Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1853-12-16
.gainst whom he professed to Be acting. -Te

against whom he professed to be acting For
MS consoiaiiou In the arrangement of the COM
mittees, it may net be amiss to say, that it has
never been the custom to place gentle men
without congressional reputation i'm prominent
positions on prominent committees, while il
unfortunately happens that almost all the
Members from the six North Western States.
whom he AYERS have been treated shamefully.
are new Members with, perhaps, here and
there Member who has made q reputation
compelling the Speaker not to place him prom
inently before the country in the organization
of the House. We may feel called upon to
refer to this particular subject again We
presume that on Monday. when the considera-
| ton of the subject matter shall be resumed.
the friends of the Administration will have de-
termined what course to take in the premises
In the meanwhile, the lobby are intensely
active. They want Mr. Washington out of
the way. and will "go" at least any amount
of champagne and canvass backs that may be
required in the work Of getting him subjected
to the senatorial ordeal, in the hope that
their weightier arguments may there accom-
plish his rejection
The PROPOSITION TO Buy The Mouxr YER
| NON EsrArE.-The value of this property,
without the contingent sale of the bones of
/" the father of his country" is about $50, 900.
Al much land adjoining it, in like condition,
| can easily be bought for that amount of money
We hear that bargain was made some time
since, by the proprietor, selling it to some
| persons whose names we have not heard, for
$500 900 nominally. And, further, that this
sale is conditioned on their success in getting
Congress to take it at that price, when he will
pay them % per centum Tor $50 000) of the
money paid to him for it by the Government
We know not how far this is reliable. giving
1t to the reader rs the account of the condition
| of the" operation which is floating around
the lobby.
IL THE House, yesterday, after We went to
press, the discussion upon the Mount Vernon
estate resolution was cut short by the success
of a motion to proceed to business on the
Speakers table, when the Scnate's Joint
resolution to make the Assistant Secretary of
the Treasury hereafter to be appointed by the
President and to be confirmed, came up.
Mr.. Ewing opened the ball with an able
and humorous speech, calling on the Demo
ing the bill on the table
RMr Houston was FIR passing it, with An
| amendment making its provisions applicable
hereafter.
Mr. Wentworth, Of Illinois, while advoca-
ting Mr.. Houston view, made it the occasion
of an attack on the Speaker for failing to give
him more prominent place On committee
Messrs. Stanton of Tenn, Disney. and Bayly
of Va, advocated the resolution as it came
from the Senate; and Messrs. Jones of Tenn,
Hubbard, and Breckenridge also spoke upon
it, sustaining the views of Mr. Houston in
part.
The previous question was then called, and
pending the question on seconding that call,
the House adjourned over until Monday next
The ASSISTANT SEcEErARYsHIP OF THE
TREAsURr.-By way of shedding light upon
this question we quote from Secretary Will
ker's report Of the 9th of Dec, 1s4S the para
graph which caused Congress to create the
office of Assistant Secretary of the Treasury,
az follows, viz:
- Having transferred the laborious duties
enumerated, from the Secretary of the Treas
ury, Congress should authorize him to appoint
an assistant secretary, who should be man of
great talents and experience, with salary
not less than $4,000 a year, who shall examine
all letters, contracts and warrants prepared
for the signature of the Secretary, and per-
form such other duties not requiring the sig
nature Of the Secretary as might convenient
ly be devolved upon him by the Department
To maintain the unity and efficiency Of the
system, he should be appointed by the Secre-
tary aud sHbject 10 has dtrecfioX.'
So tseems that Congress exempted this Off
Ger from Senatorial action IN acco.d.ne .,jth
Mis recommendation, after due investigation !
with their eyes open. And Mr. Bright acaui
esced in that action from lS49 until determin- |
ing to form coalition with Messrs Seward
Sumner, 1T at, in order to war on the present
national Administration
The PRoGREss OF CORRUPTION Since PEN /
ming the article in our paper Of to-day upon |
the subject Of the Senates Contingent fund |
we have looked again at their joint resolution |
to make their Secretary discussing officer, |
and can draw from it no other conclusion |
than that it is an effort to exempt the fnan
cial affairs Of their body from the operation |
OF the Sub-Treasury law. 1t remains for the |
House to decide whether that law shall be set |
aside completely. so far as the Senate are con-
cerned. With their enormous, secret and
utterly unjustfsble squanderins of tho pub
TIC money, under pretence OF contingent eY-
penses, such rs cannot be pretented to be JUS
titled, We take it the House will think twice
before they vote to exempt the private eY-
penscs 81 the Senate from the due response
bility which should rest upon all use of public
fundsin this country.
BREvET RANK PAs.-Accortling to a recent
decision in the Treasury DEPARTMENT, Brovet
Captain of the Army, who was ordered on
duty to command a company of ''city pelice"
during the occupation of the city of Mexico
by the American army. is not entitled to the
pay OF his breyet rank for this duty under
the law Of April It, 1878: US such command is
as appropriate to u subaltern as to captain.
AN IMPORTANT EXTRA PAY DECISION
wa. held here, not long since, in settling ar
account that ship of war attached to the
Pacific squadron was not considered as in SER
vice in the Pacific ocean on the coast of CAL
ltornla and Mexico during cruise to China
and the vicinity in such sense as to entitie
her officers and crew to the extra pay pro-
slded by the acts of August 81. 1852, and
March 3, 1853.
NAVAL OFFICERS ORDERED, DETACHED, &c.
H. NJ. Garland's order to the
'loop-of-war Albany, revoked, and he has
been ordered to the sloOp Of I