It is been largely reduced below what they were but one year ago. very easy to see, if this system of finance is persisted in, that the debt of this Government in a few years will approach the debt of some of the European governments. It is impossible that any government can be properly carried on under such a system. It is perfectly clear, therefore, that unless a different state of facts exists in the future, the present tariff bill will be wholly insufficient to pay the ordinary expenses of the Government. This deficit is not merely temporary, but it is permanent. During the present fiscal year the importations into this country will amount to over $112,000,000, or $50,000,000 more than in 1857-higher than ever before. Although the importations have gone up thus, they have not under the present tariff produced sufficient revenue to pay the ordinary expenses of the Government. We must, therefore, consider one of three propositions. We must either diminish the expenses, increase the public debt, or increase the revenue. I take it that no one in our day desires to increase the national debt. The idea that a national debt is a national blessing is an absurd one, which should never have been tolerated; and I believe that no respectable political party proposes that the Government should go on, as it has for three years past, on the public credit. I do not suppose that any other Administration than the present one would tolerate the practice for three years. Now, can we diminish the expenditures? That is the first question to which I desire to direct the attention of the Committee. I have before me a table, which has been carefully prepared, showing that the estimates of the Secretary of the Treasury for the next fiscal year, for ordinary purposes, reached $46,278,893. Including the interest on the public debt, and the expenses of collecting the revenue, and other permanent appropriations, amounting to $8,173,582, the total amount estimated for is $54,452,475. But, sir, to this are to be added a vast number of appropriations asked for by the several Departments, but which the Secretary of the Treasury totally ignores. He declares that he asks but for $54,452,475; yet other Departments of the Government estimate for other appropriations to the amount of $9,606,250. I wish to warn my political friends that, if they vote these appropriations, they will be placed precisely in the same position that they were in the Thirty-fourth Congress. They will be told that these appropriations were the extravagance of a Republican House, and were made in the face of the report of the Secretary of the Treasury, although the appropriations were asked for by the appropriate Departments of the Government. For the purpose of showing the character of these estimates, I have prepared a statement of most of them, as follows: Estimates of the Secretary of the Treasury for the service of the year 1861.. $46,278,893 56 Interest on the public debt..... For expenses collecting revenue from imports. $3,386,621 34 2,000,000 00 2,786,961 14 8,173,582 48 The following estimates not embraced in those of the Secretary of the Treasury, and amounts embraced in bills now before both Houses of Congress: Estimates for public works in the course of construction..... $2,282,400 00 Public buildings and grounds.. 500,000 00 Estimate Third Auditor of the Treasury, payment of Oregon and Washington war debt... 2,714,808 55 Enlargement of public grounds.. 168,250 00 Texas regiment, Senate amendment to Military Academy bill.. 779,392 03 Among them are estimates for continuing public buildings in the course of construction. These are mostly for the Charleston and New Orleans custom houses, and for the Treasury extension. These appropriations are asked for; and gentlemen here, who will vote against this or any other tariff bill, yet urge the pressing necessity of these appropriations. But the Secretary of the Treasury, who should take a view of the whole field of expenditures, totally ignores them in his estimates. The Washington aqueduct, the Oregon and Washington war debt, the enlargement of the public grounds, and the Texas mounted regiment, have been, or will all be, pressed upon us, and yet neither is included in the estimates. These expenditures will be voted for by the friends of the Administration, who all know that there are no means provided for their payment, and who will thus create the necessity for new revenue, and then generally vote against increasing the revenue, and go before the people clamoring about new taxes and tariffs. Charged with the administration of the Government, yet they expect the Opposition to vote them supplies for all sorts of demands, to furnish them revenue against their votes, or they will pay the salaries of their officials by increasing the public debt." As an example, take the proposed regiment of volunteers for Texas, which measure is now pressed by the representatives of Texas. The proposition was voted for by every member of the other side, and perhaps by some members on this side of the House. If this be granted, then here is an addition to the expenditures of the Government of nearly $1,000,000; and we on this side of the House, who are desirous of raising the revenue sufficiently to meet the expenses of the Government, will be charged with having appropriated this large sum, not estimated for, although nearly all of us will vote against it; and those who do vote for it will, in the main, oppose all measures to raise revenue to meet it. In my judgment, the best mode to meet this new system of financial tactics is to refuse all appropriations for all new objects of expenditure until some proper revenue is provided. Mr. Chairman, there is also a lighthouse bill, which has been or will be reported, and which asks for an appropriation of $653,000. There is a proposition for the restoration of the mail service, which everybody seems to be in favor of, and which will require over $2,000,000. Let me call your attention to the cost of that measure. Although our constituents in all parts of the country have called upon us to increase or restore the mail service, yet I believe that the Postmaster General did right in reducing it. It is the only reform instituted by this Administration. Gentlemen upon this as well as upon the other side should remember that their mandatory restriction will increase the expenses of the Post Office Department over $2,000,000. I desire now to say that the Committee on Ways and Means, who have had charge of appropriation bills, have endeavored faithfully and honestly, without regard to party divisions-and all parties in this House are represented in that committee-to cut down the appropriations to the lowest practicable point, and thus to reduce the expenses of the Government. I have before me a table, showing that, upon the estimates submitted to us by the Secretary of the Treasury for the ordinary expenses of the Government, we have been able to reduce the amount about $1,230,000. It is as follows: Statement of the various bills reported by the Committee of Ways and Means, First Session Thirty-sixth Congress, for the service of the year 1861, showing the estimates of the Secretary of the Treasury, with the reductions made therein, with the amounts reported by said committee. Amount in bills as reported by committee.... Add interest on public debt... Total...... 1,230,017 83 $45,048,875 73 4,786,961 00 $49,835,836 73 3,386,621 00 $53,222,457 73 If the House will take the bills as reported by the Committee of Ways and Means, instead of the estimates of the Secretary of the Treasury, they will save the Government about $1,500,000. But I cannot say that I expect they will do so, because I have no doubt that the very items which, upon the fairest examination, we have found to be too large or unnecessary for the public service, and have therefore reduced, will be put upon the bills, either by this House or in the Senate; and, no doubt, the bills will be overloaded with Senate amendments of four or five millions more, as has been the case during every Congress since I have been a member of this House. If, however, the estimates of the Committee of Ways and Means and their reductions are sanctioned, the ordinary appropriations for the Government will be reduced to $45,048,875, aside from the public debt and the permanent appropriations. And, in my judgment, if we would devote our time to a fair investigation of the ordinary operations of the Government, we might reduce our aggregate expenses to $50,000,000 annually; but as long as sectional controversy is the chief employment of our time, as long as no debate is allowed here except that which involves the safety of slavery, we never can accomplish a radical reduction of the expenses of the Government. No permanent or substantial reductions can be made without an earnest coöperation between the executive and legislative branches of the Government. We can limit appropriations, but we cannot, except by the process of impeachment, prevent the misapplication of the public money. We may appropriate for officers and clerks, but if the President or a head of Department will detail them to edit a party newspaper, or pension them for party services by appointing them to offices whose duties they never perform, we cannot prevent it. If the head of each Department shall, without fear or favor, administer his Department, applying to services rendered there precisely the same rule, as to fitness, industry, and compensation, as would be applied by any prudent private citizen in his own affairs, all the abuses we now hear so much of would soon cease. There are several branches of expenditure which, in my judgment, Congress could by wise legislation reduce without injury to the public service; and as I do not desire to debate the several appropriation bills, I propose to state here three or four branches of expenditure where material reductions might be made. The first is the expenditures in the naval service. I was unfortunately in the minority of the Committee upon the appropriations in the Navy bill. I have no doubt that the amount recommended to be appropriated for the construction and repair of vessels could be decreased fully $,1,000,000 with benefit to the public service. In the bill, we have reported $3,500,000 for the construction, repair, and equipment of vessels, in accordance with the estimates sent in by the Secretary of the Navy. I am opposed to that appropriation; and when the time comes for the consideration of that bill, I shall move an amendment to it in that respect. Last session Congress adopted some substantial reforms, but those reforms have not been regarded in the present Navy bill. There are other reforms which ought to be made, and which can only be effected by careful legislation. One of these is in the PostOffice service. The deficiency in that Department is now $6,000,000 annually; and if you restore the postal service to what it has heretofore been, as is now asked, you will have a deficiency of $8,500,000, and that sum has to be paid out of the public Treasury. I have no doubt that the expenses of the Postal Department could be paid out of its ordinary receipts. In the State of Ohio, according to the tabular statement sent to us by the Department, the postal service costs more than the receipts; and yet there are contractors in that State-men of the highest respectability and responsibility-who are ready to engage to perform all the postal service in Ohio for one half of the receipts. Why, sir, $3,243,974 is paid to railroad companies for transporting the mails, and yet these very mails are usually carried in the same cars in which express companies carry private property for one third of the expense. If this mail matter was now carried by express companies, route agents could be abolished. If the whole postal service was let out, as it should be, to private enterprise-to express companies-I have no doubt that the Post-Office business would be better managed, its duties better performed, and a large amount of money saved to the Government. As a general rule, I take it; we have in the post offices an inferior class of men-generally partisan editors, who have to be rewarded for their services, or men who have distinguished themselves by devotion to their party in their several localities. They are not such men as any private company of individuals would employ to perform the same duties. You also upon many routes require coaches to be run for the benefit of passengers, while there is no connection between that business and the carrying of mail matter for distribution among the people of the United States; $3,134,094 is paid for coach service alone. I have no doubt, if the United States were divided into postal districts, bounded as far as practicable by State lines, and the business of carrying all matter over all the postal routes established by law, and its delivery at the different post offices were let out under a judicious management of the Department, the expenditures would be decreased at least to the amount of the deficit. There is another matter in which there should be a reform. We are appropriating a million dollars every year to pay the ordinary judicial expenses of the Government other than the salaries of judicial officers; all sorts of abuses have grown up in the disbursement of that fund. I need not speak specially of the matters connected with the offices of your district attorneys and your marshals; for all gentlemen must be conversant with the abuses connected with those places. Men are selected, summoned, and kept as jurors and witnesses, because of their political opinions, and as a reward for political service, and all sorts of constructive fees and charges are made and allowed. But I am taking up more time with these details than I intended. If we could only manage these matters as intelligent business men manage theirs, there would be an end to all these abuses. This we cannot do, because parties look to the public money as the reward of party success. If the Republican party be charged with the administration of the Government next year, as I trust it will, it may oppose all reform; it may follow the example of the Democratic party, in parceling out money and patronage among its partisans, without regard to the public service; but if so, it will surely lose the confidence of its supporters. The Republican party could not stand for a moment, if it were con |