Burlington hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1845-185?, 1849-03-15
From the Dubuque Telegraph.
INCUMBENTs.

From the Dubuque Telegraph.
INCUMBENTs.
Our distinguished Senators in Congress
think they have '.headed' Gen. Taylor's
administration BY having Mr. Booths APP
pointment, as Surveyor General for lewa
and Wisconsin, confirmed by the Senate.
1t was to be expected that President
Polk would fill the vacancy occasioned BY
the resignation Of Senator Jones, and that
the term Of the incumbent would expire
on the 4th of March next.
As al, evidence that Dodge and Jones
intend to keep this office in their interest,
every locofoco paper in Iowa comes out
in glorious EMULATION, defying Gen. Tay-
lor to remove Mr. Booth without violating
the JeiIersonian rule. Ono! "Mr Booth
is honest, he is capable, he is qualified;
they dare not remove him. Now we UNI
dertake to say that, Mr. Booth lacks one
very necessary qualification for discharg-
ing the duties Of Surveyor General we
allude to practical knowielge. Recent de-
velopments in the department at Washing
ton prove that, thousands Of dollars have
been and are being paid by our govern
ment for re-surveying the lands belonging
10 it. How happens it, that work Of de-
putty Surveyors have been received, and
paid for by the Surveyor Generals, which
afterwards proved incorrect? We an
swer that it is solely because the Survey
or General did not possess a practical knoD-
ledge Of surveying, and consequently was
not qualified to judge Of the correctness Of
the work.
1t is we'll known that previous TO the
administration of Gen. Jackson, no one
thought of applying for the office Of Sur
seyor General unless he was a theoretical
and practical surveyor. Jefferson would
as soon have appointed lawyer, surgeon
in the army, as person to the office Of
Surveyor General who did not possess a
practical knowledge of the duties Of the
office.
AT this very time, deputy surveyors are
re-surveying islands in tie Mississippi
river, for surveying which government has
once paid; and there is no telling the i'm
mense amount it has and will cost the U.
States to pay for extra work, caused by
the ignorance Of official fnnctionaries.
Do Mr. Booths friends pretend that he
possesses the requisite qualification 10
judge OF the, work OF his deputies With
out wishing to detract from the business
capacities Of Col. Booth, in his ordinary
business Of selling sugar and coffee and
keeping accounts with his mill hands, we
venture the assertion that he cannot write
q 1otfor a., I'LL rorr, III a., tbo h,,s:,o.s nf he
Office, unassisted by his clerks, which
could be ineligible either to himself or
the department at Washington. Then we
insist that the appointment Of Mr. Booth,
"by and with the advice and consent Of the
Senate, was an attempted imposition upon
Gen. Taylor's administration and we trust
the new administration will show, by its
prompt action in this matter, that the Of
flee oil Surveyor General was created for
other purposes than advancing the claims
Of politicians for place in The United
States Senate. We hope some honest and
capable man, possessing a theoretical and
practical knowledge Of the important du-
ties Of the office: may be placed in charge
Of It. --.-5 --.. r...-s... l-a
ny the way, can any OF Mr. Booth 5 anx-
ious friends ,nform us " hat has become of
certain contracts, let by the present in
cumbent? Were they given 10 deputies
who could do the work themselves, or did
the lucky fellows sell them out and slope
How many more of Senator Jones' con-
tracts are there yet to fill We merely
ask for further information. Mr. Booth Is
a very quiet politician, never interferes in
politics. .-......