The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1852-04-26
81 BE Saving of your Candle. Mr.. Gwin and
the Deficiency Bill.


:. BE Saving of your CandIe."-Mr. Gwin and
the Deficiency Bill.
The Administration has been arraigned in the
Senate, during the last week, on charges Of
enormous and unjustifiabe expenditure. These
are grave allegations. If an administration is
convicted Of a want of public economy, such
conviction should go far to shake It's credit with
the people. Mr.. BURKE once said that the
sense of mankind is SO clear and decided in
favor Of economy, and of the weight and value
Of its resources, that Monsieur NEcKAR turned
IS himself to every species of fraud and artifce
TO obtain the mere reputation Of it," 1t is not
much to be wondered at, therefore, if honorable
Senators should resort to somewhat desperate
eXpedients to fasten upon the Administration
the discredit of wanton and illegal extravaganza
Many Legislators carry their private peculi-
arites into their public policy in this regard
peculiarities as numerous and various as the
individuals. FooTE used to say of GARRIcK
that she walked out with the Intention to do
a generous action, but, turning the corner of
the street, he met the ghost OF half-penny,
(which frightened him." The great actor
would spend his thousands on his equipage, and
grumble at his housekeeper for putting too much
tea in the pot. When BozZY told DIR. JOHNSON
of friend who was living much beyond his in
come, whose lady had objected at table to the
cutting Of picked mango" Sir, that is the
laundering economy of a narrow understanding.
Ii is stopping one hole in sieve" Tom
PAINE was of opinion that discreet and able
bodied man might be found to discharge all the
functions of a King of England for eight hun
dred pounds year. In his judgment, all that
was paid above that sum was wasteful excess.
We have known members of Congress who
seemed to regard it as somewhat sinful TO pay
the honest obligations of Government. and who
have protested that they would not disburse
money "wrung from the hard earnings of the
people" to satisfy debt that no private person
could have repudated without disgrace. To
pay public debts is, in the view of such men,
to grind the faces Of the poor" Another
class Of Legislators regard a public contract,
openly adjusted on fair and equitable terms, as
a scheme for "plundering the treasury" They
talk as Familiarity of "robbing" the public
chest, as if their own personal associations had
been chiefly with shop lifters and house break
ers. These men, and these classes, have done
much to bring the professions of economy into
general disrepute; and we are disposed to hear
them raise the cutlery of "extravagant expen-
diture" with a sentiment oscilating between
suspicion and contempt. But true economy
the principle which gives order and system to
adminlstration--which contempates liberal but
discreet expenditure-whichi is based on prov-
dence, prudence, discrimination, selection, pro-
portion in public outlays-we cannot but regard
as the highest merit Of republican statesman
ship.
Now, il would be difficult to say in what
class of economists Mr.. GwIN, of California.
who has made this recent attack upon the Ad-
minstration, is to be numbered. We never
supposed that he was a man to be frightened
at the ghost Of a halfpenny, or to grumble al
an extra use of tea leaves, or to censure the
incison of picked mango. We were under
the impression that his notions Of expenditure
were upon pretty large scale, somewhat Cal
ifornia in their liberality. Seldom have we
known greater sensation produced in the Cap
itol than was caused by the announcement that
Mr.. GwIN had turned economist and reformer;
and was utterng philippe against the Wing
Administration for its extravagant expenditures
Men looked at each other through the corners Of
their eyes, and raised the forefnger Of the right
hand gravely to the feature which celebrated
photographer describes as "that prominence
on the face which is the organ Of scent and
the emunctory Of the brain" OF all the mar
wells bred in these days of chaos and confusion,
this was, on its face, the greatest 1t seemed
as if the world were coming to an end. and no
mistake.
But--non omnin possunB omnes-all men
cannot do all things Mr.. GwIH has no little
versatility of talent, though it is no disparage-