Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-05-22

VOluminOus and vast, a ser pent ai.lSu - -
with nortql sfinss about her middle reund
a erv ~ heII-fot11ds never ceasing bark'c
With wide Cerberian mouths, tull lono ana run
- ssThe other shape, -
II shape il might be called, that shape had non
Distinrnishabie In member, JOINT or limb,
Or substance might be c8ll'd that shadow seem'd
For each seem'd either; black It stood as night
And shook dreadful dart, 49, est
Sir. look at the legitimate and -boastet
fruits of Radicalism, the rec0nstruete,
States of the South; see the once sovereign
States of this Union shOrn Of their jus
powers and bound hand and foot in the toll
Of the ''thieving carpet-bagger;;p see citizen
robbed and murdered BY this scum VIII,
foated thither on the tide ofwa and wer,
legislated into power by that party. CT
into the ruined homes of the South, rem
dered desolate BY war; 60 see the widoweC
mother weeping over her lost husband
the orphaned child crying in vain for it!
absent father, the lone maiden waiting il
tears for the return of her lover. GO SCI
these homes as they once were, and ther
see them as they are to-day, made more des
olate and dreary By the thieVing carpet-bag
gers and their allies, the brutal negroes,
See the delicate wife, reared 10 affluence
driven forth from the home rendered dear
by past associations, because the taxes i'm.
posed by these infamous scroundrels, begot-
ten and placed in power by Radicalism can
not be paid. Sir, assert here in my place as
a member of this House, that since the re-
construction measures were inauguated,
more land has been sold and forfeited for
taxes in the Southern States than would
make an area equal to three such States as
Massachusetts,, and while this is the case,
find that with only $3.50, 000, 900 worth OF
property in the States which had in 1860,
$500, 00O, 600, The State debts have been
increased from So. 900 to $948, 000, 600,
and the cities and counties have been made
virtually bankrupt; at the same time the
amount collected in taxes is more than six
times larger now than it was in 1860, and
the expenses of the State governments are
from i've to ten times greater than they
then were.
Now, sir, what benefits have the people
show for this increased taxation9 Where
are the great internal improvements, the
increased facilities for commerce or for
education that should result from this ex-
penditure? Nowhere but upon paper
projects, which these prOteges Of the Gov
eminent have inaugurated, and the funds
for carrying which into execution they
have Erung from an impoverished people
and stolen,
But, sir, to pass from the States to the
General Government win disclose the same
condition of affairs. Formerly for an Off
cial to be defaulter was the exception,
now it is the rule, and the officer (it one
can be found who honestly discharges his
duty without committing some peculation
upon the Government, would be consider
ed by his party fool; robbery of the pub
lie funds is reduced to one of the fine arts,
and more money is now stolen annually by
Radical officials than was necessary to car
~ on the Government under Democratic
rule; the heaviest expenditure ever made in
enc year by Democratic Administration
was So, 000, 600, while the expenses of the
present administration for the last fiscal
year were $424, 100000, besides whatever
amount may have accrued by the sale of
Government property unaccomted for. Mr..
Buchanan, the last of the Democratic Presi-
dents, expended during his entire term of
four years S32S, 100000; Gen. Grant, the
present Radical President, has spent in two
years, 81, 127, 100000.
1t is a very common practice for Ameri-
can speakers and writers to institute COM
parsons between our country and others,
and I shall follow the example and see how
the expenditures of the two great English
speaking nations compare, taking my figures
from the budget of the English Chancellor
of the Exchequer, AMI the reports of the
American Secretaries for the fiscal year
ending June 80, 1871.
The American Navy at that time consist
ed Of forty-six iron-clads, ninety-seVen
steamers, and thirty-two sailing vessels, a
total of one hundred and seventy-five YES
sells, of which number the Secretary of the
Navy says, tforty-three are effective for i'm
mediate service" To man a feet we have
twenty-thTee hundred and fifty officers
and eighty-five hundred men and boys,
aud its expenses for one year are
SOS, 205,6T1. Now, sir, compare this
with the English navy, which consists of
four hundred and ninety-two ships, among
them fifty-feur splendid armor-plated, tur-
reted, sea-going vessels; it has two hundred
and thirteen ships in commission, which
are manned by Ehirty-three hundred and
sixty-six officers and fifty-hve THOUSAND four
hundred and thirty men and boys. OBJ
serve the difference in the ratio of officers
and men shOYn by these figures In the
American navy, we have two officers to
every seven men; in the British navy there
are but two officers to every thiTty-three
men. The cost of the English navy for
1871 was $40 ,2T5, 545 Of our currency. Mark
the difference; jusS five times the number
of vessels in commission, nearly seven times
the number Of men employed, two of the
finest armor-plated vessels now afloaJ built,
and less than twice our expenditures.
The British army consists of 6,5S5 COM
missioned officers, u, 267 non-commission-
ed officers, and 96,1S5 private soldiers, a
total Of 115,037 men. This army is sta
toned in the East Indies, Australia, Brit
ish North America, Bermuda, South Afri-
ca, China, West Africa, West Indies, st.
Helena, Mauritius, Ceylon, Gibraltar,
Straits settlements, and Malta; and includ-
ing military education, surveying, repairing
and building Notifications, its expenses
were $60,0 100000 of our currency.
The American army, consisting Of 81
600 men, none of whom had to be trans
ported to distant countries, cost S35,000,
900, exclusive of any expenditures for edu-
cation, or the construction of defenses.
Taking our ratio of expenditure per man,
the British army would have cost Sl10,0O0,-
900 and its navy SlS0,000,000.
But, sir, let us go little further in this
comparison and see the total expenditures
of the two governments. We have forty
million people living on contiguous terrific
~, at peace with all mankind Except the
Ku-Klux?) and the expenditures of the
government for the fiscal year ending June
80, 1871, exclusive of the interest on
the public debt and any reductions
made of it, were $158,000,000, or 1896 for
each inhabitant.
: 1t has been said Of the British Empire
that ''the sun never sets upon its possess
ions;" that "the reveille beat by its
drums greets the rising sun in every longi.
tude." 1t has two hundred and forty-five
million inhabitants, and its expenditures for
all causes except interest on the public debt,
including all the private secretaries or gold
sticks in waiting on the Queen, for the year
1871, were S240,O00,000, in our currency
less than one dollar for each inhabitant.
Why, sir, if our extravagant and wasteful
Government were inaugurated in Great
Britain, and Radicals placed in power, the
annual expenditures of that empire would
be S950,000,OOO.
But, Sir, would not base my charges
against Radicalism upon the mere question
of money, or expenditure for the support of
the Government. There are other and
hioher considerations which should actuate