The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1876-01-19

is merely difference in the manner OF
preparing the statements. Mr.. Boutwell,
quoted from the speech of Mr.. Davis
and SAID: In the financial report of 1869
there was included an item for the pur
chase of gold coin authorized by the lst
section OF the act of March 18th, 1872,
amounting to $5,072, 900. Under the
same head there was also the payment
of S735,4lG of outstanding warrants
which belong to previous years. These
two items, Amounting to $5,SOS, ,SO4,
in the report for 1870, the items of the
trust funds, namely, Chickassw, Choctaw
and Navajo pension fund, amounting to
$7,242,242, are included under the head
Of not ordinary expenditures, and the
difference between these two amounts
represented the discrepancies referred to-.
He then explained the payments On the
account of pensions, and said the increase
shown in the report of 1874, as compared
with that of 1870, was caused by the
payment of warrants in 1874, which
had been issued in prior years.
In another instance an error was made
by compositor in printing the report for
1868. The Indians expenses and those
on account of pensions were in parallel
columns. The compositor put the ii e.
ures which should have been under the
head of pensions, under the other col
umn, and those for Indians under the
mead of pensions. The next year the
error was corrected. In regard to the
internal revenue discrepancies IN the
year 1868, he said, that year the internal
revenue was paid into the treasury. and
appear in the receipts and expenditures.
A clerk, in tabulating the statement, in
advertently added the receipts from
internal revenue to the public debt
Thi. mistake was afterwards discovered
and corrected. Mr.. Boutwell, then speke
OF the manner in which the accounts
were kept by the Register of the Treasu-
ry. and read from the report of the Sec
retary of the Treasury the following
note in regard to the public debt: 1t
will be seen that the increase OF princi
pal OF the public debt, as shown by this
statement, appears to be ,SlI2O7,245.
Congress, by act of June s, 1872, pro-
vided that National Banking Associa-
| tions might deposit United States
legal tender notes in the Treasury of the
United States and receive there, for GER
lihcates OF deposit bearing no interest,
and that notes so deposited should be SET
apart and held as a special deposit for
the redemption of said certificates. The
certificates outstanding on the lst OF July
included in the outstanding principal OF
the debt amounted to S5S, 100000, and
the notes held as Il special depot for
their redemption were included IN the
cash balance in the Treasury on that day.
1t will be seen therefore that while these
certificates are treated rs part
of the public debt, they do not,
in reality, form any portion OF it in the
usual sense of the word, for the reason
that no revenue is required to be provided
for their payment, the notes which they
represent always being in the treasury as
special deposit for their redemption,
and those notes being included in the out
standing legal tender notes. Omitting
these certificates of deposit. as offset by
| the notes held for their redemption, the
actual reduction of the principal Of the
debt was Sal ,552 524.
ReSuming his argument, Mr.. Boutwell,
said: For two years, and perhaps three,
the Register has reported the debt of the
| United States according to the state
ments made by the Secretary. The lat
ter statements, issued monthly, always
deducted the cash on hand. The Reg
i.ter of the Treasury should have kept
hi, own books and not adopted the re-
port OF the Secretary Of the Treasury
In the report for 1871
The statement OF the Public Debt.
as made up from the receipts and ex-
penses, shows that report for the year
1870 was made up from an entirely dit-
rerent data, principally from loan &C.
counts Other iiems are included, how.
ever, MS will be made apparent from the
following analysis: The statement in the
report of 1870 of the amount for
that year appears as given, s., 1856, Chs, 500
The data from which this is made up Is
rs follows: Principal OF the debt S2,GOl,-
675.l27, to which is added the accrued
interest SO, 6O7 $50, making total debt,
principal and interest, OF 1852, 2S2, ,GS4.
| From this amount there was deducted
| the following: Coin in the treasury,
$ll2,716,0iS; currency in the treasury,
$2S, ,9i5, ,O67; sinking fund in United States
coin, interest bonds with accrued
interest thereon and other United
States coin ipterest bonds purchased,
with the accrued interest thereon, 1924
2O2. 9GS; total-Sg65, ,9240S4, leaving the
amount of the debt, as above stated, less
cash IN the treasury and bonds, with the
interest thereon, $685., ,35S,599. The
amount of the debt in the report of 1871,
for the fiscal year 1870, was S2,4S0672. i27
which represents the principal OF the
debt after deducting the principal Of the
bonds purchased on the sinking fund ac-
count and excluding the item Of
accrued interest, rs above stated, and
also of the entire amount OF cash in
the Treasury. The statement for the
fiscal year of 1869 was prepared in pre-
.cisely the same manner rs were those de-
tailed above The amount stated rs the
debt in the report tor 1870 for that year
Is s2,4S9,O02, ,4S0. This statement was
made upon the basis Of the monthly debt
statement made in July, 1869 in which
the principal outstanding. including the
sinking fund, is given as 81, 592, 622, 9S3,
TO which add the accrued interest
47,447,3l0. Total debt principal and
interest, s2,645, ,l70,294. Deduct the
amount In the treasury of coin, currency
and sinking fund 1856, 1898, leaves the
amount OF debt rs stated above, less cash
in treasury and sinking fund s., 4sS, O02, :
4Sg. The amount of debt in the report
of 1871, for the fiscal year 1870, is
S2,5SS, 1929, which represents the
principal Of the debt. After deductir g
the principal of the sinking fund,
s. 69l goo, and further sum of
$3.50. .669, representing number OF items
of accrued interest and the premium on
loans for money carried 10 the principal
on account OF loans instead Of the &C.
counts TO which they belonged, aud ea-
Guiding an item of accrued interest, ~
above stated, and also the entire amount
of cash in the Treasury.
In reply TO the question OF Mr.. Sher-
l -. NJ. u ~, yralI ssid tho first rnnuf h.