The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1876-08-24

amend herewith list of changes OF
laws which have been incorporated INTO
ar preparation bills during the years from
1865 down to and including 1870 Inc
extent to which legislation has peeh
carried on will, have no doubt, sur
prise many, and regret to say that dlir-
ING those wears of of undisputed Repuo'
lican rule in both branches of Congress
the change has almost always been III
the direction of increased appropriation
and expenditure. will here mention a
few notable instances of such legislation;
The embrace changes in the staii ana
line both of thesarlny and navy.
The Pacific Mail Steamship subsidy found us
placeOn such an act thereorgani2atlon OF te fnsI'
Office Department. the reorganization OF tle up,
lomatic and consular service; the partial reOrgah'
| izaton of the Sub-Treasury SYSTEM the prom o.
| iting the pardon or amnesty OF any claimant III
the Court OF Claims being admissible to eslaDllsh
his standing; the reorganization OF the Clyll scr
vice in the Treasury Department. egislaIOn %S
| to the Enforcement act; the manner OF settlement
of judgments by the Court of Claims ana the
| supreme Court as to the capture OF eottOn tne
section declaring that the General OF tne army
shall be permanently stationed In washington,
| and only removed by the advice and consent OF
1
through the General of the army, whether issued
| by the President of the United states or by Ihe
Secretary of War, In the Appropriation Dill last M
year the rates on newspapers were doubled, 70 tne
great injury of those In the rural sections espeC'
ially and the rates ON third.Class matter were so
increased as to take 1t from the mails ana drive II
TO the express companies.
mention these few to show the gem
eral character and wide scope of the leg
islation which has been put into appro-
priation bills and beg to refer to the
appendix hereto annexed, which Will
show the enormous mass of legislation
OF greater or less Importance which has
been from time to time during the past
ten years fastened ON such acts, relating
as it does to almost every conceivable
subject. Again, Mr.. Speaker, as a natural
result of the prostratlon OF business, the
revenues of the Government have dlmin-
ished to an alarming extent, and the
warning held out to us was one not to be
disregarded, as it might turn out in the
coming fiscal year, the reduction would
| be so great that the revenues would fall
below the amount required to meet the
expenditures of the Government. In
this emergency it was absolutely neces-
sary to provide for reduction of eXpen'
ses, rather than entail any increase OF
our interest bearing debt or any addition
to our present taxation. Nay, more; II
the full measure of reductions recon-
mended had been acceded to by the Re-
publican minority in this House and the
majority in the Senate, then, even with
full revenue, the internal and other
taxes could have been reduced TO an ex-
tent of, say, SlO,OO0,OOO with comparative
safety.
CERTAIN ABUSES.
Before | leave the general discussion
of these subjects and 60 to a detailed ex-
animation of the respective approprla-
ton acts, | wish to direct public attention
to what deem some abuses in reference
to expenditure, which have gradually
accumulated until they have become of
dangerous proportions. Under existing
laws we have system OF what IL known
as permanent specific" and permanent
indefinite" appropriations. They en-
brace, among others, the sum necessary
to pay the interest on the public debt,
the sum necessary TO pay the interest on
the bonds of the various Pacific railroads,
and guaranteed by the United States,
and the amount necessary to be paid III
obedience of law to the sinking fund, on
account Of the liquidation Of the princi-
pal of the public debt In so far as the
foregoing objects are concerned, do not
raise serious objections, their provisions
90 to make easy the mind of the public
creditor by the certainty of no hitch in
the prompt and regular payment Of our
public interest. But the laws 90 fur
ther, and include others which in my
judgment should pass under the annual
of Congress, among which
are the sum necessary to collect the rev.
enues from customs, which is only llml'
ted as to amount of expenditures by the
discretion of the Secretary of the Treas
ury, power too great for permanent
safety for arming and equipping the
militia OF the several States; the salaries
and expenses of the steamboat inspec-
tors; The refunding of the money due to
owners or reputed owners of cotton i'm
properly seized after the Both of June,
1865; allowance and drawbacks in the
Internal Revenue Bureau; the refunding
of illegal internal taxes; the repayment
of duties levied in excess from customs,
as well as debentures, drawbacks, coun-
ties and allowancesin the customs service.
Mostifnotal ofthe lattercharactershould
have the frequent inspection Of Congress
and the people. would suggest, there
therefore, at our next session legislation
to remedy these dangers. About $l8,-
100000 pass each year out of the Treas.
ury under these heads in excess Of the
amount paid on account of interest on
the public debt and the Sinking Fund,
which is an enormous sum to be under
the control of executive officers without
check.
PENSIONS.