Burlington tri-weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1852-1855, 1854-12-12

lures for the same period, exclusive 81 pay /
ments on account Of the public debt, am |
ounted to Fifty one million eighteen thou |
sand two hundred and forty nine dollars.
During the same period, the payments made
in redemption Of the public, debt, including inter-
est and premium. amounted to twenty. four mil
lion three hundred and thirty-six thousand three
hundred and eighty dollars. To the sum total OF
the receipts Of that year is to be added balance
remaining in the Treasury at the common cement
hunderd and for:y-two thousand eight hundred
| and ninety-two dollars; and at the close Of the
same year, corresponding balance amounting
to twenty million one hundred and thirty-seven
thousand nine hundred and sixty-seven dollars OF
receipts, above expenditures, also remained in the
Treasury. Although, in the opinion Of the Score.
tary Of the Treasury, the receipts Of the current
fiscal year not likely TO equal in amount those
| OF the last, yet they will undoubtedly exceed the
amount Of expenditures by at least fifteen millions
OF dollars. | shall, therefore, continue TO rect
that the surplus revenue be applied. so far . il
can be judiciously and economically done, to the
reduction Of the public debt, the amount Of which
at the commencement Of the last fiscal year, was
sixty seven million three hundred and forty thon-
sand six hundred and twenty-eight dollars Of
which there had been paid on the twentieth day
of November, 1884, the sum of twenty-five mil
| lion three hundred and sixty -four Thousand one
| hundred and sevcnty-two dollars leaving O. bal
i 0HCe VI Outstanding pHUtC 0eOt OF Only IOIty-
four million nine hunured and seventy FIVE thou
sand four HUNDRED and fifty six dollars, redeema-
/ Bile at different periods within fourteen years
| There are also remnants OF other government;
stocks, most Of which are already uue. and on
which the interest has ceased, but which have
not yet been presented for payment, amounting
to two hundred and thrty-shree thousand one
huDdI ed and seventy nine dollars.
i This statement exhibits the fact, that the annual
income Of the government greatly exceeds The
amount Of its public debt, which latter remains
unpaid, only because the time of payment has
not yet matnred, and it can only be discharged at
the option of public creditors. who prefer TO re-
tain the securities of the United States; and the
other fact, not less striking, that The annual re-
venue from all sources exceeds, by many millions
of dollars, The amount needed for prudent and
economical administration of the Government.
The estimates presented 10 Congress from the
different Executive Departments, al the last ses-
sion, amounted to thirty-eight million four humid
red and six thousand five hundred and eighty one
dollars; and the appropriations made, to the sum
Of fifty-eight million one hundred and sixteen
thousand nine hundred and fifty eight. OF this
excess OF appropriations over estimates however,
more than twenty million was applicable 10 ex-
traordinary objects, having no reference to the
nsua! annual expenditures. Among these OBJ
jects, was embraced ten million 10 meet the third
article of the treaty between the United States
ry expenditure, the appropriations were limited
to considerably less than forty millions There
fore renew nv recommendation for a reduction
of the duties on imports. The report Of the
Secretary Of the Treasury presents series of
tables, showing the operation Of the revenue sys-
TEN for several successive years, and as the gen.
eral principle Of reduction Of duties with view
to revenue and not protection may now be re-
garded as The settled policy of the country, trust
that little difficulty will BE- encountered in settling
the details OF a measure to that effect.
In connection with this subject, recon-
mend a change in the laws, which recent ex-
perience has shown to be essential to the pro-
lection of the government. There is no ex-
press provision by laws, requiring the records
and papers of public character, of the sew
eral Offices of the government, to be left in
their Offices for the use Of their successors,
nor any provision declaring it felony on their
part to make false entries in the books, or
return false accounts. In absence Of such
express provision by law, the outgoing Off
GERS, In many instances, have claimed and ex-
ercised the right to take into their own pos
session important books and papers, on the
ground that these were their private proper
ty; and have placed them beyond the reach
of the Government. Conduct of this char
acter, brought in several instances to the no.
tice Of the present Secretary Of the Treasu-
ry, naturally awakened his suspicion, and re-
suited in the disclosure that at four posts,
namely, Oswego, Toledo, Sandusky and Mil
waukee, the treasury had, by false entries,
been defrauded, within the four years next
preceding March, 1858, of the sum of one
hundred and ninety eight thousand dollars.
The great difficulty with which the detection
of these frauds has been att nded, in conse-
quence of the abstraction of books and pa
pers by the retiring officers, and the facility
with which similar frauds in the public SER
vice may be perpetrated, renders the neces-
slty of new legal enactments, in the respects
above referred to, quite obvious. For her
material notifications of the revenue laws
which seem 10 me desirable, refer you to
the report of the Secretary Of the Treasury.
That report. and the tables which accompany
it, furnish ample proofs of the solid founda-
ton on which the financial security of the
country rests, and of the salutary influence
of the independent treasury system upon
commerce and all monetary operations.
| The experience or the last year furnishes
additional reasons, regret to say, of a pain
full character, for the Recommendation here
tofore made to provide for increasing the
military force employed in the territory in
habited by the Indians. The settlers on the
frontier have suffered much from the incur
sions Of predatory bands, and large parties
OF emigrants to our Pacific possessions have
been massacred with impunity. The recur-
renee OF such scenes can only be prevented
BY teaching these wild tribes the power of.
and their responsibility to, the United States.
From the garrisons Of our frontier posts. il
is only possible to detach troops in small
bodies; and though these have on eli occa-
n nat