Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1844-04-02
POLITICAL.


iSidiHS tie lSs'ueU@lui canvass Ol ICfoi 'h'e
party laid grea; stress upon The vast debt which they
charged, before the people that the Administration
then m power had Contracted and thrown upon The
county Forty millions If dollurs was the amount
usually assumed; ana statesmen OF that party ranked
by most eminent in tllents character, ssanding
Intelligence and experience, pronounced that national
debt oil i''s vast extent had grown up under the SIN
gle term OF NJ. Van Burens admins ration.
II TEE records were PR duced 10 dsprove this state
ment, the answer vas, that The records made by
the criminal parties themselves, and did not exhibit the
,ohois Truth; that men, who in the discharge OF high
aud sacred public trusts, would thus wontonly Cor
tract debt base enough suppress the evidence
OF il, and that the people could not safely trust the
evidence manufactured by such witnesses directly
Interested.
| The reemen of the country were thus led 10 donbt
the record evidence laid before them; listen 10 the
bold and confident declarations of these experienced
statesmen, 10 whom the truth must be known and the
administration % Tie Government tfansierrc: 20
Wing hands. They took the management of public
a:irs the KEYS aud seals Of olcs and the custody Of
the public records, the 4h March, l54l and have
continued 10 hold them u the present time.
! An extraordinary session oil Congress was lmme-
da,ey called and among the assigned for so
important step the necessity OF providing ways
and means 10 place The national debt in mana geabls
condition, 10 meet the payments OF interest aud prin-
cpa upon It, and TO carry the Government. Con-
gress dad assemble in May, and continue session
unt'l the middle OF September
Thomas Ewing, oil Ohio, placed in charge OF
the Treasury Department, and no event was looked
forward 10 with deeper interest than the oppose lie
"oul make, upon the meeting cf Congress, both TO
that body and til. country, OF the state Of IL
generally, and especially Of the condition and
| amount of our grcGt acti0ndl debt.
Dir. Secretary Ewing report son The state OF the
finances" 10 Congress on the Sd of June, leIl
and IN it found page (see pages and : OF the
tcporD under the imposing head SGT Tie pablic deJt'
al pf hen al oh
the subjects of ie existing law. Of new loans,
of the burdens OF increased taxation OF the currency,
Of the necess ~ OF relief 10 The and indus
try of the country, of the time required tor the pay
OF the national debt, OF the policy CT contracting
such debt by Tie issue OF Treasury notes and by
more permanent loans, and Of the advantages OF a
funded debt remaining III the form oil Irea-
sury notes, discussed, will not show word AZ
TO the amount Of tie deh Tnis very important d'vI
OF this vefy important report concludes with the
following very indefinite sentence:
1t IL, Therefore, respectfully recommended that a
sufficient 10 pay the debt a. present existing and
such will necessarily accrue in this and the ensuing
year be raised on oun Tor the tne and on the cond
| ton above suggested
| THIS certainly very unsatisfactory 10 the deep
feeling entetaned by the people about the fearful debt
which had been contracted and thrown upon them dur
ing the preceding iou. years Yet, 10 those who IN
derstood the matter, who knew the Truth, ard appre
hcnGcd what the future would develope upon The sub
iecl of national debt the language used seemed very
com prei,cnsyc, II indefinite They that the
recomne ndaton "a loan, not simply 'suil.
cent 10 pay the deb, al present existing but also
such rs ,rH necessarily IN tbs aad The ensuing
gedr. THIS seemed To preseB, exIgency for the
extraordinary call Of Congress- not much 10 provide
for the payment OF existing debt, as 10 autho-
rlze loan TO the money winch the Wing admins
traon intended to expend in TINT and the ensuing
year" And such announcement could not have d.
mnised the anxiety OF the taxpayers oil the country
to know the amount Of the debt then existing.
This was not 10 be ascer,ained from Mr.. EwinGs
port but from statements which he did give members
Of Congress- conversant with the fiscal affairs of the
Government and with The Treasury accounts, made
calculations which approached that amount. The ac.
curacy of these calculations was tested by apply
them his estimated deficit in the Treasury at the close
oil the year ISL and also what appeared to be his
statement Of The amount OF debt which he anticipated
would exist Ike close OF the year lcl2 The cacu-
laors as will be SEEM assumed the correctness OF the
Secretary figures, md merely showed what would
have been the deficiency in the Treasury at the close
of the wear lcil in there had been change OF
administration, extraordinary meeting of Con.
gress had been called by the administration within
that year, make appropriations and authorize
increase OF the debt This first result of the Secreta
~, his anticipated deficit, at the close Of ISL found
page 3 of the report at the close Of his estimate OF
the receipts and expenditures for that year. rather
for the last ten months of it, and given in the follow
ing words:
"Leaving unprovided for, of the demands of the pre-
sent year, the of sG0o0,9il H."
| Thus conclusion OF the Secretary, member of the
Senate who had heen for the four previous years the
| Chairman Of the Committee Finance Of that body
Mr.. Wright, of New York; analysed as follows:
lie said that the outstanding uppropri-
atoms on The 18th of March, when
the new Administration came into
power, given by the Secretary
himself S'3,I2J,O!O %
That the whole appropriations made by
Congress n the last session, for the
service OF The year 1871, as taken
from the Official report OF the Secre
tury of the Senate IL, ISL ,lT al
Thus showing balance OF outsland-
ing appropriations of former years,
on the 18th oil March Of this year.
after two months and more OF the
year had passed. of l5,0i5,4lo o.
Under this vast amount Of appropFia-
TONS the Secretary proposes TO has
ten expenditures, and, during the
remaining ten months Of the year,
under the new Administration, To ex-
pend, OF the outstanding appropria-
ticns, the sum Of S2i,2i0,00O W
lie then adds a recommendation for
new appropriations TO the amount of 1891 ,.i3O y
Thus making the amount Of cxpendl.
lures for the ten months Of tins year aG,73 1886 97
The Secretary then goes and gives
his available for the ten
months, and admits them TO be 90, 30 II
And thus he produces his deficit
debt, at the end OF this year, Of G,0009ll ii
To ascertain the true
deficit, Mr.. Wright
said there should be
deducted, first, The
amount Of the new
appropriations recon-
mcnded S2,52l 1896 81
Next an amount Of 6
per cent. Treasury
notes issued during
this year, and not
upon their face paya-
BILE till next year, but
included in the Sc
cretarys estimate
demand upon the
Treasury of,his year,
believed to be equal
10 l,o00G coo 90
Next the amount in
The mint and branch
cs, and no, included
in the Secre,arya
statement of The
ney nm hand when