Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1854-12-21

cords and papers of public charac-
ter, of the several officers of the|
Government, to be left in their Off
ces for the use Of their successors,
nor any provisions declaring it felo-tl
ny On their part to make false en-
tries in the book, or return false ae-I
counts. Ia the absence Of such ex-
press provisions by law, the outgoing
officers in many instances, have
claimed and exercised the tight to
takeinto their own possession impor-
tant bcoksand papers, on the ground
that these were their private proper
ty; and have placed them beyond
the reach ofthe Government. Con-
duct Of this character, brought in
several instances to the notice Of the
present Secretary of the Treasury,
naturally awakened his suspicion,
and resulted in the disclosure that at
four ports, namely. Oswego, Toledo,
Sandusky, and Milwaukee, the Treas
ury had, by false entries, been de-
frauded, within four years next pre-
ceding March, 1853, of the sum of
one hundred and nihety-eight thou
sand dollars. The great difficulty
with which the. detection of these
frauds has been attended, il conse-
quence of the abstraction of books
and papers by the retiring officers,
and the facility with which similar
frauds in the public service may be
perpetrated, render the necessity Of
new legal enactments in the respects
above referred to, quite obvious
For other material notifications Of
the revenue laws which seem to me
desirable: refer you to the report
Of the Secretary Of the Treasury
That report and the tables which ac-
company it, furnish ample proofs of
the solid foundation on which the f.
nancial security Of the country rests,
and of the salutary influence of the
independent treasury system upon
commerce and all monetary opera
tions.
The experience Of the lat year
furnishes additional reasons, I regret
to say, of a painful character, for the
recommendation heretofore made, to
provide for increasing the military
force employed in the territory in
habitsd by the Indians. The settlers
on the frontier have suffered much
from the incursions of predatory
bands, and large parties Of emigrants
to our Pacific possessions have been
mastered with IMMUNITY. The recur-
renee of such scenes can only be pre-
vented by teaching these wild tribes
the power of, and their responsibility
to, the United States. From the gar
risous Of our frontier posts, it is only
possible to detach troops in small bod
las; and though these have on all oc-
casions displayed a gallantry and a
stern devotion to duty, which on a
larger field would have commanded
universal admiration, they have usu-
ally suffered severely IN these con-
flicts with superior numbers, and have
sometimes been entirely sacrificed.
All the disposable force Of the Army
is already employed On this service,
aud is known to be wholly inadequate
to the protection which should be af-
forded. The public mind of the coun-
try has been recently shocked by saw
age atrocities committed upon de-
fenceless emigrants and border settles
ments, and hardly less by the unne-
cessary destruction Of valuable lives,
where inadequate detachments of
troops have undertaken to furnish
the needed aid. Without increase Of
the military force, these scenes will
be repeated, it is to be feared, on a,
larger scale, and with more disas.
trous consequences. Congress, | al,
sure, will perceive that the p,sinest
duties and< responsibilities of Gov
errment are involved in this ques-
ton, and / doubt not that prompt
action may be confidently anticipa- |
ted when delay must be attended by |
such fearful hazards. !
Tie bill Of the last session, pro-.
viding for an increase Of the pay Of
The rank and file Of the Army has
had beneficial results, not only in
facilitating enlistments, but in OBJ
vious Improvement in the class Of
men who enter the service. re-
sret the corresponding considera-
ion was not bestowed on the off
GERS, WHO, in view of their charac-
Ter and services, and the expenses
o which they are necessarily subs
ect, receive at presen; what is, in
nv Judgment. Inadequate Common