§ MR. STIRLINGasked the Secretary to the Treasury if the withdrawal of the coast guard for employment in the navy in 1854 and 1855 had been followed by any appreciable increase of smuggling and loss of revenue; and if he could state, in approximate terms, the difference of expense between the coast guard and the temporary substitute which replaced it?
§ MR. WILSONsaid, it was well known that a number of coast guards had been withdrawn from the service in the year 1854, and that their places had been supplied by other officers. There was no reason to believe that any increase of smuggling had taken place in consequence of that change; and as a proof of that, he might state that the duty on tobacco, which was the article that gave rise to most smuggling, had increased from £4,750,000 in the year 1853 to £4,871,000 in the year 1854. The expenditure for the coast-guard service had diminished since the change by a sum of £21,000 a year.