Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-03-16
CONGRESSIONAL.
Personal Explanation from Trumbull.
The Tariff Bill up before the House.
MagnilOquent PrOpises of Sherman.
SENATE.

MagnilOquent PrOpises of Sherman.
SENATE.
| WASHINGTON, March I5.-Mr. Ramsay,
from the Committee on Post Offices, Ie-
| ported with an amendment, house bill pun
1shlng by fine and Imprisonment parties
| contracting to carry mails, and then failing
or refusing to carry out their contract.
Mr.. Trumbull rose to personal explana-
ton, and sent to be read an extract from a
Washington letter in the Republican Ban
1er, published in Hastings, Michig IN, charg-
ing that Senator Trumbull had illegally peck
eted ten thousand dollar fee in
The McCardle Case
In the Supreme Court, having been en-
! ployed to represent the United States by
! President johnson, and charging further,
that his vote on the impeachment trial was
Influenced by this fee, and calling for an in
vestigation into the matter by the Senate.
Mr. Trumbul then said that during his
seventeen years of service in the Senate he
| had not before risen to personal explana-
ton, although he had often been mjsrepre-
sented and illuminated. He denounced
the charge as malicious and preposterOus.
lie produced letters showing that he was
employed not by johnson but by
Secretary Stanton and Gen. Grant
two months before the articles of impeach-
ment against johnson were prepared and
that the fee was fixed by Secretary Stanton.
he argued that his employment in the mat
ter was perfectly legal and proper. He
charged that the letter was written BY
man in the employ of the Government and
intimated that the charge had been made
for the purpose of iniuring him because he
was hostile to the influence by which the
man was kept in Office. He also referred
to the resolution offered by Mr. Chandler
some time ago for an inquiry whether any
Senator had taken fee from the United
States contrary to law, and said that when
the wOuld-be slanderers discovered that be
had been employed by Grant instead of
Johnson they would not ask again for an
investigation, but like sneaks would
Crawl TO their Dens.
Mr.. Chandler denied that he had ever
thought that Mr.. Trumbul had been en-
ployed by Mr.. Johnson. Said his object
had been to ascertain whether the Senator
had violated the law. He believed be had
done so, and as to Mr.. Trumbulls personal
allusiOn to him, he hurled back the slime
upon its slimey source.
! he Vice President called Mr.. Chandler
to order, and Mr.. Chandler apologized 70 the
Senate.
The Tariff.
Unfinished business, the tariff. was taken
up and Mr.. Sherman addressed the Senate
saying the taxes already repealed yielded
1913 100000. Our revenues exceed our ex
penditures- We are justified by several
in 70,
taxes that relain yield largely
more than twice the excess in
former years, and more than was
estimated by tie most slnguine PERSONS.
We are slowly but surely without crntrac-
ton or expansion by the in reasing value Of
our paper money approaching specie stand
ard. All these favorable circumstances en-
able us TO further reduction of taxes with
more system and information than former
" and trust with sincere desire will make
the reduction in such way as will yield the
largest possible relief to our people.
The time has now arrived when We
Can Safely Beduce
our revenues to barely enough to pay the
expenses of the Government economically
administered, the interest on the public
| debt, and such additional as may seem
good policy 10 apply on he principle.
The Expenditures
during the last fiscal year, ending June 80,
1871, including the interest, were S292, w.
1885, for the current fiscal year, they are
partly estimated at S293, 403,3S2, etc.
| These sums include the sinking fund
and all payments on the principal of the
! debt.
The Net Receipts
! of the Government during the IL fiscal
! year ending June so, 1871, were S3cs, 323,-
| 944; for the current fiscal year they are esti-
| mated at 1853, 100000. The actual surplus
| of revenue for the year ending June -,
! 1871, was SOL, 145,776; for the current
! fiscal year it is partly estimated at STl, 1914,
| y9l; for the next fiscal year il is estimated
! at $S5,974,Z26
The estimate of the Secretary of the
/ Treasury COntemplates a reduction of en-
pendiCures for the next fiscal year, as COM
| pared with this year, Of over twenty mil
| lion dollars, or as compared with last year
| over nineteen millions; bnt this is explained
mainly by the exclusion from estimates Of
the premium paid On bonds and tie prem
! UNI received on gold, which balance each
other. The estimates are based on the ap-
preparations required by existing laws.
They can be and ought to be diminished in
several important branches of the public
| service. The abolition Of the ranking priv
ilege, reduction Of public printing, reduc-
ton Of Internal revenue service, a close scTu-
tiny of the pension list, careful Limitation
of appropriations for public buildings, and
a general cutting off Of expenditures that
grew out Of the war but have survived the
war, would enable US
To Repeal other Taxes
without injury to the publ, service.
At the close of the war we were paying
interest at the rate of $40 per cent, now
we can readily borrow at per cent, and are
now negotiating for a still lower rae. Our
currency apprOXimates the specie standard,
and the government is strong enough to
Resume specie Payments
at any moment, the time being only a
question of domestic policy, az it affects
debtor and creditor, producer aud consumer.
The banking SYSTEM is so generally dis
tributed that II furnishes a uniform curren-
CIV, and only awaits the government 10
maintain it at pa with gold and silver. We .
can easily pay off the natiOpa debt in tbir;Sl
years, and yet at each Congress repeal and
reduce the taxes.
The CommJJee on Finances conclude
that S5O,OOO,O0O, including the sinking
fund provided by law should be applied to
reducafion ofthe. debt and that sum added
to S273.02j,7II3 or the sum Of
$3.50 773
should he the basis of our revenue Teduc-
tons. The Custom revenues since 1867
show an annual income Of over Sl0,000,00O
and yet during that period the duties were
repealed which yielded S20,O0OOO0 per an
num- 1t is apparent that The custom duties
tor the current year will largely exceed last
year and there is no apparent reason that
the increase should not inue during the
the next fiscal year. Receipts OF customs
July l, 1871, to March l, 1872, are Sl46,-
72l,0O0 at same rate receipts f fiscal
year; aggregate S226,0Gl, 800 or Sl4,0000O0
in excess Of the estimate of the Secretary of
the Treasury,
The Internal Revenue
for the next fiscal year is estimated at S1l9,-
10000, VIZ: Spirits, S50,OO0,0O0; tobacco,
S36,OOO,000; fermented liquors, SS,500,O0O:
banks and bankers, 5000 600; gas, Sj2O-
100000; adhesive stamps, SlG,OO0,0O0; Peu-