The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-12-03

and the consequences unavoidable, especially
at those coDtu)ates which cannot afird tokeep
come long tried aDa faithful cl, rx in the Office.
Thus we gst ourselves hated and despsed all
over the globe.
Bnt this restraining Cen uls from business
must be critically examined. We presume 1t
means "busine,s ON their own account" other
wise II would be to defeat one Of the very objects
for which Consuls are pointed. particularly
as to those ports at which there are no Ameri-
! can resident mercl ants. Census, unfit as
many Of them necessarily are at present, are
regarded as er o6cio agents Of Americans es-
tablishing new indus tries abroad, o. sending
venture of goods unconsi gned, &c. They are
frequs ntly called upon in such cases, being se-
lected on account of the responsibility of their
bonds on file in Washington Is not legislation,
therefore, at fault when it would prevent this!
| Moreover, well qualified Consul should I'M
derstand mercantile affairs thoroughly. He
has need, too, to be o skiful notary, nm ac-
complished clerk, an impartial magistrate, q
tolerable lawyer, but, above all, thoroughly
conversant with mercantile affairs. low many
such Consuls have we?
| Let us have, then, uniform salaries, even
though small, and let Office expenses, clerk hire,
&C. be regulated by the amount Of fees re-
celvcd. This would secure some degree Of
equality, and place all Consuls on respectable
footing. We have no objection to tue Consals
in the Barbary States the Levant, and coun-
tries wherein we have no diplomatic agent,
being restricted from commercial pursuits
This is, perhaps, necessary to insure proper
respect from the authorities, by whom they are
regarded as diplomatic characters. In some Of
these cases extra compensation may be neces.
sary-in others lot.
CoDsuls of the second class (nTh0 other
| governments call vice consuls) should also
have uniform salaries-by no means less than
| $1,000 or $1,000 per annum, and Of course all
the fees they can get, or at least all under q
certain sum. This ranging Of salaries at $500,
$3.50, $1,000, &C., is altogether too nice, and
might be considered small potato business.
! If consul is not worth $1,000, he is worth
nothing, and we had better have none at all,
and have the indispensable duties performed
by the Consul Of some friendly nation or .
resident merchant, at any given port, who
would ipse Jacto be the Consul after all, pro-
vided persons could be found to attend to
those duties that pay no fees.
The fifth section of Mr.. Perkins bill afixes
certain salaries to given places in as ''promis-
| cuous'' manner as though the amounts had
been written on pieces of paper, and the names
of the places on separate pieces, and each lot
placed in hat and then drawn out one by
one; first port, then q salary to 90 with it.
This is what he calls prepared with care"
Gust" consistent with the public interest"
&c. We will give only one of some dozen in
stances of itsjustice. There are two consulates
in the same country, at one of which the Con-
sui has positively nothing to do but to write to
the Department Of State once quarter, to let
the Secretary know that he is at his post and
ready to Ego in and win" should nything
"turn up" The other is one of the most labor
rious Of all our consulates; but they are both
rated at 81 900. Now take away the fees of
the latter, and where is the 'justice" or
equality" Of the things
We invoke the immediate attention Of Con-
gress to this important subject. Let it be
borne in mind that the present system is half .
century old, dating from period when we
were comparatively Insignificant nation.
Let it not be forgotten, too that all the Consuls
can be properly compensated by the appropria-
ton Of o less amount than Congress spends
annually in books and papers, or than is squan-
dered on some dry dock, useless fertilization,
or other public work. And let 1t be particn-
larly remembered that our revenue suffers an
nually to great extent for want Of jealous
and vigilant Consuls, and will continue to suf-
fer 60 long as more than one-hslf Of those OFF,
GERS depend upon other than strictly legitim Ute
sources for the means of scanty livelihood.
The present state of the service is so very bad
that even the bill which we have just reviewed,
meagre and imperfect as it ie, would be re-
garded, if not as national Improvement, at
least as an instalment Of the measures neces-
sary to carry out q thorough and effective re-
form In this important branch of the public
service.
Know NOTHING AovEMENTs.--We understand
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