The Middlebury people's press. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1841-1843, 1841-07-27
STATE DEBT.

On the 23d Of June last, meeting, styling
itself State Convention, was held at Chel-
sea, under the auspices of Captain Partridge,
in which this turbulent, aristocratical oldgen-
tlemen figured as chairman of the business
committee, and which passed the resolutions,
bemoaning the fiscal condition Of the state, in
which the loco convention Of this county SO
feelingly concurred. The resolutions assert,
that state debt of 100000, dollars is in
existence, and is rapidly increasing in conse-
quence of the annual expenses exceeding the
ordinary revenue of the state. The guardians
of economy in this county have stated the a
mounts Of expenditure each successive year.
Whether any Of these amounts are correctly
stated, We exceedingly doubt. All the debt
owing from the state which has ever come to
our know, is one which has been incurred for
building the state-house, which was borrowed
from the school fund, to which an annual in
terest is paid, without any increased taxation,
and which is chargeable to no party more than
that truly honest one with whom some of the
leaders of the Addison county convention for
merIy acted.
As the loco party, whose enormous prodi-
gality has, more than any thing else, contrib
uted to their overthrow, have at length drawn
the sword against extravaganza, We should like
to hear from them specification of expendi-
lures which might be dispensed with in u state,
IL; haI hcu oil 9TH G.
economy. The most rabid reformer cannot
complain Of one and half dollars for men,
bers of the legislature, $3.50 dollars for the
Governor, $500 for Secretary of State, and
other low salaries, reduced still lower at re-
cent session OF the wing Legislature. Whole
sale denunciations OF extravaganza are easily
made. But let the grumbiers about state debts
and increasing expenses, place their fingers
upon a single useless Office or exhorbitant SAL
arv, and we will go with them heart and hand
for excision But until they Gun do this, let
them dsmount the wretched hobby of state ex-
trayagance, upon which, for years past, they
have been endeavoring to ride into power ard
the possession of cmolumcnts which, when
tasted, they would be the last to relinquish or
reduce.
Until the last year if We are correctly infor
med by the Waterman, the annual ordinary
receipts, more than paid the annual ordinary
expenses, in relation 10 which we subioin the
following from the same paper:
z sThe report, however, for the year ending
Both Sept. last, does show deficit of single
wear. arising from unusual expenses, is proba-
bly founded the general and sweeping, and
therefore, false assertion that the "annual ex-
coed by several thousand dollars the ordinary
revenue of the state" Let us take the last fs-
cal year.
Exclusive of payments for money borrowed.
and interest thereon, the expenses were
s33,4I0 so
Exclusive Of money borrowed, and
the balance in the treasury at
the beginning, and the balance
owing at the end of the year,
the receipts were 69,257 Is
Leaving deficit of s14,149 "a
If we were to stop here and take this as
sample of the annual transactions of Vermont,
we would indeed consider it as a matter not
only for regret but alarm. But the truth is.
this is not fair sample. In the expenses of
that year were the following items of purely
extraordinary character: