The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1848-06-23
The Triumph OF Truth.

/ We publish this day the report of Messrs Bedinger
Clark Hall, and La Sere, OF the Committee on Public
Expenditures and hope that the great length of this doc
ument will not prevent its peusa 1t is thorough clear
md ACKNOWLEDGEMENT position being accompanied by
the proof II shows that the Secretary of the Treasury
has committed not of the imputed to him in
Mr.. Stohms report The errors alleged by the CON-
mttee are not in the Secretays report but in the tables
OF distinct and Independent officer of the government
whose duty is by iaw to prepare and certify these tables
to the Secretary and it is the duty OF the Secretary by lao
to communicate the tables thus certified to Congress
The Secretary keeps none of the books from which
these tables prepared Those books are kept by the
Register whose duty 1t is to prepare these tables from
the books IN his own Office and to certify these tables to
The Secretary No Secretary has ever prepared such ia
bles, nor compared such tables with the books nor is it
any part OF his duty to do could he do 30 without
neglectng the duties assigned to him by Congress On
this point the law is quoted, and is clear and express
IT, then, errors did exist in these tables of the Register
the Secretary is in way responsible for them But il
is fact that the committee have not themselves dscov
cred single in these tables, but only pointed out
clerical error discovered long previously by Mr. Hun
ter, OF Virginia. acknowledged by the Register, and
explained in the speech of Mr.. Anterior 10 the en-
| tire satisfaction of the whole Senate This error
OF the Register grew out of the effort, at the request
OF the Secretary for the first time, to bring the account
down to the 1st of December-the middle of quarter
and few days before the meeting of Congress-instead
of the usual PERIOD the 3oth of September and the end
of quarter This grew out of the fact that Congress
made the first year of the operation of the new tariff
commence the LIST of December 1916, and close on
the lst of December s47 instead of the OF October
ls47. recommended by the Secretary of the Treas
ury, Mr.. Walker, in his draught of the new tariff
bill submitted by him to Congress in February
1916. The difficulty growing out of the closing of
the first years operation on the LIST December
toreseen by the Secretary; and he therefore recon-
mended at the time that the operation of the bill
should commence on the lst October and close the
3oth September. Out of this grew the mere clerical
commtted-no in fact by the Register, but by his
principal clerk cho preparedthis table, who very ex-
perenced and able clerk whose business has been for
nearly thirty years to prepare these tables and who
is, and always has been, member of the wing party
His error grew of the immense pressure in bringing
the tables down the ls December and the middle of
quarter
The of the committee are then shown and
provedbeing sixty four number, and exceeding thir-
ty-three millions of dollars
the Secretary of making defective return of certain
portions of the public debt &c. required by the act of
2sth January, 1917, and show that the committee had
entirely overlooked the Secrearys report of 18th Deem
Der, ls47, in which this very information is given in full
detail and in its proper place. this report covering 429
printed pages-being House document No 7.
contrast is then given between the operations of the
treasury during the OF 1872 and the Mexican war
| 4. Al If. IL
ring the latter defaults whatever and the Secretary of
the Treasury having obtained l56OO 900 more in specie
for 49OoOOOo of stock and treasury notes. than was
obtained in specie its equivalent for $sOO0O,OOO of
stock and treasury notes during the war of 1912 It
is shown also, that under the constitutional treasu-
ry, the receipts specie into the treasury from
all sources, since the LIST of January S47 amounted to
upwards OF sixty seven millions of dollars and the
disbursements during the same period exceeded sixty
nine millions of dollars in specie; thus showing more
than ten times much specie had been dsbursed during
seventeen months of the present administration than in
the fifty years preceding, from the organization of
the government.
shown, Also that from the 4th of March, 1915 to
3lst May ls4s-namely, in three years and three
months-the amount which has been coined at the mint
under the direction of the Secretary, is $3.50 5O76e OF
being more than coined in thirty years pre-
ceding from 1892 to 1880.
1t is shown, also, that the estimate from customs by
the Secretary, for this yearnamey, 1871 900 ,OOO-is
already than realized also the aggregate esti-
mate by the Secretary of this years revenue of 1884,
100000 for CUSTOMS lands, and miscellaneous sources
already also more than realized.
1t easy detect the motives OF the wing leaders in
their assaults upon Mr.. Walkers financial statements
They know well that the series of admirable reports
which have emanated from his pen during his admins
traon of the Treasury Department have done more to
overthrow the doctrine of high protective tariff than
any similar series of papers which the Treasury Depart
ment has put forth during any single administration since
the adoption of the federal constitution Unable to reue
these, they have sought to discred hem by alleging
in the performance of another branch of the Secre
tarys arduous and complicated duties This charge too
is efecualy demolished and turned against its au-
thors is remarkable that the present administration has
been recently assaled to its conduct of the public bust
in two of its principal departmentshat of War and
that of the Treasuy-at just about the time The
attack from the general late in chief command of
the army in Mexico and was forthwith utterly annh-
lated by the memorable reply Of the Secretary Of War
The other attack, commencing in the elaborate re-
searches and the ingenously drawn statements of Mr.
Rockwell of Connecticut, and continued in the abored
report of Mr. Stfohm, has found its eecual Quets
1 al ~, IL