Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1876-08-09
TELEGRAPHIC.
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE.
On the sundry Civil Appropria-
ton Bill.

| WASHINGTON, July 3l.-Followine
is the message which was sent to the
House by the President to-day giving
his objections to the sundry civil ap.
preparation bill:
To the House Of Representatives..
The act making appropriations fol
the sundry civil expenses of the gov.
ernment for the fiscal year ending
June 30, 1877, is so defective i'm whal
it omits to provide for that l cannot
announce its approval without at the
same time pointing out what seems Ia
me to be its defects. 1t makes but
inadequate provision for the service
at best, and in some instances fails to
make any provision whatever. Nota.
bly, among the first class is the redue-
ton in the ordinary annual appro.
priation for revenue cutter service, to
the prejudice of the customs revenue.
The same may be said of the signal
service, as also the failure to provide
for the increased expenses devolved
upon the mints and assay offices.
The sum of 500, 600 only is appropri-
ated for repairs the different navy
yards and stations, and the preserva-
tion of the same, the ordinary and
customary appropriations for which
are not less than $1,OO0,O00. A SINH
lar reduction is made in expenses for
armories and arsenals. The proyis-
ions for the ordinary judicial expen-
ses is much less than the estimated
amount for that important service,
and the actual expenditures of. the
last fiscal year and certain demands
Of the current year. The provision
for the surveys of public lands is less
than one-half the usual appropriation
for that service, and what are UNDER
stood to be its actual demands. The
reduction in expenditures for light
houses, beacOns, and fog stations is
also made in similar proportion.
OF the class for which no appro-
priation is made, among the most no.
ticeable, perhaps, is that portion of
the general expenses of the District
of Columbia in behalf of the United
States as appropriated in former
years, and judgments of the Court of
Claims. The failure to make a reas-
enable contribution to the expenses
of the nations capital is an apparent
direlection on the part of the United
States and rank injustice to the peo-
pie here who bear the burdens, while
to refuse or neglect. to provide for the
payment of solemn judgements of its
own courts is apparently torepudiate.
Or different character, but as prejn-.
dicial to the Treasury, is omission to
make provision to enable the Secre-
tary Of the Treasury to have rebel
archives and records of captured and
abandoned property examined, and
information furnished therefrom for
the use of the government.
Finally, without further specifica-
ton of detail, it may be said that ,he
act which in its title purports to make
provision for the diverse and greatly
extended civil service, unhappily APP
propriates an amount not more than
Us per cent. of its ordinary demands.
The legislative department. establish
es and defines the service, and de-
wolves upon the executive depart
ments the obligation of submitting
annually the needful estimates of ex-
penses of such service. Congress
properly exacts implicit obedience to
the requirements of the law in the
administration of the public service,
and rigid accountability in the ex-
penditure thereof. 1t is submitted
that corresponding responsibility
and obligation rests upon it 10 make
adequate appropriations to render
possible such administration, and toll
crate such action. Anything short of
an ample provision for specified
service is necessarily fraueht with
disaster to the public interest, and is
a possible injustice to those charged
with its execution.
To appropriate and to execute are
corresponding obligations and duties.
and the adequacy of the former is
necessary to the measure of efficiency
of execution.
In this eighth month of the present
session of Congress, nearly one
month of the fiscal year to which this
appropriation applies having passed,
l do not feel warranted in vetoing an
absolutely necessary appropriation
bill, but in signing it deem it duty
to show where the responsibility be-
longs for whatever embarrassments
may arise in the execution of the
trust confided to me. U. S. GRANT.