The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1850-01-31
THE UNION.

NlONs u -..,..,..,
drsds Of thousands charged as portions OF the ex-
penses Of collecting the revenue when Mr. Walker was
in the Treasury Department which not thus charge.
able now Mr. Meredith has been relieved OF them be-
Sides il was anticipated that the new system would be
less expensive and that would enable the Secretary Of
the Treasury to etrench expenditures which could not
be etrenched under the old system We do not that
81 900 is or not sufficient to cover the expenses Of
Collecting the revenue But we have earthly doubt
that The administration has failed make those rerench-
ments which anticipated, and which might have
been made; and that II has. by an improper use OF It's
authority increased the expenditures necessary for this
branch Of the services for the purpose Of rewsrdng hum
CRY partisans, by filling the custom houses with igno-
rant and incompetent men. and by all those means andap-
piances by which the caba in power have covey sought
to break down the democratic policya policy which the
wing party dared not assai openly before the people
as clear MONDAY that Mr. Meredith has not acted In
good faith this NATTER and that he has sought deceive
the people The law limiting the expenses Of collecting
the from customs to 81 100000 did not 60 into
operation until the first Of January last Yet many
months before that period he discharged large portion of
those engaged in the service. Them before ME
lao wsnt into operation, he endeavored, II our
memory is not at fault. to shield himself from
responsibility, as he endeavors TO shield himself
from responsibility now. BY pleading the law Of March
This fact furnishes strong evidence that he had ascer
tanned that the pack Of inefficient partsans with which he
had filed the custom houses had become such burden
upon the government, that he forced to dismiss
portion OF those engaged in the revenue SERVICE before
the law requiring Me redSetion Dsnt into operation.
His conduct on that OCCASION and his effort charge the
deficit upon the Mexican war; show his eager anxiety to
escape responsibility, and give 10 every right to
scrutinze his conduct closely before he places implicit
confidence in his statements As long ago a. October,
we called the attention Of the people to the manner in
which the New York custom-h house was conducted We
derived our information from New York commercial
correspondents man well known one OF the most
reliable commercial writers in this country His state
mens on this point have been fully coroboated by 9TH
ers They have never been conroyerted We therefore
make an extract from his letter:
All kinds of insults and delays offered TO importers
under the pretexs that the ad valoem principle makes Il
necessary At the time, the wing In the en-
poy of the clique of pipeaying memory, which exclusively
claiming In favor of specific duties. The welfare Of the
port depends almost exclusively on its commerce; and
when old merchants, who have paid millions into the
treasury for Duties the behest oil the ppe
nsuted and their business delayed and injured under the
petence they suspected OF cheating the govern
en the guse of ad valorem duties, they have no re-
but intimate to the collector hat they are to De
subjected these infamous political tricks they must make
their importatons through neghborng ports, and dis
charge their poyees here In this way the interests Of
the CITY and the welfare oil its d,nse and working popua
ton are tded with by handful Of uuprincipled rickste
The collector appears have little nothing to say iDthe
matter of appointments much that persons have
been appointed places and received pay, sometimes
thirty days before the old incumbent notified Of his
rrt- H. A. tcuuI ~ul.l aala
ries and of claims thus created which will come
before Congress The In which the patronage of
the increased may be illustrated In in
Under the last administration the register OF the
warehouse received ccn hundred dollars
aunum and the duties quite light These have now
been divided officers twelve hundred dollars
each This operation served the double OF giving
place the nephew of Senator Dayton, OF New Jersey,
whose vote the of confirmation may not be ted
WITH and the time swelling the expense of the
warehouse system.
This is the system which has been practised by the
administration. The public service Is filled by incom-
petent men as the reward Of party services The
house of New York. and doubt not of other ports
has been placed under the control Of unprncpled
clique Under such system the expenses Of collecting the
revenue cannot be dminshed but they must be increased
enormously Mr. Meredith like the New York collector,
has not the nerve resist his party managers the
boldness 10 deny their demands upon the treasury His
appearance upon the political stage is recent and his con-
version to the commercial policy Of the wings is Of late
date He must therefore prove his claim TO the support
of party by party subservency and when the cormoants
of party would fasten themselves the treasury, he
cannot drive them from their prey, but he must select
branch Of the public service which has political in
Auence and destroy it-thereby leaving whole
coast open smugges so that the tariff Of is4o cannot
produce revenue sufficient to deay the expenses Of the
government, even economically administered. This is
truly killing two birds with one stones" for it gives
to his party appontees the whole fund at his disposal
while il tends to destroy the principles Of free trade
The crowded state Of columns compels us to omit,
until our next the report Of yesterdays proceedings in the
House. The mileage question was debated during the
morning hour by Messr. Sweetser, Green, and Jacob
Thompson after which, the House resolving itself into
the COMMITTEES Of the Whole the state Of the Union.
the joint resolution limiting the expense Of collecting the
revenue from customs for the present fiscal year
considered and speeches thereon delivered by Mr.