Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1858-04-02

land, we trust repoft upon the important subject OF
national expenditure embracing within its scope Also
the searching question of National Taxation and Reve
nue. - fEaa
That our annual expenditure has been carried of late
years. far beyond the legitimate bounds of neCess
ties all will admit who recognize within the past few
years, Of about seventy millions annually 50 so
for each individual, made way with, whilst In long
range of previous years. when at peace much less sum
in proportion to the popuetion was deemed ample to
meet all the yearly necessities of the National Treasury
The argument sometimes adduced for this great and
wastefu increase from pasyears, that the expenses of
living have proportonatey advanced. If such is the
case these expenses have warrant IN the enhanced
value of the necessaries the comforts OF life. 10
prove this let any weauhentcated record of prices OF
family articles for the past fifty years be consulted to
vindicate the assertion Take the whole range of pro-
visions as an iusraton-wth the single exception of
butchers beef So, too, with all the varieties of groce
res and clothing and the average of the past ten years
will be found below that of any other decade of his
tory The same facts exist with reference to the costs
of all the munments of war; which apply equally to the
land and naval forces Should it be alleged that steam,
in the first instance costly the other hand it
is efficient in the matter of transport and offensive
or protective operations, than alone Thus
smaller embodiment of men, with steam appliances are
far powerful at afOat, than when employed
in any mode of naval warfare thirty years ago.
Apply this view of the case to the statement that
soldier of the army requires $500 to 1000 per
annum to sustain him, land it is fair to suppose sailor
an equal greater amount whilst in the early period
of the century $500 to $500 per annum was found su
cent and we cannot escape the conclusion that great
waste and extravaganza sustained by careless if not
rupt legislation, is the of the inequality. There
is reason why those in the Government employ should
be better paid than the of their eOwctZens who
give equal labor intelligence to the discharge of their
daily duties and whilst all wish the faithful public
want to be properly recompensed, may, at the
time feel well assured that the steady hand of retrench
can, at moment of national Distress be most
proftaby employed in probing into the details of the
expenditures for the army and navy that sweeping
collectively from the Treasury nearly thirty millions of
dollars year.
Another prolific source of expenditure is the system
of subsidies applied directly through the Post Office
Department, to the commercial steam marine which
shown in the deficiencies of that Department. and in
other ways must embrace item of five millions
of dollars annually.
The question of public printing, calling for its
millions rather than its few hundred thousand annually
is receiving share of public attention. and it may
be fairly hoped that will not escape the close attention
of Mr. Boyce's important committee.
Again, the tendency to increase the compensation of
every attace of the Government in the departments of
civilian character cannot have escaped the attention of
any who has noticed the course of legislation at
Washington in recent years The point Of honor that
formerly attached in degree to every public officer of
national character, appears to have subsidized into
consideration of emoument alone.
The cost of collecting the of the Union, when
allow for the value of the rental of Custom Houses
and of cutters, &c. is represented by another
annual draft of five millions upon the Treasury and like
all the others enumerated, is additional burthen upon
the industry of the country 1t will be properly ques
ton before the committee whether by radical change
in the mode of assessing raising the revenue this last
formidable item cannot be greatly alleviaed if not alto
gether dispensed with.
That the mode the constitution contemplated making
taxation and representation move hand and hand
each State to furnish its quota in the ratio of its
preventative force in Congress- would dispense with this
last burthen of five millions for the expenses Of collect
ing the revenue, there be dispute; and for one
o many the writer hopes to live to the day when
the wise system Of revenue contemplated by the founders
of our Government will be the only existing with
the nation.
This would, it is true, be departure from the policy
OF the Government for the present century, that COM
MERGE should be almost the sole instrument through
which, in time of peace the Treasury should be supplied
So many advantages attach to the simple and economi
cal mode of drawing from each State its quota for the
nations support that if the people have the ques
ton fairly submitted to their decision it is safe to pre-
dict that its obvious tendency to guard against the prac
tce of prose expenditure and its consequent check up
on Congressional corruption, would invoke the warmest
support.
The adoption of this system of revenue, of course
would ignore the doctrine of protection, which few still
cling to applicable and favorable to the industry of
the country. | say doctrine of protection for it can
readily be shown that the liberation of trade from the
letters that the laws impose, would place
farther advanced position, in the scale of the worlds
competition, than they even possess.
We all remember that of the last public decara-
lions of Henry Clay (who has been styled the Father
of the System y was that Protection for projections
sake was dead " and it is not too much to say that
the dozen years that have elapsed since it was
made have not in the experience that they have devel
oped, weakened its force.
The question whether the public lands should be used
as direct source of revenue has often been debated
The higher policy would probably favor their reservation
as basis for national credit whenever an emergency
might require its use reservng their present income to
discharge the interest and principal of the existing debt
Commerce might then be alone charged with the
sty of conveying to the Treasury our yearly require
ment, which might, without an inconvenent retrench-
ment be brought within the of forty millions of dol
lars based upon the scale of values of the present year.
New York Journal Of Commerce.
AN OLD PARAGRAPH-A friend wishing duplicate
OF the following paragraph has handed it to for pub
lication:
americans Abroad-In looking over list of students
in the Urban College, at Rome, we find the following
Names among those particularly distinguished for excel
lence in ONE branches of science and the arts:
Patrick n. Lynch, Charleston, S. c.
Joseph Bale, Pennsylvania.
Ambrose Manahan, New York
James Corcoran, Charleston, S. c..
William O'Hara, Philadelphia.
jeremiah Cummings New York
James NJ Cullum, Cincinnati
i William Mountfort Cincinnati
| These young men seem to have shared the contest
with Armenians, Chaldeans, Germans Swiss, Greeks
Hethehemltes, Chinese, Moronites Albanians Canad-
ans, Wallachans, Romans Irish Georgians Californi
ans, Bulgarans, Dutch French, Turks English Syri-
ans and natives of the Islands of the Pacific and to
nave taken premiums and received praises in all the n-
erous branches of study pursued in that extensive Col
llege,