rule, and you have an annual gain and saving to the State under Républican rule of $43,324 93, or $129,074 80 for the three years of Republican rule saved in the ordinary expenses of the government.

It greatly behooves the anxious gentlemen who compiled that "report" to prate about economy, when a plain and fair showing of the figures indicate that "had the same system of economy existed in the expenditures of the general fund," under the Democratic administrations that has existed and been practiced by the present Republican Administration, the State would have been saved its entire indebtedness, and the people now have been entirely free from taxation.

In regard to the items mentioned in the above table, it is proper to remark that they were mainly of that necessary and unavoidable character which forbade the interposition of any plea of policy or political consideration. The credit and standing of the State at home and abroad required th payment of the Bonds and the interest, while the appropriations for the State Asylums, Prison, Normal School, &c., were equally necessary to the prosperity, efficiency and maintenance of those institutions. But we shall speak more particularly of these subjects in another place.

And now we come to the veritable "mare's nest" of the "report," and it is truly a wonderful discovery!" The undersigned" and his associates open their eyes wide with undersigned well-feigned astonishment, when they found that the expenses of the State for printing, paper, &c., in the last three years, are increased, somewhat, over those items for previous years. Strange, indeed, when the business of every department has nearly doubled-some, as the Land Office and Superintendent of Public Instruction, quadrupled that the expense for stationery and postage should increase in a like ratio! And in addition to this natural increase of business in the offices, the entire cost of the

new compilation of the Laws of the State is charged into the current expenses of the last year. In "lumping" all these expenses together in this manner, the undersigned" shows much more ingenuity than honesty, as it affords him an excellent opportunity to double up items with little fear of detection, (a sort of operation, Mr. Peck, most certainly, as the Auditor's Books show, was somewhat familiar with.) We do not intend, now, to answer all these little charges in detail, but shall take occasion in the future' to contrast, item by item, all the expenses of the State under

the present Administration with those of its predecessors. But to illustrate, we will give the totals of the bills for stationery for two years and see how they compare with each other.

The Democratic Board of Auditors allowed, in 1854, for stationery, gold pens, "super royal" at $28!! per ream, &c., for the use of the State Departments, the sum of.

The Republican Board of Auditors allowed in 1857, for stationery, gold pens, super royal, at $26 per ream, &c., the sum of.

$5,679 18

4,176 91

.$1,502 27

Showing a saving by the Republican Administration, in 1857, over the Democratic allowances for 1854, of.. in the item of stationery alone, and this, too, notwithstanding the current business of the Government had nearly doubled in the intervening years. And a comparison of all the other expenses of the State offices, with the single exception, perhaps, of postage, would show the same relative saving to the State. Of course, as the current business and correspondence of the State Departments, inclusive with our natural growth of population, organization of new towns and counties, &c., the postage and stationery accounts should present a corresponding increase in their amounts. As to the "hundreds of reams of printing paper at $10 75 per ream," it is proper to say that this was used for the new compilation of laws, a work of over 1,700 pages, of which 10,000 copies were ordered printed.

The next point made in the "report," is in reference to "traveling expenses of State officers," "extra clerk hire," &c. Upon this point "the undersigned" says:

"A large increase, however, is experienced in the State Department in the payment of extra clerks, extra compensation to State officers, and traveling expenses of State officers and their clerks, by which, under the plea of 'on official business, the Treasury has been pilfered to a large extent. The undersigned believes that, as those officers are liberally paid by the State for their services, it is the duty of the Board of State Auditors to scrutinize closely and thoroughly the character and correctness of such accounts before auditi the same, and to reject any claim

of a dubious character."

In this connection, and to prove this bold assertion, however, the report omits all reference to figures. Perhaps this is well, as we have already shown the total incorrect

ness of every table or computation made by "the undersigned." But in this matter there were undoubtedly prudential motives for relying upon assertions and avoiding comparisons. We have taken the trouble to examine into this matter carefully, and present the following figures, compiled from the Reports of the State Auditors for 1854 and 1857, showing the relative economy of Democratic and Republican traveling expenses:

In 1854, the Democratic Board allowed to the different State officers, clerks, &c., for traveling expenses, $1,011 30 In 1857, the Republican Board allowed traveling

Showing a decline in such expenses of..

706 37

$304 48

instead of, as the "report" says, "a large increase of such

We also find by that report that the same Democratic Board of Auditors allowed to sundry individuals and as extra clerk hire, attorney fees, &c., for the single year of 1854, the sum of.......

The Republican Board llowed, in 1857, (including $950, expenses in prosecuting the claim against the Phoenix Bank,) the sum of...

$6.448 79

2,775 38

Being a decrease in this class of expenditures for

1857, over the year 1854, of..

Add to this the above sum of.

$3,673 41 304 43

.$3.977 84

And we have a decrease in this class of expenses for 1857, over the year 1854, of... instead of the "large increase," which "the undersigned' prates so flippantly about in his most absurd and untruthful "Minority Report." Will not the people reject with scorn the political tricksters and unscrupulous liars who attempt to deceive them with such statements.

One of the "notorious allowances" alluded to in the "report" of "the undersigned" is to Jonas H. Titus, for a journey to Pittsburg, of which he says:

"Upon information on the subject, I am convinced that the object of the journey was of a mere political character-that of attending the Republican Convention at Pittsburg-than the design of acquiring information in régard to the solitary cell system of the State Prison there."

When the reader is told that Mr. Titus made this journey nearly a year before the assembling of the Pittsburg

Convention, there will be no necessity of any further allusion to this matter. Another of the "extraordinary allowances" which "the undersigned" digs up, is one of $1,474 81 for fitting up the Legislative Hall for the use of the Legislature. The Democratic Board of Auditors in 1854, allowed $3,055 00, or $1,580 19 more than the Republicans paid for the same purpose, allowing the figures of the minority to be correct. And while speaking of this class of expenses, we would respectfully remind "the undersigned" that his party paid the snug little sum of $1,000 45 for carpets for the State offices, purchased chairs at $20 each, and paid $7 50 for cushions which could be purchased any where for from $2 50 to $3 00 each. We We suppose it was no part of the intention of the "undersigned" to mention these little allowances, but as they are extremely pertitent in this conection we must be excused for introducing them.

The "report" next charges Hon. S. B. Treadwell with falsehood in paying Charles J. Harvey $150 00 for services as follows:

"By reference to a communication of Hon. S. B. Treadwell, the Commissioner of the State Land Office, published in the House Journal of 1857, dated February 11th, 1857, the undersigned learns that, notwithstanding the assurances of that gentleman that the State had assumed no liability and incurred no expense by the appointment of a tresspass agent for the Upper Peninsula, the sum of $150 has been paid to Mr. C. J. Harvey for services, and audited by the Board of State Auditors. The undersigned respectfully recommends an investigation of this affair.

We will save "the undersigned" the trouble of investigation by stating that although the sum mentioned was paid to Mr. Harvey, it was paid to him as an agent for other parties, as the vouchers will show, and not for services as timber agent; neither has Harvey or any other person (since the days of C. J. Fox,) been paid out of the State Treasury, for any such services."

The next paragraph of the "report" reads as follows: "In the Annual Report of the Board of State Auditors of 1855, the undersigned finds a claim allowed for $408 80, to K. S. Bingham, Whitney Jones and Silas M. Holmes, for traveling expenses and attendance to Saut Ste Mary, which was a most injudicious and unwarranted disbursement of the public funds, as this expenditure was not based upon any Legislative act and authority.

We will not dispute the allowance of this sum to the

persons mentioned, nor the propriety of such allowance, but to show that this was a judicious and warranted “disbursement of the canal funds", and that the expenditure was based upon a "Legislative act and authority," we beg leave to refer "the undersigned" to act No. 91 of the Session Laws of 1855, sec. 4, which reads as follows:

*

"Sec. 4. It shall be the duty of said Board of Control to make from time to time, such rules and regalations as they may deem necessary for the benefit and usefulness of said canal; &c. * * The members of the said Board of Control shall each receive such compensation for necessary services in going to and from, and inspecting such canal as shall be allowed by the Board of Auditors of this State, not exceeding the milage and per diem now paid members of the Legislature of this State," &c., and the first section of this act designates the Governor, Auditor General and Treasurer as the persons who shall constitute such Board of Control.

Thus it will be seen that this allowance is distinctly and expressly authorized by law, and instead of having been paid from the State Treasury it was paid out of the "Canal Fund," which is a separate and distinct fund, created expressly to defray the expenses of operating said canal, and appropriable to no other purposes.

In this connection we desire to mention but one more of the item alluded to in the "minority report," as follows:

"Another claim of $50, for the translation of the Governor's Message into the Chippewa language, was of no material utility, as not a single copy of said translation has ever come to light, and not one has ever reached those localities in the northern portions of the State, where those messages were intended to be distributed."

In introducing this item we do not intend to justify the necessity of it, but only to say that the translation was ordered by the Legislature upon the motion, and at the urgent solicitation of Hon. Abner Sherman, the Democratic member from the Chippewa country; that it was made and printed, and a copy of it is now in possession of the writer of this article. Had we any desire to establish the usefulness of this translation, we might probably compare it to a translation made by "the undersigned himself in 1853, of the message of a Democratic Governor, the records and vouchers for which are now on file in the State Department, which we copy, as follows," for the sole and only proper use, benefit and behoof" of "the undersigned."