Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1838-12-27
WAsDINCToN, DEC. l3, 1898.
UNITED STATES SENATE.
FOURTH lNSTALMENT.

Mr.. WRIGHT, as chairman Of The com
m''iee oi Finance, this morning introduced
the important proposition to postpone Ilre
payment OF The fuurth insialmcni Of the sur,
plus revenue. The posIponcmcnt was in
tended Ia lie Indefinite
Mr.. CLAY, with some few remarks
moved 10 amend Mr.. Wrigh,'s proposition
10y limiting the posipCnement TO the iitst OF
January 1910, when the money should be
PAID, unless posiponement was made to a
day beyond
proposition as reported from the Committee
of Finance, and spoke IL; some length in ia
vor OF his opnion
Mr. BENTON followed, and spoke fer
thirty minutes. tie said that he had cppns-
ea The Distribution Bill or Dcposiie Bill in
all its forms. lie had always considered i,
more OF a distribution than a deposiie Bill
he States now claimed il as u debt due
Them from the Government, aud il was clear
they considered il as a donation. He knew
all this, aud in season had iore,old the Cons
sequences Of giving the States the money
they had received. Ii was proposed now
he said TO hold out the idea iha, the fourth
insialment should be paid To the States, and
inc Treasury was In be made bank ui,t 10
J bring about this result. Tho tariff was To
| ~ lnCEcnScu InSteau oil Oh
minishsd.
MIR. BENTON here drew a da., .ic !.
ture OF the condition Of the Treasury. .o X
to The Secrelary's report, said he, and you
VIII see that the revenues are barely equal
TO the eXPenditures-hardly sufficient Tor G..
ven The ordinary expenditures Of The Gov
eminent and now /, was proposed by ex
'!""talhary means 10 pay vast sum 10 The
Slates. MIR. Bentoa, in conclusion, said
INA, he "as against postpose mcnt 10 next
year or the year after. lio Was in iayur Of
IAN eternal, and perpetual aid sn ever
lasting Posiponement."
Mr.. PRESTON follow ed Mir pantop
and said lha, ho WAS willing ,u acknow ledge
maj he bad been in some measure mistaken
as 10 the Depo.ite Act Art, lis effects un tho
country. Ihs operations of the Deposite
Bill he considered disastrous in some res.
poets, ard one cause OF The catastrophe usdcr
which the county had for two years past
suffered. Blu, the great cause OF The public
disasters in the Business of the country vas
not owing 10 this law. We had gone spec d.
lily from surplus Of $50 900 600 to an sp.
propriaiioa OF $40 ,0GO eco in one year " hen
lie government was compelled unepDsli!u.
tinnally 10 issue bills of credit TO sustain The
sinking condition OF !is affairs. Wo were
prodIgal when wo knew We were poor.
This vas fault, and one prominent cause
OF our public calamity. We increased our
expenditures after anpropi iating our SUR lus,
and This had made the Treasury bankrupt.
All the money collected was expended, and
beyond The amount oil receipts so much
beyond that we wcte obliged 10 become Dor
rowers
Mr.. TALLaiADGE followed He was
IN favor al Mr.. Clay's, and said that he wa.
about TO Introduce such an amendment him
sell He alluded 10 the past, and said tina,
Genl jackson had three Times, twice IN his
annual messages and once in a veto message
proposed The distribution Of The surplus
among the Siates Of The Union BY and by
II was whispered that distribution was I'M
constitutional, and even then Gen'l. jack
son, TO carry out hat was with him o ia
vorIie measure, proposed an amendment Of
The Constitution. But by and by, again
new objections were raised aud distribution
was Objectionable for eiher than uncons!itu.
iIonal easons. Those other reasons came at
The same moment with The great surplus of
sixty millions of dollars. We bad not heard
OF them before. Against distribution was
The party cry. and To oppose distribution
was The party doctrine.
We who advocate the Distribution Bill or
Deposite Bill, were denounced by some for
the commission OF tho very acl which Gent
jackson sad earnestly and zenlously recon.
mended MIR. Tallmadge said, in concfu>
SION, That he had not regretted The di>lribur
lion OF The surplus revenue among The sew
eral States. His own State had in e,ted her
portion IN her common school fund und il
was much hetler there than j. WINS in The
brIck ana morisr system of Notifications
Which had been proposed by the Senator
from Missouri
Mr.. CALHOUN spoke yext lie was
ready tor rosiponemeBt for year-post-
ponenent i"rcver-"r atepeal Of The De-
p'si!e law altogether. He believed there
would be 10 more suTplusses, al least for
sever al years 10 Come, and MS ready TO give
ms vote Tor repeal, thinking il the best
disposition OF the suijeci. The Deposiie
BiiI, lie thought, had performed noble
junction. He replied 10 MIR. Preston, his
colleague, poin'edly and Gesiguoily as 10 The
idea advanced by NJ. +. that The Deposiie
Act had proved either deceptive or delusive.
" there had been any deception, he was The
deceiyer, and deception, all would admit,
" as not an act OF bis life. The late public
calamity, lie was willing 10 acknowledge.
bad IN some measure been brought about 10y
lie operation OF The Deposie aci, and by
The Treasury Order Of July, 1886. Still
The Deposite Ac, was one Of the wisssi and
best measures that had ever been brought
heinIs Congress. We bsd The money, and
were bound 10 ge, rid Of il, and The best
thing that coHld have been done was the de-
posting The money with the States The
possession oi the surplus was Inc curse, and
those Z" be- had voted for the Tariff Laws OF
1924 and 1928 were responsible These
laws were The origin Of error Mr. Calhoun
SAID, in conclusion, that he was opposed TO