Year: 1862

MI. OOllllI NlI. DItdhtI, tIlt
financial policy of government has al
ways been considered by men of reflection
as second only in importance to national
honor and national existence. Indeed,
no nation can long maintain an honora-
ble existence which makes an unwsc or
dishonest use of the resources of its pco-
pie. 1t is a fundamental principle Of
constitutional liberty that the citizen shall
own and enjoy the wealth which the labor
of his hands eXtorts from the bosom Of
the earth, subject only to that portion
which he may justly be called upon to
pay for the protection of government and
the blessings Of social order. lie has this
dominion over the fruits of his toll by
divine right, and when this right is inva-
ded by the government, through impolicy
or fraud, aud the citizen if robbed under
the forms FLAW, it becomes his highest
duty to repel the invasion and resist the
wrong. In free government this is done
through the peaceful instrumental;ty Of
the ballot-box, and a change in the agents
of the people who are responsible tor the
unnecessary oppression. In dcspotisms,
where the popular voice has no weight
and can not be heard, the toi.ing millions,
when they can endure no more, enforce
justice with the sword. But the right to
mans own, under al! circumstances, is
an inherent right, and human nature has
held it sacred in all ages, and enforced it
in every form in which the human will
can assert itself.


have been led to these observations by
what humbly conceive to be the unsound,
false and ruinous system of finance which
has been imposed upon the people of this
country within the last twelve months,
and though have not the claims of age
or extended experience, yet ! beg to le
candidly heard 10y the House and the
country while | submit my views in that
regard. The wants, the wishes, the hopes,
the fears, the feeling, and the thoughts Of
the laboring classes are all familiar to me.
/ was born one Of them, reared in their
midst, and partook Of their toll | rep
resent such people on this floor, and |
feel my heart swell with pride when |
call to my mind the honest, the loyal, the
intelligent, and the Industrious constitu-
ency whose interest and whose equality
before the law in the distribution of the
burdens Of this Government shall be my
theme to day. And with solemn rcVcr-
erence | here say that as | shall prove
faithful to them to the utmost OF my aUil-
ity, and thus promote the truc cause Of
American prosperity and glory, SO may
God, in His mercy deal with me and mine.


Sir, during the past year we have been
engaged in most stupendous war. 1t
assumed, from the first, proportions Of
the most horrible magnitude. Any eye
could see at the opening stages Of this
conflict the struggle Of this Government
to maintain its just authority within its
lawful jurisdiction was to be one of the
most terrible and, perhaps, protracted that
ever shook the world. Courage, chivalry,
patriotism, devotion to the Union and the
laws, all came forward and still stand
ready in an inexhaustablc quantity. The
country has glowed from end to end and
TIN oughout all its vast extent with fer
vent love for the Government as our faith
ers made it. But, sordd and practical as
it may seem to some, one Of the main sin
ows of warts money, plain money. With
out it armies do not move and navics do
not float, and the purse Of the nation is to
be found in the pockets of the people.
Sir, in view of these facts, what has been
the course of those in authority since this
war commenced in regard to the great
question of national economy? Have our
resources been carefully husbanded? Have
our public monies been strictly guarded
from the hand of the plundcrcr? Have our
public officers been held to rigid account
ability in their use of the hard earned rev.
enues of the country? Has financial in
tegrity marked the conduct of those in
whom the people placed their trust when
er? Has common honesty been observed
by those who won their way to popular
confidence by their fierce denunciations OF
the alleged corruptions offormer Admin
istratons? Ispeak not as partisan nor
in the spirit of party. | trust can rise
above all such considerations; but these
are questions in which the people of all
parties have deep and overwhelming in
tcrcst, and they arc questions, too, which
all men in every part Of the country who
aesire an honest administration of our
public affairs are now asking with serious
and startling emphasis. The answer which
must come. and ofwhich impartial history
will make an everlasting record, is one
which bows the head and burns the check
Of every lover of his country's good name
with humiliation and with shame.


Let us look calmly and carefully at Il
few figures, not Of alluring and captiva-
ting fancy, but figures of cold and repul-
sive reality. The vale which q pleasing
and hopeful sophistry weaves around its
object with which to beguile the people
into slumbering sense of security must
be torn away. Nothing should be hid
from the honest eye of popular scrutiny.
1t is the duty Of the Representative to fully
portray those facts of vital Importance on
which tho growing power of this free
country, the people, will soon be called
upon to act.


presume, sir, that at this time no one
can, with entire accuracy, estimate the
amount of our public debt 1t is one Of
the alarming signs OF the times that either
from confusion and incapacity, or from
the shrinking dread of recognizing an ap
palling truth. we have an unusual silence
in official quarters in regard to the extent