The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1853-05-25

dained and the Conference adjourned until to day at
A. NJ. Last evening discourses were delivered in
the Allen street, Duane street, and Sands street.
Brooklyn, churches.
Prof James Walker, d. D., was yesterday inau-
gurated as President of Harvard College Accord
ing to the synopsis of the proceedings furnished in
our Boston despatch the ceremony was unusually in
teresting.
The squadron composing the North Pacific Sur
veying Expedition under Capt. Rnggold, it is un-
derstood, will leave Norfolk to-day. Mondays He
RAID, it will be remembered, contained full ac-
count Of the object of this as well as various other
expeditions that are now fitting out.
.Retrenchaent and acknowledgements of
tho Administration.
The experienced sailor upon the high seas,
can often, in the dead calm of an unclouded
horizon, detect the infallible warnings of i'm
pending danger. and is thus enabled to make
all snug and tight" to meet and ride out the
gathering storm. 1t may be that there is some
such extraordinary prescience in this admins
tration-it may be that General Pierce has
been taught by experience to regard the pre-
sent most remarkable and expansive prosperity
in the financial world as somewhat treacherous
and delusive. and that the prevailing plethora
of the money market the still increasing intia-
ton of real and fancy stock operations and
the unbounded public confidence in the re-
sources of California and Australia, may pos
sibly end in some such terrible 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 Jack
tar. the administration were making all snug
the elements.
But, whatever the causes or 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-
ment and reform" When General Jackson
supplanted John Quincy Adams in the White
House, he numerically declared that in the
catalogue Of his official duties the American
people had "inscribed, in characters too legible
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 the expenses of the government, under Mr.
Adams, had risen to thirteen millions year;
and Tobias Watkins, poor old man. had been
found guilty at Washington Of deialcation of
nearly four thousand dollars! Perhaps General
Pierce may have concluded that the time has
arrived for restoring this old Jacksonian plank
- L. IL, ,.latg -
judgment it may be. that we are indebted for
the initial steps which have been taken to in
crease the efficiency and to cut down the ex-
penses of the several departments Of the gov
eminent.
Nor has the work been commenced a day too
government, magnifed from thirteen to fifty
millions per annum; and what with Galphin,
Mexican. Florida Chickasaw, Cherokee and
other claims, amounting up from two hundred
thousand to half million at a single haul. it is
certainly high time for closing up some of the
leaks of the public treasury. The retrench-
ments, therefore, of Mr.. Guthrie, in the admins
tration of the Treasury and the custom houses;
of the several other members of the cabinet. in
reducing the contingencies and in enforcing an
additional quantity of work upon the clerks of
their several departments; and the reforms of
management of the vast machinery of the Gene
raj Post Office, are all seasonabe and judicious.
We hope, although "a new broom sweeps
clean" that the broom of this administration
will not be worn out before the work Of sweep
ing away all the old abuses upon the Treasury
Of every sort. is fully accomplished, and the
government is clear of rogues and swindlers
from stem to stern.
Per Sc this business of retrenchment and
reform " is good thing; but in view Of an APP
preaching financial revusion, it is most wise to
right up the ship of State in season. The Sub
Treasury, to limited extent, is admirably cal
culated, under faithful administration of the
law, to act as q check upon the spirit of specu-
lation SO universally prevailing in the financial
world. 1t was the twenty or thirty millions of
government money deposited in the pet banks
which led to the inordnate paper imitation and
wide spread bankruptcy of 1887, '38, '39, 40 and
Al To the extent OF twenty or thirty millions
of government cash now in the sub-treasuries,
there is at least that reservation against an ex-
cessive paper expansion. 1t is at this time. to
be sure, only as drop in the bucket but it is
something; and in the event Of a crash it will
save the Treasury from being numbered among
the victims of another general bankrupt law
il nothing more.
1t is sound policy on the part of this admins
tration to do all il can to check the reckless,
headlnnQ QaIna of snecnlati0n which Ia selling