The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1850-08-20
Aspect OF Great Eritaln.


semi-ofhcai pamphlet, on practical financial
reicIm, published last year, began, Economy is
The order OF the day and ended with the words,
"rue practical refenchmcnt is TO be sought not in
the looping OIL OF round sums, but in the thorough
exploration and REIMBURSEMENT of salary and ser
vice There can be no doubt that this Is the true
doctrine. Economy is an adaptation OF means TO
an end, and, when the end is ascertaned on
grounds of its own, we have then TO take that
our means are the proper ones, and neither def
cieni nor excessive. This can only be found out
by frequent, if not continual, "exploration." The
changes which nations, and, indeed, society alto
setber, are always undergoing, and which have
thckened upon us Of late years, make new
methods necessary, and render old ones super
uous. IL is the office of the Legislature to sex
plore' these changes, to see where the current
has found new channel and left its former bed
dry, and TO rescue what il can, in return for that
which IL is compelled 10 surrender. Ii there is not
Il continual "re-ad uslment,'' il is impossible ~
conceive the infinite superaddition of establish
Uents Of buildings, OF Offices, Of materials, under
which we should labor. There are stories of
ladies who have left in their wardrobes, or would
have done so had the moth and the rust permitted
it, all the dresses they wore in their lifetime,
though the accumulation could answer other
purpose than TO expose the extravaganza of the de-
ceased, and the absurdities Of fashion. There
have been men, and statesmen too, who left
heaps Of coats, or walking sticks, snuff boxes.
The trick degenerates into mere boarding, which
Is one ol The lowest ceniricies TO which human
nature is table, but sometimes il stops short of
hoaldDg, and shows itself IN the form Of an af-
ftcuonaie but rather silly fondness for used-up or
aniiquaied articles. as when man keeps all his
oo carriages, or all his old horses Sometimes
the accumulation Is the result of mere fickleness,
and is owing TO the unfortunate fact that man
cannot change his material and his engagements
quickly as he can his own taste. This is the
rafon why tickle man is generally ruined.
While bis affections rove from horse.racing to
yachting, from yachting TO house building, from
house building TO electoneering, and in rapid sue
ceEsion TO gambling, TO pictures, TO wines, and to
H. IL, Tall al
euisiie ceerty the engagements aud undertakings
in which caprice has involved him. BY the time
that his soul is absorbed in collecting, perhaps,
ticles OF vs,fu, he has several horses to run, a
zach, and crew to get rid Of, house to finish, a
borough 10 contest, a debt Of honor 10 pay some
superb gallery Of pictures TO change into msney,
and many hogshesds Of wine to drink or throw
uwny. so devoted is he 10 the present idol of his
aieciions. that he cares very little for all his for
mer hobbies, or rather hates them more than il
would be decent 10 express. But he is tied to
them, whether he will or not. All THE is absurd
enough, but Il Is he case of this nation
History, indeed, seems 10 show that il il the
habit of the nation 10 add new things 10 old, so
that we are the most conservative, and, at the
world. We have added government by barens TO
government by King, and government by the peo-
PIE 10 them both, hardly dropping or mislsyiDg a
since inconvenience incident TO all three. We
have eddtdth peculiar exigencies of a Protestant
church TO the pretsnsions and cost Of the Roman
Catholic; and, without the assistance OF the state
the people have now undertaken at least an equal
loao, in the rhape of their numerous dissenting es
tabnshmenis. There are writer's who maintain,
with much gravity and some force, that the crown
and the Saxon institutions Of the country are
ann sufficient for its government, with both free
dom and elect and that Parliament In a useless
INTERPOLATION, while there are others who think
the House Ut Commons sufficient for ell practical
purposes. On the combined judgment Of the two
parties we are doubly governed, and one OF our
governments is superfuous. We have thrown the
Pelion Of the statute law upon the Ossa of the
common law, each enough to crush any genera
hon 81 lawyers, or any nation OF htiganis. To the
two wealthiest Of universities, end the largest az
fregaie Of endowed schools in the world, We have
acds the greatest amount Of schools and colleges
maintained by local and gene ml subscription and
the State has lately aided, and is stlla dding at
great extent occupying the very same,grcund. To
that trade which we had with all the world we
ADDED our colonial empire, with iS monopo.es, its
diherental duties, and its navigation laws; and
for lie support We immensely increased our arms-
mcnis as well as our civil establishments. We
have ldtferly discovered that the object for which
this increase was MADE was mistaken one, and,
accordingly, we have given up the colonial system
as an exclusive source Of profit but we have,
nevertheless, retained our increased ornaments
and our other colonial expenses. Nay, we have
added TO them In throwing ourselves once more
on the open commerce Of the world we have I'M
d,rialen the police OF the most distant seas and
offered to be the letter carriers Of the world. The
result y, That We are now charged with costs Of
both deinnct monopoly and reeeneraied free trade.
The thspe in which this habit of super-additon
moot srpeals TO the senses, and becomes most
ludcrous, is the material Of our ornaments
We have stock Of guns, shot, shells, powder,
eEd fIars, side arms, &c, enough TO meet the
most lavish possible consumption for at least
three years. Yet, besides deterioration by
time, no man would venture TO say how
hes been superseded by improvements; so that
n We had to prepare for war in good earnest,
We should probably have to add new material
TO our old. Az preeeni, II man proposes an i'm
pTcvemeni q the nusket, he is told that he mus
adertit to the existing Is millions Of ball cartridges
and II he thinks he has found out a better cart
ridge or ball, he is told they must be large enough
found safe and effective agent. i would would Ss se
superseded 10000 barrels OF gun powder. The
fire in the Tower saved ps from the necessity of
leepins hundred thousand obsolete muskets but
nothing Is more likely than that our present store
viii be equally out Of date by the time il i.wanted
As for cur navy u is becoming almost too trscical
an sflair TO be talked about We have added three
decker 20 ihreedecker and stesmfrigaie 10 steam
inRsie. TIL all that cen be said is that we possess
the largest accumulation Of rotten wood and rusty
iron in the world.
IL has been our ambition not merely to do every.
Thing as u We sid that alone, but to do everything
en- a grand scale because we do other things on .
grand scale. nation might propose 10 itself to
secure is Just weight in the scale If nations either
by wsrihe emorsirations or by splendid and &c.
nerous diplomacy. We have aimed al both. We
have swollen the pomp Of our embassies, that they
may lily represent a nation ~ vast naval power,
while u is equally true that the pride Of our en-
bessies has reacted on the size Of our fleets Were
u eit to our dipomatists and our navy To settle u
tetween themselves, we should coon have twenty
histcless embassies and Gordon OF alternate
shre OF The line and etcarl-fngafes round Europe.
nom Constaniinople TO Cronstsdt That mutual m
yalTy proves a common extravsgapce. Ambsssa-
dors are not made to rely on fleets and fleets arc
not AIDE 70 back up venaiious and bustering dE 4