PUBLIC EXPENDITURES. 
 
 SPEECH 
 
 OF 
 
 HON. R. H. DUELL, OF NEW YORK. 
 
 Delivered in the House of Representatives, June 14, 1860. 
 
 -o- 
 
 Mr. Chairman: I propose at this time 
 to call the attention of the House to some 
 facts connected with our public expendi¬ 
 tures. 
 
 At the commencement of the present 
 session of Congress, the Secretary of the 
 Treasury submitted his annual report, from 
 which it appears that the total expendi¬ 
 tures of this Government, inclusive of the 
 public debt, during the fiscal year ending 
 June 30, 1859, was $83,751,5] 1.57—a 
 Jargter sum than has ever been expended 
 in any one year since the adoption of the 
 Constitution. This amount was applied 
 to the various branches of the public ser¬ 
 vice as follows: 
 
 Civil, foreign intercourse, and miscella¬ 
 neous - $23,635,820.94 
 
 Indians and pensions - 4,753,972.60 
 
 Expenses of War Depart¬ 
 ment - 23,243,822.38 
 
 Expenses of Navy Depart¬ 
 ment - - - 14,712,610.21 
 
 Redemption of Treasury 
 
 notes - - - 17,405,285.44 
 
 83,751,511.57 
 
 In order to ascertain whether there has 
 been a prodigal expenditure of the peo¬ 
 ple’s money, we should, in the first place, 
 compare this with former periods. The 
 expenses of our Government, down to the 
 end of Mr. Jefferson’s administration, ap¬ 
 pear to have been frugal and exemplary. 
 The cost of Washington’s administration, 
 for the whole period of eight years, was 
 only .... $15,892,188 
 John Adams’s/otw years - 21,450,351 
 
 Jefferson’s eight years - 41,300,788 
 
 As the war with Great Britain occurred 
 during Mr. Madison’s term of office, the 
 
 expenses were increased, during his eight 
 years, to - - - - $144,684,939 
 
 Monroe’s eight years - 104,463,400 
 The average annual expenditure, under 
 John Quincy Adams, was $12,328,303 
 Do. under Jackson’s first 
 
 term - 14,062,469 
 
 Do. Jackson’s second term - 21,782,607 
 
 Do. Van Buren - - 28,047,172 
 
 Do. Tyler - 20,304,156 
 
 Do. Polk - 36,736,100 
 
 Do. Fillmore - 48,661,900 
 
 Do. Pierce ... 67,235,324 
 
 Such was the average of expenditures 
 under previous administrations, whilst 
 under Mr. Buchanan they increased, in 
 1858, to $82,000,000, and now, in 1859, to 
 $83,000,000 and upwards; and this, too, 
 in a time of peace, and with a falling rev¬ 
 enue. Well may the people look with 
 astonishment and alarm on such a condi¬ 
 tion of affairs! Compare the administra¬ 
 
 tion of Mr. Buchanan with that of General 
 Jackson, who, with revenues at no time 
 exceeding in the average $26,000,000, yet 
 paid all the legitimate expenditures of 
 Government, besides extinguishing more 
 than fifty million dollars of the public 
 debt, whilst Mr. Buchanan, with more 
 than fifty millions of revenue per annum, 
 yet increases the public debt some twenty- 
 five millions annually! 
 
 From the foundation of the Government 
 down to this day, the statesmen of our 
 country have urged upon us the necessity 
 of rigid economy in our public expendi¬ 
 tures. Washington, Jefferson, Madison, 
 and Jackson, insisted upon an honest ad¬ 
 ministration of the Federal Government, 
 that labor might be lightly burdened. Mr. 
 Buchanan in 1852, before he became 
 President, declared that fifty millions per 
 
2 
 
 annum was an “ enormous sum,” and in¬ 
 voked the strong arm of the Democracy 
 to interpose and arrest the increasing ex¬ 
 pense of Government, for fear it might, in 
 a few years, reach one hundred million. 
 
 It will be seen, Mr. Chairman, that du¬ 
 ring the administration of General Wash¬ 
 ington, the costs of the General Govern¬ 
 ment were only fifty cents to each inhab¬ 
 itant per annum. The population of the 
 United States was then about four mil¬ 
 lions, and the expenses of the Govern¬ 
 ment about two millions annually. The 
 population of the United States is now 
 about twenty-eight millions, and the costs 
 of the Government is about three dollars 
 to each inhabitant. During the adminis¬ 
 tration of General Jackson even, the costs 
 of the Government amounted annually to 
 but one dollar to each inhabitant. Bring 
 this Government back to the economy 
 of Jackson’s administration, and fifty mil¬ 
 lions would be saved to the people of 
 the United States annually. 
 
 Sir, it can be shown that millions of 
 dollars of the people's money is not used 
 for Government purposes at all, but for 
 party purposes. It goes to political friends 
 as a reward for partisan services performed 
 for the Administration. I cannot, in the 
 brief hour allotted me, point out all the 
 leakages in our national Treasury, but I 
 propose to call the attention of the House 
 to a few of them. 
 
 A very dangerous practice has existed, 
 of voting large contingent funds for the dif¬ 
 ferent departments of Government, which 
 presented temptations and opened a flood¬ 
 gate of corruption to the higher and lower 
 public functionaries. Many hundred thou¬ 
 sand dollars have in this way been put at 
 the discretion of the past and existing Ad¬ 
 ministrations, no small portion of which 
 was squandered for most unsuitable parti¬ 
 san or private ends. The practice of hav¬ 
 ing large outstanding appropriations lying 
 over from one year to another, which often 
 amounted to many millions, has often 
 been abused by applying such appropria¬ 
 tions to objects not designated by law, at 
 the discretion of the Administration. In 
 this way there was never any want of 
 funds, when a partisan object required it, 
 or a private whim was to be gratified, or 
 favorites wanted patronage. Secret and 
 partisan emissaries were by this means 
 sent out, under the guise of Government 
 
 agents, for this, that, or the other object, 
 the chief errand being confidential, and 
 the Administration newspapers of the 
 country have likewise experienced the 
 benefits of contingent and disposable 
 funds in the hands of the Executive and 
 his agents. 
 
 The present condition of the Post Office 
 Department and its revenues is a matter 
 deserving the gravest consideration of the 
 people. From a report recently made by 
 the Postmaster General to the Senate, I 
 compile the following remarkable table of 
 
 receipts and 
 since 1850 : 
 
 losses of 
 
 the postal service 
 
 Fiscal year end¬ 
 
 Total 
 
 Excess of 
 
 Excess of A 
 
 ing June 30, 
 
 Receipts 
 
 Revenue 
 
 Expen. £ 
 
 1850 - $ 
 
 15,495,149 
 
 $260,967 
 
 - 1 
 
 1851 - 
 
 6,404,373 
 
 112,624 
 
 — 
 
 1852 - 
 
 5,016,039 
 
 $2,098,671 1 
 
 1853 - 
 
 5,084,561 
 
 — 
 
 2,582,759 1 
 
 1854 - 
 
 6,029,734 
 
 — 
 
 2,568,382 ■ 
 
 1855 - 
 
 6,384,795 
 
 — 
 
 3,572,822 W 
 
 1856 - 
 
 6,654,424 
 
 — 
 
 3,814,960 
 4,557,811^'! 
 5,389,561 ' 
 
 1857 - 
 
 7,101,712 
 
 — 
 
 1858 - 
 
 7,224,735 
 
 — 
 
 1859 - 
 
 7,679,083 
 
 — 
 
 7,785,609 
 
 It appears 
 
 that, in 1850 and 1851, there 
 
 was an excess of revenue over the ex¬ 
 penses. The course of losses since 1851 
 has been most extraordinary—beginning 
 at over two millions in the first year, and 
 rising to nearly eight millions in 1859. 
 The loss in 1859 is greater than the total, 
 revenue, the entire revenue being a mil¬ 
 lion of dollars more than in 1851, when 
 the service paid a profit to the Government. 
 The full sum of loss since 1852, during 
 all of which time the Democratic party 
 has been in power, is no less than thirty- 
 two millions two hundred and seventy thou¬ 
 sand Jive hundred and seventy jive dollars , 
 or an average of more than four millions 
 of dollars a year. Now, the annual loss 
 has got up nearly to eight millions , and, at 
 the same rate of progress, it will be thirty 
 millions of dollars in the year 1869. 
 
 One secret of the present condition of 
 affairs will appear in the following table, 
 showing the increase of cost as compared 
 with 1850 in a few of the older States— 
 an increase which demonstrates that it is 
 now a grand scheme of local patronage. 
 The increase has been greatest where it 
 should have been least, and it is perfectly 
 evident that a radical reform is needed: 
 
 Cost in 1650. Cost in 1859. 
 New York - - $680,623 $1,107,887 
 
 Pennsylvania - - 332,376 671,532 
 
 Maryland - - 182,381 299,766 
 
3 
 
 Virginia 
 
 - 259,030 
 
 510,801 
 
 North Carolina - 
 
 - 184,954 
 
 270,762 
 
 South Carolina - 
 
 - 144,060 
 
 319,068 
 
 Georgia - 
 
 - 204,527 
 
 358,180 
 
 Alabama - 
 
 - 197,468 
 
 393,628 
 
 Mississippi 
 
 - 110,184 
 
 370,003 
 
 Louisiana 
 
 88,781 
 
 777,517 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 - 107,237 
 
 334,820 
 
 Kentucky 
 
 - 126,156 
 
 365,675 
 
 Ohio 
 
 - 311,974 
 
 806,414 
 
 
 2,930,431 
 
 6,586,053 
 
 Thus the service of thirteen States, all 
 old, and undergoing few changes since 
 1850, comes to cost two and a half times 
 as much to cany the mails now as then. 
 This is about the rate of increase for all of 
 the old States, while, in the new ones, of 
 course the increase is ten to a hundred 
 fold. 
 
 The management of the Post Office is a 
 disgrace to the people of the United 
 States. In many places, the inhabitants, 
 who pay large and ample sums for postage, 
 are cut off from mail facilities, and are 
 compelled to either carry their mails them¬ 
 selves, or do without them. The whole 
 cost of Department and mail service, in 
 1850, was $5,220,214; and in 1859, 
 $15,404,276—just three times as much. 
 Excessive expenditure is everywhere ap¬ 
 parent. As an illustration, compare these 
 two items for 1850 and 1859: 
 
 Route agents—1850, $58,266; 1859, 
 $377,225. 
 
 Printing blanks—1850, $30,638; 1859, 
 
 $117,171. 
 
 Now, sir, in 1790, when the Post Office 
 Department went into operation, it was a 
 self-supporting establishment. From that 
 time down to 1850, a period of sixty 
 years, the Department had more than sus¬ 
 tained itself; but after 1851 the expenses 
 began to increase, so that in 1859 there 
 was a deficit, as I before stated, of nearly 
 eight millions of dollars. What explana¬ 
 tion can be furnished, consistently with 
 honesty and fair dealing? None, sir, 
 none! 
 
 Let us look at some of the items of 
 this expenditure. We are told by the 
 Postmaster General, in his report, that we 
 have six Pacific mail routes; and they are 
 very unproductive, and all but one unne¬ 
 cessary, in my judgment. On one of 
 these routes, only three letters and twen¬ 
 ty-six newspapers were carried in nine 
 months; and yet it cost the Government 
 seventy-nine thousand dollars to carry 
 
 these three letters and twenty-six news¬ 
 papers ! Mr. Pearce, a Democratic Sen¬ 
 ator from Maryland, thus summed up the 
 expense of running these six routes, a few 
 days since, in the Senate: 
 
 “ The gross annual disbursements for thpse six 
 routes are thus shown to have been $2,184,000, 
 while the receipts were but $339,000; the greater 
 part of which came from the ocean mail from 
 New York, by w*ay of Panama, to San Francisco. 
 The annual expenditures for local mail service, 
 in California, Utah, Washington, and Oregon, 
 are about five hundred and eight thousand dol 
 lars. Add that to the $2,184,000, and you hav 
 an aggregate of $2,693,000 appropriated for the 
 service of the Pacific mails, and the local service 
 of those States and Territories. They contain 
 about six hundred and fifty thousand people; 
 and if the postal expenditures for the rest of the 
 people in this Union were in exact proportion to 
 these, the postal service of the country would 
 cost about one hundred and twenty-six million 
 dollars per annum.” 
 
 There was an appropriation of $40,000 
 for Post Office blanks. This job was given 
 to a political friend of the Administration, 
 who made a clean profit of $30,000; and 
 this fund was used, with the knowledge 
 and advice of the President, to keep alive 
 two of the Administration newspapers of 
 the country. The conduct of the Presi¬ 
 dent was so manifestly wrong in this 
 affair, that his political friends denounced 
 him on the floor of Congress. Mr. Pryor, 
 a Democrat from Virginia, in speaking of 
 the transaction, said : 
 
 “Look at the disclosures which have been 
 brought before the House at this very session 1 
 I know that some gentlemen upon this side of 
 the Chamber are disposed or indicate a disposi¬ 
 tion to throw the vail of concealment over reve¬ 
 lations of executive abuse. I have no such incli¬ 
 nation, sir. They are enormous; they are crying 
 grievances; grievances, I assure gentlemen, which 
 smell very badly in the nostrils of the people. 
 
 Take, for example, the printing of the Post 
 Office blanks, by which, after the work is done, 
 the surplus of appropriation is distributed among 
 the stipendiaries of executive patronage. Gen¬ 
 tlemen say, to be sure, that the excess is only 
 distributed among the friends of the Adminis¬ 
 tration. Very well; if it was to be expended at 
 all, it was right to distribute it among the friends 
 of the Administration. But why did not the 
 President inform Congress that the law appro¬ 
 priated an excessive amount of money for this 
 specific service, and suggest a large deduction 
 from an exorbitant appropriation? Instead of 
 recommending such a reduction, instead of in¬ 
 dicating to the Representatives of the people 
 that here was an instance in which they might 
 save a considerable sum to an exhausted Treas¬ 
 ury, that surplus expenditure was distributed 
 among the partisans of the Administration. 
 
4 
 
 Now, sir, for one, I denounce it. I am not re¬ 
 sponsible for it. I invoke the judgment of the 
 people against it.” 
 
 Now sir, I will turn my attention to 
 other cases of pecuniary corruption. Take 
 the case of Fort Snelling, which was this: 
 The Fort and appurtenances cost the 
 Government about $50,000. Attached to 
 it as a military reservation was a tract of 
 8,000 acres of beautiful land, at the junc¬ 
 tion of the Mississippi with its most im¬ 
 portant tributary north of the Illinois river, 
 a point certain to be soon the site of a 
 large city. These 8,000 acres were worth 
 hundreds of thousands of dollars, and if 
 duly advertised and pul up at auction in 
 lots, would have probably brought $100 
 per acre. This immense property, which 
 was rapidly advancing in value, was pri¬ 
 vately sold by the Secretary of War to a 
 single favored purchaser, for $90,000, or 
 $11 an acre. The majority of the Con¬ 
 gressional committee appointed to in¬ 
 vestigate the matter reported resolves 
 strongly condemning the whole transac¬ 
 tion; and, though the Democratic House 
 of Representatives refused to pass the 
 resolves thus reported, it accepted the 
 substitute, which declared that the manage¬ 
 ment of the sale, by the agents authorized 
 by the Secretary of the War to conduct 
 the same, was injudicious, improper, and 
 resulted, by reason of its want of publicity, 
 in the exclusion of that competition among 
 persons desiring to purchase, which, under 
 the circumstances, should have been per¬ 
 mitted. 
 
 In 1857, the Government wanted a site 
 for a fort near New York city. A piece 
 of land known as Willet’s Point is situ¬ 
 ated on Long Island, on the East River, 
 and was marsh land, subject to fever and 
 ague. It had been for several years in 
 the market without finding a purchaser, 
 though offered for less than $50,000. In 
 July, 1856, it was offered for $45,000 to 
 a wealthy merchant of Williamsburgh, 
 who refused to take it at that price. At 
 a still later period, it was offered to the 
 Government for $100,000, and of this offer 
 the War. Department was duly informed. 
 On the 13th of April, 1857, the Secretary 
 of War addressed to Augustus Schell, 
 collector of the port of New York, a letter 
 informing him that the Government de¬ 
 sired to purchase Willet’s Point, and ask¬ 
 ing him to ascertain its value. Mr. Schell 
 
 took into his confidence in this matter 
 several other prominent Democratic poli¬ 
 ticians, his intimate associates, among 
 them his brother Richard Schell, Prosper 
 M. Wetmore, and Isaac V. Fowler, the 
 postmaster whose defalcation has just 
 come to light. The result was, that on the 
 24th day of April, 1857, Mr. Schell and 
 Mr. Fowler, both being office-holders 
 under Mr. Buchanan, and old residents 
 of New York, addressed a joint letter to 
 the Secretary of War, in which they in¬ 
 formed him that this property, which 
 shortly before had been offered to the 
 Government for $100,000, was worth 
 $200,000 and recommended its purchase. 
 It was accordingly bought by the Govern¬ 
 ment and paid for at that price. By this 
 swindle the Government was plundered of 
 $150,000! The House of Representatives 
 having appointed a committee to investi¬ 
 gate this affair, the chairman of the com¬ 
 mittee, after investigation, declared that 
 the property was not worth $50,000, and 
 that there was a fraudulent combination to 
 extort an unfair, exorbitant and most un¬ 
 just price from the Government in the 
 sale of this property, and that Augustus 
 Schell, by the unwarranted giving of his 
 certificate, contributed to and enabled the 
 success of the combination in the matter. 
 Notwithstanding these facts, the Govern¬ 
 ment continued to retain Mr. Schell as 
 collector and Mr. Fowler as postmaster 
 until the latter turned out a defaulter to 
 the tune of $155,000 both being recog¬ 
 nised leaders of*the Democratic party, 
 and intrusted with the collection of mill¬ 
 ions of the people’s money. 
 
 Another source of wasteful expenditure 
 grows out of the enormous profits of the 
 public printing. Committees appointed by 
 the Senate and the House have made a 
 thorough investigation of this matter, and 
 from their reports we are told that the 
 total amount paid for printing and bind¬ 
 ing during the past six years was nearly 
 four million dollars, and that the work 
 might have been done for fifty per cent, 
 less than the price paid by the Govern¬ 
 ment for doing it. In other words, that if 
 economy had prevailed, the sum of about 
 two million dollars might have been saved 
 to the Government. It appears that Mr. 
 Cornelius Wendell executed most of the 
 printing during the period referred to, un¬ 
 der some arrangement with the printers 
 
5 
 
 elected by the Senate and House, by 
 which he was to pay them a certain sum 
 for their share of the profits. It was fur¬ 
 ther arranged that Mr. Wendell was to 
 pay other sums towards the support of 
 Administration newspapers, and that, in 
 pursuance of such arrangement, he did 
 pay large sums for that purpose, with the 
 knowledge and assent of the Administra¬ 
 tion. The committee say that, from all the 
 testimony, it appears that Mr. Wendell, 
 in the contributions which he made from 
 the proceeds of the printing for party pur¬ 
 poses, acted as the agent and friend with 
 the knowledge and concurrence of the 
 Administration. Mr. Wendell himself 
 says that he contributed directly or indi¬ 
 rectly one hundred thousand dollars , to be 
 expended in elections to influence their 
 results, in addition to the bonus paid for 
 the contracts. He sent money into cer¬ 
 tain doubtful Congressional districts in 
 Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New 
 York, in 1858, to influence the election 
 of members of Congress. A Mr. Megar- 
 gee, of Philadelphia, testified before the 
 investigating committee of the Senate as 
 follows: 
 
 “ Question. Did you receive any money for po¬ 
 litical purposes in Pennsylvania or New Jersey 
 from Mr. Wendell? 
 
 “ Witness. Am I really compelled to answer 
 such questions ? 
 
 “ Mr. Kennedy. I think it is within the scope 
 of the inquiry. 
 
 “ The committee thought the question was a 
 proper one, and that it should be answered. 
 
 11 Answer. I did, sir, receive money at various 
 times for political purposes. 
 
 “ Question. Were those moneys expended for 
 the promotion of the interests of the Democratic 
 party? 
 
 “ Answer. Not all of them. Some of it was 
 used for a third party, which was organized to 
 divert votes from what was known as ‘ the Peo¬ 
 ple’s party ’ with us. The ‘ People’s party ’ was 
 in opposition to the Democratic party. We did 
 not know there the party organized as ‘ the Re¬ 
 publican party.’ The opposition to the Demo¬ 
 cratic party was called ‘the People’s party;’ and 
 to divert votes from that party, the third party 
 was organized. The object was to divide the 
 ‘ People’s party.’ 
 
 “ Question. Was such a third party organized? 
 
 “ Answer. Yes, sir. 
 
 “ Question. Did you believe that was necessary 
 to the success of the Democratic party ? 
 
 “ Answer. We certainly did, or we should not 
 have given them the money. 
 
 “ Question. What was that third party called? 
 
 “ Answer. The straight American party; the 
 ‘ straight-outs.’ 
 
 “ Question. You speak both of Pennsylvania 
 and New Jersey? 
 
 “ Answer. Yes, sir. 
 
 “ Question. And of those State only ? 
 
 11 Answer. Yes, sir ; of those only.” 
 
 Mr. Anthony, one of the committee, 
 stated in the Senate that the aggregate 
 cost of the public printing is about double 
 the fair price at which it might be per¬ 
 formed, and ought to be performed; and 
 that some portion of the Executive print¬ 
 ing has cost five or six times the usual 
 prices that would be paid by individuals 
 for the same work. That the whole sys¬ 
 tem of the public printing is extravagant 
 in itself, and that much of it has been cor¬ 
 rupt, or inexcusably careless in its admin¬ 
 istration, and that it demands immediate 
 reform. 
 
 From the report of the Secretary of the 
 Treasury, it appears that there has been 
 disbursed from 1807 to 1859, on the various 
 public buildings purchased or constructed, 
 under the Treasury Department, the sum 
 of $20,126,997.09. Of this amount, over 
 thirteen millions has been expended with¬ 
 in the past six years. The expenses of 
 the Navy Department for the year ending 
 June 30, 1859, was over fourteen million 
 dollars, which is a large increase. In 
 1848, the expenses of this Department, 
 although we had just emerged from the 
 war with Mexico, amounted to only about 
 nine million. I find by an examination, 
 of the Navy Register for the year 1860, 
 that we have in the navy at this time—in 
 a time of peace — ninety-nine captains, 
 who are paid an average salary of $4,000 
 each; one hundred and thirty command¬ 
 ers, at a salary of about $2,000; three hun¬ 
 dred sixty lieutenants, at a salary of about 
 $1,800; one hundred and forty-eight sur¬ 
 geons, at a salary of about $2,200; sixty- 
 five pursers, at a salary of about $2,000 ; 
 besides an army of midshipmen, engi¬ 
 neers, mates, navy agents, naval store¬ 
 keepers, naval constructors, clerks, &c. 
 A considerable number of these officers 
 are seldom on duty, and we find written 
 opposite their nappes, “ waiting orders,” 
 “ on leave,” “ on furlough,” while their 
 pay goes on all the same. Now, I am not 
 saying that this is all unnecessary, but I 
 do insist that abuses have crept into our 
 navy which should be corrected, and that 
 in a time of peace it is not necessary that 
 the sum of fourteen millions of dollars 
 
0 
 
 should be annually expended in this De¬ 
 partment alone. We have nearly ninety 
 war vessels of different kinds, carrying 
 from one to one hundred and twenty 
 guns; eight navy yards, when there should 
 be but two; and a large number of shore 
 stations. The expenses incurred in these 
 various ways can be greatly curtailed, 
 and it is the duty of the Government to 
 institute a rigid scrutiny into this branch 
 of our public service. One source of the 
 large increase in the expenses of the Navy 
 Department is shown by the able report 
 of Messrs. Sherman and Ritchie, from the 
 special committee appointed at the last 
 session of the Thirty-fifth Congress, to in¬ 
 vestigate certain abuses in the manage¬ 
 ment of this Department. And, a few 
 days since, the Committee on Expendi¬ 
 tures in the Navy Department made an 
 able report to this House upon the same 
 subject, concluding with the following 
 resolutions, which were passed by a vote 
 of two to one : 
 
 “ Resolved , That the Secretary of the Navy has, 
 with the sanction of the President, abused his 
 discretionary power in the selection of a coal 
 agent, and in the purchase of fuel for the Gov¬ 
 ernment. 
 
 “ Resolved , That the contract made by the Sec¬ 
 retary of the Navy, under date of September 23, 
 1858, with William C. N. Swift, for the delivery 
 of live-oak timber, was made in violation of law, 
 and in a manner unusual, improper, and inju¬ 
 rious to the public service. 
 
 “ Resolved , That the distribution, by the Sec¬ 
 retary of the Navy, of the patronage in the navy 
 yards among members of Congress, was destruc¬ 
 tive of discipline, corrupting in its influence, and 
 highly injurious to the public service. 
 
 “ Resolved, That the President and Secretary 
 of the Navy, by receiving and considering the 
 party relations of bidders for contracts with the 
 United States, and the effect of awarding con¬ 
 tracts, upon pending elections, have set an ex¬ 
 ample dangerous to the public safety, and de¬ 
 serving the reproof of this House. 
 
 “ Resolved , That the appointment, by the Sec¬ 
 retary of the Navy, of Daniel B. Martin, chief en¬ 
 gineer, as a member of a board of engineers to 
 report upon proposals for constructing machinery 
 for the United States, the said Martin, at the 
 time, being pecuniarily interested in some of 
 the said proposals, is hereby censured by this 
 House.” 
 
 It was shown before.the committee that 
 a political friend of the President, in Phil¬ 
 adelphia, addressed h‘im the following let¬ 
 ter, just before the election in Pennsylva¬ 
 nia, in 1858: 
 
 “Philadelphia, Sept. 13, 1858. 
 
 “Drar Sir: I venture to suggest to you the 
 importance of awarding the contracts for the 
 
 machinery of the sloop now building at the navy 
 yard at this time, and if it can be done without 
 prejudice to the public service, to Merrick k 
 Sons. Theirs is the only establishment in the 
 1st district which employs a large number of 
 mechanics—at this time 390; when in full work, 
 450. 
 
 “ The managing partners (Mr. M., sen., being 
 absent in bad health) are full of energy, strain¬ 
 ing every nerve to keep their force during this 
 depression, and, in so far as I know, the only 
 Old Whigs of any influence in that district who 
 are in favor of the re-election of Colonel Flor¬ 
 ence. 
 
 “ I know, from former experience, the value of 
 that influence, and feel persuaded that it is the 
 interest of the Democratic party to increase it. 
 
 “ The 1st district will, I hope, be carried in 
 any event; but with that shop at work, full¬ 
 handed, two weeks prior to the election, the re¬ 
 sult would, I think, be placed beyond all doubt. 
 
 “ With much respect, 
 
 “W. C. Patterson. 
 
 “ The President .” 
 
 This letter was promptly sent by Mr. 
 Buchanan to the Secretary of the Navy, 
 with a note calling his attention to it, and 
 the result was, Merrick & Sons obtained 
 the contract, though the Novelty Works 
 in New York city offered to do the work 
 for a much less sum than was paid to the 
 contractors! Can it be wondered at, in 
 view of such examples, that the Govern¬ 
 ment is defrauded and robbed by its offi¬ 
 cers ? Sir, it is easy enough to account 
 for the increased expenditure in the Navy 
 Department, by the scandalous partition 
 of patronage in the Brooklyn navy yard 
 among New York members of Congress, 
 by the live-oak contracts, by the contract 
 for machinery, by the purchase of coal at 
 exorbitant rates, and the commissions al¬ 
 lowed political favorites. 
 
 An examination has satisfied me that 
 millions of dollars are squandered an¬ 
 nually by retaining in the public service 
 custom-house officers, consuls, and other 
 agents, whose services are not needed. 
 In 1857, nearly four million dollars were 
 expended in collecting revenue from cus¬ 
 toms. I find by the official report of the 
 Secretary of the Treasury, in answer to a 
 resolution of the Senate, that in 1857 the 
 whole amount of revenue collected at 
 Wilmington, Delaware, was $2,004, and 
 that eight custom-house officers were em¬ 
 ployed in the collection of this sum, at a 
 cost to the Government of $15,848— 
 being a loss to the Government of $13,344. 
 At Annapolis, Maryland, there was col¬ 
 lected the same year $374; four men were 
 
7 
 
 employed by the Government in collect¬ 
 ing this sum, at a cost to the Government 
 of $983. At Oranoke, North Carolina, 
 there was collected the same year $82; 
 seven men were employed in its collec¬ 
 tion, and it cost the Government $2,301. 
 At Buffalo, New York, there was collected 
 the same year $10,140.53; ten men were 
 employed in its collection, and it cost the 
 Government the sum of $16,896 51. At 
 Monterey, California, there was collected 
 the same year $42, and it required three 
 men to collect it, at an expense to the 
 Government of $7,050. At Port Oxford, 
 Oregon, there was collected the sum of 
 $5.85 ; two men were employed in its col¬ 
 lection, at an expense of $2,702. I might 
 multiply instances of this kind, but these 
 will suffice to show the loose manner in 
 which this x\dministration manages the 
 affairs of the people. 
 
 In the report of the Secretary of the 
 Treasury, I also find a statement showing 
 the amount of salaries paid to, and fees 
 received from, the consular officers of the 
 United States, for the year ending De¬ 
 cember 30, 1858. At Simoda, the con¬ 
 sul collected $1,56 in fees, and the salary 
 paid him by our Government was $5,000. 
 At Tangier, no fees were collected by the 
 consul, but the sum of $3,000 was paid 
 him by our Government. At Tunis, the 
 consul collected $1, and was paid by our 
 Government $3,000. At Candia, $1,000 
 was paid our consul, and no fees col¬ 
 lected. At Gaboon, the same. At Stet¬ 
 tin, $1,000 was paid, and only $2 fees 
 collected. The total amount paid to one 
 hundred and thirty-three consular officers 
 was $255,540.85. Total amount of fees 
 returned by them, $98,383.41. Amount 
 paid over and above fees, $157,157.44. 
 
 Look, sir, at the immense patronage of 
 the Post Office Department, and the army 
 of postmasters, route agents, messengers, 
 &.C., employed in this branch of the pub¬ 
 lic service. I annex a statement showing 
 the vast palronage connected with this 
 Department of the Government: 
 
 27,977 postmasters, costing - - - $2,355,000 
 440 route agent3, costing - - - 334,000 
 
 28 express route agents, costing 28,000 
 
 23 local agonts, costing - - - 29,989 
 
 1,404 mail messengers, costing - - 184,634 
 
 31 special agents, costing - - 73,000 
 
 Clerks, costing ------- 918,000 
 
 Salaries in Post Office Department 
 
 proper. 170,000 
 
 If time would permit, I could go 
 through with numerous other expendi¬ 
 tures of the Government, and show that 
 there was great room for reduction. That 
 these other expenditures might be greatly 
 reduced, I have not the slightest doubt. 
 The three great items upon which the 
 principal reductions can be made are the 
 army, the navy, and the Post Office De¬ 
 partment. The latter should be made 
 self-sustaining. In reference to the mil¬ 
 itary and naval defences of a country, I 
 think the true policy is not to keep up 
 large armies and navies in time of peace, 
 because the public resources are wasted 
 before the war comes; but to have as 
 small armies and navies as possible, and 
 thus preserve unimpaired the resources of 
 the country when the war arrives. 
 
 I am aware, sir, of the difficulties which 
 surround this subject, and that, with some 
 people, the right place to commence a re¬ 
 form can never be found. If we talk about 
 a reform in our army and navy, we are told 
 that we desire to cripple the Administra¬ 
 tion. If we were to cut off some of our 
 useless foreign missions, we should excite 
 the prejudices of those who have relatives 
 attached to our foreign embassies. If we 
 seek to make the Post Office Department 
 self-sustaining, we are told that we are 
 interfering with the extension of com¬ 
 merce, the security of the country, and 
 the development of its resources. The 
 people must take hold of this matter, and 
 demand, at the hands of their public ser¬ 
 vants, retrenchment and reform. 
 
 But sir, I have no hopes of a real econ¬ 
 omy under a Democratic Administration. 
 That party has been in power for nearly 
 eight years, during which time the ex¬ 
 penses of Government have fearfully in¬ 
 creased, and the fruits of its policy are 
 now felt in a prostrate industry, a paraly¬ 
 zed commerce, a bankrupt treasury, and a 
 large and steadily increasing national debt. 
 By unduly enlarging the patronage of the 
 General Government, the party in power 
 has corrupted public morals, debased pub¬ 
 lic sentiment, sapped the foundations of 
 virtue, destroyed the independence of the 
 citizen, and disturbed the harmony exist¬ 
 ing between the two*sectionsof the Union. 
 Corruption has has gained undisputed 
 control in every department of Govern¬ 
 ment, and stamped its stain indelibly upon 
 our nation; and shameless profligacy has 
 
8 
 
 given us complete bankruptcy at home, 
 and national dishonor abroad. It is known 
 to the country, that when Mr. Buchanan 
 entered upon the discharge of the high 
 office of President of the United States, 
 there were $26,000,000 in the Treasury, 
 and that in ten months it had all disap¬ 
 peared, and $20,000,000 had to be bor¬ 
 rowed. Eight months afterwards another 
 $10,000,000 were borrowed, and five 
 months later another $10,000,000 were 
 had in the same way, making $66,000,000 
 in all. I submit that the honor and rep¬ 
 utation of the country demand a change 
 of rulers, not a mere change from one 
 Democratic Administration to another, 
 but a thorough and radical change. It 
 has been well said that the experience of 
 all Governments, in all ages of the world, 
 has conclusively shown that political 
 power cannot long be safely intrusted to 
 the same hands. The long possession of 
 power has corrupted, perverted, and de¬ 
 stroyed the Democratic party. Its leaders, 
 its prominent men, have repeatedly, with¬ 
 in the last few years, been arraigned and 
 convicted, at the bar of public opinion, of 
 acts of political profligacy and corruption, 
 which demonstrates their unfitness for the 
 trust reposed upon them. 
 
 Mr. Chairman, the party with which I 
 am proud to act has selected as its candi¬ 
 date for the Presidency a man who is 
 “ honest, capable, and faithful to the Con¬ 
 stitution.” We have placed our banner 
 in the hands of Abraham Lincoln—a man 
 brought up among the prairies of the 
 West—a man who at any time, when ne¬ 
 cessary, can throw oft' his coat and go to 
 work—a man who will administer the af¬ 
 fairs of Government for the benefit of the 
 people, and not of a political party. 
 
 The people of the United States have 
 learned, by bitter experience, that this 
 eternal cry of Democracy, Democracy, 
 and the false professions of devotion to 
 the interests of the country, are like the 
 songs of the syren, which enchanted but 
 to destroy. And, sir, they have aroused 
 like a giant from his slumber, to burst 
 asunder the shackles of party, and redeem 
 the free institutions of their country from 
 the hands of the “ spoilsmen.” They can 
 no longer be deceived by a false issue. 
 The evils which misrule has brought upon 
 the country are now so severely felt, that 
 
 dernagoguism can no longer conceal from 
 the people the true cause of those evils. 
 They will remember that the party in 
 power won their confidence by loudly 
 promising retrenchment and reform, and 
 a faithful administration of the Govern¬ 
 ment, for the happiness and welfare of 
 the people. They see that these promises 
 have been shamefully broken ; that the 
 expenditures of the Government have been 
 increased beyond all former precedent; 
 and that vast sums-of the public treasure 
 have been wasted in the most wanton and 
 profligate manner; and, instead of a cor¬ 
 rection of abuses in the administration of 
 the Government, they see corruption 
 walking abroad in the land, with bribes 
 in her hand, debasing the public morals 
 and lowering the standard of public virtue. 
 
 Sir, I have hopes of the future. I be¬ 
 lieve the people are preparing to pro¬ 
 nounce, in tones of thunder, their disap¬ 
 probation of an Administration whose 
 policy is at war with their interest, and 
 of a political party whose principles and 
 practices are dangerous to constitutional 
 libeity. When that result is brought about,., 
 I hope to see the Government once more 
 faithfully and honestly administered, for„ 
 the happiness and welfare of the people. 
 
 I hope to see the heavy cloud of adversity 
 which now darkens our horizon rolled 
 away, and the sun of prosperity again 
 shine forth, that the people, under the 
 genial influence of it3 beams, may ad¬ 
 vance to prosperity and happiness, and 
 our country resume her onward march to 
 increased power and greatness. 
 
 Sir, I regret being compelled to expose 
 to the gaze of my fellow-citizens the cor¬ 
 ruptions of their Government. I regret 
 that this corruption exists. But, sir, I would 
 come short of the duty I owe to a gener¬ 
 ous and confiding constituency, whom I 
 represent upon thts floor, if I did not rise 
 here in my place, and show up the waste¬ 
 ful expenditure of the public money, and 
 denounce the extravagance and corrup¬ 
 tion of those in power. And, sir, while 
 I am permitted to occupy a seat in this 
 Chamber, I intend on all suitable oc¬ 
 casions to raise my voice against the cor¬ 
 ruptions of Government, whether that 
 Government be in the hands of my own 
 party, or in those of the party opposed 
 to me. 
 
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