The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1852-05-11

the proper officer for whom he was substituted
should not receive il. We have gone a great deal
further than that, and actually, il naval appro-
priaton bill, have abolished hogging ia the Navy,
and also in the commercial marine; and that upon
q debate Of an hour or an hour and half
or, think that when an independent substan-
I'VE provision Of law IS found in separate section,
upconnected wlihany other; where there is moth
ihg expressly limiting II 70 n particular year, nor
ihythihg iarIy Implying such limitation; where
his Just as properly applicable in one year as in an
other; where all the interests Of the public service
would seem !" require that il should apply in f-
'hro, as during the current year,-then, / think
that every rule OF sound construction known 10
lawyers, requires that II should lie considered
permanent provision. | will not weary The Senate
by multiplying examples but could give gem
tlenen fifty eases where permanent provisions
OF law, some more general than others, have been
inserted in appropriation bills, aud have uniyer-
sally been understood us permanent. In this very
act OF iS42 there is this provisions:
Provided that expenditure for newspapers and period
Gals s not exceed the amounts specially appropriated
that object III this ac' sAit...
That provision is considered permanent, and
has been acted upon and construed as limiting the
amount which the Departments should pay for
newspapers and periodicals. The act limits the
amount for one Department and its bureaus 10 one
hundred dollars. IL has been construed 10 be so
limited ever since. This has got to be the COM
mon practice of our legislation. My friend from
North Carolina Mr. BApGERl suggests to me
that the salary of the Attorney General is deter
mined by 4 proviso to one Of the appropriation
bills. So, sir, unless there be words to indicate
that there Is to be no future application of such
section as have mentioned, or if there be no
necessary implication, that it is not to have flu
ture application. hold that is practically clear,
that il should and ought to be considered as per-
mnnent do not hesitate to say, that if we should
adopt such a rule of construction, as the Senator
u
should in effect strike on, of the statute-book
great many provisions of which we should feel
extremely sorry to be deprived, and would leave
the public service a great deal more exposed to
depreciation than it is now.
The Senator from Virginia mentioned, as one Of
the causes OF the complication of accounts, the
liability to abuse :" a system Of drafts drawn by
quartermasters on each other, payable anywhere
do not know whether the Senator is reported
with exaet accuracy. ! can hardly understand
how a draft drawn by one quartermaster upon
another, can be payable dny,chere can UNDER
stand how draft, drawn by one quartermaster
upon another, may be paid somewhere else than
at the place of his residence, or by somebody else
than himself, by IN arrangement very easily ex-
planed but | cannot understand how draft,
drawn by upon ar given place, can be pay
able somewhere else.
Mr. HUNTER. | was at tie Office of the
Third Auditor this morning, and he showed me
drafts were drawn on particular quartermaster--
say at New Orleans, or st. Louis--which were
paid in Baltimore, or New York.
Mr. PEARCE can very well understand
how that would BE: but cannot understand how
such drafts can be made payable anywhere"
Mr.. HUN IER- Ii custom makes them paw
able in that way, Of course these drafts will float
about as sort of bills Of exchange. ! am in
formed of the fact, which | have stated, by the
Third Auditor
Mr. PEARCE If this is an abuse, where did
il originate: The Senator says, il originated
during the war. think that very probable, though
| do nos know the fact. think 1t probable that
there might be a case in which il would be very
proper for a quarermaster to pay by draft drawn
on another quarterr~aster: for example, suppose u
quartermaster in New Mexico was called upon
TO pay money, and he has no, got the money, he
cannot very well get it,un'ass we wagon il there,
some seven hundred or eight hundred miles from
Fort Leayenworih, across the IDiian Territory
There 20 custom-houses Ia New Mexico, aud
40 revenue derived from customs there. There
fore, the only way 10 get money there would be
to send military escort with il; and thit, pre-
sumo, the Senator would not approve of, if the
purpose could be accomplished otherwise. A
draft, then, NAV with great propriety be drawn by
the quartermoster in New Mexico upon quarter
master somewhere else--as, for example, at ST.
Louis, aud il would, ~ course, be payable mt ST.
Louis. Indeed do not see how it could other
wise be drawn.
Mr.. HUNTER. That is precisely what said
know that there IS necessity for drawing these
drafts but say that there ought to be regulations
to enforce the quarermasters drawing them, TO
inform the Department The Department ought
TO know when drafts are drawn The drafts when
drawn ought 10 lie made payable at some given
place, and not float about as bills of exchange. |
admit that the drafts are necessary in some cases.
Mr.. PEARCE. Then we agree upon that
point: but the Senator, perhaps, does not under
stand exactly the distinction ] was making. I
said that ] supposed the Senator was not reported
right, and that what he meant 10 say was that a
bill was drawn by one quartermaster upon an
other, and instead Of being paid by him, that the
quartermaster had given an order on some other
quartermaster. That, supposed, was the Sena-
tors meaning.
Mr.. HUNTER. | do not care 80 much about
words. spoke Of drafts being drawn on one
quartermaster and being paid by another. did
infer from what the Third Auditor told me that
these drafts were sometimes paid not by his direc-
ton; for instance, there repeated cases where
bills bad been drawn here, and paid in New York
Mr. PEARCE. Precisely; and If the Senator
had been reported saying that, should have
understood HIM, and there would have been no
difference between MS. ! think the practice is an
improper ore. J think it confuscs the accounts
and increases their comflexity. II prevents the
accounting officers from pursuing these accounts
do; and am very happy to say that | understand
the practice viii he put nm end TO. ! have, how
ever, a paper from the Quartermaster's Depart
ment. drawn mp nj my request, in regard to this
practice. The Quartermnsier General says:
sThe practice originated during the Mexican war II
not discontinued the termination OF that war; but
sill continues though limited The officers in
California authorized 30 draw only IL payments to en-.
poyeeS. Drafts his office paid Ia this place. New
YORK, Philadelphia Boston, baltimore, disbursing
agents OF e Department. ION the request Of the holders
On The order, ~ zach o the Quarcrmassr General
They invariably presented here before the order for pay
ment Il gwen, winch il, in all Endorsed the lace
OF the dralt.
g Drafts Of The officers of the Department each
paid the stations OF the officers whom they
drawn. IN n few instances. when The officer whom
they drawn has died been removed before they
could be presented for payment they have been paid here
elsewhere. the rprcal order Of the Cuartermasrr
General the fl of exchange in each being pre-
yiously surrendered"
This statement have obtained from the Quar-
termaster Generals Office. ltispossibe that there
may have been some particular case in which the
account mentioned by the Senator was correct.
Mr. HUNTER. Iapprehend that if the Sepa-
tor will go to the Third Auditors Office, he will
find great many 0f those cases.
Mr. PEARCE. II there good many they
ought TO be looked into, and this ought to be put
nd ~ nnt In, iS ~, re-