. , ' ; " -:- ...- ' I
9 . - m.
. "Ours are the plans of fair delightful peace, nuwarp'd by party rage, to live like brothers."
THREE DOLLARS Per Anmim, ?
VOLUME XXXTU,
NUMBER 31.
TUESDAY, JTOTJS, 14, 1836.
ft
ONE HALF IIV ADVANCE. 3
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it.
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j then have very little to do other than ,to! present year, without any additional ap-
place the surplus revenue of the country I propnation r
at the discretionary disposition of the I Hut at the very time of asking these ad-
President and the Head; of Departments, di'ional sums tor 183b, viz. the 1st ofQc
And here, sir, we arc again forcibly re- tober, 1835, the unexpended balance, un
minded of the striking contrast, or rather der the head of contingencies for foreign
inconsistency, to-which ihe extremes of intercourse, was in truth $30,603, and for
party are continually exposed. To-day missions abroad 846,683 87.
a gentleman from Tennessee thinks itun- Thus the first three quarters of the year
important to look to the amounts of con- had been met, and more than met, with
tingent appropriation; vet, in 1828, a ut trenching on the appropriation of 1835;
member fiom the same State (Mr. Blair) surely then one short quarter of the year
and. like the present gentleman, opposed was not likely to do much in diminishing
to the then Administration, in a report this amount but, sir, really very little, un
touching this very Department of the Go- usually little, was at that time left to con
vernmoht, recommends, not merely to jecture or estimate, for, by reference to
diminish the continsencies applicable to the warrant book of the Treasury, it will
missions abroad," but that no appro- be seen that as early as the 4ih of May
priation whatever be made for that ob the agent of the Department of State had,
jeer. In my estimate of public men. and upoiuhe requisition of the Secretary drawn
in my pursuit of public measures, 1 have "from the Treasury the sum of twenty
ever labored lo guard against that politi- thousand dollars on account of contingent
cnl excitement, under the influence of expenses of foreign intercourse, which em
which we are too apt to condemn that to- braced the whole expenditure of the year,
day, which a chane of party views mav wuh the exception of 21,436 66fc which re
I I..-.I -. A - 111 miiiniiil nrYm.in . I. ...... f At.
i. r..n:tA r ka vvu. nn t .m ri us iu approve -to-morrow : anu. ai " mc muuui uiawu uui ui me
11. .... : it T I I . i I ltaiciiMr 1 Q 3 A
of the Union, upon a motion to strike " "5" h'h way i nave acquireu me "j
! . I .L. . .i! . r i 'L !.. it. -. I I h or tint Kuan it
f K;1I moling onnmnrKl nne f-- U IICII I II Ul C U I M I li C U Ofl Ol nO DCIIl IOO- ...... l wet u
IIOIII IMC Ul'i tunning ii.i wj,, .... i vi . . I I ' 4 I I V !
the civil and diplomatic expenses of Gov. r""" in my uevot.on to party, i nave an p" " u -y a !
eminent for the year 1 836, the items of ab.dmg consciousness that it is the only sum likely to be disbursed during the en-
tlw.c,,,il , arc F,r rnnl ixront l."ui nc Ml UMIHUCl I Hilt C.lll HlCd IO V Sf II- J"' t . w-uw.t, it nos 9U iwuc,
- . .l o nnrmin I U n i .......I.I . .. .1 i I in this IlltlinrP lot f ha rancnn iKof mri-a
nenses of roreisn intercourse," anil -n""'"1 iu.n wuum imu u ,ri..n.u.i; - , w .av .......
thirty thousand dollars for contingent the permanent interests of those whom I than the usual amount of the annual ex-
J . . . i h.ivt Ihn Unnr in ronracu.it neil(ll(UlP. W.lS ahO'.lt OPinir inrtli rPi4 :lt '111
expenses ot all the missions abroad ; ana " wiM..vin. r .1 1 1 t - V -
also, to reduce the appropriation tor the
expense
xuvTL-ia, nwiii m i i loitiniy rie lOaiMiress vou. jfeiore en nr frn:... 1 -... .1... .1
a . a r ft 1 1 11 I rariniv hn t.r a v a t imnn t ik4lnv.l. ..
Mr. a. o. cshkpeud roe ana sam. mat '-j ri'" -... -"j head, ot contingencies of furein inter-
in me ouservauons ne was aooui 10 sup- r- l1V "01", v. "I""' course j anu Dy reference to the expenses
mttupnn the pemling propositions to a- t-ni m icih.uk. ,x oI nUssjons abroad, we find that only g5,
mend, he wished to be understood as ,0. must here pause to express my surprise 375 89 was required during the last uuar
idual mem- V,e orerarj 01 atate. should have ter of (he Jear ,8S5 Tlis 8uln hen.
rviiiisHin iviht tchwt, (
fty Joseph dales Son.
Tunn DotiAB per nnnum onehnlfin advance
Those who Jo not, either at the time 01 nunscTiMnjr
or uh3enuent!y, give notice of their wish to have
he Paper.' discontinued at the expiration of the
rear, will lepresumcd as desiring its continuance
until couniermamieu.
ADTFRTISOSF,lTS,
ffot exceeding ttxlem lines, will he inserted tire
time for a Dollar; ami twenty-five cents lor eacn
subsequent puhlication : those of greater length, in
proportion. If the number of insertions be not
marked on them, they will le continued until ore
J red out and charged accordmjily.
Rem arks of Mr. A. II. Sheppcrd,
On the contingent appropriations j or the
Diplomatic' Expenses of the Government
for 1836, delivered in the Home of Heps.
FRIDAY, APRIL 15.
It has not been usual for the agent to be
submitted to: the only inquiries have pro- consequence to the objects of the mission
oaDiy been How much was voted last which would not have obtained had plain
M;ir!v nfkmnrl inl tviftiiri ll-io i - nnoftjii
rarilon, sir. this momentarv rlitressinn . r .1. . ..r .1 . r 1. 1 ' r..
.c rinfprrn.ir-witli Hip B-rS,r f. ri r ...i i. e Vi. ui HUM mav BjicilK lieieailcr.
" from si 1 7.4rtn to Ri 0 'nflO''--- I; l' IT "eS." aithen, in October last, nothing
, w--f . , .4 niuiiiij ii"ciuiiuiuc?9aiuu, jjcnn c ,- 1 lelt (6conic
year r W as that enough ? How much
more than enough, is a matter that has
not troubled tlie head of the Department
until quite recently.
You will bear in mind, sir, that I am
not now indulging in any objection to the
amounts annually expended, under these
heads of appropriation, of which I am
speaking; but I have purposely contrasted
the smallncss of these disbursements with
the continued repetition of annual de
mands for extravagant and useless appro
priations. Certainly it is no good reason
to urge, in favor of such a course of leg
islation, that the money is not wasted,
and that we should reward the economy
of those who have charge of the public
funds, by placing tens of thousands at
their will and pleasure, over and above
the accustomed wants of the Government.
Such blind confidence is unworthy of that
vigilance and care which should ever char
acterize the representatives of the Peo
ple. Although, sir, as have just intimated,
I have no particular charge of extrava
gance 10 maKe touching the iiisoursements
that 1 have examined, yet, in the progress
of that minute investigation which, by the
committee, 1 was authorized -to make, 1
met with some items of expenditure which
were at least in their character somewhat
extraordinary, if not wholly objectionable.
n this class i would place the sums paid
nut of the appropriations for contingencies
ot foreign intercourse, by direction of the
iar en. not merely as an indiv
K.r .A ihi hmlv- hut as in ohei tenre. in -, '"" vimuiiii
- 1 . r f .
...m !p.rrpp. to the direction of the Com- iee or vays ami Means should have re
m T - I M , ....
ttiittei- churtred with the duty of examin- Pn"ei the Dill now under consideration.
, into the accounts of the State Te-1 ,l" a ciause giving iniriy mousanil ilol-
k? i It r iL. . . . r e .
p-n tment 1 r15 " me -ciiiiiiiixeiu expenses 01 ir-
. . . . . . . .. ? . . ... I o.r . 1 in:.
L-nmv. sir. fsaicl Mr. S.I t int hv hn c," ""cruise, anu a UKe sum uir
. . y I J
turns out to be the only basis upon which
it is now contended that, notwithstanding
the balances I have s'.own to be on hand
at the beginning of 1835, and at the close
of the third quarter of that year, the Sec
retary could not have known that the sum
cfort we may seem to seek a consequence contingent expenses of all the missions Lfgixty ,hUsand dollars would not bene
cessary, in addition thereto, for the year
an ' give to ourselves an importance which aDro(l
perhaps, were not intended, nor desired. rerceivingjrom the books of the Treas- 1 836! It has. indeed, been intimated bv
in the arrangement or the committee of ury, and the detailed disbursement fur- the gentleman from Virginia, (Mr.Mason)
this House; but much as others may have nished the committee -to which I belong, that, in order to make a safe estimate, the
undervalued r slighted the duties pecu-1 that neither of these heads of expenditure Secretary of State must wait until all the
liar to this committee, I hope we shall be usually exceeded twenty thousand dol- varioiisitems, or accounts of disbursement
pardoned for attempting to show that there '"rs, annually, and that, for ihe last year, have been presented and audited at ihe
is at leat, a propriety, if not necessity, that for missions abroad" was only Treasury, but, instead of this view being
in instituting and prosecuting the various 816,221 37, I was ready to objert. anil correct in principle, or tending to justify
inquiries which rightfully fall within the did intend, even under this view of the the course of the Secretary, it will if ad-
scope of the authority delegated to us by subject, to propose to reduce the appro- milted, show a still larger balance, espe
the Rules of this House. Yet I come not priations to something like the expendi- cially of the funds applicable to contin-
charged with a long ami tormai retrench- 'u ; r, what was my surpnsp, gent expenses of missions abroad; for even
ment report, nor am I expected in anv when, by reference to the bal ances in the now. tir. the whole amount transmitted
way fo point to or discuss the peculiar office of the Register of the Treasury, I for settlement, and passed by the Fifth
political opinions of those who have been ascertain the fact, that at the close of Auditor, does not exceed five thousand
concerned in any of theGovernment trans- the last year there was on hand thirty dollars. Yet the expense incurred under
actions to which I may advert ; our la- thousand dollars, applicable to the service this head, for the year 1835, i set ('own
boN have, I hope, been prosecuted with of the present year, under the head of at S16.221 37; that being the sum actual
a purpose that ries far above that miser- "Contingencies of foreign intercourse y paid out of the Tieasury, upon unli
able, petty party spirit which has, unfor- and the sum of 840,508 belonging to that vidual account, or bv funds placed in the
tunttelv, too often become prevalent in of --all the missions abroad." Thus we hands of foreign bankers or other agents
our a' tempts to reform and correct the see,-sir, that, under two heads of appro- of the Government, to be disbursed in the
abuse ol Government, ol which a lament- pna-tion, usually covering an annual ex payment of Ihe numerous items of account
able illustration is afforded in the famous penditure ot not quite lorty thousand into which such a head of expenditure ne
retrenchment reporm Hint were madedur- uHars, there-is already at the service ol jcessarily divides itself, but which cannot
" . f . . -m. -f .lit. A t I " f . I .
nie session 01 iszr-m lot content present year ine sum or seventy thou- ,n themselves be looked to as theslandan
with noticing practices in the then Admi- sand five hundred and eight dollais ; and .of expenditure umler any particular heai
nietrationwWch evidently deserved the yet the Secretary of State requires a fur- of appropriation, and are not. so consid
public censure, and pointed to the neces- ther appropriation ot sixty thousand iol- ercd at the Treasury ; but on the other
uy 01 tegi-iauve correction, the excess Mars : hand, the sums so drawn Irom the Trea
ol j arty real destroyed, in a great degree, It is true, sir, that the chairman f thelsury, anil the funds purchased and placec
ine useiuin' ss ot the laborious efforts M Committee of Ways, and Means (Mr. in the hands or our bankers and other a
that' day, by attaching grave importance Canibreleng.) seconded by the chairman gents, are considered and treated as ex
tu circumstances too trivial to deserve a of the Commtitee on Foreign Affairs,) Mr. ' pended, although it may, and frequently
moinenrs serious cnsuteration . We have Mason,) now moves to strike this sum of
not only sobered down from t lie excite- sixtv thousand dollar from the hill : and
ment of that period, but really seem to be I should probably have contented myself,
fast falling into an opposite extreme. on this part'of the case, with merely
In 188, it was matter uf grave .charge voting for the amendment, had not a very
sjainst the then Secretary ol S ate, that, strange -attempt been made by the latter
out of the contingent fund intended for gentleman (Mr. Mason) to show that the
the use of his Department, he had amongst Secretary ol State could not, at the time
other ihings, been guilty of thu extrava-
puce t purcl.aMng fur his olhce a-pnnt
iT the President of" the United States at
tin price of thirteen dollars I But what
have we now, sir? Instead of a disposition
to question the character or extent ol
contingent disbursements, I was unable
to .carry a majority the other day upon a
proposition to reduce the contingent ap
propriation for the Department of Stale,
irom 825,000 to 17,000; and that, too,
H'uhout waiting to scan so nicely, as in
dnvs gune by, the pi opi iety and ex'em
of, .every petty disbursement that the Se
fretary of State may have authoiized
hut by a statement of facts and figures,
clrarly shewing that this retrenchment
hiight be made, without any embarrass-
1 tent to ihis branch of the public service.
nrrp is, inereiore, now, noi oniv a
'Sjjosition to give what is necessary, but
even to borrow more than can be fairly
estimate for ; and so far are we jioins;
upon una extreme lit confidence and in
dulgence, that the zenlleinan from Ten
nesr.ee (Mr. C. J.hnson) has clearly in
timated that, as we cannot foresee pre
cisely what amount may be needed under
any contingent head ot appropriation, we
l'te ionlyi to adopt Ms amendment, re
ining an annual poblication of the ex
le.Mlt.ures) & we may then free ourseU e
thn the trouble of frying t0 asceilailt
w 1,tleoflhe People's uney..".!! pro
7 d( 5 tour care will then be lo
5 d S'ye enongh J T(iis principle
thell K,eat y din'"h knU simplify
Ubor of 'ation ! iadeed, we shall
does, happen, that upon the ultimate and
detailed settlement of all the accounts in
volved, balances may be found unexpen
and open dealing been observed. But if
this was really to have been a secret bu
siness, the President should have shelter
ed the expenditure under the power given
him to allow a disbursement, without spe
cifying the objects for which it has been
made ; yet he has in this instance as well
as every other during his Administration,
with his usual frankness and independ
ence of character, refused to treat any
part of the appropriations for contingen-,
cies of foreign intercourse as constitut
ing a secret service fuivd, but has always
given the vouchers or specifications of
the expenditure. Whilst 1 highly approve
this practice of the present Administra
tion, I repeat, sir, that it is utterly at
war with the idea of carrying on a secret
negotiation, for the very fact of submit-,
ting the subject matter of the account to'
such investigation as, from its nature, it
may seem to merit," must, in some degree,
give publicity to the whole transaction.
I now hasten, sir,, to notice the dis
bursements connected with bur inter
course with the Barbary Powers. By an
act of Congress, passed in 1810, a salary
of four thousand dollars is given to'our
Consul General, resident at Algiers, and
two thousand to each of our other Con
suls, sent to the other Barbary -States.
Since the occupation of Algiers by France
this General Consulship has ceased, and
we have now on this part of the public
service but three consular stations one
at Tangiers, in Morocco, one at Tunis
'resident of the United Spates, to one and one at Tripoli. This salaried corn-
Edmund Roberts, a citizen of New Uamp- pensation distinguishes this class ofCon-
slure. i suls from anv others emnloved bv our Go-
In the year 1832 Mr. Roberts was com- vernment x and still further to favor their
missioned, or employed, by the President, position, they are each, by the act iust
of the United States, to visit the countries referred to, permitted to disburse annu
.. i 11..,.. .1 o: ... r i rti 1 r . I .. 1 1 . I. i .1 1 t 11
01 illusion, oiam, vyouuu iiiina, ami ja- any me sum or inree inousauu dollars in
pan. The object of this Eistern mission presents to the Governments where they
seems to have been the formation of trea- reside, and may even exceed the amount,
ties with the sovereigns of thee demi- upon the written permission of the Pre-
barbarous nations. To aid in its fulfil - sident of theUnited States. But, sir, this
ment, presents on behalf of our Govern- law goes still farther, and clearly shows
ment were made to about the amount of that while it was the purpose of Congress
three thousand, three hundred dollars. to cherish our commercial intercourse.
The compensation of this Government a- and lo preserve peace with those Powers,
gent was at this time fixed at six dollars it also intended to provide that agent
per oay, out he was also allowed, in the employed in disbursing these favors of our
settlement of his accounts, five per cent. Government should be compelled to ren-
commission upon me sums 30 noureci tier astnet account ot the manner in which
by him in presents. He returned in the they should perform this service. With
spring of 1834, having, as I understood, this view the sixth section enacts " that
concluded a treaty with the Sultan of it shall be the duty of the Consuls resid
Muscat ; but failed in doing so with the ing on the Barbary coast to transmit to
other Powers to whom he was sent. the Secretary of the Treasury, annually.
In the spring oflast year, Mr. Roberts an account of all monevs received' and of
: .1 a -1 J " .1. C I I"! . I .
was aiiiii iirspaiuiicu, wiui iresn inMruc- an uisuursemems or expeiHlilui es maue
tions, at an annual salary of 4,400 dol- by them, respectively, for, or on account
lars, which was directed to be paid him of the United States, and the particu
from ihe firstofihe year; and to strength- lar purpose to which the moneys have
en the hopes of still greater success, pre- been applied, and the vouchers to support
sents amounting to 819,580 79 were pur- the same 1 and the Secretary of the Trea-
chased in New-York, and placed at his surv shall transmit to-Consrress. within
disposition, with a view of being employ- two months after the commencement of
ed by hun 111 buying or conciliating the the first session thereof, in every year, a
favor of those Powers to whom he had statement of all the monevs disbursed
been before, in some degree, accredited, from the Treasury of the United States
This expenditure was incurred within the for expenses of intercourse with the Bar-
last quarter of the year 1834,. and the bary Powers during the preceding year ;
first quarter of 1835. I have not merely therein noting, as far as can be ascertains
contented myself with ascertaining the ed at the Treasury, the sums received bv
amount of this bounty or donation 011 be- the respective ageats or Consuls, and the
nan 01 our vjovernmenr, dui in oueuience purposes to which the same have been
to a sense ot duty, have looked through applied."
the entire list, or series ot articles ot mer- I would here emphatically inquire of
cnaiunse 01 which 11 nas ueen composed, the oldest members of this body, those
ami nave taKen care to see that, accord- most experienced in the alterations and
ing to law and. the practice of the Gov- amendments which our laws have under-
ernment, this jargcand unusual disburse, gone; whether the section that I have ju$t
ment nas received me proper ceruncaics read-lias ever been repealed, of even
of the President and the Secretary of modified in any wrfy ? For myself I have
ded in the hands of these ag-ents, but4State, with the direction for its payment been unable to discover any thin show
of his estimate for the year 1656 ;'tt hirh
was made about the 1st of October, 1835)
know that any very considerable balance
would remain at the end of ihe year 1835,
or that the addition ,of thirty thousand
dollars, under each of these heads, would
not be requisite. We have -already seen
that, if there had been notliin on hand,
the sums proposed in the bill, and asked
by the Secretary, would have been abun
dantly large, and indeed more than suffi
cient. But what disposition can the Sec
retary, or his friend, make of this enor
mous sum of upwards of seventy thousand
Ittllars r For if it be said he could not
know in October how the balance would
be at, the close of December, 1835. cer
tainly there could have been no difficulty
in ascertaining how it stood at the end of
the year 1834. By reference to the same
umUubted source ; of information, and by
a mere moment's inspection, we are in
formed that, under the head of " Contin
gencies of missions abroad." the sum on
hand on the Slst of December, 1834, was
826739, and for Contingencies of for
eign intercourse," there was 820,000 ;
yet lor 18o5, there was also appropriated
330,000 to each of these objects ; -ivin"
for 1835, an entire sum of 8106.729.
Suppose, then, that no other or later data
of calculation "were attainable by iheSec
retary than those Jo which I have just re
ferred, does not every botlyee that, un
less, by direction of the President, he had
greatly augmented the disbursements du
ring the year 1835, that enough an abun
dant balance mut have remained for the
which are considered as so entirely out of
the Treasury that a warrant is drawn for
their payment or restoration to the head
of appropriation from which they were
taken.
Thus you see, sir, the actual disburse
ment under any particular heal of appro
priation may prove to be less, but cannot
well turn out to be more, than the sums
so advanced by the Government. It is,
therel'orcnot only idle, but really the
gentleman' from Virginia ( Mr, Mason )
tloes both himself and the Secretary ol,
State great injustice, when he contends
that the estimates for the Department are
rejrulated by the actual state of the indi
vidual accounts, as settled at the Treasu
ry; for, I repeat, were this the case, it
would make the matter still worse, by
showing that Ihe present estimate of sixty
thousand dollars for contingencies of for
eign intercourse and missions abroad had
been made with a much larger balance .on
hand than even that for which I have con
tended; and, instead of justifying the ap
propi iatiou of 817,400 asked for the pre
sent year's expense ofour intercourse with
the Barbary Powers, would show that the
Department was yet unauthorized to ask
any amount whatever for this service, as
no disbursements of the last year's appro
priation have been forwarded by our con
suls, and settled at the treasury.
But the truth is, as I have asserted, and
as the books of the Treasury show, the
vear's expeiidiiure is considered as regu
lated bv the sums drawn out lor disburse
ment: these amounts can be seen at a mo
mentv i ance. ihe secretary 01 Mate
had only to ask, and the information
would have been afforded; But it seems
that even this little trouble has not been
tut of the fund for contingencies of fo- ing its repeal, or alteration inanynartic
reign intercourse. ular whatever. Taking it, therefore, to
The gentleman employed in this busi- he the law of the landi the committee
ness is very favorably spoken .f by those waited for the expiration dt the two
who Know mm ; anu, juuging irom wnat months, within which time the Secretary
knowledge my investigation has afforded of the Treasury is required to make a
me of his character, I am disposed to think communication of this eontinsent disburse-
well Of his qualifications for s,uch a mts- ment to Congress. But, sir, we waited in
sion. iNor am 1, sir, now prepared to
call in question the policy of our Gov
eminent, which seeks to extend and
vain, yet, supposing the cletay was
probably owing to the press of business,
or momentarv inattention, I was authori
strengthen our icommercial intercourse Ued by the committee, without resorting
with the nations embraced in this enter- to the formality of a resolution on the
prise, and that, too, although gifts may subject, to inquire into the reason of this
be necessary to propitiate their-favor, or delay ; that reason, or answer, is given in
secure to us the mere privilege of trading the Secretary's note of the 16th February.
with them. No, sir, all this may well be, in which he says that Consul's have nev-
and be right; and yet very grave ques- er made any returns to this Department
lions may arise as to the propriety of ap- under ihe act reulatini the same, or thev
plying the contingent fuiul to the payment would probabhj have been submitted to
ot a salaried omcer, wno, inougn lie nas Congress."
for years sustained a sort ot diplomatic Can it be true, sir, that this wise and
character abroad, and has actually nego- prudent lesislative provision has been
tiated a treaty, and is now gone upon a wholly neglected ? Yes, sir, it is em-
second mission, at an expense ot twenty- phatically true j for, instead of being ob
four thousand dollars, has never, during served and carried into execution, its ve
all this time,-been nominated to the Se- ry existence seems to have escaped the
naie lor appointment, or in miy tuner way attention 01 all those whose duty required
been made known to the country as con- them to see its provisions fulfilled. Nor is
rgected with an important foreign service, this the fault merely of the present day,
I know it is said that, to guard against or the present Administration, but is
the jealous interference of rival nations, equally charsreable to those that have
secrecy was necessary in mis, as it has preceded, it 5 tor' I believe, in the" Ian-
been thought to be in mjiny oiner negotia- guage otdhe Secretary of the Ireasury,
. & . 'm V' 1: . f . 1 1" . - . . " I n r .1 . 'L. i . - m. ..t. i.1
tinn . l v una i ftp l ipvc nitr in rnu i.in. uiVn... n m.i a a mtr . I i K r mnra inin RnniiiTn in mppr ma
' I'MIU , UUI w"V - ". Ull VUII9UII IlilVO liCICI lllrtiiv Hlll,Jb,l M1"t I ...... .. ,
rr i. . r.. :... I I a .1 : ".ri..,....l .1 ..-.l'.i...- . W.JlOU -
mcacy OI SUCH a recuun . iur, niicau ;urn, ' according IO ine requisition Oliusuai annual cApeounmc i
f .1 " - l IT .. I.i - j. I- L - iL. '
oi nie otsguisen negciaur succteuing i" tne act or iio.
eluding-suspicion, and effecting the bu- Having thus entirely failed in obtain
siness of his Government without disclo- ing the official information which we had
sure, the mere fact of attempting to do sola legal right to expect from the Secretary
will, in most lustances, De tound to a ot the Ireasury, I commenced seeking.
the disposition that had been made of thi
large sums of money placed from time to
time at , the will and pleasure of these dis
bursing agents of the Government And
although, as we have just seen, annual
statements of expenditure have not been
forwarded to the Secretary ot the Ireas
ury, and by him sabmitted to Congress,
it so happens, that wnen it has precisely '
suited the convenience of our Consuls to
do so, they have, through the Department'
of State, communicated some account of
their doings to our Government, By re
ference to the books of the Treasury,
where these matters have been settled by
the Fifth Auditor, I find tnat James H. i
Leib, our present Consul at Tangier, in
Morocco, has not settled any account
since his appointment, which was in 1832.
and that the sum of 14.017 41 stands a -
a charge against him on the books of the I ,
Treasury. I should, perhaps, hete state I
that Mr. Leib has recently transmitted ,
an account, which, I learn; is retained
by the Secretary of State for further ad
visement, in consequence of its embra
cing extravagant expenditures made by
him on a visit to the Emperor of Morocco .
at the city of Fez. . .
Samuel D. Heap, present Consul at
Tunis, is debtor o the amount of 810,723
62 ; he has not settled any account since
31st December, 1831.
Daniel S. McCauly, Consul at Tripoli,
is cha rged with a balance against him ot
83,721 78. His last settlement was on
30th June, 1833.
From 1810 to the present time, I find
that the sum ot 8700,000 has been ex
pended, or paid out, on account of our
intercourse with the Barbary Powers, i
elusive of various disbursements which are
usually embraced under this head of ex
pendiiure, but which do not properly be
long to it ; that, of this sum, 889,675 has
not been accounted for, but stands out in
a long list of balances against our present ,
and preceding Consuls and commercial a
agents. .
I will not, sir, be so personal &s to -
specify throughout the names of all those
who appear to be debtors to the:r Govern
ment, but shall content myself by having
merely pointed out the particular sums
that are chargeable to those now in office,
and in favor of whom it is proposed to
make a still farther appropriation of glr
400, embracing their salaries of 82,000
each, with eight hundred dollars for con-
lingent expenses, and three thousand dol- .
tars for each of these three Consulates, to
be disbursed in presents, according to
the provisions of the act ot 1810, already
referred to. v
But, sir, this is not all that it is propos
ed to do, or has recently been done, to
favor or patronize these almost irrespon
sible officers of the Government. Tlio
treaty which has subsisted for near fifty
years between this Government and that
of Morocco, being about to expire, our
Consul at Tangiers, Mr. Leib, has been
charged with the uutyof procuring its re
newal. In order to insure success, the
sum of 319,238.45 has, within the last
year, been laid out in the city of N. York,, .
by the Secretary of State, under the. au
thonty of the President, in the purchase ,
of a very great variety of foreign anil do
mestic goods, which have been, shipped
to Mr. Leib, .and are intended to be by
him presented to the Emperor of Morocco,
upon his consenting to a renewal of the
treaty. This expenditure is over and a-?
bove the sum which our Consul may have
disbursed in that country out of the ap
propriation of 1835, but no account of
which is to be found at the Treasury.
The presents so to bo given may be ne '
cessary to attain the object in view, an'4
the object may itself be worth the money,
I will not now wait to question the one or
the other; but however commendable may -have
been this expenditure, I would great ,
ly have preferred that it should have been
entrusted to some one who had not shown
a manifest inattention to the law regufat
ing his duties, or that, at leasW before
giving this additional evidence oY confi-,
dence in our Consul at Tangieri, he had
been required by the President of the U.
States to adjust the sum already outstand
ing against him on the books of the Tr a
sury j for, sir, however able this gentle
man, with others, may ultimately prove
to account for all their disbursements, a
neglect to do so .for years, in violation of .
the plainest provision of law, is an eriwW
pie tnat migm". not oe .iavreu or, inuui
ged. Nor, sir, is this my only objection,
connected with the class of expenditures
to which I am now referring for m them
I think we have a forcible illustration ot
the great impropriety of permitting sur
plus amounts to accumulate, under any
contingent head of disbursemeut, by not
attending to the state of the appropriation
at tne close ot eaclYucctssive year, or
at any time when it may be proposed to
make an additional appropriation. Thus, 1
at the end of the year 1834, there was on '
hand, under? the head of I nfpr course
with the' Barbary Powers," thssum or
we jiave nie ou apprvpnnun vi orivui
giving an available Amount for that year.'
f; 8.36.000. Outof Ihit hat bean taken;
this 'extrabrdinrj expenditure of near;
iwenry mousano ooiiars, iur prciPtin tar. .
waken unusual curiosity, and to. give a in some pther way to lean, if practicable, 1 the Emperor oj Morocco
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