Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1870-09-15

disaster 20 their arns and declaring that
France win resist 10 the last.
FACTS ros THE PEorLr.-Aiexanaer
Delmar. Ed. late Unitci States C6nmis-
sioner of Statistics, delivered speech at
Columbus. Ohio. on the 18th ult., which
ID telling and grsphie exposure Of the
whole financial policy Of the Radical par
.ty. Mr. Delmar dvells in facts and fg-
ures. which cannot be contr.dicted, and
inficts hard blows upon the Radical par
ty. which. after robbing the people. At
t,mpts TO cheat and deceive them. The
irss bubble. which Mr.. Dcimar pricks. is
the claim put forth by the Radical orators
and papers. that the party in power at the
present time, have succeeded in paying off
q portion of the public debt. and so redu-
cling il, and that. too. in a manner a. If it
were the first administration 10 make pay
ment and reduction To this claim, MIR
Delmar replies: ---
As to its claim in respect to the pay
ment of the public debt, have to reply.
in the FIRST place. that gradual reduction
of the public debt has been going on ever
since the fiscal year 1865. At the close
of that year July. 1860 the public debt
(and by this term mean just what the
administration means, viz the rriiten
debt of the government the sum of bouds
and Treasury notes, actually outstanding
and unpaid) amounted to BASIS, 000,-
o0c, as is stated in the last annual report
of the Secretary of the Treasury, DISCO,
page SD. On the LIST Of July, 1870,
this debt, calculated by the same method
and upon the authority of the last (the
july monthly debt statement of the Sec
rotary Of the Treasury, was S2.544 600
900. This shows reduction Of 1920,
600, 600. Of this amount there was paid
off in 1861 the sum of S?l 900. 600 !;
and in 1868 the further sum of S56,-
900, 900: altogether S141 900, 900. The
year 1868 was the last complete fiscal
year Of the Johnson McCulloch Admins
tration.
During the following year. 1868 Q.
there was no debt paid off, but Oh the cor =
;rary the debt was increased $40. 600
000. Mr.. Boutwell, did indeed claim that
he had reduced the debt somewhat and
this he attempted to demonstrate by means
of an arithmetical comparison, in which
the Pacific Railroad bonds. the accrued
interest made on all the other bonds, AMI
the cash in the Treasury. were SO arrang-
ed as to make it so appear. But it was
not the fact; and the pretence set up was
afterwards dropped when his annual report
on the Finances was transmitted to Con-
gress The present method of preparing
the monthly debt statements involves a
similar rcpreheusiblc practice.
During the fiscal year 1S69-70. there
was paid of the debt Sl12 900 900. Al
lowing for the $40, 900 Of increase
during the previous year the net result is
S92 900 900 paid off under Grant Bout
well against $li7 .0O0, 600 paid off under
Johnson McCulloch.
So much for the claim Of having first
reduced the public debt. When it is stated
that even the amount that was paid of
this year was in consequence of laws Of
taxation and appropriation which were en-
acted under the Johnson McCulloc ad-
ministration, and could not possibly have
been in consequence Of any measures en-
acted or practised since that time, the
claim of the administration is shown not
only to be baseless as to the merit of hav-
ing brought about the first reduction OF
the debt, but baselcss rs to the merit Of
having brought it about at all.
Mr. Delmar then proceeds to dissect the
assertion Of the Radicals that they have
increased the resources, and at the same
| time lowered the taxes. On these points
he says:
The other claim of the Administration
that the revenues have been increased
while the taxes have been diminished
might be disposed of just as summarily as
that relative to the debt. For if the rev.
! ennes have been increased in consequence
! of 4 lowering of the rates Of taxation. they
| could not have been increased in conse-
quence Of any lowering of the rates under
| the present administration, seeing that the
only law under which the rates had been
lowered, and which has been enacted since
| the Grant administration, does not go into
effect until some time next fall. If the
revenues have increased in consequence Of
the tax laws. this must be credited 70
President johnson, and not to Presiden;
Grant. 1t cannot seriously be meant that
/ the assumed increase Of revenue is the
cause. and lower taxes the effect in 9th
or words tha, the taxes have been lower
cd in consequence of the increase Of the
revenues. For If such be the ease, and
the increased revenues are due. IS has been
shown, not to any measures enacted un-
der Grants administration but to the
measures enacted under Johnsou's admin
istration, then the present lowering Of rates
is to be credited to johnson. And even
| this lowering of certain taxes, which only
goes into effect in the future, is more than
balanced BY the raising of the others and
moreover was effected BY Congress, which
in this respect ignored the recommends
ton Of the administration. an adnuiuistra-
ton that has on all occasions been in "a
vor OF keeping the taxes up. 50 as to Sc
cure to the Treasury surplus wherexith
to pay OF bonds I; and IL BY Congress, con.
tssry 60 the reco0mspdzsion Of the nd.
ninistration, this credit Of the future be-
loags 10 Congress. aud pos b the admin
fn6rnxscx Rrsk Grant ~vu1 Rnrt~alI i~.