The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1858-09-02

pends money There are some other points
where the expenditures for collecting the revenue
are much worse than at this point.
At Wilmington, Delaware there was collected,
in 1857, $2004.95. How many men DO you sup
pose it took to collect that amount, and how
much do you suppose they got for it? 1t took
eight men, and the expense of collecting was
Sl5,s4s.3s Laughter Gentlemen, you be-
gan entirely too soon. These are are the better
sort Of cases.
At Annapolis, in Maryland, there collect
ed same year, $374.25. [Renewed laughter
How many men do you suppose 1t took to collect
that? 1t took four men, and they were paid for
their services $9e3.42.
At Ocracoke, in North Carolina, $s2.55 were
collected in 1857. Laughter. 1t took seven
men to do it; daughter and an economical
! Government, under Democratic Administra-
ton, priding itself on its economy paid seven
men, to collect this $50 55, the sum of 81, 30l52.
At Port Oxford, Oregon Territory-now, you
would expect something extravagant over there
I, there was collected $685., and it took two men
to collect it, and they were paid for collecting
S2,7O3OS. Great laughter. Can any of you
make the calculation of the per centage that was
paid to collect the $5.s5? believe it was about
FIVE hundred to one. Don't you think the Gov
eminent ought to get rich?
At Monterey, California, the amount collected
in 1857 was $45.25. Three men were employed
to collect it, and paid for doing it S7,O5O.95
At Buffalo, there was collected in 1857
Sl0,l4O53. There were ten men employed in
its collection, and they were paid Sl6896.5l.
| will not weary you by reading this report
further. 1t is the official report from the Secre-
tary of the Treasury in answer to a resolution of
the Senate calling upon him to know how many
employees he had al the different custom houses;
what he paid them how much was collected,
&c. and here is the official report from every
collection district in the United States. / have
singled out a part of them examples. EWhen
can we have the report? You can have
this published; it is a public document. Has
Douglas got t2 presume he has, for he sus-
| tains the Administration every point save
one. | will now give you some account of the
total expense of collecting the revenue for sew
| eral years past.
In 1850, Congress passed law appropriating
! S2,45O,OOO annually, to defray the expenses of
collecting the revenue east of the Rocky Noun
| tains.
During Taylor and Filmore's Administration
the whole revenue east of the Rocky Mountains
was collected for about two million dollars per
annum, leaving surplus gilmore than s 600, 900
at the end of the four years. During the four
| years of the Administration of General Pierce
| he used up the S2,450,OO0 per annum and every
dollar of the 81, 100000 remaining over from the
Fillmore Administration besides.
After Mr. Buchanan came into power, Mr.. Sec
rotary Cobb, in his first report, asked Congress
to appropriate So, ZOO, 900 annually to collect the
| revenue in the same district of country, where
only about 100000 had been required five
years before What was the reason for this vast
| increase of expense? None was given. Congress
did not appropriate the $3,7OO,OOO asked for, but
it did appropriate 100000 for collecting the
revenue east of the Rocky Mountains
The amount of the revenue collected is less
than during Filmore's Administration, when it
was collected for two million dollars The rea-
son of this increase is partly because supernu-
merary officers have been employed. Gen. Pierce
added more than three hundred clerks at the
custom-house in New York, and suppose they
were paid over thousand dollars apiece-that
alone would make $3OO,0 and so it was that
the average annual expense of collecting the
revenue this side of California during the Pierce
Administration was nearly million more than
during Fillmores; and during the first year of
Buchanan's Administration, they want 81 800, 900
more to collect the revenue for a single year than
it took four years before.
Fellow-citizens, are you for continuing this
state of things Does it meet your approba-
ton No, no, no. Do you not think it would
be better to take some of this money, thus squan-
dered upon partisan favorites, to protect your
immense commerce, to improve your harbors, end
save the lives of your citizens on these great
lakes? [Cres of " Yes, yes."1 q / suppose that
would be unconstitutional, in the opinion of the
ruling dynasty. Laughter. But it is not I'M
constitutional to pay man five hundred dollars
to collect one. Laughter.
could detain you, fellow citizens, for hours
in pointing out the extravagances of the past
and present Administrations, with all their pro-
fessions of economy. But have said enough
the gross amoan wd tRhf the 9t eaern
men is using per annum, and you will find that
Tor the last hive years more money was expended
thQn for ha !. C
ment The increase of expenditures is many
times as great as the increase of population, or
the extent OF country, and there is no reason for
TINS But there is not only extravaganza in the
collection of the revenue but in all branches of
the public service
: They are in the habit at Washington of multi
plying offices. Judicial districts are divided
when there is no cause for it. and when the
public service does not require it, and then Judges
and marshals and attorneys are appointed and
the expense OF courts is incurred. Ports of entry
are established when there is no occasion for
them, and immense sums of money are lavished
upon tavorite places in the construction of mag
nlhcent palaces. | verify believe that this Gov
eminent can be carried on, and properly carried
on, for less than one-half Of the money now
used by this Administration protesting economy
Cheers, loud applause. And ask you now, if
have not made good the charge that the professions
OF this party are as false with regard to economy
as to freedom2 Cries of Yes, yes."1 Then / ask
you, is it to be sustained | am satisfied that
the people of this country cannot approve of
| these things. You cannot believe in the profess
slons OF men who practice directly the reverse of
what they profess You cannot believe that men
| are sincerely for economy, when they are plum
dering the public treasury and if you do not
| hurl from power such party the first opportu-
| nifty you have, 1t must be because you fear that
those who are to succeed them will do no better.
Now, is that so [Cries of "No, NOT
WHAT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY PROPO-
SES.
What does the Republican party propose2 I
shall detan you but few minutes upon that
point. We propose, upon the Slavery question,
| to leave it exactly where the men who framed
the CONSTITUTION left it. We are for leaving the
question of Slavery where it exists in the States
to be regulated by the States, as they think
proper and we are for keeping the Territories
which belong to the United States free from the
invasion of Slavery so long as they remain Ter
ritOTies [cheers, leaving them when they be-
come States, of course, TO deal with their black
population they shall think best, for we have
no power then to interfere with the subject
There is no question what the result will be. If
there is no Slavery in the Territory, there will
be none when the people come to make State.
| want to appeal to the candor of those who
are IGNORING nae with their attention, whether
they be Democrats or Republicans, for there are
but two parties ; it is idle to talk about third
party-a Douglas party, or anything of that kind.
There is no middle ground you must take
side or the other If you sustain the measures
of this self-styled Democratic party, you are one
t Gf them if you sustain the measures of the Re-
publican party, ypH mnst go with them, and
| tbo.a To- hid pIt r,iSb