The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1876-01-19

Ordered printed and to lie on the table:
Mr.. Window presented various peti
tions asking for an appropriation o.
100000 for the improvement Of the
upper Mississippi river.
INCREASING THE POWERS OF coURTsMAR
TTAL.
Cragin called up the Senate bill tc
secure the attendance and payment o.
witnesses before military courts, and
submitted an amendment giving to every
court martial the same power TO punish
witnesses for Refusing to testify as that
now held by circuit courts Of the United
States; providing that the action Of such
court martial shall be subjected 10 reyi'
sion on a writ OF habeas corpus by any
circuit or district court OF the United
States.
White moved to amend the amendment
so that no imprisonment imposed on civ.
ilians on contempts should continue for
more than two months. After some dis.
cussion he modified his amendment so as
to provide that such imprisonment shall
not be longer than that imposed on sol.
diers and sailors for similar ohenses.
The amendment Of Cragin, us amended
by White, was agreed to, and the bill, as
amended, passed.
The morning hour having expired, the
Senate resumed the consideration OF the
resolution submitted by Daviso on Wednes.
day to appoint a special committee to
investigate the books and accounts of the
Treasury Department.
BoUTwELL's ADDRESS.
Mr.. Boutwell, said when he addressed
the Senate on Thursday last he stated
the general principles by which he sup
posed full explanation TO the argument
Of the Senator from West Virginia
Davis could be given. He (Boutwell)
had no disposition TO oppose the examin-
alton called for by Davis. He was in favor
OF such an examination by the special
committee or one Of the standing com.
mittees Of the Senate. There was not the
least foundation for the suggestion that
the books Of the department had been
changed, and if the honorable Senator
had taken pains to examine the process
OF keeping the accountsin the department
he would have seen that it would have
been so difficult to change the records af-
ter they had been made, that it might be
said to be an imposslbility. He Bout
well) found that the details in figures
we're so voIuminous that it would not be
expedIent to publish them to the extent
required, and they would furnish upon
the whole very little Of the information
demanded. He would therefore confine
himself to general statements and leave
the committee to explain the details. The
first definite statement made by Senator
Davis was relative TO the amount of cx-
penditures. The entire amount Of diff
iernces which the gentleman stated
showed an increase in the expenditures
from 1861 to 1865 OF $S,27l,970 may
be summarized thus: In the finance re-
port OF go is also the outstanding warrants
10 the amount Of S4,OlS,09l, which do
not appear in the report for 1870, and in
the report for 1870 is included trust
funds to the amount OF 81 2l0,0G2, which
do not appear in the report for 1869. The
difference between the two is 1921 $40,
the exact difference claimed to be in the
increase Of expenditures, us shown by the
statements. This, it will be perceived, is
merely the difference in the manner Of
preparing the statements.
Mr.. Boutwell, quoted from the speech
Of Mr.. Davis and said: In the finance
report Of 1869 there was an increased
item for the purchase Of gold coin, au-
thorized by the first section Of the act Of
March II, 1872, amounting to S5,072, 900.
Under the same head there was also the
payment Of S7S5, ,4l6 OF Outstanding war
rants, which belong to previous years.
These two items amount 10 S5,S08, ,304.
In the report for 1870 the items OF trust
funds, namely, Chickasaw, Choctaw and
Navajo pension funds, amounting to
S7,242, ,242, are included under the head Of
not ordinary expenditures, and the differ
ence between these two amounts repre-
scented the discrepancies referred to. He
then explained the payments on account
OF the 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 a compositor in printing the report for
1868. The Indian: expenses and those on
account Of pensions were in parallel col
umns. The compositor put the figures,
which should have been under the head
OF pensions under the other column and
those for Indians under the head Of pen
sions. Next year theer was corrected.
In regard 10 the internal revenue discrep-
ancies in the year 1868 he said that that
year the internal revenue was paid into
the Treasury, and appears in receipts and
expenditures. A clerk in tabulating the
Rtatementinadyertently added the receipts
from the internal revenue TO the public
debt. This mistake was afterwards dis.
covered and corrected.
Boutwell, then spoke Of the manner in
which the accounts were kept by the Reg
lister Of the Treasury, and read from the
report Of the Secretary OF the Treasury
the following note in regard to the public
debt:
It will be seen that the increase OF the
principal Of the public debt as shown by
this statement appears to be Sl7, ,2O7 ,4T6.
Congress by the act Of June 8, 1872, pro.
vided that the National Banking AssOcia-
ton might deposit United States legal
tender notes in the Treasury Of the United
States and receive therefor certificates OF
deposit bearing no interest, and that notes
so deposited should be set apart and held
as special deposit for the redemption Of
said certificates. The certificates out.
standing on the lst Of July and including
in the outstanding the principal Of the
debt amounted 10 S5s, ,760, 900, and the
notes held as special deposit for their
redemption were included in the cash
balance in the Treasury on nthat day. 1t
will be seen, therefore, that while these
certificates or matters Of account are
treated as part Of the public debt they
don't in reality form any part Of il, in the
usual sense Of the word, for the reason
that no revenue is required to be pro-
vided for their payment, the notes which
they represent always being in the Treas
ury as special deposit for their redemp-
tion, and those notes being included in
tic outstanding legal tender notes,
omitting there certificates Of deposit, rs
an offset by the notes held on deposit for
their redemption. The actual reduction
~ nripcipal op tho deht waq SAI 5hD 5O4 /