New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-03-03

! Stamsbip Mail Contract for the route cDunec ling
4 this City with Liverpool. Their prayer WAS
| grsntec-ibeir terms accepted-0o competition
Was invited-tbey had their own way through
cut Hasing obtained their contract. they
Sc, about constructing their ships, aud built good
ones-we fear too good-thst is, too large, too
FUN 'uous too expensive. They pat them on the
| line, and their performance exceeded the prom
ist-exceeded publ. expectation They sur
passed Il cir British rysls 10 the average celebrity
of their passages, though the character and per-
| formsnce Of the CuDarders was sensibly improved
! by the bold rivalry of the ColiiDs line, which did
everything that was expected OF i; but make
money for lie stockholders. Here it failed aud
il was a tender point 1t had fair share of the
. passengers and (afrer a season. Of the freight;
but the ships were 60 large that they required
! large crews to mau them. and extraordinary
qusntities Of coal to run them 30 tina. the OWL
ers realized harvest OF glory, but no money. So
they applied to Congress, several years ago. for
large increase of their annual compensation.
Ii was not exactly according to Gun aer to grant
! this without seeing whether the service could no.
be had OF other parties at Cor nesr) the old rates.
but the Collins Company had done their work
90 well and so credltaoly to the country tina.
we. with Others, said Let them have what they
say il enough for a season, ana then, If they can
| not do their work on ad nissible terms We will
stop We believe public sentiment fully sus
taired this view: and accordingly their allowance
was increased from some Sl6,O to S33 ,OO0 per
trip, but with distnc. previso that the Govern
ment might terminate the contract altogether
on giyirs six months notice, at any time after
1854. Ard we think this was generous to them,
and sLould have been satisfactory.
Accordingly, the appropriate Committees of
both Houses, at the asst Session Of Congress,
were all but unanimous in favor Of giving the SIX
months notice at the earliest day consistent with
the existing compact. The House voted to do
this by decisive majority; but strong opposi.
tion was got up in the Senate. and the Mall
Steamer Appropriation bill fell between the two
Houses.
This Session the struggle was renewed, but
with q different result. The Appropriations
have been carried through both Houses triumph
anty; and not only is no notice given, or di-
rected TO be given, preliminary to termination
of the contract but Congress has actually dirsst-
I'd the Gorernment Of ITS night to terminate the
strree br the e1trd attOranee at any time PRIOR to
the trpiration Of the contract in 1850! That is
TO say, Congress has obligated the country t. pay
Collins & Co. $S5S. 900 per annum for the next
six years-Or So las, GOO 10 sll-ior Transmitting
Mail once fortnis ht each way between New
York and Liverpool and this in the face Of most
responsible prefer to do the work as well for
less than half the money. The aggregate SUN
this week voted to Collins Il Co. BY Congress,
above that for which men every way as able
and reliable would have performed the same
service cannot be less than Two Millions OF Dol
lars, and we think is fully Two and Half
Millions. And il is to be noted that the British
Government pays the Cunsrd line less than half
the amount per trip that our Governmsn. pays
the Collins line.
Now if Congress had thrown away this vast
sum in freak Of generosity or folly. we might
have regretted the waste of money, but we should
not have been called TO depore still more grave
calamity The evil 10 this case is, that Congress
was not deluded-it was corrupted. Where the
money came from, we do not legally knOw-we
can only give Yankee guesa-but that money
parsed this bill-money not merely expended on
borers and wbeedlers, and the usual oys!er-cellar
appliances of lobby legislaton-but money count
ed down into the palms Of Members Of Congress
themselves-this is as clear as the noon day sun.
Members who but few months ago were breath
ing out threateniDgs and slaughter against the
Collins job have nov spoken, canvassed and voted
for the still more extrayagant provisions of the
bill Of this Session. OF the Committee on whose
Report at the last Session and the nine Members
were unanimous in making it the House voted
that notice to terminate the contract should be
given only three Of we are correctly informed)
could be made to stand by their guns q: the pres
eDt sion. The rest had fatered and fallen by
the way--possbly not shot through the breeches'
pocket with charge of golden canister-but
what can have possessed them TO make so glaring
an exhibition of recresncy' What, moreover,
can have wrought the miraculous transformation
Of the savagely virtuous Chairman of the Houses
Post Office Committee Brief is the interval
since be was loudest in bis deauncations of the
Collins JOB, and DOW, Behold he prsyethr'
OF course, he must have pondered wellthe Divine
assurance, ASK, and ye shall receive"
1t gives Us no pleasure to speak Of these things.
We would gladly bury them in oblivion but for
the certain ty that the fearful precedent sstsb-
liihed in this case will work unreasonable de-
moralizatioD in the National Councils and woe to
the American People. When Members Of Con-
gress are bought and sold like horses at Taster-
sails, or second hand furniture in Chath am st.,
ho of corrnrtion riu ANN infact tha