Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1840-05-15

OpTITa.EN
Of the horrd cXirasH-anc Of those years. and here
.c us mark the difference between the present tunes
and those of 1874 When, in that year, the sum o.:
near fl" millions was pad cut Of III" Treasury for
iHdemnttcs 10 merchants under the FLORIDA treaty,
, no one ever thought Of making the people believe
tlat It was part of the expenses of The Govern
mcnt. No thought Of iniuring the Adj
nn'stratiGn about Il. These conceptions have been
reserved for The prcscn; day. Now for hr first time
III TIE history OF our country, perhaps 0: any cGun
try tn recovery of nicmnitirs from foreigners, and
teir payment 70 onr own citizens, becomes dreadful
cxtrlvagancc--a rulnnus waste Of mnnrr-tor which
. mad and prof gate Administration must be thrust
{ from power
i 1. The fourth item a sInHll sum of 81 20 80 for
claims ofSatcs on account Of cxrcndurcs for the &c.
neral benefit during the late II was payment
Of debit and not an expense of Government and though
stl! in >3 it had been considr ralc IN the three pre-
ccdnI years, accounting IN that time - about si,-
GDG: and, cF course swelling by that much the aggre-
gate expenditures of those years, and he ping make
up the mons:nus extravaganza Of which the country
/ heard so much.
| ). The next item grows out of the three per ccnum
fund to the States the amount Of the lands sold
within their limits 1t is due to the States compact,
consideration. and inadequate is, for
not taxing the Federal lands For the wear 1899. this
item amounted to S63G.a: and beng debt due to the
States, - no part OF the Government expenses. For
the three prev nus years, when The land sales
the largest, and wien o. the States had neglected
for years 10 draw their money, the payments on
this account amounted 10 ard half millions
of dollars; and OF course. swcrd to that the
eItyar0gancc of l-"G, 81, and 3. In the year lc2,
this item was only $Si17lI
g. The sixth item BE- deducted was nearly allied
the former 1t Sl9- 80 for the two per centum
the sales Of the pablo lands 10 make roads 10 the
States, and applicable TO the Cumberland road
In the year l>2i it only Sl7 900; but the great
sales Of l-3, 6, and :, amounted 10 s ,2JO,0G0
Here again payment Of a debt converted INTO
wasteu extravaganza
Z. Donations Il money to, or payments account
of, the District r Columbia was the seventh item. OF
deduction which Mr.. L. mentioned. II amounted 10
~l.b,J1l tor the year ~. II item IN the
list If Government payments, having no existence in
l-2i nor until the year l>:I2 After TIA! time il hatl
been annual, and rs high S3I300D in one YEAR to
w lS'3, and Tor the years l-:.G, = and = amounted
Ia near :sliu.D6O IL gratu.ty 10 the District,
which had no political rights; and it was a graruity
which had no other object than 10 relieve it from bur
thcns mprovidenty Contracted yet received the usual
character of corrupt extravaganza
; The survey of the coast the eighth item
which AIr. b. explained Il was temporary and rx.
raordRary object, which had grown up from tribe
a large amount within a few wears past and amounted
TO S.I,J95 for the year 1879 Previous to Gen Jack.
son administration it rarely exceeded two thousand
dollars per annum; for the years l-:ij-7 and :. 1t
amounted To about 500 nOd.
y. Duties refunded 10 merchants was another of the
aud large items which had lately grown up among
our Treasury payments. From lt2l TO lc:2, it was
unknown; vet IN 1870, it Si795Ji; in the year
lc3 it SOL ,0OO and for l-O-1 and ;, alHount-
ed 10 above SSDO,OO0. This favor or an act
nj justice 10 merchants, granted BY acts OF Con-
grcSs, by judicial decisions, By reversal of pre-"
vous constructions of the laws II is part of the
Government expenditure, though being refunded from
the Treasury into the cnun5raton veil the gene
raj aggregate to swell the OF cXtrayagance-and
10 prove the hostility OF the Administration to mer-
chants
10 y tenth item 10 be deducted the OF
for s eSSftn & aStEqalg ar he increase Of he
,,,u,, SINCE the commencement OF Gen 'achS"" az
though only Si25OHO III iH-i' .I
10 M pnrt of tn. expenses OF h"'crh'.eh'' o"' "
-. oF money f,r III" h"nei oi aiIeF years. N"' .
II Permanent public buildings is another Of the
larre items Of recent expenditure Formerly these
brdnos wrrc Of pcr.shab!c nrtrra!s and sunk under
i,r of ,uu. or the ravarcs Of fire; for years
mast durable materials had been selected and ireProoi
rdicrs constructed. The expenditure Tor tins purpose
in $50 was II Ga and the same Tor The i!iftc
preceding years. THIS again was an expenditure LOT
The benefit OF post"rly. and not chargeabc as al cN-
ppnsc upon the actual administrations
- The snln Of S7'5,510 for bridges and i"rlii"a-
lions was the tNclitil item which Ilr T. pointed out
e. deduction benz both of them expenditures lar Tue
brn"f, of pos"riy: the rXp"nd tnrr 'A'FN''""a'! az"
t.uDorarv bat the benefit General ANA permanent
T., The sum Of 81 iil 900 tor the Improvement {"
harbors aud roads exclusive of the CCpb1r1"d
road was another expenditure ni the same chardcUI'
In I-2i, it but $500 but took St'r '!''h VIII"
would have known 10 bounds had II not oe'h "F NV
Mavsv,llc veto -, e...,I
II; PROVIDING arms for the militia of the States ana
cannon for the forts is another cNp"ndi"F" Tor MUIR
,;urs and for pos:crity. 1t amounted to :!'4."' ~
80 aud grd aapvr half ni.'on yra' 'f 'a'n
of he three preceding years IN '@-'' u ""S 0"'
&lil.t:Ij. . H., ..,
u Pensions except those 10 !nlalIds, WAS the next
item noted by Mr. l. for deduction. They ""rr ga
tni,ics from The Treasury, and mol an "Nn,iS 81 ~"
vcrnincni They amounted ~ l~'' ~ - 80 'O w.
I'M, near three ,.,cs what they were IN ~. NJ?
hal rccn an enormous drain upon the Treasury u" ''
l,s, soy.n years amounting IN lci 20 'i>',Oo, ""a
subsequently averaging about hall that sum.
l6 Purchase Of lands from Indians was anohcr laFg'
;,cm 10 c Grduc,cd and which had vastly increased
nrIn,r In l~2l this bead Of expenditure only amount
ed to she 81: in 1850 it 81 ,1Uc, l.' IN lc.o i"as
~ b;rl rs three millions; in 1877, S2,l-i,OOo; ana III
lS3- il was 81 GG3,3ls. These we're heavy cSieh"''
tutcs incurred for the great object Of relieving an t'c
States from the ncumbrance o. an lnHoh PoP"'ntI"H'
but though hcavy il is not money gone from me lf"n
sury never to return 10 IT, 1t all returns, ana WIN
profit in the sale of the lands acquired; yet the vast
sums paid this head, IS cited against Us "' ''-
Gus extravaganza for which the GolhS Should W o''c'
from the Capitol!
tcm ncar, connected with the last, aud subject 10 t
same remarks 1t had grown up OF !o'e, ana WIS W
rccrd To the rood Of H." States IN ia u wa" ~"
,L;n.r. m l-y il was 81 77j,gI In the thre pre'-
ri ID6 400 S6lju geo. and S1,ttU,goo ms y one
Of the arrs heads Of increased expenditure IN recent
nndonc Of the mos, indispensable for the States
II t. South and West It i. app"r;cnant 70 Tie pGii
chase OF the indian lands, and, although large,
solcs If the lands will far more than reimburse A.
l.. And. finally, Mr.. b noted III" sum Of e2523o'
c miscellaneous objects not rcducrblc 10 n precise
head, which swellcd the list OF expenditures, without
belonging TO the expenses OF the Government.
70 The Exploring Expedition was the last d tle
items II was of recent origin. amounting TO $50
IN -3n and TO about S,5G0,0O0 for the three preceding
wears.
These are the eighteen heads Of extraordinary r>'
pcndturc said Mr.. B., and the amount expended i'f
each: and now lei gentlemen Of the Opposition 81!
for which of these they did not vote to winch tl"I
now object and for which they will not vote again AZ
this session: :, n ,l
With this view of the tabular statements ''f. d. Cos"
the examination Of the items ol cxprn"i'ure ''u
- i-rc H. ,h,t or the - million aggregate ~ leZ3