The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1847-12-14

Tbs present euliehtsned Pontn Is going on calmly
udicously, and firmly in reforming the ooials imme
thsmand thus planting the seeds Of reform where they
arc nrst aud most nesded-in Rome ITSELF.
timely zeal he viii lay broad founaston for the
future liberty and happiness Of Italy He 10 deeply
sensible O. the ss.. task h: h.; for h. 4
! do hop. s.rp:opls 80 x@.ris. Win B. quist in thi.
snSsrr.ss the Pops IN his measures BY calling down
him thsjsasssy and fsslips Of the moparohs Of
msnds y. s,npssSy % The Ans1is.n republic You
can hardyrsstss tSs sssline unlssS you have lived
seeing intsrfsrns in the troubles Of Other
nstions ana yas almost sorry that In Florence they
e Ss E: sosSy ID
e 20
towards somebody Now, jrslous Of any in
terersnce Of strangers should respect
their and do nothing to forfeit the esteem
This is precisely the purport of our remarks
on the meeting at the Tabernacle, u short time
since. No one that has not travelled in Europe,
and made himself acquainted with the detailed
! workings Of the despolic governments there,
| can realize the embarrassing position In
which the present enlightened Pontif is
! placed To fulfil the brilliant and dazzling
scheme he has laid out, requires the incest skill,
the best judgment and the most reliable self.pos-
session One misstep committed by him,
or the imprudent interference Of men who
want to immortaizc themselves by hanging to
the end of his toga, and the dim light of liberty
which he has struck from the dying embers Of
ages, will be extingushed for centuries, and per-
haps for ever.
Ssch being our view of the matter, formed
from our intimate knowledge of the feelings of
Austria and other despotic powers, towards his
Holiness, and knowing that sympathy meet
ing here would embarrass, more than serve, the
Pope, we condemned it at the onset, and pre-
dicted bad consequences to flow from it, after it
did take place. We are satisfied that injury,
more or less, will be done to the Pope by that
meeting; but it was set on foot by Bishop
Hughes one of those factious, discontinued, am
bilious intriguers, who would rather reign in
hell than serve in heaven, and by clique OF
aspiring politicians and briefess lawyers, to fur
Their their own selfish ends, caring but little
whether the Pope would be sacrificed or not, and
less about the cause of popular liberty.
These intriguers are the curse Of every thing
they lay their hands upon. Possessing but little
weight, and no position individually, yet, by
system of combination, their intrlgues reach
vernments, and, in past times, have actually
placed our Presidents in the White House. Their
day, however, is short. With an Independent
press opposed to them, they will dwindle down
to their original insignifcaMe, from which they
will never emerge.
THE OFFICE OF HEALTH OFFICER-This is
one OF those fat, snug, obscure Offices, which are
given away by political parties to political IA
vorites for valuable services rendered, and
which, in the course Of year or two, makes
the incumbent rich and affuent. The income of
this office arises from fees and amounts as 1t is
stated, to twenty-five or thirty thousand dollars
a year; and lest the incumbent should be put to
any expense at all, there is a house and free
| living attached to it. Thus, while the chief
| magistrate has but twenty-five thousand dollars
| per annum, of which he must expend large
proportion to enable him to uphold the dignity OF
his office, the health officer OF New York has
twenty five or thirty thousand, no house rent to
| nav. and the "run of the kitchen" into the bar
| gain.
| An attempt is making by certain parties,
| backed by that nucleus of sages who style them
selves the Chamber Of Commerce, to have the
| fees of the health officer abolished, and the in
cumbent made salaried officer. There is every
probability of the attempt being successful; but
the friends of the present incumbent exert
ing themselves to have the salary fixed at as
large an amount as possible, and propose ten
thousand dollars. In proportion to the services
rendered, and the importance of the office, this
would be an extremely liberal salary; one which
the present health officer ought to be satisfied
with; but we venture the assertion that there are
| ~ aho huud rod nd IN he Sfaf
one thousand, medical men ,abundantly possessed
of the necessary skill and ability to discharge
the functions of the office, who would gladly
accept it at a salary of one-quarter that sum.
Such being the case, we see no good reason why
the salary should not be fixed at that sum.
Again, it is hostile to the spirit of our political
institutions, and to the simplicity and economy
which should characterize free people, to pay
such immense salaries to their servants.
THE PosT OFFICE REPoRT.-We published
yesterday, ahead of our contemporaries, the ma
terial portions of the famous report of the Post
master General, Cave Johnson, being his annual
report on that department of the government.
The Postmaster General takes a great deal OF
credit to himself IN regard to particulars; but he
takes care to pass over slightly the embarrass.
ments which he has caused IN the foreign mails
by his incapacity, his folly, and his want of all,
preparation. We say nothing of the numerous
failures which have taken place all over the
country, in the internal mails and on the local
routes. The foreign mails are in a state of mex
trcable confusion, as we shall show distinctly
another day. Then, again, look at the PROPOSE
ton which Cave Johnson makes, and the conclu-
sions that are forced on him, in regard to a re.
ducton of postage. No one was more opposed
TO such measure than he was and he is now
compelled to admit the correctness of the view.
put forth by the advocates of the system. Blu,
he will have to make further reduction than
what be proposes. Nothing will satisfy the peo.
pc of this country but reform Of the postage
system, so as to make the postage on all letters