Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1859-06-02
sGOPPOsItiOn EcOnOmyss-CullOIn'S Official
Conduct

Mr.. BELL in his speech at the Opposition State
Convention on the 18th of March last, said that
one hundred millions Of dollars year might be
economically expended in the administration Of this
- Government" He proudly alluded to the fact that
he had voted for the appropriations for and mail
steamers and for building the Atlantic telegraph to
connect Great Britain With her North American pos
sessons Mr.. BELL and his party justly entitled
20 eli the credit which they claim for these wasteul
and sxtraVagant appropriations, by which the expen
ditures of government were increased to the enOr-
nous amount Of seventy-two millions Of dollars
der the legislation of an Opposition House They
might justly 20 further for will deny who
has examined the records and votes in Congress that
il they had not been restrained by the checks which
the Democratic minority in that House imposed up
on them, the expenditures for the year SIS, would
have reached the amount which Mr.. BELL has fixed
as the standard Of an economical government
OF course in the anticipated expenses of an oppO-
sition administration g large margin must be left
for plunderings snd peculations. The Msttesons,
the Gilberts, the Welches and other honorable OPP
position members must receive ga consideration
for their votes squandering the public lands and
q q treasure The Gslphins, the GARDENERS, the Bar
tons and the CullOms must be provided for, and it
sGnnot be expected that the balance Of the oPpOsi-
ton ocs-hOlders, after their long fasting, win be
satisfied with their regular salaries any more than
Burton and culOm were.
II is difficult to estimate heW much money would
be necsssary satisfy the cravings of ell the hun
CRY plsce-hunters Of the Opposition party, when
"a one of them in our State required thirty-si
thousand dollars beyond his annual compensation
to supply his necessities and another at tbs federal
Capital realized fifty thousand dollars from office
worth only thrty-six hundred year 1t is impOs-
sible to say what amount would suffice for the sd-
administrations Of the Government if the Opposition
had control of ali its branches, when the extrava-
gsnce, corruption and peeulatiOns Of single OPP
position House sWeled the expenses to seVenty-tWo
millions and when the Know Nothing officers in
possession of only two Of the Offices about the Cap
ital Of this State, have, by their negligence ncem
potency, thefts and defalcstiOns, damaged and de-
frsuded the Government and the people to the
amount Of $4,000 dollars.
When the party which elected BURTON combines
end with the party which elected MATTEsoN, in an IN
holy alliance similar to that which made WILLIAM
as CrLLoM the Clerk Of tie 34th Congress, we may
reasonably anticipate, should the fusionists come
into power, an exhibition of rapaciy, reckessness
~ and extravaganza which the world has wit
messed before.
We have heretofore shown some Of the means
by which the Opposition House of Representatives
of the s4th Congress managed to dispose Of such
an enormous amount of the public money. We
have alluded to the fact proved by the testimony
of one of their own members that large portion
Of the Opposition majority who supported meas
ures for giving away the public lands and money to
private corporations and individuals, had entered
into Q corrupt combination, binding themselves tC
support schemes of that character only the con-
diliOn that they should receive consideration for
thsirvotes" We have shown a result of that GEN.
bnation that immense qusstilies of the public land
we're voted away by that Opposition House, and
larger amount Of meney expended than has ever
been expended before since. We have shown
how the Clerk Of that House realized of those
enormous profits of which he boosted. We have
# shown that $ls2 0c0 of the peoples money voted
by the Opposition preendly to purchase books for
their constituents and that instead of applying this
fund to the purposes for which it was intended, the
m Enost of il, went into the pockets Of Gen. CULLoM
and his friends in Congress.
We propose to refer particularlytO day to the
objects for which many of the exIrsyagant apPOpra
tiOns Of this Opposition House, used BY theiI
Opposition KnoW-nOthing Clerk. 1t will be reeOl
lscted that the House of Representatives has entire
and absolute control of its expenses, and that
this House was under the dominion of opposition
majority. . r.s
The following Is a statement from official source:
Of the incidental expenses of the Opposition House
from '55 to 81 compared with those of the preced
-ss ing Democratic Congress from '5S to 80.
Statement s1oa0ia0 the payments made from the ZedsGrl
OF csrtdn dIlol5GtlohS 6tGntadtkyb from
SEC year 1854 70 1857 iaeInsiVe
July l.. From July /
to 81