The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1841-05-14
STATE OF THE FINANCES AT THE
CLOSE OF THE LAST ADMINS
TRATION.

TRATION.
We proceed TO redeem our promise on this subject
Lspi Woodoury's Character Fynaneisr.
The first thing that srikes u.s. is the extraordinary
character Of the official documents Of the late Secre
tary OF the Treasury They any thing but honest.
The charge Of incompetency far short Of cha
racterizing them, though il not without foundation
But i, is the studied political character of these docu
ments that constitutes their greatest fault. We mean
party politics The public documents Of Secretary
of the Treasury ought be remote from politics.
facts and figures from poetry.
Il is even painful to review the late history Of this
branch Of our public service. just in proportion as
The late Administration found itself involved in diff
Guilty. did seek obscury, and wrap itself in darkness
The moment we began to decline from our pamy
days of prosperity in 1885, when the receipts of
the National Treasury $35, 100000 and in 1896,
when they were $49, 900, going down and down,
ill the picture has become figh,fu to contemplate the
most consummale articles have been employed TO con-
cea the real state of things from the public eye until
the Secretary Of the Treasury was obliged TO hide
himself literally in clouds and darkness He plunged
into an impene,rabe labyrinth, lodged pursuit, and
compelled every seeker after truth give up the chase
and seek for information in other quarters Instead OF
gong to his annual reports and other official commu
ncations to the different branches of the Government
for light it has been necessary to carry candles into
the dark regions with which he surrounded himself
and in vain TO cry out, Where are you sir2 He has
eaecually eluded all pursuit, and for what know
we are indebted not to him. but 70 the searching pow
ers Of those who have brought light of darkness
and elected portion of the TRUTH in spite of the Sc
cretaryis endeayors to hide it,
Hop ii should be.
Our country has been forced into an extreme and
has now to tread back on medium ground. We have
been taught the lessons of sad experience, and
compelled by necessity to reform. And one part of
that reform must be to separate the management of
our finances from political trickery. The Secretary Of
the Treasury must give simple facts and figures
We want nothing more, be satisfied with no
thing less 1t is sin against all propriety; is
mockery it is cheat Of the deepest dye to deceive
nation, and lead them astray, by official msrepre-
sentaton of their financial affairs.
Never was nation so humbugged and deuded by
public State papers, we have been And all this to
conceal and varnsh the faults of the administra
tors of our public affairs.
The 1ry-to,b be Official.
We have before noticed the last imposition of this
kind emanating from Mr.. Secretary Woodbury., in
his letter to Mr. Van Buren, on the ID of March last,
affecting to be Official but not daring to complete the
forgery by full execution II remained badly DONE
with the brand Of deception stamped upon its face Ii
was called (by the Globe The stale Of The finances at
the close Of the last Administ, alton J" but like other
pretensions of the kind, from the quarter was
any thing else than such exhibition 1t was OBJ
scurity ten fold increased all former attempts It
was heaping darkness the scene, without ray Of
light to make it visible
Light upon the Subject
1t is necessary, in the inst place. consider the pt
sition of the late Administration its exit in regard to
these matters, in order fully to comprehend the mo-
tives such extraordinary attempts to deceive the
public.
BY runous policy, and its destructive measures
the nation had been plunged from Of the high
est prosperity to of the deepest adversely But
few years ago, nation was ever more prosperous
and without any assgnabe possible cause, but bad
government no nation was ever more crippled in SO
brief time
These facts were obvious, too obvious to be
cealed from common sagacity and just in proportion
to the danger Of discovery, it necessary to spread
clouds Of darkness the truth to mystify mislesd
Mistakes in guessing.
" | am indebted" says Mr. Barnard in his speech
of January IS, 1871, to friend who sits near me
(Mr. Everett of Vemont) for the fact, thnt in the
whole six years of Mr. Woodbury. administration of
the finances, his annual guesses at incoming revenue,
taken all together have been just according TO the
sult-raating only the trifing sum of s62, 200 900!
being an annual average Of mistakes in guessing only
little in of $l0,OOOOOOl All this might be
innocent enongh ift were not put forward by pub
lie functonary, FIRST deceive the people, and next as
guide to legislative action.
Hon. IL should be done
1t is the duty Of the Secretary of the Treasury to
exhibit the state of the finances first to facts in the
past and next to probability in the future. No
expects minute accuracy in estimate of probable
future revenue ofone year quarter. Still, how
ever the data in possession Of the Secretary Of the
Treasury, setting aside the contingencies of
binary events which necessary element of such
calculation, are ordinarily pretty safe guide. pub
lie financier that widely in his estimates offu
ture revenue, deficient either in judgment fair
ness, either of which is disqualification for the place
But when all the errors one side and on that
side which would be resored TO for purposes of con-
cealment in the attainment of political party designs
IL secomes an extremely suspicious circumstance In
the case of Mr. Woodbury's mistakes of ills kind il
is one so obviously aggravated to require strong
or vlndicatsn than can conceive possible Mis-
takes OF S62,0O0,OOO in six yos--, Had i bcon half
on one side, and half the other or nearly So iudp
mcnt alone would have been at fault and the only
thing proved would be incapacity for such high and