obvious to every one but the
Secretary himself, from the fact that from The yery
nature ofthe service in which was engaged, ought
TO have had, land more frequently than I had
IN realty) considerable sums Of money in the
Bank here, land not exactly in my ''hands, ~
TO meet the daily and hourly drafts which were
constantly coming in against me; ind the De-
partmen npprlscd of the state Of things from my re
turns and otherwise. and acquainted with it's own
duty, generally took to furnish me with the no.
cessury funds accordingly NJ unfrcqucn,ly. how
ever, 30 sudden and pressing the calls upon
NE that my reported balances would be actually out
before my returns could reach Washington, and
have often had to make advances out Of nv own
means in anticipation of further supplies Indeed,
could easily shcw, If it were necessary here, that
in this way have actually saved the u. States at
eas, $4,000. to which am justly entitled, as for in
terest on advances though my service to the Gov
eminent in this behalf remains not only uncompen.
stated, but, so fur The present Head IS concerned
"unacknowledged" by the Department Nay, il ap-
pears that he has very dex;orousy contuved pro-
usln tg,.f. ohnxr.
goes on to observe:
"Ihe marked G. shows the Of uops
made by Mr. Rig from the t Of May the 5h Of August
1923 and also shews accurately could be determined
the amorn the expenses Of ice
at that station for the same period exhibiting drafts up
on tho Navy Department amounting TO about $50, 427 co."
his document again ~ not yet published, but the mean
time, the Secretarys olging anticipation Of lis contents
doubtless intended 10 convey the idea that had al diff
eren' times for moro money than wanting for TIE public
seryceo course for my beneftand that even ahe he
had into Office; convng cheat not only his igno
rant and careless predecessors bot his saGacou and vigil
ent clf-hough, as To this last part Of the affair doubtless
intends 10 have understand that he protect the
Government rom my intended fraud by declining as he Ger
ai"y did 10 honor my acquisitions Now fact IT, and the