Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1854-12-11
WASHINGTON NEWS AND GOSSIP.

years mas been systematically hunted by tho
partisan press all over tho country, engaged
In publishing falsehoods about his acts and
opinions. Each succeeding issue of tho New
York Herald alone, rarely contains less than
dozen now bare faced and infamous untruths,
slanderlng ono OF more persons in Office here,
1t matters not which party may be in power.
II treated with the silent contempt they merit,
tho CRY is, they are all true, and that the 81.
lenoe Of the accused proves tho fact If, on
the other hand, as the President takes occa.
sion to do in tho message with reference to the
Greytown affair, they are disproved, then the
cry is set up that, to explain them away is to
admit them. The Intelligsneers correspon.
dents logic is IS weak as Taunton water, truly.
Again, the Same correspondent says:
"f the community at Greytown, as has been
80 frequently alleged BY the defenders of tho
Administratlon, were nest of pirates, and
not within the pale of legitimate warfare or
consideration, how comes it that tho Govern.
ment Of the United States had an official rep.
resentative there, and that he is going, or has
gone, again to reside there ?"
Our only wonder is that the editors of tho
Intsiltgenesr, who know tho fact we'll, did
not promptly inform their correspondent that,
according to the custom Of commercial ma.
tons, We send official representatives of this
Government wherever an American ship has
occasion to touch. That, indeed, we have one
now among the savage pirates of the Fejee
Islands,
The Rates Of Postage.-However desirable
it may be to make tho compensation received
Tor transporting newspapers in tho mails pay
for its actual cost to the Post Once Depart
ment, as the Postmaster General recommends,
land, newspaper publishers as We are, there is
no question in our mind Of tho propriety of tho
suggestion,) We fear it is not in Congress to
carry it out. Newspapers are terrible things,
apparently making and unmaking public mon
in day, at times. As a general thing, they
are clamorous for mail privileges and extra
facilities of all sorts. As far Is their own in
terests are concerned, large majority Of them
are, indeed, Jealous advocates of the plan of
Mr. Tttlebat Titmouse-to have tho Govern.
ment edo everything for everybody" gratis, or
as nearly 80 as possible. Al in nearly every
members district, more or less newspapers
stand ready to raise q great hue and CRY
against any honorable gentleman who will
presume to vote to rate with postage charge
all newspapers sent in the mails, and to make
that charge proportionate to the service per-
formed in all cases, (the only real remedy for
the evil,) more or less, We fear, will conclude
to continue to saddle the cost Of the existing
favors to tho press on tho Treasury of the
United States. Gentlemen disposed to con.
tinue the existing condition of things in this
respect, will, probably, be found sufficiently
numerous when their votes are added to those
who desire to have all the Governments ex.
penses, of whatever kind, betrayed by indirect
taxation through the custom houses-who de-
sire to swell the expenses Of tho Government
Is a means of keeping the tariff as high as pos
sible-to vote down any proposition designed
to carry out the Postmaster Generals recon-.
mendstions on this head.
We confess always to have been opposed to
the plan of making tho Post Office Department
tax on tho Treasury proper, and, therefore,
never to have been in favor of the reduction
Of postage rates to points at which the aggre.
gate of hostages collected fail to cover the
whole expense of the Department. The penny
postage and ono rate system answers vol
enough for England, a thickly populated ter
ritory of very small extent when compared
with ours 1t pays its own way there, and
would not have been adopted had not tho Gov
ernmsnt previously become sure that it would
soon prove self-supporting.
There are various reforms which, if carried
out, would 60 far indeed towards rendering
even our rates Of postage self-supporting. We
are for demanding prepayment in advance on
all letters sent in the mails for a settlement,
dollar for dollar, between the Post Office De-
partment and all ether Departments of the Gov
eminent, for postal services rendered by the
former to the latter, and also for rating all
newspapers with postage by weight But
all these reforms are not to be hoped for. Yet
We trust that the principle of the second. men
toned may be carried out by making direct
appropriation specifying that it is to cover the
cost Of the postage on the free matter carried
in the mails, which is, of course. we'll known
TO a penny.
Most Important Information from Europe.
The Unions mails brought letter from dis.
tinguished Frenchman to gentleman in this
city, from which we mako the following OK.
tract, promising it with the assurance that the
writer's position and means of knowing the
secrets of State affairs in Paris are equal to |
those Of any man in that capital;
"PARIs, Nov. 20, P. NJ, 1854.
"Lord Palmerston and Louis Napoleon have
been almost inseparable since the former
alighte1 at the Hotel Windsor Their inter-
view have resulted in decision to unfurl the
standard of Polish, Hungarian and Italian
if Prussia and Austria hesitate
longer to declare unequivocally against the
Car. The probability is that neither the one
nor the ofher will -cnnsont to ID &h;s. =, NH ch