Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1854-03-25

who addressed US of the Star on the subject,
and who confines himself in both to the years
l84o, 1850 and 1851. In his communication
MUM, and therefore none was credited to the
Governments. He is entirely mistaken; for we
have seen the proof that one officer credited
nearly fourteen thousand dollars in his account,
for premium received on drafts Does g Chi
nook" dispute the fact that from 1851 to 1854,
when the great bulk Of the drafts were drawn,y
sight drafts on New York were at a premium
in San Francisco? or does he allege that the
credit of the Government was not as good as
that of private individuals? or that there was
no public depositary during those years at San
Francisco? As we understand ii, nothing could
have prevented q more proper occasion to call
for explanation, unless officers are impeccable
and irresponsible. If the officers did not re.
ceive premium, and could not have obtained
it, they will not be required to account for
any; if they did receive, or could have re-
ceived any, it seems to US that Uncle Sam
should have the benefit of it-and that is the
whole story.
An Important Changei in the Governments
Customs System.-The bill which passed the
House yesterday to enlarge the bonded ware
house system, bids fair greatly to increase the
number of importers of foreign goods of all
descriptions in the United States, as we'll as
| to increase, heavily, the aggregate amount of
their importations. Ths late establishments of
our existing bonded warehouse system was an
| important step forward in our national race
to commercial supremacy; increasing greatly
| the number Of American importers by facili.
tating importations, and decreasing the cash
payments before sale, Oh goods brought hither
from abroad. Mr.. Fulbr's BILL passed by the
House yesterday, greatly increases the advan-
| tages to those in trade, superinduced by the
plan now in operation; while at the same time
it cannot fail to prove most beneficial to the
Goyernmentitself. Atpresent the aggregate
| amount received for storage of goods in bond,
by the Government, falls far short of the ex-
penses of their bonded warehouses-far short
The system as now in operation, besides failing
to pay its own expenses, has added extensively
to the patronage of the customs department of
the public service, and thus inflicted positive
injury on the morals of the country, which
have been more seriously debauched in the
| universal scramble for ofice, than from any
other one cause we know Of. The new scheme
Is, to abolish the Government establishments of
the kind, and to allow any private individuals
disposed to enter into the business under proper
guards and restrictions, to do so at will. Their
buildings must be in all respects suitable, and
one key is to be in the keeping of customs
officer, the other being in that of the private
proprietor of the establishment, who is author
lied thus to hold goods under bond awaiting
sales ere the duties are paid, for three years,
instead Of for one, as at present The risk
from fire or other damage is to be wholly that
of the owner Of the goods and of the private
bonded warehouseman. Such, in brief, are
the leading features Of the proposition, for
which the commercial public eve much indeed
to Mr. Fuller of Maine, the Chairman of the
House Committee On Commerce.
A New Era in Washington. - Strong
minded women and crank minded men seem to
be holding a saturnalia in this city at the
present writing. All Washington is agog, as
it were, about spirit rappings, woman's rights,
DC, and folks who can ILL afford such luxuries
are shelling out their dollars and quarters in
payment for enlightenment on such topics
Humbugging, in these two lines, has become
regular business, to be followed in this region
by shrewd penny-turning Yankees of both
sexes. From the courageous young ladies,
who had the cheek to bone "sporting men"
around lottery Office corners, to buy books of
their own nominal writing, up to Lucy Stone,
with her countenance incapable of blush, we
take it, We have had among us Of late all sorts
of g strong minded women bent on reforming
society in some way or other, and every
mothers daughter Of them taking due care to
demand ample quid pro quo for their disinter-
ested labors. As far as We can perceive, they
have not yet made q single convert to their
plan of unse1ing ladies, among those of Wash
ington nor have they managed, so far, to in
duee man of this city to enlist under the
banner of the now famous Mrs. Stanton, of
SoAo"AeIo III NoW 1oIh, euo dChuoWIeuScu
leader of the movement, whose father, Judge
Cady, by-the-by, is said to address her in these
times: my Dear Sir
The spirit rapping men are now also Offering
their services for the enlightenment of folks
here, for consideration, Of course.
They demand handsome pay for placing folks
10 communication with friends in the other
world, or for the privilege of hearing how that
thing has been accomplished, elsewhere. We
presume that they are making money to GER
tain extent. But they are making no concerts
among persons belonging here: this region be-
ing too far South for such notions to obtain any
foothold. With the exception of few ner-
vous or very credulous people, their patrons
are almost entirely strangers, coming from re.
gions wherein isms of all sorts obtain credence
for a time, as they successfully arise. 1t re-
joices US to know that, though both these sets of
Individuals so bent on remodelling society at
a dash, have made extraordinary efforts to es-
tablish themselves here, as sort of institution,
they have failed, quite as decidedly as i'm
modesty, charlatanerie, and monomania ever
before failed anywhere.
From London.-A friend in London writes
US by the last steamer, saying:
GAS you will see, the papers show that war