in the main, which was submitted and ordered to be printed; no further or other action being taken during that (the Forty-fourth) Congress. On the assembling of the Forty-fifth Congress, the resolution for a special committee of investigation was renewed by its original mover and adopted by the Senate. The purpose of allowing the employment by this commmittee of two clerks was to enable them to obtain the services of competent accountants. One of those so employed, and who has been thus engaged since the committee began its investigations, is Mr. William Woodville. He testified (see testimony, page 43) that he had made a complete examination in the Congressional Record of the several speeches made by the chairman in the Senate, and compared them carefully with the Finance Reports of the Treasury Department, and the result of his examination in part is here inserted, with the decision of the committee as to its admissibility as evidence when so offered before the committee (see testimony, pp. 48 to 61): The committee admit the statement, the figures and tables therein contained, taken from the speeches of Mr. Davis in the Senate, as reported in the Congressional Record, having been by the witness Woodville carefully compared with the official Finance Reports to Congress, for the years named therein, and found by him to be accurately stated from these Finance Reports, with the exception of the footings and such corrections as he has therein named, which will be found at the end of the statement; but the remarks in these speeches of Mr. Davis himself in connection with these figures, and his inferences drawn from them, are no part of the testimony of the witness. The footings themselves were found to be correct as footings. The witness having gone through the processes of addition and subtraction as to said footings as therein put down, found them to be correct so far as addition and subtraction were concerned, without expressing or being called upon to express any opinion in reference to them. The annual statement of the public debt from 1835 to 1871, as appears in the Finance Reports for 1869 and previous reports, and 1871 and subsequent reports, shows the difference in each year and the total difference between the two reports (see pages 12 and 368, Finance Report for 1871, and page 317, Finance Report for 1869): Year. Reports of 1869 Reports of 1871 Increase in re- Decrease. $37,513 05 336,957 83 3,308, 124 07 10, 434, 221 14 3,573, 343 82 5, 250, 875 54 13, 594, 480 73 20, 601, 226 28 32, 742, 922 00 23,461, 652 50 15,925, 303 01 15, 550, 202 97 38, 826, 534 77 47, 044, 862 23 63, 061, 858 69 63,452,773 55 68, 304, 796 02 66, 199, 341 71 59, 803, 117 70 42, 242, 222 42 35,586,956 56 31, 972, 537 90 28, 699, 831 85 44, 911, 881 03 58, 496, 837 88 64, 842, 287 88 90, 580, 873 72 524, 176, 412 13 1, 119, 772, 138 63 1, 815, 784, 370 57 2,680, 647, 869 74 2,773, 236, 173 69 2,678, 126, 103 87 2,611, 687, 851 19 2, 588, 452, 213 94 2, 480, 672, 427 81 20, 221, 399, 098 42 247, 766, 674 71 | 247, 766, 674 71 And the increased figures appear in all Finance Reports since 1871. *Should be $1,200,723.36; difference, $0.03; typographical error. Should be $19,973,632,423.71; difference, $10,000; typographical error. LOANS AND TREASURY NOTES. Under this head I call the attention of the Senate to the great difference in the Finance Reports as to what they were for the year 1863. They are stated differently in four annual reports, as follows: The various Finance Reports differ widely as to the annual expenditures of the government, as the following table will show: Increase in expenditures in report of 1871 as compared with report of 1869. Thus it will be seen that Mr. Woodville, after careful and methodical examination, testified that he found all the statements relative to the discrepancies in the reports of the Treasury Department for the various years, made by the chairman in his several speeches, correct, with the exception of the slight errors specifically mentioned. POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE VARIOUS BRANCHES OF THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT. The investigation ordered to be made by this committee necessarily involved a consideration of the respective powers and functions of the various branches of the Treasury Department which deal with public moneys, securities, and accounts. On the original organization of the department the office of Register of the Treasury was established, and the duties of that office have remained practically the same, by law, to the present time. They are thus defined, so far as the matters referred to this committee are concerned, by the present Register, Glenni W. Scofield (see testimony, page 1): The Register of the Treasury has charge of the great account-books of the United States, which show every receipt and disbursement, and from which statements are annually made for transmission to Congress. He signs and issues all bonds, Treasury notes, and other securities; registers all warrants drawn by the Secretary upon the Treasurer; transmits statements of balances due to individuals after their settlement by the First Comptroller, on which payment is made. Receipts and Expenditures Division.-The ledgers of the United States are kept, showing the civil, diplomatic, internal-revenue, miscellaneous, and public-debt receipts and expenditures; also, statements of the warrants and drafts registered. * The Register also makes a tabulated statement of the principal of the public debt. The duties of this office are thus defined by section 313, chapter 6, of the Revised Statutes of the United States: Section 313. It shall be the duty of the Register First. To keep all accounts of the receipts and expenditures of the public money and of all debts due to or from the United States. Sesond. To receive from the First Comptroller and Commissioner of Customs the accounts which shall have been finally adjusted, and preserve such accounts with their vonchers and certificates. Third. To record all warrants for the receipt or payment of moneys at the Treasury and certify the same thereon, except those drawn by the Postmaster-General and those drawn by the Sceretary of the Treasury upon the requisitions of the Secretaries of the War and Navy Departments. It is apparent on the face of the law and from the statements of Mr. Scofield that the Register is the official bookkeeper of the government, and has been from its organization, and that no money can lawfully be paid into or out of the Treasury unless by warrants which must be registered and finally deposited in his office. CHANGES AND ALTERATIONS IN THE PUBLIC DEBT STATEMENT. The changes and alterations as to the public debt statement inquired into appear by comparison of the Finance Reports for 1870 and 1871, respectively. On this point Mr. Register Scofield testifies (see page 2 of the testimony): By the CHAIRMAN: Q. I hand you the Finance Report for 1870 and call your attention to page 276, and also the Finance Report for 1871 and call your attention to page 368, and ask whether those tabulated statements of the public debt were made in the Register's office ?—A. They purport to have been so made, and I have no doubt they were. Q. And were officially reported to Congress?—A. Yes, sir. Q. Do they agree as to the amount of the public debt?-A. They do not for some of the years. From 1833 down to 1870, inclusive, I believe, they differ. The tables themselves will show the differences. Prior to 1833 they agree. Q. Do all the years differ between 1833 and 1870?-A. I think they do. Q. Can you state why the tables made by the Register in 1870 and 1871 differ so largely with each other?-A. In 1870 a tabulated statement of the public debt was made in the Secretary's office, as well as in the Register's. For the years 1833 to 1870, inclusive, these two tables disagreed very widely in the amount of the debt. They were bound in the same volume, and attention was attracted to the differences. The Register, in his report of 1871, adopted, by direction of Mr. Saville, chief clerk, the statement made in the Secretary's office for the disagreeing years. And thus occur the disagreements in the Register's statements for 1870 and 1871. |