The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1856-05-01
WASHINGTON.

cannot get pOaru at 80 cncaP ioe0 40 sicy
can at home. They forget that prices here are
no higher than in Baltimore, Philadelphia, or
New York. Members from the North, sccus-
toned to the finish of New York and Boston
hotels, which depend on no transient custom,
grow melancholy over the poor accommoda-
ton of Washington hotels, which are crowded
to OVERLOOKING at one season of the year, and
starved out at another Members from all Sec
tons growl whenever they feel indisposed, lay.
ing the blame on the climate: it is too warm,
too cold, too damp, too dry, too still, or too
windy. The truth is, they are not at home
and Eden would please them no better than
Washington, if they were only sojourners there.
As to their ailments, we can give them hint or
two. Let them use less tobacco, drink less
liquor, avoid late and heavy suppers, attend
not more than one party an evening, let cham
payne alone, and 60 to bed at decent hour
in other words, be as simple in their habits here
as at home, and they will be better both in
health and temper. Having resided in Wash
ington nine years, and brought up large fam
lily of children, we know that there is no health.
Ter city in these United States.
But, the abuse Of Washington is not confined
| to members. The Press abroad joins in the
popular clamor. Editors and letter writer's, who
live in hotels or boarding houses, write home
narrowing descriptions of Washington life. And
pray, whom do they find in their circles +? Ad-
venturers, contractors, place-hunters, lobby
men, claimants, claim agents, pleasure-seekers,
clerks dependent upon Pro-Slavery Admin
istration with which they are expected to SYM
pathize, and some respectable folk sojourning
here for one purpose or another-but all of
them, with few exceptions, from abroad. Now,
it must be understood that our amiable letter
writer, when he lampoons Washington, is in
fact abusing his own associates. 1t is New
York, or Boston, or Cincinnati, or Richmond,
imported, and squatting here for a time, which
he mistakes for Washington. 1t is to be re-
GREETED that he has been so unfortunate in his
| associations.
40, this is a vile Pro-Slavery spot" We do
not wonder you think so, when you see around
you only crowd of Northern doughfaces. But,
we have no less freedom of discussion here, and
a little more liberation than you can boast of in
some Northern communities. Three presses
on which we once printed an AntSlavery pa
per in Cincinnati, a free city, were pulled down
by mobs, dragged, in face of the Sheriff, the
Mayor, the Military and Civil Power, to the
Ohio river, and thrown into it-and then, when
the mean deed had been completed, order was
restored, and wonderful regard manifested
for the preservation of property In this
much-abused city of Washington, some eight
years ago, great mob, encouraged by GER
tain members of Congress, attempted to de-
days - but, the civil authorities interposed,
bravely struggled to maintain order, and at
last put down the mob, and prevented the over
throw of the press. And since then, young
clergyman has stood up in his place in a Wash.
ington pulpit, and preached on Slavery to his
congregation, in a way which would have split
many q conservative church at the North. But,
he has lost neither caste nor pOsition-the ma
jority of his church, while dissenting from his
views, recognise the independence of the pull
pit So much for security of person and opin-
ion in this terrible spot.
"But, Washington is great borer-it is al
ways boring the Public Treasury" H. g., Of
the Tribune, says:
at has no commerce but that which minis
tiers to its immediate wants no manufactures
but the manufacture of claims on the Treasu-
ry; no arts but the art of boring gimletholes
into the public chest, and charging them to
auger-holes as rapidly as possible"
| We do not see how FL. g., who seems to think
commerce a nuisance, and would have each
continent and each State Theoretically sealed
against every other by the protective policy,
can find fault with Washington because it car
ries on only necessary commerce. AS to the
manufacture of claims, Washington has just
nothing at all to do with it, except to give
ing from New York and other States; and the
art of boring is pretty well monopolized by the
experts from that great hive of borers. We
are under the impression that New York
er has been revealing for some years in the
fat job of public printing-one of the biggest
"augerholes we know anything about. The
binding, a very lucrative business, is assigned,
we believe, to citizen of Ohio-(we wish all
the jobs were given to men as worthy as he!)-
and, we should like to know, who does the en-
craving, such engravings, for example, as those
in the Pacific Railroad Exploration, costing
nearly quarter of a million of dollars Wash
ington is not favored with such jobs-it can
not get near enough to the Treasury to bore it.
The Nep York Times joins in the general
cry, "Stop theft" Congress, which owns
here a, II acres, while individual citizens own
only 1908, and in addition is the proprietor of
buildings &C., valued at fifty millions of dol
lars, while the real and personal property of
the citizens by the last assessment-and a
high one it was-amounted to but twenty-five
millions; after having expended more than half
million of dollars in printing twenty-three
thousand copies of the Pacific Railroad Explo-
rations, elegantly engraved, for the use of men,
bers, and such of their constituents as thew
may favor, has just refused an appropriation
of 100000 to continue the Washington Aoue.
duct, intended to furnish to the city an ample
supply of water. The chief objection to the
work, we presume, is, that it is not in the
hands Of some foreign contractor, but has been
placed under the superintendent of Captain
Meigs, an officer Of the United States service.
Not intending, however, to discuss the cues.
ton whether proprietor, who owns more land,
more real and personal estate, here, than all of
Washington besides, and is moreover exempted
from all taxation, while the whole city besides
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