Staunton vindicator and general advertiser. (Staunton, Augusta County, Va.) 1858-1860, 1858-05-01
Or Tive D.s!iars In .iiyaace.


wl,! grass. with the cox. mt operation
necessarily being carried on, is sufficient to
i account fur the Increased individual cost Of
the military force"
Sir, is not th;s a satisfactory explanation
of the increased c st attending the expense
IF soldier from $3.50 to SYST? In tho
S.! very case now under consideration, here, is
a transportation OF twelve hundred miles
rom Fort Leavenworth to Utah, which is tho
scene Of this difficulty tetweea the Terrific
~ and this government, and where these
troops are to be employed Fort Laramie is
some six hundred miles off, and Fort Kear-
nev, believe between two and three hum
dred miles. We have acquired Texas, and
the defence Of that State is to be attended
to. We have acquired the country on the
| Pacific coast, and that is to be attended to.
We have acquired Oregon and Washington,
where posts have been established and to
which transportation has to be made. Is it
at all wonderful, then, that when the ex-
tent OF our country is more than doubled,
when we have that much more to defend than
We had before, there should be an enhanced
price for transporting troops, with limited
! army Of fifteen thousand men, to supply
h Sc posts as occasi, n and necessity may re-
quire Besides all that part of this very
deficiency has been left as legacy to this
administration from the preceding one.
have had a table prepared which l have
here, showing how much was left over and
when it accumulated.
We omit the table
Here, then, was deficiency of Al .228.-
go 81, that has come down to this admin
istration, with estimates for which it did not
prepare. It could not guard against this
deficiency in any way whatsoever And it
has come down with this Utah difficulty ac-
cumulated upon it.
Sir, will it be contended here that the Sc
cretary of War is to be arraigned because
of this deficiency which has grown up un-
der previous administration Is he to lie
held accountable for it l apprehend not.
The expenditures already made on account
Ct this Utah expedition, by the quartermas-
ter's department, arc for regular supplies,
&27,776 40; incidental expenses, S1O,-
S2S 96; mounts and remounts, S6S,s So.
so; mileage S., 500; for transportation
Of troops and for supplies. 81 ALL 1916 80;
barracks and quarters, 81 1902 06; amount-
ing, IN the aggregate, to 81, 529,0S6 IS;
and there are articles yet to be furnished,
ia order to supply these troops, to give them
the means Of support during the coming
winter, and to protect them, to say nothing
Of the four additional regiments that the
House has ordered. Let me say here that
if this Utah expedition was improperly be-
gun, if the President is to he arraigned for
it here, desire to know from gentleman
upon this floor why they did not raise this
question on the day Congress met, and put
an end to the expedition If they thought
that the expedition was begun wrong, or
had been prosecuted unwisely, then was tho
time to begin, and they could then at once
have said to bin, this thing is improper,
and We order it to be STOPPED; bring home
your troops" But this was not done, sir.
They first adopt a resolution declaring that
there is rebellion in Utah they then come
in here and pass ILL for four additional
regiments, to enable the President to pros
ecute the war thus improperly begun. And
now we are told that these moneys are to
be withheld, because he did not call Con-
gress together when he undertook the expe-
dltion, and get their consent before it was
commenced. | say, then, sir, that the House
is doing injustice to itself, after its own ac-
ton in this matter, and still greater inius-
tice to the President. when. it proposes now
to charge that this thing has been in,propcr-
y do,ir.
Sir we have had good deal said here
upon another subject connected with this
ma r. was sorry to hear the gentleman
from Tennessee Mr. JoNEsl lending his
name to this idea that is floating about IN
regard to contracts, and to the advan-
tage that these contracts are to the War
Department. lie did, sir. very great ina
justice TO himself, as well as very great in
justice to the officer who presides over that
department, as the facts which have been
brought before the House establish conclu
sivcly. But the gentleman from Illinois
Mr.. LovEJoY] was not content to rely up
on insinuations. He charged that this Utah
war was war of plundcrers and specula-
tors, and said he did not know what it NO IL
cost to get these contracts at the War De
partment Now, sir, has there been any,
thing in the character or conduct of the
Secretary Of War which would justify an
imputation Of this sort upon him Has
the gentleman any evidence to warrant it?
Why, yes, sir; he tells US that q contrac-
tor furnished him the information bu.
when called upon to give us the name Of
the contractor, he says that he cannot do it;
that might be that the seal of private con-
flencc was upon that communication when
made to him. Mr.. Chairman, I ask him,
IN all sincerity and kindness if he could
not furnish the name, why was not the seal
OF private confidence upon the communities
ton, and Why could it be given and not
tue na,ne? Why could the name not be
furnished? Why was the statement made
and the name not furnished But now the
report comes in and the gentleman allega-
tons are distinctly met Who is the con-
tractor now? Who is it that has given
currency to this libel against the head of
the War Department? The gentleman
will recognise the principle Of the law that,
il he undertakes to ci'cul tu a report IN
founded in fact against one, and, when cal
I'D refuses 70 furnish the name of respon
sib'A informant. he is held in /; W Fable for
tie loal which he circu a!es. Aud think
that II woa!l BE- - held not only in law,
blt II ..n',i morals therefore call upon
IN q, II i;.:nYn n, all EinIunos +n IL -.