Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1859-03-09
Expenses Of the Government.

Expenses of the Government.
We make the following extract from the remarks
of Mr.. DAVIS, Of Mississippi, recently delivered in
the House of Representatives: .....u ..,
4" Mr.. Davis, Of Mississippi, defended the admins
tration and the democratic party from the charge of
extravaganza in conducting the government reply
ing chiefly to the speech of Mr.. Garrett of Virginia
lie was unable to determine why that gentleman
had contrasted the expenses of the two last years
OF Mr.. FilmOre's administrations whig admins
tration-with the expenses of 1857 and 1858,
democratic administration, being himself democrat
In that comparison, he did not think Nh. Garrett
had done justice to the democratic administration
whilst he did more than justice to the opposition
The annual increase of the expenses of the govern
ment grew out of the gradual growth of the neces-
sary expenses of the government 1t was true that
the territory remained Identical with what it was
then, with the exception of the Gadsden purchase,
but that was no criterion by which to determine
whether that territory cost less than formerly. Cali
fornia had been admitted into the Union, and the
expenses for mail transportation to the Pacific
amounted to two millions of dollars, an expense that
was not incurred then. Kansas and Nebraska had
since been organized by Congress, adding consider
able expense to the government There had been
no expansion of territory, yet it evident that
the sources of expense had been greatly enlarged
by the progress of the country, the admission of
Ilo" St"teo, anu tiC HCW
These important facts ought not to have been with
held, as the charge came from democrat upon
democrats. He had no doubt the gentleman's re-
marks had been founded in desire to bring about
retrenchment, yet he should have made such pre-
sentation of facts would have properly informed
the public mind in reference thereto
The increase in the expenses of the government
from 1852 to the present time had been gradual.
In 1856 and 1857, when the opposition had ma
jorty and controlled the legislation of the country
the expenses Of the government had been sixty
four millions of dollars, and his friend from Virginia
had failed to discover that these expenses not
chargeable alone upon the democratic party. In
1858 the expenses had been seventy two millions of
dollars inclusive of the cost of the Utah war;
amounting to some five or six millions of dollars
without which the expenses would not have exceed
ed those of the year when the opposition had ma
jority in the House. Still he would not arraign the
one party the other for these expenses, for the
increase had only been regular and natural
He could safely say that the estimates for the
present year for the support of the government
amounted only to fi(ty-two millions of dollars
twenty millions less than had been expended by the
| opposition party He had said this much to do
justice to his own party and to show that this in
crease had been upon the gradual scale during
the administrations o: both parties, and was ne
cessary.
He then briefly replied to the arguments of Mr.
Phillips, of Pennsylvania, upon the tariff A tariff
for revenue met his appreciation, but he contcnded
that the reasoning of Mr.. Phillips proved him to be
in favor of tariff for protection, and not fol
| revenue"