The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1868-10-14

) that you have to-day heard speech which
, would render it perfectly exeusable in m
r were to say to you, one and all, you hav,
!; had enough for this day. we may put off t,
,. another occasion hearing any more. = +.
> But since you are disposed to hear me;
will, in very brief space of time, presen
to you some facts and some ideas that
: wish you to bear in yonr memories, and {,
consider, as American citizens, anxious t,
do your duty to Your country, whateye
are or have been, your party predictions
! And fithere are in this audience any gen
tiemen, Of the Republican, or Radical party
1 / pray their attention as much AS that o
any Democrat here; for what have t,
say, be it of muchor little value, as mucl
interests them as me, or any on g of you.
I First, then, upon the subject of the pub
> lie debt and public taxation, of which yol
have heard this morning in the lucid ani
comprehensive remarks of my friend, Mr.
Pendleton. He spoke of them in master
" manner, but it would be impossible fol
him, or any other man, in the limits of q
single speech-much less a speech of on
hour-to exhaust this great subject
1 Therefore, l wish to call your attention tt
a few facts in addition to those presented
l by him, and few comparisons and ideas
also, in addition to those he presented.
| First-What is the amount of our pub
lie debt? It was lately stated in the news
papers to be $500, oOO, 900 what it is ex
actly on this day T. am unable to say, be
cause the Treasury Department. for some
reason or another, is particularly dilatory
of late in making its monthly statements
Perhaps it may arise from the fact that the
| last laanthly statement showed an increase
| of the public debt Of over $4,000, 900 in a
single month and that common rumor says
that the next lacnthly statement will show
an increase of $2G, $1,000. Think Of that,
my friends, if you have not become utter.
~ bewildered by these, great eat sums nls' with
which, your are are assaLsd,r Nine mil
lions of dollars increase of public debt in
one month! A sum sufficient to lave car
ried on the Administration in the days OF
General Jackson for six entire months; 2
sum with which he carried on this Governs,
ment in all its departments for the space
of six months is simply the increase--not
of the expenditure of the Government
but the increase of the public debt, in the
short space of q mouth. But what is this
debt from official documents I? All the fig-
ures shall give You will be from an off,
cia II frnp 10 Of ho Cpp-
rotary of the Treasury of the United States
to the Congress of the United States, and
published by Congress. On November j,
of last year-and if it has been reduced
since, it has not been to any great degree
SO as to relieve the people-the public debt
was 81, 625 SOP ,848 in round numbers 50,
GIG, 100000 was the admitted mark it, the
admitted public debt of the United States.
How much debt was there2 Why, Mr..
Thaddeus Stevens, Chairman of the Com
mittee of Ways and Means, declared, in his
place on the floor of the House of Repre-
sentatives, that, taking the unaudited debt
and adding to it the audited debt of the
country, the debt of the United States, was
not less than $5,OOO,OOO, 900. But suppose
they pass the sponge Of repudiation-these
men who are denouncing Mr.. Pendleton as
q repudiator because he wants them to pay
fve-twenties in the money promised for
them-suppose they pass the sponge of re-
pudiation over all this unaudited debt, and
we take the actual debt at the amount sta
ted 50 ,625, OO0, 900; then, my friends, add
to that the debts of the States, the debts
of the counties, the debts of the cities, the
debts of the townships and towns, to say
nothing about the debts of the great cor
porations Of the country, and we, the peo-
pie of the United States, who recollect
when Jackson issued his proclamation.
that the Government of the United States
owed not a dollar III the world; we, who
remember that full we'll, End that within
our short lives we have become the most
deeply involved and most heavily taxed
people on the globe. "a voice: That's
true."] No wonder these gentlemen seek
to avoid the issue of taxation, and have
now started tho theory that the only ques-
ton in issue this year is, whether we shall
have another civil war or not, to frighten
II will not say old women, I will not be
SO disrespectful to the ladies-but to
frighten men, whose hearts are so timid
that an army of women, with broom, sticks,
could chase them out Of the country.
[Laughter.l ''H ft'ts"
Compare our public debt with. that of
Great Britain. heretofore the most deeply
indebted country in the world, and com;
pare our resources with hers, and see how
the thing stands. The debt Of Great
Brtai: is four thousand million dollars.
The admitted debt Of the United States,
with the State debts, the municipal and
those have alluded to added, make it
equal to the debt of Great Britain. But
Great Britain has 36,0OO,OOO people with
in the British Isles alone, and in India and
her Colonies 2O0,00O.000 more, while we
have but 81 100000. So that with but 81 :
100000 of people, we owe as much money
as Great Britain with 236,O00,000 of peo-
pie. .stas4sasa 9 44 4
Again. my friends, look at the rate Of
taxation The rate of taxation-1 take it.