The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1853-12-14

ted them heretofore, are passing away
with the causes which produced them
and the passions which they had awak-
cncd ; or, if any trace of them remains,
it may be reasonably hoped that it will
only be perceived in the jealous rivalry
of all good citizens to testify their res
pect for the rights of the States, their
devotion to the Union, and their common
determination that each one of the
States, its institutons,its welfare, and its
domestic peace shall be held alike sc
cure under the sacred egis of the con
sttution.
This new league Of amity and mutual
confidence and support, into which the
people Of the republic have entered, hap
PLY affords induccmcnt and opportunity
for the adoption of a more comprchcn-
sivc and uncmbarrassed line of policy
and action, as to the great material i'll.
tcrcsts of the country, whether regarded
in themselves or in connexion with the
powers of the civilized world.
The United States have continued
gradually and steadily to extend, through
acquisitions OF territory, which, how
muchsoevcr some of them may have been
questioned, are now universally seen
and admitted to have been wise in poll
cy, just in character aud great elc-
mcnt in the advancement OF our country,
and with it, of the human race, in free
dom in prosperity and in happiness
The thirteen states have grown to be
the thirty one with relations reaching
to Europe, on the one side and on the
other reaching to the distant realms of
Asia
am deeply sensible of the immense
responsibility which the present magni
tude of the republic and the diversity
and multiplicity Gifts interests, dcvolvcs
upon me the alienation of which, SO
far as it relates to the immediate of the
public business is, first in my reliance
on the wisdom and patriotism of the two
houses of Congress and secondly, in
the directions afforded me by the prin-
ciples of public polity affirmed by our
fathers OF the epoch of 1893, sanctioned
by long experience, and consecratcd a
new by the overwhelming voice Of the
people of the United States.
Recurring to these principles, which
constitute the organic basis of union, we
perceive that, vast as arc the functions
and the duties of the federal govern
mcnt, vested in, or entrusted to, its
three great departments, the Legislative,
executive and judicial, yet the substan-
tive power. the popular force and the
large capacities for social and material
development, exist in the respective
States, which all being Of themselves
well constituted republics, rs they pre-.
ceded, so they alone are capable of main
tanning and pcrpctuating, the American
Union. The federal government has
its appropriate line of action in the
specific and limited powers conferred on
it by the constitution, chiefly as to those
things in which the States have COM
mon interest in their relations to one an.
other aud with foreign governments
while the great mass Of interests which
belong to cultivated men, the ordinary
business of life, the springs of industry,
all the diversified personal and domestic
affairs of society, rest securely upon the
general reserved powers of the people Of
the several States There is the ciicc-
tive democracy Of the nation. and there
is the vital essence of its being and its
greatness.
OF the practical consequences which
flow from the nature of the federal gov
eminent, the primary one is the duty Of
administering with integrity and fidelity
the high trust imposed in it by the con
stitution, especially in the application of
the public funds, as drawn by taxation
from the people, and appropriated to
specific objects by Congress Happily
| have no occasion to suggest any radi
cal changes in the financial policy of the
government Ours is almost, if not alb
solutely, the solitary power of Christcn-
dom having a surplus revenue, drawn
Immediately from imports on commerce,
and therefore measured by the sponta
neous enterprise and national prosperity
Of the country, with such indirect rcla.
ton to agriculture, manufactures, and
the products of the earth and sea, us to
violate no constitutional doctrine. aud
yet vigorous y promote the general wei
fare. Neither as to tho sources of the
public treasure, nor MS to the manner of
keeping and managing it, does any grave
controversy now prevail, there being
general acquicsccncc in the wisdom of the
present system.
The report of the Secretary of the
Treasury will exhibit, in detail, the state
of the public finances, and the condition
of the various branches of the public SER
vice administered by that department
of the government.
The revenue of the country. levied al.
most insensibly to the tax payer, goes
OH from year to year, increasing beyond
either the interests or the prospective
wants CT the government.
At the close of the fiscal year ending
june 80, 1852, there remained in the
treasury balance of fourteen millions
six hundred and thirty.two thousand one
hundred and thirty-six dollars. The
public revenue for the fiscal year ending
June So 1853, amounted to fifty-eight
million nine hundred and thirty one
thousand night hundred and sixty five
dollars from customs, and two millions
four hundred and five thousand seven
hundred and eight dollars from public
lands and other miscellaneous sources,
amounting together to Sol 1897 574 !;
while the public expenditures for the
same period, exclusive of payments on
account of the public debt, amounted to
S43.5i4. 262: leaving a hnlnnce of $40