Speech #430029609

HimSiam ] does not seem willing to do. Take his four years of economy. the administration of James Buchanan. a time of prefoemd peace. in which a debt of e90.000.000 waa incurred for the current expenditures of the Government. There never has been a season of such profligacy as those same four years. in which the revenues of the country -I ran down from $64.000.000 to $39.C 00.000. in which the -people. persecited by taxation. extravagance. and bad legislation. fled the land. so that immigration fell fiom 250 (00 a year down to 91.000i and the tite o emigration almost equalA that of immigration. Why. sir. durhg these ten years of alleged extravaancedurinr almst every day of which the gentleman from Indianatas been here and when he was more influntiasl in the counsels of the nation than even nowit wis the remark of my then venerable colleague. Thaddous Stevens. that a bill for $10.060.000. $20.000.000. or $30.000.000 of expenditure encountered no opposition from that side of the House. but when the question was to be settled whether an expenditure for manure to put around newly planted trees should be$500 a year. there was an hours debate upon the question.because gentlemen on theothei Side thought that onehalf the sum would be adequate.