Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1837-01-02
TW ENTY-FOURTH esq.
SECOND SESSION.
IN SENATE.
" rpNEspAy, DECEMBER 81.

y BILL To extend the provisions of certain
sections therein named OF the act of the 23l
June, 1896, regulating the deposites of the mo-
ney that may be in the Treasury on the lSt
January, 1883.
= BE il enacted, &c. That the money Which
shall be in the Treasury of the United States on
TIL, first day OF Jamlary, 1898, reserving the sum
OF I've millions of dollars, shall he deposited with
the several States, on The terms and according 10
the provisions uf the 18Th, lIih and 18th sections
OF the ACT 10 regulate the depositcs OF tlr public
money, approved the 23l day OF June, 1885,
Mf. CALHOUN, in introducing the bin, OBJ
served that TIC had not asked leave to introduce
this bill wi,hou. satisfying himself that there would
he a largc sur piuS OF the public revenue remaining
III the Treasury At the termination OF the next
year,.aitct allowing for very liberal appropriations
IN all proper subjects If expenditure. From the
calculations he had made he was convinced that
the amount OF his surplus would not fall short of
eight millions OF dollars.
lie was fully aware l,at the Secretary of the
Treasury, III the report submitted by tina, officer
To Congress, had taken = very different view, yet
Mr.. I. thought he lmZirded Iitle when he 81 I'd
that ON tbs slbjoct the Secretary was certainly
mis.ak'n. He knew, indeed, that formerly such
an assertion from = member uf Congress in rela-
ton 10 tue highest fiscal officer Of the Govern
nletit would have been dccmcd adventurous but
81 vague, 50 uncertain, 81 conlectuIdl, and 81 70.
~ erroneous, had been the report, from that De-
partmrnt for two or tire, year, has, n,sscl liza,
he could n9t - caHsi3ctcl ID rishiug mach ia la
hias suci a 20 itioa. That IN dis remark lie did
no laIusiice To the Secretary OF HE Treasury Ito.
ward, whom lr cherished ~. n,rx,,al b,.,u,NN5 ar
mnkind trelinr what,oeyetA he would ,,L. IL.
liberty of nrt.Seut;ng IN the Sena,r ovt;,,,,., ,,,1o
b, tIat officer for the present wear. il. Dcccnbcr
last. and comparing with il the actnal re,ul, a,
now as rrtainrd from IN, Sccr.,ar,,.ow ro,ar,
made the prp,pul Se1snn. Ills .Srin,,t, ,f tho "a
cent, nom all sources. ipcludina the nohEc land.
and every n,ber branri, of lIe rryenfie apoun,-
ed 10 SlgT5O 600. whcrea, the reonrt stated
those receiots to have amounted 10 Si7 COL 500
presenting a difference in the estimate fora sinql'
wear, of So .o1l sos. Thu, the excess of the ar
tual receipts had exceeded the estimate bv mnt.
tlan onr-tili,I oflhe who'll. amount If the e,,in,3.
Each o. the great branches Of revenue. the Gus
toms and the public lands, exceeded the es,iu,at, bv
millions Of dollars. -
Asain: the Secretary had estimated the balance
at the end Of the wear, then within four weeks Of
is termination, At ;sl8,O47, 59S. whereas the re-
port slowed hat the balance actually amounted to
$50 40, S03, 5ciulan crroroi S., 7O2,25O. for That
short period. How these errors arose. vluerler
from negligence or inattcntian, or whether lsey
were made purposelY to >uhscrve certain po-
lItlCal views, II was not for him TO Sls but they
were sufficient TO show that he ran no very for
nidable haz4 nd in Neuiuring 10 say that the views
of the Secretary in respect TO what Vas vet future
might be erroneous.
But iur,her the SecretarV. in his report last
year, had estimated the available means of thu
Treasury for lAc current wear at So. 10Y .593 !:
they were now asccrtaiI,ed 10 lave been S7i,-
Al ,7Ol, exl biting the small error of SiG,6il,-
l04. We might search lie fiscal records OF all
civilized nations, and would not ind in the cor
pass of history AN error SO mDn>trous. lie stated
thus with no feeling oi Ill vii towards the Seere-
t4rl, but with emotion, vi shame and mortiG-
Cation for the honor of the country. How must
errors like these appear in the eyes of foreign nd-
tons How would they look to postcfity /!
Inmates the expenditure Of the wear at S23, lO3,-
4i3, whereas they turned out To be S3l ,435 ,032,
making a difference of SS,33l SIS. He cSti-
mates the balance in the Treasury at the end Of
this year al Sl4, 800 900. He now admits that ii
will equal 10 ,OJ5 600, making an error of S2S,-
sos COG, and this NOW this and u. he had made
an under estimate Of ,hc expenditure OF more than
eight millions, which, if added, as it ought to be,
would make II mistake of nearly thirty-scven mill
hons.
The Secretary, however, had profiteJ bv the
errors OF last year. The estimates in the present
report were e nearer to the truth, but
were still far removed from it. And, indeed, 50
small was the amount in which he had pIofitcd.
iliat he had fisked an opinion that the expenditure
would exceed the income, 50 that, of the sum