Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1840-04-21


rr,phs of that very able document:
I nrrcs periods ay- secretary when the greatest IN
crease happened aud The rate :" them ns ny, many re-
Mace will, the progress population ana wealth !" "a'
meet. t,r ratio la- been nearly 9rra hnF'hg W t'
twenty year. =, N ""n i T wt The exception rcorc
named werr thr.r niion- yearly anu ~ az"
pu!,lion period had "ns doubled ' nnts W. had
enlarged twenty per cent while our population t 90
.amh r,, peri" chiefly Indian and
n,,a> -iGcr,hr higher, they WIZ h" eNctc wv
Sis more ,lmn -i>y per cent while our population , since
Increased more eighty four cent Again TAX thr pro
gs> nl III, ordinary civil eEprnses winch Include ' :" r
Executive Legislative and Indian Departments m>rsia"t"u.
and foreign all q" them united ".r hH lr over
bali dollars IN 1873 while IN .'s me! ,an m
nuIa,i"n had only hundred per cent B since Tue
IS na been over five millions and either 1897, ISIS
or probably lso while population has advanced eight, -four
PEI cent than double thai rate.
Dttoaiters.
nh, Onposi,ion find il convenient to make no dscr
m;n,tion between riultcrs and those who merely have
omitted some Formally returns, or have departed from
some regulation through accident
We select some of the which have provoked
most of the censure and camors OF the wings. Inc
public NAV Judge of their complaints in other cases by
theses
In the case of Syenccr'there never was any default!
and he remained in Office and settled up his accounts
REGULARLY till within few months, when his term cN-
pred lie omitted to make deposit IN season on one
from some settlers money which al discount nut
he paid it over the bank the same terms on winch
he took il, and he neither gained nor the I ,. ios
any thing, but the purchaser OF the land was acconho
dated the President did not think it an offence deserv
ing removal.
In Harriss case, also, there were inormaitrs and
DELAYS in making and dcposites IN $50 ana
l-36 MS there we're in almost every land Office al times
during such immense sales, and particularly "heh .e
hank of deposit was distant, the roads Hooded Inc
sales in these two years euualled nearly the whole IN
The previous 10 wears But default as TO money was
suspected admitted by him, till September, 1870,
when in letter to Gen Jackson then at Nashville, BE
suggested that some of his clerks had probably hy care
lessness wckedness caused a loss he fresiaenl
directed him at once be suspended from olcc ne
very day the order was gvcn the Secretary OF Tue
Treasury executed it. and had larlss accounts put IN
suit. All this explained IN the 1bOth page OF Ev'-
dence and Report of investigating Committee, al Inc
last session of Congress.
in the case of Boyd, also, the moment default was
ascertaned the sales suspended, and successor
appointed to HIM the official bond was duly
executed which had been returned Oh account oil some
intnrmaty. .
indeed the great correspondence in l-$o and with
Receivers cvncrs great vigilance and Sc" citude rather
than neglect by the Treasury Department. and, III no
instance after d,iauh 10 money asccrtancd or
admitted, did the President retain the dciancr IN Once.
or the Secretary cOuntcnancc It.
The case of L,,n is another which has been grossly
perverted. He at tmr in 81 or ., d'latorl
IN making deposit OF money, or obtaining cericatr
OF hayinr paid II over to Ogden the Agent 10 cxpcnd
il on the Cumberland road. Blu; he did obtain the GER
iifcatc when OGDEN returned, who absent: s ac-
counts stood far and he continued IN office: and,
to show public confidence in him al that time IN Hit
nos he was elected Treasurer of their Board OF Inter
nal improvements and the Governor OF the State, i.
Duncan, became his surety TO the L. ). One or two
years afterwards, he became deiauter and resigned
as suspected, and was IN course "i de-
lection
The Secretary Of the Treasury has difficult game
to play in many If officer has hcen guilty oi
any IRE rmarly dismiss him al once, and the Govern
ncnt NAV lose all the money which he may owe" lie-
tain Inn and the Secretary incurS The Hnpntaton OF
cnnnyjng the abuse In many private Transactions,
prudence might advise To get yonr hand out OF the bon
mouth By degrees. If the Secretary has committed
any error il consists in this: lie may have kept IN
rather long, in or two cases, when the trans9frs-
snr deserved immediate dsnissiun, because the Sc
cclary wished draw from him TO the last cent OF his
available mcans-whch III mgh have run the risk ot
losing altogether, il he turned on, al once But
times seem 10 haze improved in this regard Experience
mas runc its warning voice III our ears. NO apparent
dciaucr now expect the least lmpunIty funish'
mrnt follows the sin rs the stroke follows the lightning
The consequence s that there are few or no draul'ers
since the DAYS of SMartwout and Pricc-boh OF whom
were put into Office by the previous Administration
and the former. notorious against the opinion ot Mr.
Van Barren. The Of the dctauers II IS hoped, IS
nearly run out At all events, the number 81 past &C.
iauprS has been grossly rAaggSIatfu cHdiilplt'
In Virginia, lately, Gov. Barbour is made 10 speak of
63 dea tiers out of e. land office Receivers in Gen
Jackson Administration, when there have not been
63 from the foundation of the Gorcrnrentand, when
the whole amount lost under Gen Jackson admins
tation by defaults Of Receivers and Collectors has been
less tpan under most previous (Scc Report AT
this session on defaults Of al! officers from -, III each
Administrations
The Wings indeed have drawn up terrible account of
Tn, number of deiautrrs and the Of dclacaons
! If Inc.
to forget that such "accidcnts will happen TO the best
regulated families in fact, that no Administration
has escaped the neglect or the valny OF IT'S agents
The present Secretary of the Treasury has made two
Reports tins subject, under calls from the H. OF H.
I One Report made on the I'd Dee, l-39 and the
other on the Both December. The first embraces all
that is pertinent TO the present ssuc-and He extract
from il The following paragraph, giving as Key to
! this summary: that from 1889 to 1877, was Washing
ton adminst ration-from % to lr0l, John Adams
from -Ol To 1909, Jefferson s-.rom 1909 10 ISL,
Madison 's--from ISL TO 1875, Monroe siron l-23
10 !S2g J. @ Adams s-from lc20 10 l-:'1, lac ksnn
and from I-37 Van Burrns With this key,
yrc submit the proposed extract from the Treasury Re-
! port of Dec. }, l-3g
..The particular losses in each presidential term be-
ing also desired by the resolution, they have been as
ceraincd: and, they furnish striking solution OF
the general causes OF those losses, the periods
in which the largest and OF the smallest ones hap
pcncd among each class of public agents mig be USE
fully designated here Among the banks, the largest
losses were from 1913 to 1917 then consisting entirely
! of drnrrcialon on notes taken, and next from l-2l
to l-2i, consisting then chiefly OF dcposItcs; while,
| from lS21 1888 and from 1888 to 1897, they
were smaller than in any period since LIB Among
disburslng officers, looking to the amount dsbursed,
the largest losses were from ISL To le23, next
| from lcl7 to ISL, and from 1909 to l-l:E and
they were smaller from lc29 TO l-3', and lc33 to
| l~:7, than in any other term whatever except from
l1-9 10 1893 The loss each SOO from lc2 to l-S}
IL mn ptpcnc "a
twrn,y.siy cents: whc IN some previous terms. II
N HID, IA two dollars and sixteen cents. In tins class
the most losses, compared with all IN ohcr,
were from ISL to 1~2, next from lc2l to $50, and
next from lSl3 to lSl7 The smallest proportion III
this respect except during thu first two terms under
the Constitutions from -2l 10 l-S}, and except
those and third term, the next smallest was from
| 1888 to 1881.
.Amonr collecting officers, Il looking to the amounts
collected the largest losses were from l11 to l-O,
ne trn,n 10 l-lA No. from l-I1 10 l-2l. and