Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1841-10-28

ed their country in the Florida war, i'm 1870 to I
The amount of $50 ,3839i-workmen on the inn |
provements on the Lakes to the amount of $780, |
997:l2-a debt of $3.50, 600 in the Indian depart
ment-$6l 900 due to the workmen at the Har- |
per's Ferry armory-leaving deficiency in the |
provision Tor the Florida war, (now vigorous pro-
scouting to successful termination,) of $780,
OOO-leaving the Notifications and defences of
the country in the state OF abandonment and ruin
they have been for years-leaving due and I'M
paid in the Typographical department, to nechan-
les, aborers, &c. SGT ,993:2S, and deficiency in
the provision for their present service Of $l2,-
O03:0i-leaving deficiency in the Navy PEN
sion fund Of Sl63 misunderstanding something
like half a million due to mail contractors, many
Of whom have had their horses sold from them
for the very Provender they had consumed while
in the unpaid service Of the government! But
enough Of these sickening details. The country
has become perfectly familiar with Mr.. Woodbu.
rvs mode Of carrying on the government-his
accomplished f''anciering, &c.-and are heartily
tired of them.
But wherein is the Wing extravaganza, of
which Mr.. Benton draws such terrific picture
Has it any foundation in truth The loans author
lied under the Bank charter, which form so inn
portant an aggregate in his fancy sketch, if the
Bank had gone into operation, it must be borne in
mind, would have been an interest paying, self
sustaining stock, so that no burden would in fact
have been imposed upon the government by them
And as to the new Tariff, that was indispensable,
in order to provide the means of paying off the
debt of Mr.. Van Buren's administration, which
&c xok ac ,-l ol ~
the evidences Of the extravaganza of the Wings
which is charged by Mr.. Benton! Can we find
them in the acts of the late Congress 7 No
they are not there. They sho,o extravaganza, it
is true-5ut it is the reflected extravaganza of
Mr.. Benton's own party. Let US look at them.
LIST. Then in importance
have the loan made necessary
to relieve the government from
the embarrassment in which it
was left by MIR. Van Buren, $4,000, 10000
Cd. An appropriation to pay
off the debt of the Post-offce,
under the management ofken-
dali and Niles $5l2,6s7
Sd. An appropriation forpub-
lie defences in consequence of
the neglect and imbecility of
the late Administration $3,S3S,947
Besides these there other appropriations, "a
mounting in all probably to something more than
$500, 900, for which we will admit that the
Wings are responsible.
Now, to what item in the above account is it
that Mr.. Benton can fairly object! Certainly
not the item for defences, and that is the ony one
which might have been postponed consistently
he md fait ofth
Mr. Benton himself, projected few years ago,
the most stupendous scheme of expenditure on
that head, that has been offered to the coun-
try-amountng in the aggregate, if we do not
greatly mistake, to more than hundred million
of dollars !
There is one other topic, and only one to which
we will now briefly advert before we take leave
OF MIR. Benton's speech. 1t is his hollow, heart
io"0 and domas~ey..n;oaI -.li..~;~.. e.. saA upon
''rea and Coffee,' which by the bye, was not
imposed, Notwithstanding the anxious efforts of
some of his party to have it inserted in the new
tariff bill. "Every thing taxed-nothing spared
mot even the necessaries of life''-cries out the
great humbuggcr-and "this" he adds, sis the
love OF the new powers for the people!" Most
lnlmitable and shameless effrontery!! Did not
Benton hno,o when he was attempting to perpe-
trate tn is base fraud upon the people-when he
was attempting to hold up the Wing party, 10
the odlum and the execration of the poor man, as
the authors of the proposition of Tax on Tea
and Coffee, that Levi Woodbury-yes Levi
Woodbury., Van Buren's Secretary of the Trea-
sury, and now his (Benton's) own ready witness
was in fact and in truth the proposer of it, In |
his report to the House Representatives OF the |
18th day ofJanuary, 1910, Mr.. Woodbury., after
speaking of other modes of revenue says:
"Another mode of raising the same amount o.
revenue would therefore be preferable, if it could
be accomplished without including those articles.
Suppose, then, that there should be selected from
the tree articles those which may be regarded |
most as uxuries, though not in every respect be-
longing exclusively to that class, such as TEA,
COFFEE, and SILKS, &C., duty of twenty
per cent. on those, after paying the expenses of
would yield about the same amount of
i've millions
We are now done with Mr.. Benton's speech.
We have not pretended to follow it farther than
n Its main drift-and we have felt, in taking this
lo,lce of 1t even, as five had been engaged in a
game that was hardly worth the candle for
however formidable and important it may appear
% those who have worn ''the Van Buren, Specs"
We confess that to us it is almost as unmeaninp
md unintelligible as one of Mr., Levi Wood
'ury's famous financial reports. We were con-
'erned, in the beginning, to understand how