The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1854-12-13

: ana premiums amounted 60 80 $3.50. $50
n to the sum total of the receipts Of that
o year is to be added balance remaining
: in treasury at tho commencement
] amounting to twenty millions, nine hun
i dred and forty-two thousand, eight hun
e drcd AID i-.ety-two dollars, and at the
eiose the same year corresponding bal
L anee amounting to twenty million one
e hundred and thirty seven thousand nine
| hundred and sixty seven dollars of re-
ceipts above expenditures, also remain
r ing in the treasury Although in the
opinion of the Secretary of the Treas
: ury, the receipts of the current fiscal
: year are not likely to exceed in amount
those of the last, yet they will undoabt-
edly exceed the amount of expenditures
at least SIS, 100000
/ shall therefore continue to direct
that the surplus revenue be applied so
far as it can be judiciously and economi-
cally done, to the reduction of the pub
lie debt, the amount of which at the
commencement of the last fiscal year
was SCI, ,340,6 of which there had
been paid on the Goth of November,
1854, tho sum of $22, ,365, ,l72, leaving
balance of outstanding public debt Of
only $44, ,975 ,456, redeemable at differ
ent periods within Ia years. There are
also remnants of other government stocks,
most of which are already due and on
which the interest has ceased, but which
have not yet been presented for pay
ment, amounting to $233,179. TThhis
statement exhibits the fact that the an
nual income of the government greatly
exceeds the amount of its public debt,
/ ah 1ak
cause the time of payment has not yet
matured, and it cannot be discharged at
once except at the option of public
creditors. who prefer to retain the securi-
ties of the United States; and the other
fact not less striking that the annual
revenue from all sources, exceeds by
many millions of collars the amount
needed for prudent and economical ad-
ministration of the government.
The estimates presented to Congress
from the different Executive Depart
ments at the last session amounted to
thirty eight millions fur hundred
and six thousand, five hundred and
eighty one dollars, and the appropria-
tions made to the sum of ffty-eight
millions oEe hundred and sixteen thou
sand nine hundred aud fifty-eight dol
lars. OF this excess of appropriations
over estimate, however, more than twen-
| ty million was applicable to extraordi-
| nary objects, having no reference to the
annual expenditures Among these OBJ
| iects was embraced ten millions to meet
the third article of the treaty between
the United S ates and Mexico, SO that
in fact, for objects of ordinary expendi-
ture the appropriations were limited to
considerable less than forty millions of
| dollars. therefore renew my recon-
mendation for a reduction of the duties
on imports.
The report of the Secretary of the
Treasury presents a series Of tables,
showing the operation of the revenue
system for several successive years, and
as general principle of reduction of
duties, with view to revenue, and not
protection, may now be regarded as the
settled policy of the country. I trust
that the little difficulty will be encoun-
tered in the details of measure to that
effect. In connection with this subject,
L recommend change in the laws which
recent experience has shown to be essen
tial to the protection of the government.
There is no express provision of law re-
quiring the records of papers of pub
lie character, of the several officers of
the government, to be left In their Of
fees 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 the abb
sence of such express provision by law,
the outgoing officers in many instances
have claimed and exercise the right to
take into their possession important
books and papers, on the ground that
these were their private property, and
have placed them beyond the reach of
the government. Conduct of this char
acter, brought to the notice of the pres
ent Secretary of the Treasury, naturally
awakened his suspicion, and resulted in
the disclosure that at four ports, viz: Os-
wego, Toledo, Sandusky and Milwaukee
the Treasury, by false entries, had been
defrauded within the four years next pre-
ceding March, 1853, of the sum of $685.
600: Thegreat difficulty attending the
detection of these frauds has been IN
consequence of the abstraction of books
and papers by the retiring officers and
the facility with which similar frauds IN
the public revenue may be perpetrated,
render the necessity of new legal enact
ments, 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 and the
tables which accompany it furnish ample
proofs of the solid foundation on which
the financial security of the country rests
and of the salutary influence ofthe In
dependent Treasury system on COM
merce and AL monetary operations.
The experience of the last year fur
nishes additional reasons, / regret to
say, of painful character, for recon-
mendation heretofore made to provide
for increasing the military force- en-
ployed in the territory inhabited by the
Indians. The settlers on the frontier
have suffered much from the incursions :
of pedatory bands and large parties of =
to our Pacific possessions
have been massacred with impunity.-
The recurrence of such scenes can only be
prevented by teaching these wild tribes
the power of their responsibility to the
u. States From the garrisons of our
frontier posts it is only possible to de-
tach troops in small bodies and although
these have on all occasions displayed
gallantry and "A stern devotion to duty,
which on a larger field would have com
manded our admiration, they have suf-
.fered severely in these conflicts with SUI