The eastern clarion. [volume] (Paulding, Miss.) 1837-1863, 1859-04-06
Sl.as5.2Sl 45

The S749.S4l GS-being the unpaid bal
| ance OF thequartgr's liabilities closing 3lst
! December, and payable 2>th February
can and will be paid by the department
| within sixty days from this date: the paw
| ment Of the principal part of it will be
made within thirty days. The effect of
/ this will be to divide the entire deficit Of
| Si3Sj,2o % between the quarters ending
/ jlst March and 3oth June. and payable
| 3lst August, 30 that the suspension of pay
/ ment on no part of this Indebtedness Will
! exceed, beyond few days, six months
/ before the regular meeting OF Congress:
/ on nearly one-half Of it the suspension
/ viii be but for a few days more than three
/ months.
/ Ii is a rrevious misfortune to the con
/ tractors that the department has been
/ left without the means of di-charging this
| debt ed its maturity. Under existing cir
/ cum-tancos, however, 1t would be impos-
] -l5lc to convene Congress in time to meet
/ these responsibilities without virtually eX-
/ Guiding from that body the representa-
/ uyes OF several of the sovereign States of
I tins coniedrrated government. Thi, would
/ bc just cause OF serious complaint.
The choice Of the President has been
/ undoubtedly choice between great evils:
| but. in his Judgment, the lesser evil would
/ be to wait until the first Monday of De
| ccmber, when Congress viii be full.
The debts due. and to become due, to
/ the contractors, are of a sacred character.
/ The contracts. out of which these debts
arise, have been entered into under the
/ express authority of existing laws OF Con
/ Cre-s. To appropriate money for their
1 payment is as obligatory and binding mp
| on Congress a. il Is To provide for the pril-
D ...t. i #..F
1 There never viii be-thcre never can be
/ IA reputation Of this debt by the rep
I rescntativcs Of the American people. AZ
1 ter the amount due to each contractor
/ shall have been asccrtaiued and finally
settled according to law, this amount be
/ comes q specific debt of record against the
/ United States. Its payment Is inevitable.
1 and if the contractor desires to borrow
money upon it the lender could have no
| better security. Besides. rs Congress are
/ IN default for not having made appropri-
ation- to meet this debt. It would be no
more than strict Justice for them to pro-
4 vide for the payment of interest on these
accounts from the time OF their final adj
I iustment by the accounting officers of the
! department, and when warrant would
I have issued for their payment had an ap-
preparation been made. The interest
/ excluding from view that on the $40
/ 81 now in the course of payment, and
! applying on the lst July, to the extin-
/ gui shmcnt Of the principal, the 100000
! for free matter which will be then availa-
/ ble-should Congress think proper to al
! low it. would amount to less than SlO0-
! oU1-a sum not TO be compared with the
/ great difficulties and endorsements of a
! public and private character which would
result from holding a special session Of
! Congress, TO say nothing Of the expense
that would necessarily be incurred, even
though the members should receive no
additional pay.
\ system of rctrenchment so far as il
may be practicable under existing laws.
Is now an imperative duty in the admin
! istration of the department. BY the act
| approved June II, 1858, Congress estab-
lished six hundred and ninetv-fve new
! post routes, the service of which-inclu-
ding theSt Paul's and Puget Sound route.
established in March, 1855. but not vet
| put into operation-it has been estimated
would require an annual appropriation
from the treasury of S6O4.0SS, over and
| above the receipts accruing therefrom
Not a dollar, however, has been appropri-
ated for this purpose, and, as a necessary
| result, the contracts for these routes.
though they have been advertised and
| proposals received, cannot be closed until
the necessary funds shall have been pro-
vided by law.
! Y