The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1862-06-07

| Inc country was some time ago informed,
on what seemed to be '.reliable authority, -
that the expenditures of the Government
were fully three millions of dollars per day
A great deal of astonishment and some appre-
hension was felt at the statement. People
were justly puzzled and alarmed at the idea oi
the nation plnnging into debt at the rate Of
one thousand millions Of dollars per year. II
now appears that the average expenditures OF
the Government have not been one million Of
dollars per day. The New York Commercial
Advertiser says Of speech made on Tuesday,
by Mr.. Dawes of Massachusetts,: He showed,
on authority which is entirely Trustworthy,
that the whole expenses ofthe present Admin
| istration, and for period Of fourteen months
| snd eighteen days, amounted to only $44l, ,000a
600, chich three millions less than one mill
ION per day on the Average. The entire indebt
edness including the seventy millions bequeath-
ed by the last Administration, was 482, zoe, 145,
on the 22nd Of this month. The speech Of Mr.
Dawes was in reply to Voorhees, of Indiana, who
made out that our National debt would soon
amount to six thousand million dollars
Mr.. DAWES said:
The expenditures of all the departments of
the Government, outside Of the war and navy,
since the Administration came into power are
as follows; For the Interior Department, Indi-
| ans, and pensions to the 22nd Of May, 1881,
800; civil list foreign intercourse. and misceta-
neous, -$2l, 635, ,0lO, making total of nearly
$26, 1885,, 900. The expenditures of the War
during that time amounted to 374,172, 900,
and the navy during the same time S42, ,055,
900, OF q total of SAG, ,227 900 The average
daily expenditures in the War Department
have been $780,, ,296, and those of the navy
500, ,852. making the average in both depart
ments $99S,l47. No requisitions are unpaid,
excepting of few thousand dollars for illegal.
ity or disloyalty. The payments last Thurs
day werc cnly 1854, ,9l7; yet the day after
when the paymasters came in. the expendi-
lures were $4,000. 900; but on Saturday only
$500, 900. So the expenditures of the gov
ernment up to the 22nd of May inst, in round
numbers, were: For the military $374, ,O00, 900
navy, $42, 100000; all other expenditures,
425, ,000, ,000-a total of S441, ,000, 600. From
the 4th of March, 1861, till the 22nd of May
the public debt including $40, ,O0O, 600 old deot
bequesthed by Buchanan, amounted in the
aggregate, on Friday last, to $48l 796, 146.
Mr.. Dawes run parallel between the expen.
ditures under the former administration and
the present. showing, as to the civil list, this
administration has been far more honest and
economical than that. -
The expenditures of the Government have
been greater in the past than they will be in
the future vast sums OF money nave been
laid out in ships and arms. The creation Of
the enormous artillery force which is now 80
effective an arm Of our military department
involved lavish outlays of money. Our coast
expeditions have cost us extravagantly. Arms
have been procured at great cost. In fact we
were not prepared for war, and have been
obliged to make up for our want cfTIefaIR.
tion. We have now made our permanent in.
vestments in war material, and the current ex-
penditures will be diminished The estimate
that the war was costing us three millions per
day, was made just at the time that hundreds
of vessels were chartered for the trsnsporta-
ton Of McClellan's army from Alexandria to
Fortress Monroe, and while an immense feet
of steamers were conveying Gen. Grants army
up the Tennessee river. The great cost Of
these vessels of course swelled the aggregate
daily expenditure greatly, but yet the three
million estimate was much too large even for
that time e|