American Republican and Baltimore daily clipper. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1844-1846, 1846-12-18

office; and receiving his stated salaTy and nc
fees III compensation Of his services, would
have no Inducements to defraud. Besides, the
conSus being IN many instances, the sole rep
| resentatiVes Of our government in the various
ports where they are stationed, should be com
PEELED to keep aloOf from any occupation cal
culated TO expose them, even to the remote
possibility OF an imputation upon their honor
The honor Of our government is involved il
that Of its consuls.
| The report does not recommend the imme
date abolition of fees although Mr.. Buchanan
Is of opinion that commerce should not be tax
ed with any consular fees, yielding, az it does
sufficient revenue to entlte it to an exemption
from such an impost. But he does not think
It prudent, at present, TO advise a total aboli.
ton. He therefore recommends the collection
OF fees, for the purpose of partially reimburSing
! the Treasury for the salaries of consuls. He
thinks that one cent per ton Is as much as
| should be charged, although it would require
one cent and half PER ton to cover the expen-
ditures Of the Treasury in the practical adop-
| ton of this plan. The present system Of charg-
ing a horizontal rate of fees on all vessels, OF
what tonnage soevef, charging no more on a
vessel of one thousand tons than on one of
three hundred, he looks upon as extremely I'M
Just. This rate being established by law, ovc-
~ master of vessel will know the amount of
the fees hc has to pay, and no possible impos-
ton can be practiSed, either BY the consul or
his employee. At the same time, he remarks,
that in all probability, it would be unjust, even
to insinuate that any consul at present IN the
commission Of the Government, is in the habit
of extorting exorbitant fees. But still, under
the present system, there is always danger of
such extOrton.
The spirit of our institutions does not permit
that our Government should allow American
citizens to be tried for crimes and misdemean-
ors committed in such countries as China and
Turkey, by the arbitrary laws, and before the
arbitrary tribunals Of those countries Accord
ingly, in our treaties with those nations, it 10
stipulated that tho American Consul resident at
the place where such crimes and msdemeau0fs
are committed, shall be invested with plenary
criminal jurisdiction, to try, adjudge, and pun
ish American citizens offending against the
laws of those countries. At present, this trea-
ty stipulation is absolutely null and void, no
law of Congress being in existence to indicate
the powers and duties of our consuls in such
cases No American consul in China would
dare to hang an American citizen, even if gull
| ty OF the worst crimes that can be imagined, as
there is no warrant for any such judicial act
contained in the laws prescribing the power of
American consuls. Our merchants aud other
citizens resident in China, are constantly in a
state Of alarm, as, in the event that a crime
I committed by an American, be not visited with
| punishment, as stipulated by the treaty, the
Chinese, who are accustomed TO sec summary
justice executed, will be very apt to take the
punishment of the offender into their own hands,
very naturally arguing that there is no reason
why an American niuring Chinese should
not be punished, as well as Chinese iniuring
an American, Another evil arising fom the
want Of a law clothing the consul with crmi-
nal Jurisdiction, is, that the Chinese authorities
seeing the impunlty with which Americans
transgress the laws OF the Empire, will be slow
to punish crimes committed by natives against
the property or persons of American citizens.
To remedy these evils, Mr. Buchanan re-
commends the enactment of code regulating
the powers and duties of consuls, beth in civil
and criminal cases. This is a matter of inn
mediate and urgent necessity, as the lives and
properties of our citizens in the Celestial and
Ottoman empires, are, by reason OF the nom
existence of such code, and the consequent
incapacity Of our consuls TO punish crime, in
extreme and hourly danger.
The report deploIes the severe hardships and
frequent acts Of Justice to which seamen are
exposed by unjust and selfish masters of vessels
For all these manifold evils it suggests COM
plete remedies.
The last subject of which it treats, is an Or
gained system Of consular correspondence. 1t
suggests the appointment of some suitable per-
son TO carry OIL regular correspondence with
our conSuls, TO coate their letters and journals
for publication at stated periods, and to attend
to this duty alone, as the two consular clerks
already employed are overloaded with business.
Such a correspondence would be productive OF
vast advantage to science and literature, and
would furnish our citizens with an accurate
knowledge Of the habits, religion, institutions,
statistics, and productions of remote countries,
concerning which, we have, at present, but
vague and ndistinct Impressions.
This admirable plan, of which give, OF
course, but a mere outline, if Immediately
adopted, would cost the treasury an annual out
lay of but seventy or eighty thousand dollars
a mere trfie, when the incalcuable advanta-
ges it's operation would confer on commerce
and the absolute and immediate necessity oil
some of its provisions are taken into consider.
alton"
SCARCITY OF FooD. Douglass Jerrold in
his English Shilling Magazine is severe OF
the government for ordering prayers sgains
famine to be put up in l4,4s0 parishes, wher
by merely taking off the duty on foreign corr
the danger would be past. 1t reminds him o
the Imprisonment of the Pope by order o
Charles the 5th, when he captured and sacked
Rome, and who, on his retura to Spain, order
ed prayers TO be- said in behalf Of his Holiness
| uh hon, ha could ha yalnvad hv b;c .;ur ,,,o =,