American union. [volume] (Morgantown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1855-1859, 1859-03-18

mas 10 determine whether the govern.
ment can most wisely undertake TO live
upon the money Of the mail contract
ors till December, or resort to an extra
session of the new Congress, or shut
up the post Offices and stop the trans.
portation Of the mails. In any event,
the budget of business OF the new Con.
gress will comprehend, first, our rcla.
tons with Mexico, Central America &
Cu6a-reiations which, from the active
and comprehensive intrigucs Of Eng,
land 4 France, cannot be much longer
neglected; secondly, public debt, hard
upon hundred millions, all told, heavy
expenditures, deficient receipts, and
various rctrcnchments in the appropri,
atoms of the last session, which arc no
retrenchments at all--such retrench.
ments, for instance, as those suspend
ing the work on the Treasury building
and the new wings Of the Capitol, and
on the Washington city water works.
These are items which must be paid,
and tho extension Of time expcdient
adopted by Congress will, in the end,
rather increase than diminish the ap.
preparations thus put of.
Rut why all this budget Of blundcrs.
this bunging work upon the regular
appropriation bills, and this ignoring,
lodging and suflocation in Congress Of
all the great landmarks of the Presi-
dents foreign and domestic policy p
Tho list of party aspirants, local and
sectional cliques, mining and undermi-
ming, plotting and contemplating for
the Presidential succession, will furnish
the solution to the whole mysterv.--
Thus, tho democratic mauagcrs Of the
great spoiis and plunder game for 1860
, Aavo abandoned the administration be-
cause they have failed to use it for
their selfish schemes, and because it is
taken fer granted that, as Mr.. Buch-
anan is out Of the way, the only thing
now to be looked after is the Charles
ton Convention. There ia also very
fair prospect that the Presidential cleo
ton of 1860 will be scrub race, and
that tho election may thus be thrown
into Congress.
In tho meantime, the bclcagucred
democracy are on the eve Of their
Southern elections for the new Con.
gross, and ifthcy would save the House
OF Representatives, upon small mar
gin for gains, they must gain, instead
OF losing, few members. Hence the
course of the Southern democracy in
this last Congress. Tosayo themselves
at homo in these approaching Congress
sIonal elections: they have choked off
modification Of the tariff, they have
enforced considerable number of mock
rctrcnchmcnts, intermixcd with few
real REDUCTIONS, and have fallen back
upon the bcggarly eXpcdicnt Of run
ming into debt to the extent Of an ad.
d';!onal sum Of twenty millions or more
rather than run the risk Of facing the
music of increased duties upon foreign
imports or inevitable taxation.
On the other hand, the Presidential
schcmers Of the Northern republican
camp were equally busy, at the late
session, especially in shaping their
policy in Congress for buncombe Pres.
idential clcctionccring. The Home.
stead bill, which passed the House, mnd
which only failed in the Senate, VIC
suppose, for want Of time, vas nothing
but bold agrarian experiment for the
next Presidency ; and if the grant of a
free farm Of 100 acres Of the public
lands to every applicant, upon the sim
pie condition Of cul,ivating it, is not
calculated to awaken the enthusiasm
of the " landless," we should like to
know what is. The new House Pen.
sion bill for all sorts Of old soldiers,
calling for eight, ten or twelve millions
OF money, and which was also smother.
cd III the Senate, was another bid for
buncombc. Ditto the land grant bill
to agricultural colleges, equal to seven
and a half millions of money, vetoed
by the President. Ditto the French
| spoIiation bill Of five millions, which
has degencvatcd into mere lobby lob.
Upon all these measures the rcpubli-
cans took the lead, because, while these
things afforded them good materials for
Presidential elcctioncoring, their ex.
hausting demands upon the public do.
main and the treasury would drive the
government to a high protective tariff,
or q system Of direct taxation, Which
would be as fatal to the democracy in
1860 as were the financial expcdicnts
OF Martin Van Buren, in 1910.
Of the Same patriotic colbro was
that constitutional point raised against
The Senate by Mr.. Galusha A. Grow,
Of Che House, upon cheap postagcs--
thc point upon which the Post Office
bills fell through. 1t was n capital
point for Northern cheap postage cleo.
tioncerlng. And thus, between the
plots, measures and manouvrcs of