New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1850-08-29
The National Finances.

that these have been largely increased in con
sequence Of the accession Of the Wings h
power. Fifty Millions per annump we SCI
some of them exClaimiog; such are tn
fruits Of Wing ascendancyP To those in
clined to this game, we cay, Gentlemen
the full control of the National Expendi
lures is in the hands of your party-looS
well to your responsibility You have
both Houses of CoDgress-you have the
Committee Of Ways and Means in the
House, and that of Finance in the Senate
you originate the various items of Expendi-
'ture, and no dollar can be legally drawn
from the Treasury until you shall have, in
two several bodies, approved the object
and appropriated the money. Now, if
any Wing fanctionsry should expend pub
lie money contrary to law, it is your duty
10 impeach him; but if the Administration
shall only disburse as you shall have pre-
'viously prescribed, with what face can you
'denOunce the expenditure as prodigal, and
sssail the Executive or the Wings therefor?
All intelligent men are aware that the
necessary expenses Of our Government have
been largely increased within the last few
years. In the first place, debt Of some
Seventy Millions has been incurred, on
which an annual interest Of over Three
Millions must be paid, not to speak Of the
principal, which will soon begin to fall due.
Then we are under Treaty stipulations to
pay Mexico over Three and Half Millions
per annum as instalments on the Fifteen
Millions promised her in making Peace
We also stipulated to protect her against the
incursions of the savages VIC bought Of her.
and though this stipulation has been imper'
fectly fulfilled, it nevertheless costs money
We further bought several amiable bands Of
Apaches, Navajoes and other beauties, all
of whom require constant watching and fe-
quent fighting to keep them in bcarable con-
dition. We bought new Territories to
govern, defend, settle and civilize; new
coasts to guard, provide With lighthouses,
harbora, &c. &C.; and though these
should all prove bargains in the up
shot, they nevertheless cost deal of
ready money, and so swell the annual az
gregates of expenditure. Indian tribes must
be bought off from the track of our reckless
pioneers, or pacifed for injuries suffered, or
exterminated for resenting them-and all
these are expensive operations. A skeleton
Of Military array must be maintained in our
vast Pacific territories, with considerable
Naval force on the coast, and the ma,
victualiDg Of these in that costly market is
a very heavy item. Then our vast Post
Office system must be extended from month
to month, and especially on tho Pacific,
where everything costs dollars to dimes in
this quarter. Formerly the Post-Offic Rev.
enues were managed by themselves, and
were let reckoned either among the receipts |
or the disbursements Of the Treasury; but
this has been changed of late, snd though
the actual expense is not increased thereby, |
the nominal amount of the National Ex-
penditures is swelled by at least Five Mil |
lions per annum. So with regard to the ex-
penses of collecting the Revenue from Gus
toms: it was formerly deducted from the |
receipts at the Custom-lIouses before they |
were returned to the Treasury; and no &C
count was given or kept of them as part
Of the annual public burthens; but this has
very properly been changed, whereby at
least Two Millions per annum are added to
the nominal though nothing to the real Ex-
penditures. OF course, the aggregate of
these items will swell the disbursements of
the fiscal year just concluded and of that
just commenced to sums unprecedented in
our peaceful annals.
We hope One or Two Millions will be ex-
pended the current year for River and Har-
Dor Improvements, to which nothing has
been devoted for some years past. We
know that the Government last year paid
moro than One Million toward the construc-
lion Of the various Naval Dry Docks which
we believe are all to be completed this year.
Then comes our expensive Ocean Mail Ser
vice, which ought to be balanced by cor
responding reduction in the annual expense
Of our Naval establishment, but we don't
zee any sign Of such reduction yet. Yet
urely our Navy ought not to continue cost ,
Dg Ten Millions a year, when it was quite
ecently efficient under John @. Adams for I
bout one-third that amount There should
e an immediate stop put to the appoint. .