Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1858-06-17
WASHINGTON NEWS AND GOSSIP.


nomination of Mr.. Augustus SchelI, to be the
Collector of the port of New York, was con-
frmed by majority of three to one. The ac-
tual vote was-yeas 36, nays Cor six to one
This result of the efforts to defeat the conlirma-
ton Of Collector Schell is important in a single
particular.
Inc truth is, the only question as to the pro-
priety OF his appointment grew out of the let
ter OF Mr. Haskin, of New York, to Mr.. Clay,
OF Alabama, the chairman of the Senate's
Committee on Commerce heretofore comment
ed on in the Starr wherein it was distinctly
alleged that Mr.. s. was person morally, and
in every other way, totally unfit for the posi-
ton to which be had been called by tho Presi-
dent
To sustain these allegations, Mr.. Haskin very
clearly pledged his honor as a gentleman and
a member of Congress, in essaying to give, as
the chairman of the Willett's Point committee,
an abstract of the testimony before them
bearing on the propriety of Mr.. Schell's con-
frmation. When his letter in question came
to the knowledge of the rest of that committee
(of the House on the Willetts Point sale,) they
promptly and emphatically stamped its ALE
cations with the brand of falsehood, by for
mally recalling it, and in effect, protesting
against its statements as not embracing the
truth relative to the tenor Of the testimony he
had thus garbled to effect, in their name
though without their knowledge disreputa-
bic end personal to himself What their views
of the want of integrity involved in his letter
in question were, is manifest in their reports,
emphatical'y condemning, as unfounded in
truth, his allegations against Collector SchelI.
What the views of the House were upon the
same point is evident in their action substan-
tiating the report Of those gentlemen, and
scouting that of Mr.. Haskin
What the opinion of the Senate was relative
to Mr.. Haskin's integrity as Representative,
is apparent in their vote of 50 to in favor of
Mr. Scholl's confirmation in the face of Mr.
HIS letter to Senator Clay charging all man
ner of crimes to his account and falsely alleging
that proof Of the truth Of his allegations was
embraced in the testimony taken by the select
committee of which he was the chairman. The
qHOd erat HemOHstr0ndUm Of the Senate's
action in Mr.. Schell's case embraces ample
proof that men utterly without personal integ-
rity will at times creep into the councils of the
nation; and that, when found out the seal of
Congressional condemnation is put upon them
with an emphasis worthy of all praise
The FRAMING PRIvILEGs.-The Senate de-
serve tho thanks of the country for their recent
effort to repeal the law according to Congress
the privilege of sending just what any member
pleases, rs mail matter, over the country free of
postage. While the immediate tax on what
would otherwise be the just revenue of the Post
Office Department cannot fall short of a million
of dollars, the tax upon the Treasury growing
out of the existence of the privilege, rises much
higher 1t (the privilege is the parent of nine
tenths of the extravaganza Of the public print
ing as ordered by Congress of late years
beautifully -embellishcd and very costly books
are cheap methods of electionecring, SO far as
the pockets of the components of Congress are
concerned, when printed and distributed en-
tirely at the cost of the national treasury. If
the member had to pay out of his own means
even the cost of the transportation of such books
to those to whom they are mailed by way of
securing favor for the senders, not one tenth of
the number and weight so sent would pass
through the mails. If the receivers. on the
other hand. were compelled to pay postage On
them, not one would burden the mails where
one hundred are so transported now. Perhaps
three-fourths of the millions of postage free
letters sent to members of Congress in this city
are mere requests for copies of such books
none of which would continue to tax the time
of post Office employees and the revenue of the
Department were the Congressional franking
privilege discontinued The mails from this
city are loaded down at all seasons and es-
peciaily while Congress sits, daily, with thou
sands and often hundreds of thousands Of docu
ments, speeches, &c, prepared for the benefit
of all the political parties, most of which are
trashy things, doing more harm than good to
the public morals.
The actual cost Of their transportation in the
mails, alone, can hardly be less than an average
of thousand dollars per week, if not per day !;
all of which is dead loss to the national treas
ury. To so great an extent has this abuse in
creased, that long since members of Congress
have adopted the custom Of employing or au-
thOrzing clerks to use their signatures in frank
ing such mail matter, which, though clearly
illegal, is VIGOROUSLY practised to an enormous
extent here. From this habit has, in turn, grown
the habit of empowering clerks to frank letters
in the name of members, which is also supposed
to be so extensively carried on az that perhaps
as many letters pass free through the mails, ap-
parently bearing the signatures of members,
which were not actually franked by them, as
bear their franks according to the letter of the
law.
The privilege has become SO great an abuse
| upon the public, and so heavy tax on the time
of members of the Senate, as that a majority of
them resolved to break it up. The House, how
ever, looking to tic " Dear People entirely for
their immediate future, chung to it with per-
tinacity, which defeated the capital move The
fact that majority Of the House insisted on
continuing this crying abuse-which benefits
themselves personally, only, at the aggregate
| cost OF millions on millions annually to the ma
tonai treasury-exposes in glaring light the
true value of the professions of being actuated
by the desire to economic, with which the
| speeches Of many who voted to retain the