Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1848-03-18
MODE OF PAYING THE REVENUE.
HOUSE OF REPREsENTATWEs-M Ancn IS, ls4s

BILL requiring all moneys receivable from customs and
from all sources 70 bs sa imsdiaiey INTO the Urea
sury, without aOAtshs'' y N'' "'ia 'os ou'er Pur-
poses,
H. enacted S5c That from and after the thrtieth day
lime eighteen hundred and forty eight, the gross
All duties received from customs, from the sales OF public
lands and from all miscellaneous sources, for the Of the
United States shall be paid by the oicer agent receiving
The same the Treasury oil the United States early
day rs practicable, without any abatement deduction
count Of salary fees costs, charges expenses claim any
description whatever Ers1ded That nothing herein
tanned shall construed alter the existing laws regulating
the collection Of the revenues oil the Post Office Department
Sec. Ind be further enact d That much money
may necessary the OF debentues drawbacks
bountes aud allowances which may be authorized and
payable after the day Aforesaid be aud the hereby
appropriated Tor that purpose OF any money the frea
sury be expended under the direction o. he Secretary Of
that Department according to the Laws authorizing said de-
bentures or drawbacks boans, AMI allowances
See. Ind BEL further enacted That il shall be the duty
OF the secretary he Treasury submit TO Congress at the
Of regular session. estimates OF sppro
patons which be required TO provide Tor tile expenses
cole citing the from and also from the pub
lie lands for the half of the next fiscal year, and sepa
rate estimates for the said purpose for the year ending the
threth June, eighteen hundred and fifty ond similar esti-
mates from year 10 year thereafter.
Sec A. lind bet further enacted That much money
be necessary pay the expenses OF collections retired
the preceding section, and until specific appropra
tons the objects shall he made BY Congress- be and the
same are hereby appropriated OF any money the rea-
sury expended after the th til june eighteen hundred
under the direction Of the Secretary thereof
conormAbly TO Law and regulation; Fro77asa That ls ex
penses OF collecting the from customs shall not there
after exceed the Of million i've hundred and sixty
thousand dollars per annum and proportion for less time
This bill having been read
Mr.. MCKAY moved to amend the ilh section after the
words next preceding section by Jung including the
first hall of the next fiscal year
Mr. MCKAY went then explain the object and prov
sions Of the bill The title expressed them IN substance II
required that all moneys receivable by the Government after
the 30h of June next should be paid Immediately into the
Treasury without any Of the deductions heretofore made
These deductions had been various for the amount
paid to importers in the shape dbentures and drawbacks
ais
Of collection The practice heretofore had been withhold
these various amounts and not pay them into the Treasury
ALL Any gentleman who had curiosity to what these
several classes Of deductions had been might find them IN
report Of the Secretary Of the Treasury for the year ls45,
where they would find table setting forth the gross amount
received and then the several heads OF deduction
together with the amounts deducted By locking at the first
column Of this table they would find that the Of
revenue accung imports that year SEQ s92 000 Of
which 81, $4,000 paid for debenture and drawback
Then allowances the expectation Of refined sugar
then bounes and allowances fishing vessels and lastly
the expenses OF collecting the from all which APP
peaed that Of the $50 S92 received bu S2B 1876 900
actually paid into the Treasury The chief item with
held the amount paid for collection.
Mr.. Mex. here read table show how the expense of
collecting the revenue had gradually increased until in 1916
amounted TO 2059 Geo. and during the present year had
risen to 81, 090,9l5.
Mr.. Mex admitted that during few years past Congress
had done much regulate the expenditures under the rea
sury Department. in the multiplication Of officers
and the building, the discretion of the Secretary
Of many cutters he chose order These could
be built unless after explicit previous appropriations
Previous The passage Of these sautay laws the Executive
had in his power TO fix The number OF surveyors gluges
and clerks his discretion, well the number Of revenue
cutters and he fully authorized by law pay all these
expenses out of the gross amount Of revenue received This
Mr. Mex. considered as highly improper He into
other remarks illustrative Of the benefits Of restraining this
discretion and subecng eli hesa expenditures the specific
provisions Of law, and highly commended the legislation Of
Congress with this view, far as il had gone.
a. ftant,ru
underlined by law ports tie salary Of deputies was
$1,000 in Others 81, 500 In the port of New York alone
there expended much S00 900 year for the
ares Of clerks yet the amount Of compensation paid each
was left wholly under the control Of the Secretary This was
all wrong This class Of expenditures rapidly increasing
and high time that stop should be put such state
Of thing. Mr. Mex. d@el on the exrayagant spent
in useless experiments in regard TO and
detrimental He read extlcc. from state
as the Reporter undesood from the Secretary Of the
Treasury in which il said the expended on
these experiments would have provided twenty eight armed
briggs Of two hundred and fifty tons The present Secretary
Of the Treasury entirely disappoved Of such Of the law
and DESTROYS that the wide Discretionary power he now
exercised should be defined and limited by provisions of law
and entrusted % specific appropriations Mr. Mex quoted
from his report paragraph in which that functonary gave
his opinion that saving of least half million Of dollars
might BE- effected 10 the collection Of the He pro.
posed maximum 10 oil this expense the Of
sl,525, Goo The Committee of Ways and Means were
unanimous reporting this BILL and believed that even
larger might be saved than that named by the Secretary
Here Mr.. Mex quoted from The committees report Last
year, he had shown the of collection had amounted
$1,000 600 The Secretary thought might be reduced to
Sl,525,0 600. As medium between these two sums the
committee recommended that il be fixed at $50 OOO and
the bill required that the whole received before the
30h Of June next should be paid without any deduction into
the Treasury, and that these indefinite appropri tons should
be made TO provide for paying again the needed for
debenlues drawbacks &c. and that session the Secre
ay should submit Congress estimate Of the cost Of col
lection up TO the close Of the fiscal year 1850 Congress
could then appropriate the necessary
Mr. Mex insisted il not right in principle that after
the people had been required pay large the shape
OF duties imports for the OF Government that any de-
ductions hould be made of that the dissection
Of Government officer. Quite too much present
left to Executive discretion The Executive department hac
desire to retain this discretion in their hands, but were
willing and desrcus that should be restrained.
In thepuhc statement annually made of the expenditures
the Government the thus deducted from the gros
amount Of the before reached the Treasury did
appear From looking at the face Of that account any
not appzed If the real state Of the would suppose
hcomprised the whole amount Of the Government expend
ure but il not II showed less amount by two Of
three millions than actually the This should BE-
corrected The bill would prevent this false appearance Of the
statement, and would give expose Of the whole ex
pense Of the Government Great good would result from the
passage Of the bill il would carry both the spirit and the
letter Of the constitution, which required that all moneys
ceived for should be paid into the Treasury Of The
United States and that should be drawn out Of the
Treasury by OF law large saving would be
made IN the expense Of collection the Secretary thoughtth
might be done, and Mr.. Mex. in favor of trying it,
Mr. MURPHY was understood 10 say that, lar the