Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1850-01-22
TIL: REIENI-I:.

THE REVENUE
In the United States Senate on Monday the following
Ioint resolution was taken up:
Resolved by the Senate. &C.. That the operation of
much of the approved March lS9 entitled SAN ac re-
curing all moneys receivable from customs and from all
other sources 10 be paid Immediately into HE treasury with
out abatement reduction and for ether PURPOSES pro-
vhcs that the expenses for collecting the revenue from
toms shall not exceed the OF million five hundred
aud sixty thousand dollars per annu together with such
under the law paid into the treasury for rayanc
caragc labor and be suspended till the end Of the
present session Of Congress unless Congress shall ae
IN the subject - ,orce9I " va ~ wi ~ i., , m
m m Nths he s Sscdty RI Of the Treasury for
suspension of the proyso Of the o March, S49 Since
then he had examined the estimates Of the Secretary and
other statistics in relation the expenses Of collecting our
rcycne and thought that the whole system was So wrong
that there earnest demand for rclor ana o large
reduction of useless expenses lie blamed no one io all tS
He CHARGED nothing upon The present or any other Secretary
o the Treasury but there such striking abuses IN the
vstc that lie felt called upon Ia do every thing IN his pow
cr 10 bring about He had examined the expenses
u collecting the revenue from customs for several years
back and found that in S2U the expense OF collecting the
customs was between four and five per cent Now II was
between six and per cent and he believed from me
estimates presented the for the next year would bc
between eight and nine per cent Inc presen o
collecting the were estimated AT o0uU last year
~ 10OUuO He thought this examination there must
he .t abuses somewhere He charged them upon no one
| They had grown up with the system.
From looking estimates hc found that the expenses oi
maintaining the revenue cutters enormous. The cXpen-
ee of the service during last year amounted
10 1888 000 and year they reached the sum o oooooo
The Secretary Of the Treasury has informed them hat mere
were officers enough in that service 10 supply
revenue cutters They had been reduced 10 sixteen These
revenue cutters altogether useless expense to the
government and he why they should not be
abolished FAR he informed there never au necn
case Of smuggling discovered by them The only advaI-
tane they the collectors of the revenue was that they
we're small armed force ready when called upon by me
collectors stop vessels leaving the ports Improperly ne
had found that tue revenue cutters win sails were o
little use for this; and the cutters which were poeea py
st,on had a turned be complete failures. lhcsc lat
ter ones were they which had caused the great expense II
was that these cutters business 10 coast and ocr ad
10 vessels wrecked disabled To supply them WIN pro-
ysons then the whole number of twenty -four was entirely
too small and Of very LITTLE benefit. lie thought IN
this one matter alone large sum might be safely econom-
| zcd. - H.,
The Secretary Of the Treasury in his estimates says that
over and above the received on account oil the ware
housing SYSTEM there the sum ni sl+ooo ffuleu -
meet the expenses OF that system There are TWO ciSScs o
warehouses; is that where private lndlv vids the S'
in store and which of expense to the government
But the public warehouses, rented by government or le
,nr,nc Of goods and whereby the government enters INT"
competition with private ndyualsli Is ny thcse a is
l,rn sum the government Importers decline stofih@
cir noods in the government warehouses because they can
,on no insurance on them and because they are o large
and because goods liable To be lostn hc inc amount
p,id annually these warehouses; In the way OF reh
sIIOO00 lie advised that the government abandon is
mod. of competition with private individuals that the
leases be sold and that the whole business be given up t'
| private individuals H., .u,;x r ,h
rcyrnuc and which had grown into an abuse was W
yrcat number of persons employed IN the custoi-ohss
In the city OF New York alone there were cm"yea III "
Iectou Of the revenue hundred and tweny-thrc'
persons while he found that including the other ports oi m
Mon there were fourteen hundred persons employed
in the service By reference 10 the Blue BOOK ne DISCO
ycrcd that in all the various departments oi he 'oyef
mcnt where all the accounts OF The naton ana "hcc "
The business the Government was transacted mere wa
but six hundred and forty persons eiIpioyea. cc We"
certainly GREAT room for economy in the number oil persons
employed in the cusomhonses and why not cn 'ie' uw
Hc thought the Secretary oi the treasury 9ht III WI" "
Il, Of
cnc service Let the Secretary 70 and cu down oiie
abuses in the SYSTEM He not deslros TO cramp nv
Secretary; he willing To extend MS lin' hs ~
s,v two hundred thousand dollars. In the cy o WV
!, Work there were eighteen bargcmen employed at -
hundred dollars year each-a sum more ,hih WIZ ~, ~
amount paid TO seaman II any one "ouu o s ~ i, nc
oy,anens of collecting the revenue and examine the items
They would BE- astonished how much PAID away ina
could be- saved Fe thought il the duty oi Congress TO ac
and leave the matter to the eecel' rnns n" ~ ~
when called upon reduce the number o' persons IN VI
nublc empoy would he constantly importuned oy mos
whom he about remove; but let congress act anu u
can refer 10 our legislature as the ground on "'ch nc =
nlcd o oct In looking The estimates. nc ound Una
int a small increase o the revenue was es'i'I.eu n, VIM"
Ilrre Increase in tie expenses was dtcircu n's
thnt Conrress should act, and hl money illa'on
those cypenscs should be fixed and then the secelv vi W
Treasury be relieved from ai embarTase ~ ~ ~,
tween those points in which ne would DC coPeeu 10 '''
reducing the sources of expenditure. i, :.
Mr. DICKINSON Offered substitute for the JOINT re
sIluton the following: ..: y
Resolved hy the Senate and House oil hcpres ~
rho United States of America in Congress assembled ~
& ~. if ,nnronriations arc made by law the proviso
h orr,h section of the act of Sd March, lSi9 be susper
ded provided nevertheless, that in the mean ne IN, ,e e,
penscs of collecting the revenue from customs sa m -
od soh - ner onnnm as was expended for said purpos
durng the fiscal year ending the Both June 1873 tosetn'
with such sums in addonas NAV be PAID INTO TIE eS'
, rv for drayagc, caraae. labor, aud storage , - !,
l. :Mr DiTIS Of Mississippi was nj first opposed 10 ~
suspension OF the povso; bu; the amendment aTi @ reaa & 81
away with the greater part OF his Objections ls of II
d system of deayng the expenses oi the coheru = :; i
revenue was an anomaly in Government IL was IN
opposition the whole system Of our ,s nud cdp
allowed the Secretary of the Treasury 10 re'a nm a~.
l. from the revenue certain sums Of money me IohSt
,on declared that no money should be paid ont Of the irea
except in virtue Of appropriation BY nw wi,bd5, hha
under this systcn the Secretary OF the treasury "lu'
large portion Of the public revenue without any dire