The Sun.
London, England, 1865-03-06 00:00:00

The Custom-House Officers.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. .„0 Of
SIR,—You are no doubt aware that during the Sessiv„At'
1864 the officers of her Majesty's Customs presented
tions to the House of Commons praying for an inq
and redress of the grievances under which they s-ff.°4
That their complaints were well grounded and sill
°
I shall soon show, in the hope that the public, bciiti-
possession of a few facts, relative to the unfortunate r.;
tion of the department in behalf of which I OW .scr,4lo^l
may see justice done to a hard-working, well-deser'
body of civil servants. of
The Customs realises the largest amount of rev
enee A
rpe forre;,
any department under Government, the duties
by its officers are most responsible and laborious, to seie.l;‘,
tent unknown to the general public. Notwithstanali;
this, when their case is contrasted with the clerks ie tty
Inland land Revenue, who perform similar duties, the diertlijo
ofpayment is such as to cause great dissatisfaction to
Customs' clerks. Take the Estimates for the current I:3e
1864-5, and look at the amount voted for the clerks ill ils,
first six offices in the Inland Revenue, viz., the secre,itsi-
olicitors, receiver-generals, controller o legacy the
accountants and examiners, and compare that wit' rho
amount voted for the clerks in the first six offieeellt.a,er
Customs, and you will find that the average in the I°L.,,st,
is about £69 per man more than the latter, while, Oil' tho
ing office by office, where the duties are the stiote'
average in several cases is still higher. rt of
a prosPe-ffiro
This, and almost a total absence of even
bold ° •
advancement, has caused many young men who 1.000
in the Customs, and had passed a first-class eiti'ra, O. se,
before the Civil Service Commissioners, on becoe'Te; ' to
quainted with the position and prospects of the seri'rgod
resign in disgust and betake themselves to hette
brighter fields of action.
It is but fair that the public should know, and esircificet
those who contemplate sending their sons into the °O", 10
that there are. young men—some, alas, are no 1°f"14111 tig
that category—who have served her Majesty fait h
and to
clerks in the Customs from six to twelve Years'
now receiving in London, where all the es:Pell-tie
esl i"
necessaries of life require a frequent and heavy
the pocket, the pittance of from £9O to £lOO per
and this, "I;can assure you, is no common c.ase•
another Sir Robert Peel would startle the house IV "-cola
ing, " Would you believe it, gentlemen, that a 37°once
before he has a salary of £3OO must serve in the o
which I allude 10 or 12 years ? " £3OO ! ! treth'; that
ma serve all his days in the Customs and never ret„-
amount. Surely the Government and the public ea'-ry itr
mean, by their selection of the stamina of the 04, pis
their grand competitive examinations for ofgee, „`°d, 601,'9
young men in service of trust and responsibili* fro'
them a remuneration so small as utterly to debar tijkehoy,
occupying the social position in life to which '-
entitled. tl
All that the clerks in the Customs ask is to b° P-
equality with those in the Inland Revenue. That.
ment has been steadily advancing for years, whi,c-,,0f
measure is an equivalent for the reduction in vutiy aPi
pecuniary incomes ; while the poor Customs, W'it 00t
guided and parsimonious economy at its head, 11%, a ht
heart, with the increasing wealth of the couutrY and
prices of all the necessaries of life, to reconnuend so
yond the usual cheeseparing system that has des
followed in the establishment at Lower Tb8133,,,e:nt ie;tl,-11
The consequence of this is, that the whole dePer,cpair
a state of positive discontent, threatening to ''-reti6°o
efficiency of the service generally. Petition ater °/),
still keep pouring in, which produce seeutiogilti;faetiu'
effect, viz., a testimony to the wide-spread diss3
that prevails. of
There is another question which I haven
of s
of
upon, but which is ell worthy the considerati°l fester
cerning public, and that is—Why are the sPendi,, Deil
the public service—the War-office, Admiral* IPs";
paid than the earning ones, viz., the Customs d ro6.
Revenue ? For myself, I can see no goad and Nr'ic.olo

:or this anomaly.—l am, &e.
Feb. 27, 1865.

PAPER IN CALIFORNIA.—The--
cotton- Cr 151, AP
might have been expeeted, severely tried.tire:e:eit'::::
tntruoatmdeehaiennrthecchotuontries bordering on the Pacific• 3,'",-- coost:,,:
having lioenfddutosirioeuses and frugal community 51' tu6;1(3112.1t
China, and Japaa
o, regularteh to.d emigrate
a ha s
suggestedintercourse thither,
b betty t
fornians of opening a
number, there,
The local paper manufactories are totally Do a in til,,
supply
coutthe large amount of the article con in
there being only three paper-naills in '3l'of ojereif
Paper trade with the latter foot 0
without any prospect of a sive:oY jact°s:4ooi to°
pressing.
threecall for
paper-millsipaper
is
a b beteo,/raei:tisileila:cligliill':"ll.",o'hel°tosl:li°sl)l7 :::'lltite)(it
begun makes straw
makes paper for journals and for packiug; —nty jl'r
only paper ; and the third 10 -101 '
, ofbut cannot work all the year, oriiii Plif
wantsufficient supply of water, . ""vireortb.,°o
paperFraneiseo newspapersa alone absorb 350,000 dais. a 0 t•P
per annum, and nearly all the paPer use and l,;
eluding
of the Pacific, from Mazatlan to Victoria/
fola the
sa the whole of California, Oregon, l'''Ts.V3dal hien 5.;
ndwich Islands, is sent from San Fancisco, })here , it 1
nerally gets it from New York and Boston, ilacolool;
euryhdi ear. Now China and Japan raanufactur!
sent 0`.16_,
the ca"is
to laSaneuantity of paper, which might be ea re_,,fi rf
and otroor traili
Francisco at much less t than it cou d 'tuft u
7 cos
New York. Chinese paper, though different for°_,ll' 004,
very good, smooth,
impression of types beautifully, and Pa, ivy 't , 0
rent. Its greatest defect is its not be of t'l
to its being made of the Ores 13011,
white, owing
baasme boo and mulberry tree. .A.gain its size ?utfooog,°esl)v;
rious drawback in the case of newspaPer Pr'e
ittes It of
cially in America. But if European Parr ra&„.. tallcillga
introduceddoing, into China, as some speculators nutt ow;
the supply that might be drawn fronlilolooo in '
would_ amply suffice for all present calls, and
future for many years to come• •

toueil•°4
d-
)fi.et'sof
es'
ocettetit
rooll