The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1853-06-15
"RETRENCHMENT AND REFORM"
MOVEMENTS OF THE ADMlNlsTRA-
TON.

INFRINGEMENT AND REFORM"
OF THE ADMlNlsTRA-
TON.
From the New York Herald
The experienced sailor upon the high seas,
ian often, in the dead calm Of an unclouded
horizon, detect the infallible warnings of i'm
pending danger, and is thus enabled to SNAKE
all snug and tight" to meet and ride out the
gathering storm. II may be that there is some
such extraordinary prescience in this admins
tralion--t may be that General Pierce has been
taught by experience to regard the present most
remarkable aud expansive prosperity in the hn-
n ,ncial world as mewhat treacherous and delu
sive, and the prevailing plethora of the money
market, the still increasing imitation Of real and
fancy stock operations, and the unbounded pub
lie confidence in The resources of California and
Australia, may possibly end in some such ter
rible and sweeping financial tornado as that
which signalized the pet bank administration Of
Martin Van Buren,. Dubious OF some such
approaching catastrophe, one would conclude
that, like the prudent Jacktar, the administra-
ton making all snug and tight to weather
the anticipated shock of the elements.
But, whatever the causes and objects Of these
movements, the public cannot have failed TO
mark the apparent earnestness with which Gen.
eral Pierce and his cabinet have proceeded TO
cut away with the pruning knife of "retrench-
rnent and reform" When General Jackson
supplanted John Quincy Adams i'll the White
House, he numerically declared that in the ca
taogue of his official duties the American
people had ''inscribed in character too legb!e to
be misunderstood, the paramount duties OF
retrenchment and reform : There is no doubt
in the world that Old Hickory believed it. And
good reason had he to make the declaration for
l.L~ x,r ont
Adams, had risen to thirteen millions a year
and Tobias Watkins. poor old man, had been
found guilty at Washington of a defalcation Of
nearly four thousand dollars Perhaps General
| Pierce may have concluded that the time has
| arrived for restoring this old Jacksonlan plank
| to the Democratic platform; and to this simple
| Judgment, it may be, that we are indebted fol
the initial steps which have been taken to in
crease the efficiency and to cut down the ex
perses of the several departments OF the gov
eminent.
Nor has the work been commenced a day TOT
soon. What with the actual expenses OF the
government, magnifed from thirteen to fifty
millions per annum; and what with Galphin
Mexican, Florida, Chickasaw, Cherokee ant
other claims, amounting up from two hundred
thou: and to half million at single haul, it i
certainly high time for closing up some of thu
leaks Of the public treasury. The retrench
ment of Mr.. Guthrie, in the administration o
the Treasury, and the custom houses, of tn
several other members ofthe cabinet, in reduc.
tine the contingencies and IN enforcing an ad
ditional quantity of work upon the clerks .
their several departments; and the reforms o
Mr. Campbell, as far as he has gone, in II
management of the vast machinery Of tn
General Post Office, are all reasonable and ju
dcious We hope, although "a new broom
| cIa hat he nf q
tration will not be worn out before the work q
sweeping away all the old abuses upon tn
Treasury, of every sort, is fully accomplished
and the government is clear OF rogues an
swindlers from stem to stern.
Per Sc this business of "retrenchment and re
form" is gond thing but in view of an ap
preaching financial revulsion, it is most wise
right up the ship Of State i'll season. The Sui
Treasury to a limited extent, is admirably cal
culated, under faithful administration of tn
law, to act as a check upon the spirit of specu
lation so universally prevailing in the financii
world 1t was the twenty or thirty millions
government money deposited in the pet bank
which led to the inoriinate paper initiation an
wide spread bankruptcy Of 1887, 80. 80, a
and Al. To the extent of twenty or thirt
millions of government cash now in the sub
treasures, there Is al least that reservatlo
against an excessive paper expansion. 1t IS,
this time, to be sure, only drop in the buckle
bu, it is something; and in the event of a crasi
, it will slve the treasury from being numbere
among the victims of another general bankruf
law, if nothing more.
It's sound policy on the part Of this admin
istration 10 do all it can to check the rockies
headlong game of speculation which is seizin
upon all the business branches of the communi
ty, and drawing them into the yawning gulf {
Wall street. 1t financial explosion comes up
on during this administration, it will be bel
res ponsib!e for the consequences. Its policy
necessarily that of restriction retrrnchment an
reform Finally, il is possible that Gen. Pierc
may contemplate from the foreign program'n
OF action which he has laid down, the possibI
contingency of an expensive war; and in thi
view be may be outstanding his resources I
meet the crisis.
But whatever the causes, or whatever the o.
jects of the movements made by Gen. Pierre
and his cabinet, to root out the extravaganza
, and increase the practical efficiency of the exc
cuive departments, they are good in them
selves, and The consequences, in any event, wi
be something to the advantage of all concerned
if they only stick 10 it. There is nothing NOR
desirable at this crisis, at Washington, than Gre
renchment and reform"