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PUBLISHED WEEKLY, BY WILIilAiH W. nOLDElV, EDITOR AJVD PROPRIETOR. THE CONSTITUTION AHD THE UNION OF TDK STjLTESTHMSnTSTBB PRESERVED. VOLUME X. NUMBER 478. . TEttia-S3 PER AKNUicr, PAYABLE JV jtDVJUTCE. RALEIGH, ft. C, WEDNESDAYS DECEIGGSR 27, 1843. TERMS. rpup. NORTH CAROLINA STANDARD PUBLISHED WEEKLY, AT THREE DOLLARS PER ANNUM, IN ADVANCE, " Those persona who remit by Mail (postage paid) Five Dollars, will be entitled to a receipt for Six Dollars, r two vears subscription to the Standard one copy v ' xtso years, or two copies one year. fir four copies, : : ' ' h ten " '- : : twenty" : s : t : -ame rate for six months. 810 00 20 00 35 00. nv narsoffDrocurinsand forwarding fire sabscribers, Zlth the cash fS15 will be entitled to the. Standard one vearr o" charge. Xuvertiscmewts, not exceedingourmi lines, will be inserted one time for One Dollar, and twenty-rive cents for each subsequent insertion ; those of greater i Anrth. in oroportion. Court Order and Jvdxctal Ad vertisements will be charged twenty-fire per cent higher than the above rates. A deduction of 33 1-3 percent, will be made to those who advertise by the year. fcj-lf the number of insertions be not marked An them, they will be continued until ordered out. tetters lo the Editor must come free of postage, or they may not be attended to. HEPOitT Of the Secretary of the Treasury. Treasury Department, Dec. 6, 1843. Sir: By the act of Congress approved May 10th, 1600. it is made the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury, "to digest, prepare, and lay before Con gress, at the commencement of every session, a report on the subject of finance, containing esti mates of the public expenditures, and plans for improving or increasing the revenues from time to time." By the act of 26th August, 1842, the fiscal year of the Treasury is directed to com mence on the first of July in each year, beginning with that day in the year 1843 ; and it is provid ed, that the report and estimate required to be prepared and laid before Congress at the com mencement of acb session by the Secretary of the Treasury shall be a report and estimate for each fiscal year, commencing, as aforesaid, and tenfli nating on the thirtieth day of June, in the suc ceeding calendar year. In obedience to these laws, the following re port is submitted : The act of 1842 contemplates that estimates of the receipts and expenditures of the fiscal year commencing 1st July, 1844. should be furnished at the commencement of the present session of Congress. They have accordingly b:-cn prepar ed, and are herein presented. The estimates for the current fiscal ypar, com mencing lst'of Jnly, 1843. were mad in D ccm ber, 1342, so much in advance of the time" to which they related, that they were necessarily con jectured to a great extent.. Theycart flow be rcn dered more exact by a knowledge of the true state of the Treasury at the commencement of the fis mI vpnr an.l bv a better acauaintance with the n-ressities of th various brancbfS of the public tmrntsi Irnorlv . "thft d;tt-r nt D'pnrtm hive been requested lo revise their respective rst i- f mates. Upon the information thus obtained, a! corrected account of the actual and estimated rr- j v- m a f ceiDts an! expenditures of the current h$cal year, commencing the 1st July last, has also been pre - Dared and is now suomitiea. In order to fill the chasm in the accounts be- twecn the 31st of December, 1842, and the 1st day of Julv. 1813. causf msed by the change in the fiscal year, and to ascertain the true balance in the Treasury on the 1st July, 1843, it becomes neces sary to e'xhibit a statement of the receipts and ex penditures during that time, which is accordingly presented herein. It will be seen that the expen ditures exceeded, and the receipts fell short of the estimates for that period. An account of the actu al receipts and expenditures of the calendar year 1342, is also annexed to this report, a part of them only having'been hitherto submitted to Congress ; in which the expenditures will be found classed under general, yet distinctive, heads of appropria tion, so a3 to exhibit, brirtf und jypte!Iiglbty ihf subjects to which they have been npplied. It is an abstract of the warrants issued to the Treasurer pursuant to the appropriations by Congress, and paid by him. It does not embrace the trust funds or indemnities, although it docs include what are actually called outstanding warrants, which, in fact, are not outstanding, but are merely unsettled, having been paid by the Treasurer to the parties who presented them, by cheeks and drafts on the public depositories, and receivers, but which had not been returned at the time-of the settlement of his accounts, although most, if not all of them, had in fact been paid. The statements of the receipts and expenditures for the half year, between the 1st of January and the 1st of July, 1843, and for the first quarter of the new fiscal year, are also founded upon the en tries in the books of the Register of the Treasury, and make no distinction between warrants settled or unsettled. These statements, therefore, show accurately the payments that have been made, ac cording to the appropriations by Congress, al though all the evidence of those disbursements, required by the auditing officers, may not have reached their offices. This mode of exhibiting the state of the Trea sury, has not always been observed. The)mmey, apparently in the hand3 of the Treasurer, has sometimes been so stated, as to leave the impres sion, that it was an available balance. The ave rage of outstanding warrants, as' they are called, for a series of years, has been deducted from the apparent balance, instead of deducting the exact amount that remained unsettled. Butwhn a warrant has been issued to the Treasurer, and paid by him, the amount is effectually disposed of, and cannot be reached by Congress, whether the Treasurer's account of such payment is settled or 'not The mode now pursued, threfore$is deemed the proper one, to exhibit the amount in the Treasury subject to appropriation. This ex planation is raadp, to account for discrepancies that may appear between the Statements and ta bles herewith presented, and those in former re ports. These accounts and estimates present a connect ed series from the 1st of January. 1842. to the 1st j July, 1845, and exhibit the operations of the f reasury-for the last two years, (with the excep tioa of the present quarter,) its present condition, and its future prospects. The results deduced from them and the views they suggest will now he presented in the order of time, in respect to the different periods to which they relate : - ' Receipts, Expenditures, &c, of 1842. According to the settlement of the Treasurer's ac- counts, on the first day of January,' 1842, there we in the Treasury S28.6S5.lll 80 From which is to be deducted as not available: Amount deposited with the States 528,101,644 91 Balances of trust funds, 1st Janu ary, 1842, 374,521 18 28,476,166.09 The outstanding warrants at the " close of the year 1841, were 813,268 46 Total liabilities 29,289,434 55 Deficiency of means to meet war rants 604,323 329,289,435 35 Instead of any available balance in tbeTreasu ry on rile 1st of January,! 842, there was, there fore, a deficiency to meet the outstanding, warrants of $604,323 47. t rom the accompanying statement (A.) it ap pears that the receipts into the Treasury during the year 1842, exclusive of trust hinds, and of the avails ol Treasury notes and loans, were 819.643.966 40 The expenditures of the same year, exclusive ol the sums paid on ' the redemption of Treasury notes and" interest on them, and on recent loans, and on account of the old public debt, was 23,921,037 60 mi i ne excess oi expenditures over revenue was 4,277,071 20 The amount paid on account -of the old public debt, Treasury notes, and interest on them and on loans, was 8,477,868 94 To supply the deficiency in the revenue, and to provide means for the redemption of Treasury notes,, jothers.were issued and loans obtained to the amount of 14.808,735 4 And a balance was thus left in the Treasury on the 1st of Janu ary, 1843,. exclusive of depo sites in the States, indemnities, and trust funds, and deducting outstanding warrants, Hibject to appropriation, of 1,449,472 03 Receipts. Expenditures. Arc. nfnt first six month tf 1843. Tha bafance in the Treasury on the 1st January, 1843, exclu sive of deposites with StateSj trust funds, and outstanding warrants, was By tho accompanying statement f B ) it appears that the receipts between the 1st ofjanuary and 8 1,449-, 472 03 J st of July, 1843, exclusive of lhe avails of Treasury notes an J loans, were And the expr nditurcs, exclusive of the sums paid on account of a at. 8,065,325 46 the public debt 10,698,390 83 ; Excess of expenditure over reyc nue 2,633,065 37 ; The' amount paid for redemption -ftrreasury notes and tor pnn t erpal and interest on the public ic dent, "was To supply the deficiency and to provide means for the redemp tion of Treasury notes, others were issued and loaBS obtained to the amount of And a loan was made under the act of March 3, 1843, of seven millions, of which nearly the whole was received during the quarter Which. JA-a balance on the 1st of July, 1843, of 861,607 47 5,545,708 36 G,93 4,000 00 10,434.507 55 4 This large apparent balance arises from the circumstance that while nearly the whole pro ceeds of the seven millions loan were paid in dur ing the half year, the amount of notes redeemed by those proceeds dot s not appear in the accounts of that period, but is contained in those of the next quarter. The real balance, excluding the loans and ih nntps subsenuentl v redeemed, was about fts 57n nnrv Revised 'Estimate of the Receipts and ExptitAi- i - - j - - j- ' w - 1843. fur fnr the fiscal near. commencxTt s Juiy isi The accounts of the first quarter of the present fiscal year, that is, from July 1st to September 30th, 1843, exhibit the following results: lleceipts. From customs Sales of public lands Miscellaneous and incidental $6,132,272 09 388,870 22 26,871 43 Total revenue received Residue of subscription to loan of seven millions 6,548,0 i 3 74 66,000 00 Total Balance in the Treasury 1st July, 1843 - Total means Expenditures. Civil, miscellaneous, and foreign intercourse , t Armv proper C 6,614,013 74 10,434,507 55 17,048,521 29 $1,016,257 , 858,785 17 15 Fortifications, ordnance, arming militia, &c. Indian Department Pensions Naval establishment Interest, &c.x on public debt 610,400 90 880,171 88 806,800 04 2,049,387 36 . 95,555 48 Total, exclusive of redemption of I Treasury notes and interest Paid on redemption of Treasury notes and Interest 6,317,357 98 6,902,031 54 Total payments for the quarter 13,219,3B9 52 Leaving a balance on the 1st Oc tober, 1843, of $3,829,131 77 Estimates for the remaining three quarters of the fiscal year. Balance at the end of the first quar- . . ter, 30th September, 1843, $3,829,131 77 Estimat receipts, 2nd quarter 3,1 00,000 ,37,005 4,600,000 500,000 '3,600,000 520,000 ; 50,000 Miscellaneous 12,907,009 00 Total means $16,736,131 77 Of the specific appropriations already made by law applicable .to the service of the, last and the current fiscal -year, there remains unexpended 19,509,635 89 47 Of this balance there will not be required, to be expended during the year, but will be required during the next year, for the civil list, foreign intercourse, and miscellaneous 352,383Lir . Military estab- lishment 2,255,638,65 2,608,026,06 And which will not be required and may be carried to the surplus fund 504,940 73 a.' 3,112,966 79 Leaving of the speeffic appropria tions, which, according to the data furnished by -the respective DepartmentSj'wiH be. required during the year 16,396,669 00 2,577,713 88 289,012 96 To which is to be added amount af permanent and indefinite ap propriations, which will be re quired . Additional appropriations neces sary $19,263,395 94 This sum is composed of the following items : Civil list, foreign intercourse, and miscellaneous 4,759,037 09 2,775,528 06 2,674,90G 91 1,642,482 71 954,578 46 5,053,070 76 1,403,791 94 Army proper jrtihcalions; ordnance, armmff militia. &' - r Hun Department Pensions hNaval establishment Interest on public debt $19,203,395 04 The means in the Treasuiy, above stated, are Deficiency as 16,736,131 77 $2,527,264 17 It will be seeir that a sm exceeding two mil lions and a half is deducted -from the appropria tions already made, on tho ground that it will not be required to be paid out during the fiscal year. Being actually appropriated by Congress, and lia ble to be used even duriog the year, ad certainly within a short time afterr hs expiration, the under signed has hesitated to deduct the amount from the expenditures, and although this has been done in conformity with usage, this explanation is ne cessary to prevent mistake. Notwithstanding this deduction, it will be perceived that there will be a deficiency of more than two millions five hun dred thousand dollars. To this deficiency must he added the amount of such special appropriation as Congress may make during the present session, in addition- to the appropriations for which esti maicJ are submitted in another report. It is a duty also to remark, that the credit of the Treasu ry, the facility of its operations, and the necessity of guarding against unforeseen contingencies, have usually induced Congress to make provision for a sma 11 surplus. There is-tiothing in the cir cumstances of the present year to induce a depar ture from such a provident course, and for that purpose a million and a half of dollars ought to be added to the deficiency above stated. The whole amount to be provided for the services of the present fiscal year, beyouad the means now existing or estimated, would therefore be about $4,000,000. Estimate of Revenues and Juxpenditures for tne fiscal year commencing July 1, 1844, ana ter minating June 30, 184o. Revenue From Cnstomsr $20,000,000 00 2,250,000 00 50,000 00 From sales of public 'lands From miscellaneous sources . $22,300,000 00 Expenditures According to the data furnished by the dinerent JJepartments, there wi De requir ed the balance of former appro priations $2,603,026 06 2,318,189 02 Permanent and indefinite appro priations Specific appropriations for the services ol the year 21,950,844 11 $26877,059 19 This sum is'composed of the following items Civil list, foreign intercourse, and miscellaneous objects $4,659,904 98 3,926,096 07 4.478,112 19 2,330,355 14 1,555,844 57 8,894,007 22 1,032,739 02 Army proper Fortifications, ordnance, arming militia, &c,- . . Indian Department Pensions Naval establishment Interest, &c. on public debt $26,877,059 19 Probable deficiency,- independent of other specihe appropriations "that may be made by Congress $4,577 059 19 The estimate of the proceeds of the sales of public lands is founded upon the expectation that all the Miami lands in Indiana, or those in the Choctaw cession" of 1830, in Mississippi, will be brought into market If both tracts should be ottered lor sale, the a- . " k a mount from that source may De increased tour hundred thousand dollars. If neither should be offered, the estimated amount will be reduced two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The preceding estimates are made on the as sumption of the continuance of the existing laws or the collection ol duties on imports ana ion- from customs from lands Estimat receipts, 3rd- quarter from customs from lands Estimat receipts 4th quarter from Customs from lands nage, and for the sjle of tha public land, and of debt, those mad on that account, and the actual I course wiH bejaflected by any changes in those J balances in the Treasury. - - I laws. The fluctuationsiofcommerco forbid an I It will be seen, that the deficient v has been di-1 implicit reliance upon any' prospective calcula tions for a Jong term. Those now presented have been made Irom the best information that could be obtained, and fiom a comparison with the receipts ot previous years, lhe large aratiuntjof eigh teen millions received in 1842 from customs, is not jto be whcjly credited to the business of that year. ' It includes 4,808,666 11 the amouat of duties which had accrued in 1841, and was se cured by bonds;, that were paid in 1842 and also 8567,000 of Treasury notes redeemed by the col lectors in the .former year, but which were credi ted in 1842, thus leaving the actual receipts from the duties of the year at less than thirteen mil lions. It. will be perceived that there was a de cided improvement in the duties on imports du- rine the year 1"843 : for.--during the three first - x I I 9 quarters of that year, the receipts exceeded thir teen millions, and, from returns already received, it is quite certain t those of tho fourth quarter wili amount to more loan three millions, making a -to tal of more than sixteen millioas-for the calendar year. - Various general considerations, and paitidular- y that the stocks of imported goods were, during he last two yews, nearly exhausted, induce the belief that the revenue fronjhis source will con tinue to augment under theprescnt laws for lhe next two years, but it is doubted whether this in crease will exceed three or four millions. It is believed that habits of economy are pre vailing among our fellow-citizens, stimulated and strengthened by the sad consequence of overtra ding, and a spirit of speculation. The -.disposition to husband their means, prevents the purchase of many superfluous articles of foreign manufac ture which were formerly in extensive use. Ma ny fabrics which-were heretofore. -imported, and nearly all those which are necessary to our com fort, excepting those compose d of silk, are manu factured within our own borders as well, and are furnished as cheap.- as the productions of other countries. This ciuse has fcrr several years grad ually reduced the cousumption of foreign mer chandise. and will continue to operate : and in connection with a more healthful economy will with . . - . ... materially affect the revenue. The estimates of receipts from customs for the ensning eighteen months, have been framed in reference to these considerations. A .table. has been prepared under. . . . which accompanies this report. fGj exhibiting- r mtr ilirprlinrt the value of foreign merchandise, imported and re-exported from 1821 -to 1842, and showing-the value of articles consumed or left on hand during each year. By a comparison of this table with another, (I) also hereto annexed, showing the value of merchandise imported, and the duties ac cruing thereon for each year, during the same pe riod, it wili be perceived, as a general result, that the duties were the greatest during the years when the largest amounts of imported goods were either consumed or left on hand. A comparison of these for" the several years will afford a very good idea olthe average consumption of forergn goods, and the balances that must have been left on hand 1 -II ' .-r .1 t . ..1 l ana win justny me conclusion mat tne largest a- mount of dutie s were founded upon the excess of importation over consumption: or in other word that the regular -and steady consumption of the country did not fuTuish the means from which those excessive revenues were derived. The in iercnce to oe drawn irom these results is, that we are not to expect such amounts of duties as char acterized the years 1831, 1832, 1835, 1836, and 1839, without the existence of the same cause importations beyond our wants. And indved i more general inference may be drawn, that with out the intervention of some extraordinary causes which there is now no reason to anticipate, we cannot rely upon more than a very moderate in crease of duties from customs, bearing a proportion lo the increase of population, for years to cpme. "With a view to furnish the information collec ted in this Department, respecting the course and fluctuations of our foreign commerce, in a conve nient form for examination and reference, severaj very valuable tables have been prepared, which are annexed lo this report. Among them, besides those already mentioned, is a statement of our ex ports of domestic produce and of foreign goods, distinguishing those subject to duty from those that were free also, tables of the most important articles imported from those countries with which we have the most intercourse, designating them respectively and, also, of our exports to the same countries. There is also a table show ing the gross revenue of each year, the expenses chargeable upon it, and the nett proceeds. All these embrace the period Irom 1821, when the statistical reports were first, made, to the year 1842. The proceeds of the sales of the public Lands have been estimated from the best elements with in reach. The demand for these lands is steady, while it is moderate, and there is no reasen to an ticipate the wild and excessive rage for purchases which at one time prevailed.- If the tide of emi gration should t 'ke its course towards the shores of the Pacific, it might materially affect the Gov ernment sales of land. The tracts set apart to the new States and. located by them, being, or likely to be, in the market, .will also have jm influence upon this question. These and other considera tions not of equal magnitude but having a bear ing upon the result, have induced the undersigned to doubt whether the reeeipts from the sales of lands,VUI be equal to the estimates submitted, whicnTiave been obtained from the General Land Office, and are founded upon large purchases be ing made of tracts that will be brought into mar ket. The expenditures for the next- eighteen months will be diminished to a considerable extent, in consequence of the distribution of the proceeds of the sates of public lands having ceased, of no ap propriations being necesary for new purchases ofj Indian Jands, of various public buildings, hereto fore aouiorised, being completed, and, it is hoped, of the claims of militia-and volunteers-being near ly satifised. ' . Yet from the present appearances it seems cer tain that the .deficiencies above stated will exist during the present and" the next fiscal year. They are but continuances of similar deficiencies which commenced immediately after the deposites were made with the States, and have continued for the last seven years.-: The accompanying: table (C) exhibits the receipts from the various sources ac cruing between the first of. January, 1837, and the 30th September, 1843, the expenditures, exclusive of payments for principal or interest of the public rainishinff durinsr1 the last three vears. havin been at the rate ofseven hundred thousand do! lars less per year during that time than during tne preceding lour years. The average rate o; revenue per annum accruing between the first o; January, 1837, and the 31st December. 1840. was twenty-one millions oMpIlars, while that between the first of January, 1841, and"" the 30th Septem ber, iB4d, was eighteen millions two hundred thousand dollars per year. , 1 he accruing revenue stated Hi the table em braces all the receipts into the Treasury durin? the periods relerred to, excepting those from debts and other lunds exisunsr prior to 1837. in refer ence to the first mentioned period, and with a like exception of receipts fooi similar funds which existed before 1841, in reference to the second pe riod, and excepting in both cases the means de rived from loans and Treasury notes. This view is taken for the purpose of exhibiting the actual revenue, independent of accidental and extrinsic additions. . Thus, during the -first, four years the deficiency in the ordinary revenue was supplied by the balance in the Treasuryon the 1st of Janu ary, i37, ot Qlb,07,8 88; by receipts horn debts and .other funds existing beforethe 1st of January, 1837, to the amount of $3,576,697 63. and by 1 reasury notes.. JJnnng the last two years and nine months, the deficiency was partly supplied by the balance in the Treasury on the first ofjanuary, 1841, $1,196,627 65; -by. re ceipts from funds existing before' ..the last mention ed day, to the amount of $ 720,723 99; and the residue hy loans and Treasury notes. It will be perceived also that the expenditures for the four years, fnr all purposes other than the public debt, averaged at the rate of twenty-eight millions one hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars per year; while thdse of the same char acter for the last two years, and nine iribnths ave raged at the rate.of twenty-four millions four hun dred arid forty-eight thousand dollars per annum. The reduction in expenditures for the last men tioned period was much greater than the diminu tion of revenue. The payments on account of the principal and interest of the old public debt, and the interest on loans and Treasury note's during the last mention ed period, exceeded two. millions, while those be tween 1837 and 1840, were less than seven hun dred thousand dollars. FHuit iiicryiectxMiig estimates and statements, it appears that thexe will be required for the service of the present fiscal year be-.v- yond the means in the Treasury $ 4.000.000 00 f And for the service of the fiscal year commencing 1st July, - i-, Jo4i, bcyxmd the probable re venue, at least 84.500,000 OO The loan of 1841, becoming dHie 1st January, 1845, amounts to The b danee o the Treasury notes which were outstanding fin' the 3d March, 1843, and were not redeemed by the last loan, amounts to 5,672,976 88'j 4,656,387 45 With respect to the last item, tne taiance or unredeemed Treasury notes, it is supposed that adequate provision for the present is made by ex isting laws, which authorize the funding such notes in. a ten years' stock, or the reissue of4hem before the 1st of July, 1844. Some observations wili be found in a snbsequent part of this report explanatory of the iews and course of this De partment in regard to these Treasury notes. In thisplace it is deemed proper only to express the opinion that no legislation will be necessary to provide for this amount of more than four mil lions and a half, other than the continuance by Congress of the provisions of the act of March 3d, 1813. The loan made under the act of-21st Juyy 1841, is in terms redeemable At the option ofihe Government after the 1st of Jantiury, 1845,'yet it is not doubted that the understanding of the len ders at the time was, as it always is in respect to loans on similar terms, that H would be redeemed at the specified time. I the opinion of the un dersigncd the practice of rendering loan indefin ite or uncertain as to times of payment, ought not to be indulged when -it can- possibly be avoided. A postponement supposed to be temporary from year to year embarrasses the operations ol the Treasury by the uncertainty of the demands which may be made upon it In the present abundance of money, it is believed that a new loan might be obtained, on a ten or fifteen years' stock, on terms more favorable to the Government than those on which that about to-become due was procured. This course is recommended also by the consid eration that the probable deficiency in the reven ues of the next fiscal year to meet the,, ordinary. expenditures will be sutfieient to call forth all our resources without encountering this additional a mount The remaining eight millions dive hundred thousand dollars, the estimated expenditures over the. receipts ot the present and . next fiscal year, must be avoided in whole or in part by a reduc tion of the public expenditures, or provision must be made to meet tbem by an increase in the re venue. Both these topics, therefore, demand con sideration. First, a reduction in ihe expenses of the Gov ernment . . The subjects for retrenchment lal! peculiarly within the province of the legislative branch of the Government, particularly those of a 'general character. There are some, however, which are necessarily better known to the Departments hav ing charge of thern. It is believed that the ex penses of collecting the revenue from customs may be materially diminished by the abolition of some collection aistncts, ana ot some omces in other districts, which have ceased to be useful, and by a more exact regulation of the compensa tion of those officers who may be retained. The subject has heretofore been brought to the atten tion of Congress, and it is again respectfiiilly sub mitted to its consideration. Any additional infor mation that has been obtained, and the views of the Department in detail, will cheerfully -be com municated tu the-appropriate committees. A large and unnecessary expense is frequently incurred in the proceedings to obtain judicial con demnation pT goods of small value, which have. been seized as having been illegally imported. j f. if in one collection, aisiric, sou. in a single quarter, out of forty-three cases of seizure, balances of costs were paid by the United States in thirty-nine i . . , . j I of them, averaging fifty.fotnr dollars it each lorf This is probably an extreme case, but the evil i known to be very general. If no claimant rer tures to appear, the conclusion seems irresistible that no defence exists. It is submitted, therefore; whether a more prompt and conomicat mode oi proceeding may not be adopted consistent with the rights of all. Congress has made liberal protis ion for the remission of forfeitures where they have been incurred without fraudulent intent, bit a short and simple . p recess, ,'whkh saves to the ap plicant the costs of a trial .-It would seem hue just that a similar principle shouldepply in fkror or tne uovernnvnt, in cases where the apprais ed value of the goods seized shall be less than one hundred dollars, an ample public notice rnia-hf be given requiring claimants to appear. and give security for costs in case of faifure. and in difaull of a claim, the goods might be soljaf public auc tion, and the proceeds deposited in the Treasury for a convenient period prior to final distribution-. to be refunded in the proper Cases! The act regulating the amount' of compensa tion to be retained ..out of their fees bv clerks of district and circuit .courts, when the same person officiates ih both capacities, has received a ecu struction by one of the ciraait : courts which defrats the purpose "that Congress seems to have had ir view, and requires amendment, if' it be intended that the surplus of fees beyond the given amount sjiall belong to -the Treasury. Considerable expense misrht he saved Jiv a mov ' dification of the act of June 12. 1840. which would allow tthe consolidation of two or mora surveying districts, whenever theremaining. sur veys therein could, ut the opinion of.theDepSrt- jnent, be completed under the Suryeyr.Jeneral ; of one of them : and by authorizing the discoU'' tmuance of land offices whenever their "expenses exceed twenty per cent of the annual fimounl of sales, aYid annexing the lands unsold to some olh cr office. . , The-acts making permanent anf indefinite ap- niopriauons mKrni, wain creai propriety, oarevoc ed with a. view-aertaiiiWffwherfcei? justice to the country, as well as econom-j does not require the repeal eome of them, or aUeast a IimitardoiT oi tne time .ior jvnicii they shall remain, or x iuai-. hi wuica applications, snnu oe mnae nd the proofs completed. Thev rx penses charged upon the Judiciary fund call for examiV nation .and regHFauW,- and will be iESe eubiect f-W;.':i- special report. . ..... - " y. sreconaiy. iir Decmnes ne duty or the UMterv sigsedto examine the remaininc Question nresnl ed, whether aijy aria Vefial provisions can be made to meet the cotempIaRKfifeficienf.ies or suCn.poTv tion of them;-as mayexist after the reduction which jCTorigress; may direct- The a Iter native which suggest themselves are4 direct taxation,- aif augmentation of the proceeds of the sales of pub lie lands, the increase of existing dutiVfton im ports, and the imposition, of duties iir3ofcarticl- now free. . . . .4: It is presumed that direct taxation 'of real1 cf personal property would" rc Be attempted unlif air uiuvr rcsuuices nave imieu.' 1 ne undersign ed has therefore nothing' to suggest on this subject. It is not believed that any modification of the land laws can be made by which- any permanent in crease of revenue from tbe ptrhlic domain can be (Secured. Some temporary accession might be j obtained by reducing the price of land offered for sale, but it would bwrth the hazard, ifnotcer- tainiy, 01 aesiroymg a rrm rournain, wnose regu lar and steady stream is kept up By maintaining a moderate price adapted to the circumstances of our fellow-citizens, and 'Pt not -iwvhiig specula tive investments. Our ultimate resources, then, must be the duties on imports;' and when it i considered how large a portion of the expenditures of the Government is caused by pur Jight-houscsy by our foreign intercourse; by tour navy andTothef means to protect and extend our commerce with foreign nations f and with ho w much more equality and equity a tax upon- the importation of for eign merchandise operates npon all classes thai any other mode of raising revenue ; with hour much' more eaw it is collected, and? hew it rn ticelv avoids all collision with the State sove r?igntie3r respecting the subjects of taxation, thi mode of sopplying the wants of Che Gbveramen! will commend itself to favorable consideration. Sufficient information has not yet Been obtained1 respecting the practical operation-of the act of 20th August, 1842, establishing the' existing rates of duties on foreign rmportations, to authorize art accurate opinion of the proba6Te results of itf di ferent provisions. The commercial statistical statement required by law, embracing the returns from the 30th of September, 1842, to the 3Clh June, 1843, is in course of preparation by all the force that can be applied to.it, and it rs hoped! will , be kid before the two Houses of Congress in (Jitf course of the ensuing month. As it will era brace the first time months during which the pre sent tariff JbasT been in operation, jt will probably ceniain the-desilei information'. But the under signed feels bound to say, that from the examina tion of reports he has caused to be made from the principal ports, and from a general riew of bar commerce, after the best consideration which he could give to the subject, he has not been able to discover any of the existing duties which can be increased with any reasonable prospect of aug menting the revenue. The ' danger from thii source is, that ortrctesnpohr which high duties are levied, will either be clandestinely introduce of not imported al all.- It rs befieved that to the great vigilance VJiicb has prevailed during the; fiast season aFongihe coast and on out extended iar and frontier, it is mainFyowhTg, that the fraudu lent importations which had been anticipated by some, have been prevented. The temptation how ever, should not be carried so far that Succesi in one enterprise will remunerate for the losses in several failures.1 On lhe other. Jiand, looking at the subject e, clusively in rtsTiearings upon the revenue, the int dersigned is not prepared to specify any very irar portant rates of duty that will bear reduction, un less " the deficiency be supplied by. duties upon other articles. Those levied on glass, particular, kinds of iron, coal and sugar, are cotaidcrnd by many too high' for revenue purposes. Should the statistical information before referred to, exhibit such a result in respect to these or any other arti cles, they willdoubtles arrest the attention of Congress. ."' "Assuming, what will probably Wfound to be the case, that no essential improvement of the re venue is likely to be effected, at least for the pre sent, by an increase of the duties Already existing, or by a reduction of them, it becomes necessary to inquire whether any articles now free of dirty can with propriety be subjected to a moderato ma- v
The Weekly Standard (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Dec. 27, 1843, edition 1
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