The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1842-06-15

The gross estimate for the year, x5,659,05l
Seamen and marines, 35, l65
Mr.. C. said the gentleman from North Carolina
had deduced argument from the relation of the appro
priaton for the Home Squadron TO the service OF the
present year. The gentleman admitted that he voted
for the Home Squadron bill that bill passed in Au-
gust lS4l. In Sept the orders given, and from
that time to the present. the expenditures had been pro-
ceedng for the chief part during the five months of
the present year In fact the appropriation for the
Home Squadron was TO be considered as an addition
to the estimates for lS4l and to the General Appro
praticn bill of the 4th of March, lS4l, and like that
app opration ran into the year 1912 II was an ex
appropriation. Did gentlemen contend that TINS pro-
vision was an improper one; that the Home Squad
ron ough to exist That would be strange, since
the bill passed the House with but eight votes agans,
it. Abundant and satisfactory reasons were then as
signed for the enactment of that law, in the useful
service which the Home Squadron might perform
the Atlantic coast Of the United States In addition
to which, the Home Squadron might eventually take
the place of the West India Squadron, and be EN-
poyed on the coast of the Gulf In opposing the pre-
sent Appropriation bill, account of the Home
Squadron appropriation, was it the design of gentle
men, indirectly, to put end to that Squadron Fol
great part of the year 1912 the expenditure on that
Squadron became part Of the general expenditure OF
the year 1912, and was embraced in the general est
mates. Did gentlemen TO repeal the Home
Squadron bill Z II so, he wished they would do il dl.
rectly and expressly instead of doing it indirectly,
by cutting down these estimates. fit was not that
in thus cutting down the aggregate service, gentle
men were not repeating the act establishing Home
Squadron. The other alternative was, that in order
to maintain Home Squadron, they would crlppeth the
service by cutting down the ordinary and regular APP
preparations. In either point of view the argument
was untenabe and UNI just towards the Navy.
The gentleman from N. MI. Mcclellan referred
to the unex pended balance oftwo millions nine hundred
thousand dollars at the end f1S4l lift were add
ton to the estimates of lS4l Certainly this wrong
There continual in Congress as to these un-
expended balances lfthere had been such balance of
the last appropriation remaining hand in December,
how could the Government have gone since Gentle
men reasoned as if it the lst of January in
fact the estimates made for calendar years, da
ting from the LIST of January; but the appropriation
not being made by Congress for mont s afterwards
the expenditures necessarily run into the succeeding
| years there would be unexpended balance at the
end of l842 to be used 1943, just there at
the end Of 1S41 to be used in 1912 it was what the
| Navy had been subsistng from December last
and without which the Department would have come
to dead stand; of course the balance of S30O0000
| at the end of l84l was not to be considered in any
respect as so much Of additional in the Trea-
| sury
| This want of correspondence between the year
of estimates and the year of expenditures was not
only the of confusion and continual error and
debate in Congress, but it was attended with other
very serious evils that members were told
that the Treasury exhausted that the Appropr-
alton bills must be hurried through and in this way
DEBATE IN the House was ana anO-
Their serious evil consequent on it was in the case of
the civil agents of Government Appropriations Of
nearly ten millions for the civil service ought to be
in the Treasury on the LIST Of January, 1s42 yet in
poi.. &c f~et, tho bill making the appropriations did
not pass until April nr MeJ, aud th0s all the clerks
| in the Departments were compelled to borrow mo-
ney for their subsistence in anticipation OF the pas
| sage of the appropriations. This was owing to the
erroneous manner of commencing the fiscal year; it
ought to commence at such time the House should
have passed its appropriations, and before the expen
dltures of the year began then all these difficulties
| would be avoided
| Gentlemen asked if there was prospect Of war.
He did not expect any war; and if this appropriation
| could not be defended without raising war panic
he should not defend il he justified it on its merits
and on what he believed to be the permanent inte-
rests of the country all he desired was what those
permanent interests of the country requirethat the
| Navy should be maintained its pre- ent footing
and efficiency, and that such gradual increase should
| be made as to be commensurate with the increase
in the wealth, population, and commerce of The Uni
| ted States
| The gentleman from New York Mr. Mcclellan had
offered the amend reducing number of officers
on the plea OF economy, and desire to reduce the
expenditures of the Navy. This was a newborn
zeal on that side Of the House. He did not remem-
Der that there had been among them any talk about
reducingt the number OF officers, the amount ofexpen-
ditures before the Sd of March, lS4 when they
| deprived Of the control Of the Government
| The House, by the establishment of the Home
Squadron, to which here was but eight dissenting