Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1852-05-22

est and populous part of the old States and you
can neither protect the nor give security TO
the cmgan defend the advance Of your settlements
except by military force supported at immense expense
These evils which not unforeseen. recolect
that in 1847, when had occasion to make remarks
the Mexican alluded to the necessary increase
of expenditure which would inevitably take place. if you
acquired these very distant and unsettled Territories
Everybody knew that it would be Formerly your
military posts were stationed to steamboat navga
ton. The most remote post you had was but ninety
miles distant from steamboat navigation Many of them
directly accessible to steamboats, Others with
in SIX and twenty -four miles distant and there
but post far distant ninety miles. Now, you
have to drag -four, and pork and other provisions
times distance Of thousand miles and that not over
country where there beaten roads, where there
any sediments, where there any products Of which
the escorts avail themselves but where very Often
there's grass water their animals where
the scany products of the earth sold at the most
enormous prices
This accounts in the MAN, for the very large increase
Of expenditure which has taken place. But undertake
to that the present Secretary Of War has made very
udcous and praiseworthy efforts to reduce these expen
dtures The Senator from Virginia hardly does justice
to him when he says that these reforms only at
tempted very recently That is comparative term. The
phrase very recently, Every lately, may one
thing another, according to the subject matter of
which the person is speaking. If you were speaking Of
the geological structure Of the EARTH period Of six
turtles would be very recent Hyou speaking of the
constitutional history Of the United States the tenth part
Of that time would be ancient for whole existence
as an independent naon has only been about seventy
five years When you speak Of reforms and the attempts
the Secretary of War to reform abuses having been
recently DONE you must look at the circumstances under
which, and the time at which, he came into Office.
think it the 18th Of August 1850, when Mr. Con-
rad appointed to the War Department What the
condition Of public affairs at that time? Many judicous
persons thought that the Union was shaking to its
tre We know how Congress was agitated; that " the
times sadly out Of joint - that scarcely any thing
thought Of by the members Of this body and Of the
other House. except those agang questions which had
long distracted u.s. and impeded all regular egs
ation II is not to be supposed that the Executive could
have been inattenve to those grave questions that the
members Of the Administration should not have been anx
ously employed in considering the consequences when
might result from Of conduct another adopt
ed BY Congress- Besides during the session Of
there Is always great deal Of current business
y calling upon the attention Of the Secretary congress
adjourned about the first Of October and met ABOUT
the first Of December Two months was all the time In
which the Secretary Of War could be said TO nave mad any
leisure to acouaint himself with the organization and gem
cral operations Of his Department. much less had he time