Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1840-05-22

aH,s.rssrssasuse~stss.s.s
ten journal is 10 be seen, hu! what IS naneat!y Is
boring 10 impress the pubic mind WITH me eA"aia
gance and proigacy OF thus Administrator N Iid
ditures Within few weeks, II runlor can DC fei'eu
nnon n neuhborinp Commonwealth has ileiaiiy ~"
flooded with document tending 10 sho" I.'e =" SSh,
rate expenditures OF this Administrator; = P'"o'
has prodrced its designed effect there ~ was Suo
act unou which the people were peculiarly and pro.
JDorlv most sensitive The expenditure Of the public
money was matter connected too intimately WI"
their interest not To excite their attention, ana 10
awaken their vigilance Aware as he WAS, OF what haa
.,Len MACE he rcioced when his friend from Missouri
offered the resolution, calling upon the Treasury De
spartment for information of the aggregate expenses "
The Government from lS2l to 1880, inclusive. lie
knew not that such resolution was to nave nsei i'
sented He had not exchanged word wan ,.a' =.
,tar !, relation To The matter He had offered u,
undoubtedly to elicit the truth, for the purpose
counteracnp the Statements having the sa"e'oi. =.
Executive COMMITTEE, wnc a W. resolnt;on az
through the country. lie had read inc resoiu'loi a.
Ter il was offered and he could not but cong
himself and his friends that it had been presented
answer was reported to the Senate inns mornings u
in the temoorary absence of the Senator from MIS-.
$50; 10 had moved TO have it printed. He knew not
tl contents of the report but he doubted not that
was true answer the resolution, as offered; ana
an il was of the utmost Importance to have IL printed
His motion was agreed TO- :,
III Senator who offered the resolution had been IA
rored il seerM with an opportunity OF inspecting that
report; and he had just gwen to the senate iu
sit;on of the contents of the report ITSELF ana u huu
seemed to him. who had listened with fixed attention 10
,b remorks Of the Senator from Missouri that IT there
was or ever could be- 70. printing an extra
number Of any document, this was that occasoh' ana
This was that document He had therefore Suggested
The number Of thirty thousand, as the number OF ls
document that ought to be printed IL was on ms
suggestion that the motion now pending was niaoe
lie would If he coud place this document IN the hahos
of eyery freeman of the confederucy. The bane had
been sent into every sslog cabin of the country ne
o,r ,otaf ha q
due 10 the Administration and to the country IL was
lust that description of document winch the people
would read-woud carefully examine and well under
stand It treated upon subject closely allied win
exactions of their Government A taX-paying com"N-
ny have right to claim from their public servants
full expose of the public appropriations They have r
right to know how their money IS expended lhev
have right to whether those charged with the exc.
cution of the laws faithful prudent and economical
in the expenditure Of their contributions Tins is one
of the most efectua modes which can be adopted oy w
public give mp to his master fuli account OF
his public stewardship He could not expect TO nave
greater number Of this document, than that named,
printed by order of the Senate he hoped not to have
less number 1t was, he admitted the largest extra
number usually called for; but the document itself, and
the time and circumstances demanded that number.
He would add another remark, II the adoption OF
the motion made by the honorable Senator from Mis-
souri, upon his suggestion had not met with the most
determined opposition As it was, he should go into a
brief examination of the resolution submitted ny ms
friend and the notice which had been taken of the
swer 10 that resolution lie had not read the report IT.
SELF but familiar with the terms OF the resolution
He had exchanged word with the Secretary OF
the Treasury uDon the subject Of his report lie was
however, much gratfied when the resolution was Oh
fered to the Senate; and he had no doubt that he
should be much pleased with tho answer now CIV
en- The information required of the utmost I'M
portance and demanded BY consideration OF JUS
tice.
What was the resolution: What was the nature OF
the information which the resolution was Designed to
elicit: This resolution calling for specific information
had been before the Senate number OF days-'t had
been printed and Senators could not but be familiar
with lis terms 1t required, first, the aggregate
amount of all expenditures payments of every KIND
from the Treasury from 1874 TO $50 inclusive. Sc
condly the aggregate amount independent OF the pay
ments on account of the public debt, whche. funded
unfunded Thirdly, the aggregate amoun;for per-
manent and ordinary purposes, excluding payments on
account of objects either extraordinary or temporary
and goes to state eighteen or twenty heacs under
which he included the extraordinary expenditures OF
the Government The resolution was explicit, and was
drawn up with grea: particularly The resolution re-
CURED that the information hoald be arranged under
distinct columns. The Register OF the Treasury, upon
whom the duty necessarily devolved, had prepared III,
answer and the Secretary Of the Treasury had TN"
morning communicated THAT answer to tie Senate
and the honorable Senator from Missouri had now ivei
detailed statement O.! the contents Of that answer
But had he not done So there be doubt that th
report is true response to the resoluton:-and u 50
ii is merely but transcript from the public records
the Government. What occasion, then, to delay IN
printing until the report shall have been examined: i
this the usual course: When calls made upon thu
Departments, not the answers to those calls order
ed 10 be printed at for the information q: th'
Senate: Is it the usage of this body I" lay s''cl
reports upon the table, until they can r. examined
before there is an order TO PRINT No, Sir. Are no
these reports necessarily made upon the RESPONSE
bty of the Departments Does not the report
before the Senate, come from one osthc Executive
Departments And if perchance the head OF that De
h,S la1 of he md
porated into this report matters and things iurcgI
FROM and uncaedor by the resolution, there will be
Nthat case, disposition, any quarter oil the Sc
nate screen the Secretary of the Treasury from
prehension. No. sir, that officer has not such str"n
hold upon the affections of those opposed 10 the Adm
nistration, to expect favor from that quarter liz
hazarded nothing in saying, that the report Of thu
Secretary of the Treasury would be found TO be
full and proper answer to the resolution. He cou
not well conceive how it coald l." otherwise. Spe
cic information is required rs I" The public cNpen
dtures. How is that information 10 be obtained
From the books of The Registers Office. Their
stands recorded the aggregate expenditures of tln
Government for each year, from lis commencement
the present pcriod-lhere stand recorded the pay
men,s which have annually been made on account o
the public Gvbt,hcre stands recorded all the niorma
ton winch the resolution seeks to obtain There cou
be spcculations of the Secretary in relation TO TIN
matter. HIS course of duty plain, and he had M
doubt that duty well understood and performed
He hazarded nothing, then, in saying that the report
on the most minute examination, would re found to b.
an answer and nothing less more than true an
swer to the resolution itself |, seemed TO him. there
FORE to be wholly wrong that the printing of this repor
should be delayed until Senators could have an oppor
tunity of comparing the copy with the record in ode
whether the certificate Of the Register be true
or false
The Senate had learned in the course of this discus
cussion that the aggregate amount OF all the cxpcn
ditures of the Government payments of every kim
from the Treasury, for the year 1924, had been abou
thriytwo millions Of dollars, and that for the yea
1890 they had been thirty-seyen millions of dol
lars Here was difference of over FIVE millions
dollars which he should find no difficulty in account
ing for without imputing TO the ADM Illustration
extravaganza. The Senate had learned that the cx
pcndtures for permanent purposes for the year lc2
had little exceeded millions of dollars, and tina
the expenditures for the objects i'll 1889 had lit