Note 61 — SIXTH CONGRESS.—SECOND SESSION. (continued 3)

The administration of Mr. Adams fell upon difficult times, and involved the necessity of measures always unpopular in themselves, and never more so than at that time. The actual aggressions of France upon our commerce, her threats of war, and insults to our ministers, required preparations to be made for war; and these could not be made without money, nor money be had without loans and taxes. Fifteen millions was the required expenditure of the last year of his administration; a large sum in that time, but almost the whole of which went to three objects; the army, the navy, and the public debt. The support of the Government remained at the moderate sum which it had previously presented; to wit, $560,000. The duties still remained moderate—the ad valorems, 10, 12-1/2, 15 and 20 per centum; and the latter more nominal than real, as it only fell upon a few articles of luxury, of which the importation was only to the value of $430,000. The main levy fell upon the 10 and 12-1/2 per centum classes, of which to the value of 26-1/2 millions were imported; of the 15 per centum class only 7-1/2 millions were imported; and the average of the whole was 13 per centum and a fraction. The specifics were increased, but not considerably; and the cost of collecting the whole was 4-1/2 per centum. Direct taxes and loans made up the remainder. The whole amount collected from duties was about 10 millions: to be precise, $10,126,213; that is to say, nearly twenty times as much as the support of the Government (comprehending every civil object) required. The administration of Mr. Adams, though condemned for extravagance, was strictly economical in the support of the Government, and in the collection of the revenue: the army and the navy, those cormorant objects of expenditure, brought the demands for money which injured the administration.