The Cass County Republican. [volume] (Dowagiac, Mich.) 18??-1880, 1858-06-10

sent rates Of duties, to raise the fifty-
two million dollars estimated by the
honorable Senator from Virginia from
Che customs, we must import two hun
dred and seventy-two million dollars of
dutiable merchandise, which will be
ten million dollars more than we ever
imported.
In the face of these facts, the Secre-
tary of the Treasury tells us that
"The revival of business, which can
not be longer delayed, will, / am con-
fident, insure through the present
tariff, a sufficient revenue for the sup
port of the Government in ordinary
times. -
We'll, sir, having expended thirty
eight million dollars this year more
than the receipts, having next year to
provide several more millions beyond
the receipts, to meet the wants of the
Government now, hurrying on with no
prospect during, the present Admins
tration of the receipts paying the ex-
penditures, the Secretary repeats, in
this letter of the 10Th of May, the doc
tiinC Adiei uOWi III Ills lCpOit,
that-we should have no revision of the
tariff at the present time. Sir. L see
no wisdom in this policy-the country
will see no wisdom in policy that i'm
poses upon the Government the neces-
sity of increasing permanent national
debts to meet the wants of the Treas
ury. szg 90 Js.f .asalsr 81
In. this condition, of the country,
what should statesmen do? The Adj
ministration should come here and
propose to increase our receipts, to
raise our revenue fifteen million dollars,
or it should come here with specific
and detailed propositions to reduce the
expenditures of the Government by the
amount of fifteen million dollars. /
think wise statesmen would come with
both propositions. think. that, if we
had men at the head of affairs who
adhered to the old republican doctrine
that in time of peace the expenditures
should be kept within the receipts, We
should not incur a permanent national
debt to pay the ordinary and current
expenses of the Government. l think
we should have had here, weeks ago, a
proposition to increase the revenue by
revising the Tariff, and detailed and
specific proposition to reduce the ex-
penditures of-this Government ten, fif-
teen, or twenty million dollars. have
no doubt that this Government can be
well administered for S5O,OOO,OOO an
nually. But, SIR. instead of coming
here with proposition to increase the
revenue to meet the ordinary and cur
rent expenses of the Government, we
have the declaration, repeated in three
reports by the Secretary of the Treasu-
nv, sustained by the President, and in
both Houses of Congress, that we must
not revise Tariff under which we can.
not, by any possibility, raise $50, 100000
for the next year, when We want $780,,
100000 to meet the necessities of the
Government. This is trifing with the
interests of the nation, and should meet
the stern rebuke of the American peo
pie. The Tariff gives you only about
nineteen per cent, and you 4cannot
have more than two hundred and fifty
millions of -dutiable imports next year
Under the present tariff, unless We
have an unnatural expansion of bank
papers again.. unless we have an era O
speculation that is to end in bankrupt
cy, there is no probability that, for the
next two or three years, we can raise
more than fifty millions from the Gus
toms; and yet we are told, most emphat
ically, that this tariff must not be re-
yised. .,s-rt.-ss
In this report of the Secretary of the
Treasury we have an abundance Of
talk. about. retrenchment and reform. .
1t is all talk-mere phrases-words
words, words. Will any Senator tel
me what single proposition has been
made, under this administration, toward
"retrenchment and reform" in the ex
penses ofthe Government? The Sec
rotary of the Treasury is spending
nearly one million and half dollars
more money to collect the revenue
than was spent by the Administration
of Mr.. Fillmore. He spent S2,0O0,OO(
in the collection of the revenue on thu
Atlantic coast. The present Secretary
spends $4,000, 900 on the Atlantic coas
alone, and employs six hundred more
men than were employed by Mr.. Cor
win, and he askes us to take off the
limitation of law and to increase the
expenditures of that Department 81,
100000 annually, beyond the limita
tons of the law. The Secretary o
War pressed upon us the raising of tiv,
additional regiments, at an annual cos
of s., O0O, 900, which Congress, in it.
wisdom, voted down. The Secretary
of the Navy wanted ten sloops, at al
expense of two and half or three mil
lion of dollars annually; and / am tolt
that now, under the cry that is got NJ
of British aggressions in Gulf, TWEEN
ty or thirty war vessels are talked Of
and here, by the way, / must say tina
the head of the State Department, il
his correspondence, talks very mildly
about. these aggressions, especially
when we take into consideration tht
warlike speeches we used to hear from
him on this floor.
Congress has already saved eight o.
ten million dollars by refusing to gran
the. extravagant demands of the Exc
cutive Departments, and more may b.
saved. Sir, there is no proposition t.
reduce expenditureS unless it be by de