The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1843-08-31

brought by the federalists against MIR. Van Buren, q
the last Presidential campaign. We believe that NJ
| Van Burens administration a whole, con
Quoted as carefully and economically the admins
ratlons OF his predecessors; OF course we make due
, | allowance for the enormous expenditures incurred
, | during the continuance Of the Florida A
candid examination Of the expenses OF Government
under Mr. Tyler, and comparison Of his with Mr..
Van Buren's, or any other administration, however,
will ell good story for the present Executive not
outstanding the ceaseless efforts which have been
made by coalition of Bolts wings and some pre-
tended democrats in Congress embarrass and para
yze the operations OF government and to "head" Mr..
Tyler.
The State printers comparison partakes much Of
his usual evasion, and is made up, usual, false
premises. We copy his figures and pass three
times the quantity of slang in which he INDUCES him
self after his fanced triumphant conclusion. Ieav.
ing out Of his calculation the expenses incurred by
MIR. Van Buren's administration during the Florida
wa, he says:
"The average OF naval expenditures under Van
Buren, was S6,294,O00. The same expenditures for
the last year have been 81 963 GIT G6--showing an
increase under Tyler Of 81, 669, GIT 66. The ave-
rage of civil misce llaneous, SC, expenditures under
Van Buren, was S5,44O,O0O. The same expenditures
for the last year have been S6, sos 45i 6s-showing
an increase under Tyler Of sl,425,45l G5."
In the first place, the State Printer takes an acreage
oil the expenses during Mr. Van Burens four years
| When his administration seconded most Of the
time by one both branches of Congress, and com
pares il with Mr. Tyler's year, embarrassed and
| encountered as 1t has been by Clay and Bolts Con-
gress' always ready to vent its spleen against the En-
ecutive Here is manifest unlarness at the outset
enough OF 1t to destroy the whole fabric of the State
Printers argument, if it is worthy of that name.
FIRST, the arerage of naval expenditures under Van
buren, IS compared with that of last year, showing
an increase" says the State Printer, "of ST. &C.,
0H DO not an Increase from year of Mr.. Van
Buren's as compared fairly with one year of Mr.. Ty
ers, but an increase over the average" of Van Bu-
ren's ,choe term
In 1887, the naval expenditures, Gas will be seen
by the following table,) under Van Buren, were ST.
$50 059 S0-the difference between that and the mast
year being increase of about eIepen hundred thou
sand dollars, instead of more than sixteen hundred
thousand, as the State Printer has made it, But how
has the naval appropriation been expended under Mr.
lyer! Notin paying exorbtant salaries for the sup
port oil naval officers On the contrary, the late Sc
cretary of the Navy, Mr. Upshur, just before he left
that department, cut down the pay Of midshipmen
nearly % per cent; the thing should, in our
opinion, have been done to the higher officers Thou
sands upon thousands of dollars have been expended
too the past year, to deray the expenses of courts
martial growing out of the than useless South
Sea Expedition which originated under Mr.. Van Bl-
ren--we will not initiating the State Printers uni
form uniairness hold Mr. Van Buren, respon ibe for
that expedition any farther than he should be.
The navy has not for years past been under better
or more economical management than under MIR Ty. |
ler The comparatively trhing increase in the last
years expenditure may be attributed to the fact that
most of public vessels have been ordered to sea-
to protect our commerce it should be protected
Vessels which, under Mr. Van Buren, and previous to
his administration had been standing the stocks in
the ship houses eaten, and partially roiie have
been repaired, launched and ordered TO sea such
course becoming absolutely necessary TO save them
from total ruin Our navy instead OF lying dormant
has been rendered ociirc, and in of war or uva
sion can now make shoio Of resistance, to say the
least Officers, also who three or four years since,
under Mr.. Van Burcns administration were absent
from duty, living in cities their places of resi-
denco upon "half- pay" are now at sea- on full paw
where they should beat least if present naval
system mast be sustained. The navy we repeat was
never under better, or, fact more economical man.
agement than at present With Mr.. Henshaw al the
head OF that bureau, it cannot but continue TO i'm
prove Mr. H., we learn, has introduced a radical
ana thorough reform into his department. aud consc
qucbtly Is unpopular with those whose abuses he is
endeavorng TO correct. Will not the State printer
denounce HIM for this, as well as sor acccpting the
Office he now holds
II the naval expenditure for the past year has been
increased from former years the money has not been
IN so many instances worse than wasted IL IS not |
The sum expended that should considered so much
as The mdnnr IN uhich IS applied; large expend-
ure, Judicously disposed OF, is less Objectionable
Than small one thrown away. We would not, for
instance, condemn an appropriation made by our
State Legislature for the printing of edition Of
the Revised Statutes Geological Survey which
even, IT the magnitude Of the work the cost Of
printing rendered II necessary. 1t is only the man
ncr III which the expenditure was made and The mo-
ney applied, that tenders odous the action Of our
late Leglslaiure-the feeling of favorito partisan
printers with thousands of dollars from the peoples
pockets which might have been Otherwise saved
This Is sufficient for complaint while consd
ering cxtravogant expenditures and the State prn-
ter would have treated the subject moro fairly aud
candidly had he illustrated his ncaled for TRADE
against Mr. Tyler's " retrencbment and reform"
Again, the State printer, with his faculties for
computing dollars and cents remark ably sharpcncd
doubtless by the experience which he has had in
making out his own extravacant bills against
the State, and also by cypbering up the pery moderate
expenditures of Coy. Hubbards two years admins |
tration,) proceeds to average once more the ma
lional civil and miscellaneous expenditures" BY |
ms averaging" he again swells the excess Of Nr |
1ylcr's year some two hundred thousand dollars -
But let us sec how the matter really stands.
Under this head VIC have the expenses incurred by
foreign intercourse as well as +" civil AMI insect
laDeous." The baic expenditures Of the late federal
Congress, (Which comes under the q" civiln bcad)
continuing IN session, IT did for thirteen consecutive
months at an expense of more than $4,000 per day.
will nearly, If not quite account for the of
Mr. Tyler's ye@, from March 3, ~ to March 3, 43
over and above the year 1895, under MIR Van Buren,
TO say nothing of the thousands upon thousands of dol
lars additional expense which such session of Con-
grcss protracted as II was, must have imposed upon
the National Treasury IN the way Of appropriations,
arising from lengthy session and unnecessary egsla
ton
The time OF that Congress was also taken up in le-
gisatng for the express purpose of embarrassing the
government, swelling IFS expenditures without pro-
yidng the means for paying them, and, indeed, by
opposing every obstacle which few reckless pot-
clans could devise to follow III the lead of John NJ
Bolts in his attempts again aud again to head Capt
Tyler" If silence and neglect to act for the pub
lie good, when they might have done so, implied APP
prevail of such contemplate policy the part Of
the Clay and Bolts whigs certain protested demo-
Gratis OF that Congress were equally culpabc with
the dominant faction among these might be named
one or two Of consistent New Ham, shire dele
CATION, who, directly after they returned home,
mcnced in unison aud simultaneously with the State c
paper abusing President Tyler aud his administra.
ton.
If to the expenditures incurred by the late Con-
add Tho of lIln the AslhIIr-