The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-08-09
The Glsanings OF Congress-Sone OF tn
TSaings which Were Not Done.


We'hsve given our readers q list Of the acts,
public and private, coed, bad and indifferent,
passed ard approved during the late long SEES
sion Of Congress. We have also apprised the
reading public of the more important measures
which have failed. In the acts which have
passed there hos been anything but retrench-
ment, and from the measures which have been
defeated, or which go over to the next session,
we have but little encouragement in the matter
of reform. In q word, retrenchment has been
superseded by extravaganza, and referm has
beel indefinitely postponed.
Among the best of those things which were
not done, was the failure OF the House amend
ment to the Ocean Mail Steamer appropriation
bill, for giving the required six months notice
to the Collins company Of the suspension of
their additional compensation allowed by the
last Congress. The House insisted upon the no.
tlce-the Senate persisted in opposing it; and 20
pending the conflict between the two the SEES
sion expired, and with the whole bill the notice
was lest. But although the appropriations
failed they viii have to be made to meet the
government contracts, at the next session; while
by The loss OF the bill, The company have gain
cd at least four months additional time. even
should the two houses give the proposed notice
among their first proceedings in December. Az
ter voting subsidy Of ten millions for the sup
been sorry business had Congress, dur.
ing the same session, given notice of
the suspension of the comparatively small
sum necessary to sustain the noblest set
of steamers which have ever crossed the sea.
We congratulate our readers, therefore ia the
failure Of the mail steamer approximations. be-
cause the notice is thereby postponed.
A month or two since Guthrie was suffering
from surplus in the Treasury Of some thirty
millions of dollars, and the revenues from Gus.
tons were still accommodating upon his hands
lie was opprcssed-hc was in danger of sl.s.'a-
cation from plethora of gold bleeding alone
could save him. 1t was proposed, therefore, to
make healthful reduction in the leading
schedules of the tariff act of 1S46--the plan Of
a bill was drawn up and sent to the House, and
then another prcjet was drawn up in the House.
and the country was admonished that upon the
foreign raw materials entering into our home ma
nutactures, and upon various other things there
was TO be great reduction Of the tariff. from
the imperious necessity of reducing the re-
venues TO the standard of the economies of the
Then came the supply bill OF the Gadsdcn
treaty. The relief it gave to Guthrie was SO
great that We have not heard from either house
another solitary syllable on the tariff question
since the ten millions were voted to Santa
Anna. From that day, with every succeeding
Gay, as the regular appropriation bills were
hlled up with amendments, Guthrie was still
further relieved, SO that now it is suspected
that the increased appropriations for the fiscal
year ana the Gadsden treaty, will swallow up
every dollar of the surplus in the treasury. in
Guiding every penny that can be collected from
the tariff rs il stands
During the fiscal year ending the tltirticth
June last, the receipts from customs exceeded
by twelve millions The receipts of the year pre-
ceding. This very much alarmed Guthrie
With thirty millions. surplus on hand, and
seventy millions year coming in from the
tariff alone, what could he do when the expen-
ditures were rated at fifty millions year ?
The answer is at hand. With the expenditures
increased to seventy or eighty millions. and the
receipts for the current year diminished, pro-
baby, from the elimination Of foreign imports,