Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1842-03-19

This will leave balance OF debts contracted By The
last and the present Administration, by the Issue - - -
of Treasury and by loans, Of Si2,s'9'Vi %
From this detnc; the balance Of drb contracted by
the last Administration, by the issue OF treasury
notes, and unpaid thr Sd OF March last rs 49, -, .
shown by the document o,'D'r'oi ~
Administration, from the II OF March TO the ~ 80, ~
23i of Drcember ISL, standing Al So,S'2i5J W
To the item of Treasury notes outstanding, IN ms
statement aso note is appended in the following Ian
guage, TO wit;
This amount Of received for duties and
lands subsequent 3h September last and not reported on
for record in this office, by the accounting oficers
If the Treasury notes actually redeemed, by beng
paid for public dues, between the LIST OF October, and
The 23d of December 1884, and betwe the LIST OF jan
uary and the Sd of March of the year, shall have
been equal in amount then this comparative statement
will be correct and the balance OF debt shown to have
been contracted by the present Administration up to
the 23d of December last will be the true balance IL,
however, the amount of notes 80 paid in, and by that
means redeemed in fact shall have been less during
the period first mentioned than during that last men
toned then TO precisely the extent OF the difference
the balance Of debt shown BY the above calculation 10
have been contracted by this Administration will be too
small.
Assume that it is the true balance, and how stands
the comparison with the rule asked to establish
that every Administration should in time OF peace, ad
minister the Government within the means OF the lrea-
sury and not contract debt to meet its ordinary
penses. The administration of Mr.. Van Buren,, in a
period of four full years. diminishing it's expenses con
stantly from the commencement TO the close OF the
terGi exceeded the means of the Treasury ny about
five and a half millions. The present Administration,
in period of nine months and twenty days, increasing
the scale OF expenditure by special session OF Con-
gress in that short time, exceeded the means OF the
Treasury BY more than six and one-thIrd Millions
Such is the COMPARISON us presented oy the present
head Of the Treasury Department. and here MIR. w
would dismiss the first resolution OF the honorable Sc
nator and the grounds upon which its introduction
The second resolution the follow
ing words
, Rsorea adequate cannot be obtained
y duties foreign imports without adopting higher rate than
per provided for in The Compromise act which, at
of its passage supposed and assumed as rate ha'
would supply sufficient revenue tor an economical admh'a
ton Of the government :,
This Mr. W. proposed to amend so that it should
read as follows:
R.ra Tha, such an adequate be obtained
without National Treasury the from the
public lands the imposition Of high taxes all foreign I'M
ports including ordinary Of life thus making the
the whole people, because Of those ecessare the
whole people con>uners
The original resolution, it would be seen, was based
upon two assumptions
| l. That rate of duty Of 20 per cent upon all I'm.
ports would no; furnish the amount of revenue required
| for an economical administration of the Government.
Tha, at the time Of the passage OF the Compromise
act, SO called it assumed that this rate OF duty
| would furnish that amount of revenue.
The amendment he had proposed, would show that,
in his estimation both these positions were departure
from the great question which should first be presented
to, and decided by The Senate, viz: was the Govern
ment be supported and its expenses met, IN every
contingency except that of actual war; by the revenue
to be derived from impost alone, without the appca
ton to those expenses the revenue to be derived rou
the public lands: lie did not desire here to discuss
the assumptions upon which the original resolution wa
made TO rest, as the first would arise under subse
quent resolution and to the second he had but SIN
gl. remark 10 make II was, that he did not kEov
what ninh have been the opinions and views and oh
ecs of Others at The time of the passage of the Com
promise act, but, as member of this body, voting 70
that law, he certainly never for moment even dream
ed that he voting fora measure which was eventu
ally 70 separate the land revenue from the public rea
sury, and throw that Treasury exclusively upon th
revenue from impost for supply of means to meet tn
expenses Of the Government.
H. uuTdl