Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1859-02-09
CORRESPONDENTS OF THE STANDARD.

more Dustllng animated appearance than at the
present time. The two or three weeks preceding
the dissolution of Congress generally marked
by large accessions of visitors attracted hther-
to look after interests pending before the two
Houses and others to mngle in the gayeties of the
closing season. But most of those who fill our
Hotels and boarding houses at this stage of the
session lobby members, agents, and poor
claimants. So far the spotless, unimpeached lobby
have been most outrageously snubbed and their
lean clawy fingers kept out of the public crib, but
now they are elated with the prospect of rushing
through Congress in the last hour scheme or
measure which will repay them for the threemonths
Of patient waiting From present indications some
of the important bills will be delayed until there
will be no time to examine into their merits, and
the next Congress.
large number of the strangers now in our city,
however, are politicians who have congregated to
compare notes, canvass the availability OF certain
persons for the succession and complete plans for
future operations. Prominent among these grave
plotters stand the out political hacks of New
York City, Schell, Wood, Sanders, Fowler, Sickles,
Pete Cagger Corning and others. Night after
night these choice spirits meet in solemn concave,
burdened with the self-impOsed task of selecting
candidate for the democracy in 1860 As hear Of
but few others associated with these political in
triguers, it would seem that the destiny of the de-
mocratic party is in the keeping of these disnter
ested patriots of New York City, and that its
depends upon the endorsement of Tammany Hall
and the emphatic approval of the ha6itues of the
Pewter Mug.
The Black Republicans are also busy perfecting
their arrangements and endeavoring to consolidate
their strength. Seward of New York, has his ad
herents here earnestly pressing his claims and Sc
crety intriguing for his nomination as the candi-
date of the republicans but the blacks don't take
kindly to the willy magician" his republicansm
!. ofto dxyaf nrc Of thpn,
chester speech too bitter and pill to rest
quietly upon the political stomachs of the least
rabid of this party. Nothing has leaked out from
their conferences indicating the policy they design
pursuing; heretofore it has only been determined,
savage war upon every measure of the adminstra-
ton, but the very threshold they are met
by this Cuba question, which proves IAN apple Of
dscord" in their midst =.
So far as the almost forgotten Know Nothing
party (?) is concerned there seems to be no move
ment on foot indicating its existence, Since their
convocation in this city under the auspices of Crit
tenden & Co., when they designated poor Bolts as
'the for the crisis" they seem to have achieved
their sole aim and with hearts eased by Gen.
seriousness of painful duty performed they calmly
await the developments of the future trusting that
something may "turn up" Gilmer who is a
markedly well prcserved relic of the deflnct whig
party, and labors under the strange deusion that it
still Lives, moves, and has its being some,chere;
who fondy chershes its traditions and clings to its
exposed errors, will stand by 'head him die to
the last Vance-Clingmans successor-wlll scarce
ly identify himself with so hopeless cause in a
sectional contest but will lay aside his Know Moth
ingWhig armor for the time being and act with the
democracy Perhaps he may in time become de-
| mOcratized.
1t is now pretty generally conceded that nothing
will be done with the tariff this session, and men,
bers show an equal Discrimination to favor Loan
| of etc ir fnlor To
Every one cries out that there must be retrench-
ment, still no one will commence it. but on the
contrary heavy appropriations added to the
| large estimates of the executive department.
The only evidence of desire to retrcnch was
given in striking out an appropriation for the
mission to Persia; some seven or eight thousand
dollars saved out of millions appropriated If they
desire to economize, why not cease authorizing the
building of costly custom houses, postofices court
houses &c, until the treasury will justify such
enormous drains. An instance of the shameless
waste of the public money in this way is afforded
in the construction of a granite custom house in
Georgetown. d. C., at cost of some seventy five
thousand dollars while the receipts have never been
sufficient to pay the salary of the collector. This
is not solitary instance, but one of many The
Navy expenditures are regarded as enormous these
gentlemen assert that they are eXtravagant; this
assertion implies knowledge and if they know this
to be the why have they not done their duty
and cut them dozen; yet between the Navy bill as
printed by the committee, and the original estimates
from the departments there is greater difference
than has heretofore characterized them at previous
sessions. If Navy Yards have multiplied too rapid
ly and the cost of maintaining them is too heavy a
charge, restrict their operations, reduce the force
employed and make them temporarily simply yards
of repair. Then let these economists overhaul the
expenditures for printing. Here they will have
their hands full and can retreach to some purpose;
l. l1,
the Senseless practice of printing every paper pre-
scented to Congress and thus abolish the custom of
supplying grocers gratdituously with their supplies
of wrapping paper. A boat cannot scu up an in
significant stream that history of "tke erpedition
isn't printed for distribution ; statesman cannot
die but what his books and old musty papers pur
chased at exorbitant rates. gentlemen being anxious
presume, to establish precedents which may some
day be plead in behalf of their survivors who may
wish 'to sell out" a proposition is now pending
in the Senate to purchase an entire edition of the
Biographical Dictionary of Congress just published
by Mr. Lanman presume as the government is
so laudaby DESTROYS of encouraging aspiring genius
that it will be purchased and in the next breath THEY
will cry out ENTERTAINMENT for its sound falls
sweetly upon the ears of frugal constituency.
The disposal of the public lands has been the
subject of discussion for years. but at the rapid rate
with which they are slipping from possession
there will soon be none left to dispute over. Rail
Road grants, school grants, bounty land warrants,
&C., have dipped largely into the public domain and
now we have another project for donating six mil
lions of acres of the public lands to the different
States for the benefit of agricultural colleges.
seems likely that this unconstitutional, Ubiquitous
scheme will pass the Senate. am at a loss to dis
cover the difference existing between the grant O.
these lands to the States and the gratuous bestowa
of money from the Tresuary; and equally incom
prehensibe is it. that if this proposition is consti
tutional one branch of industry should be fosteret
and encouraged to the exclusion of others. Tit
Homestead bill which has passed the House is almos
as Objectionable this agricultural humbug, and
bantling of the same brood.
The House having failed recently to prefer articles
of impeachment against Judge Watrous, of Texas
| General Houston of that State has undertaken t.