New-York daily tribune., 1859-02-08
FROM flashing TON.
REIRENCHMENr-THE TARIFF.


WASHINGTON, Feb. T. 1859.
The Administration is 10 trouble. Iii in great
many troubles. 1t is sfoat on q sea of troubles
without bottom or q shore. The Uri0r newspa
per If yesterday contains an urgent appeal to
Congress in behalf Of increase Of duties on I'M
ports, so as to meet tue depleted condition Of the
tressury. The article is elaborate. flls column
and ahsf wears Al "a. .egthedrd sir, and is evidently
from an official pen. II says that Congress must
either msterially cut down the expenditures, or
greatly enhance the income. That with the laws
now on the ststute-bOok, aud such will no doubt
be enacted at the present session. the expenses OF
the Government this year cannot possibly be made
to fall short Of Sos, 1900; and it more than
hints, thst unless the appropriations are greatly
curtsiled from those of late years this sum will be
swelled to at least So, 900. OF course it
reeds prophet Ia tell that it will go fully mp
to So, 600 600. But, taking the Administration
organ at lis own showing and the financial pros
poets of the Buchanan Cobb Government are
gloomy indeed.
The Jnion article goes on TO show that, under
the workings of the present Tariff (that of l-57)
the average product of income is - per cent on
the importatiOns. Iha., even supp0slng 1t to be
possible that the importations of the coming five
Years, under this Tariff shall equal the last five,
under the Tariff Of l-46. the average receipts
would be only about 81, ,000,000 annually, while
the receipts Of the last five years of the Tarf Of
I-i6 a. C. the fiscal yesrs 1-53-i-,-6 and y aver
aged sol coo, COO; thus showing that, even though
the importations Of the fiscal years l-J9-GO-6l aud
'62 should equal those of the five years last men,
toned, the annual receipts into the Treasury from
that source would be Sl7 900, 600 less than they
;, .b., i tprra htz al. VIZ
Union says There is no chance therefore Of an
" increase of the revenue from an increase of i'm
"pOrtatOns: and it can only be- effected by an
increase of duties That is (for Tn, Union
does not clearly state its meaning), there is
chance of sufficient increase of the revenue from
an Increase of importations, &c. The article then
goes on to say, and these are It's closing para
graphs:
il therefor. ce,- ths either levied import,
must the present Of uinreen cent
a the PTe,eLt .,.m Of esi. calling 'oS an enp'Dd
BE- stretched out TO ut the man, or the man dSsed
cit wud seem t. be too late in the session for the second
srustiye follows that Cou bound the bas.
Ie syerass rate Of nine ecu per cent 10 standard more
nearly that Of standard adopt the maxim tost
The dem.rds Of their . son By adding loans
the pablo debt The dilemma purely aud exclusively Con-
msn,bp Of the present Congress equal to tue eSseace'
Of the occa'ion.'
Passing over, for the instant, this official sneer
at the statesmanship of the present Congress
God save the mark !! let us contemplate, for 4
moment, the state.manship Of The JRioH; it's mode
If cutting down the expenditures; It's method of
dgarfing the man TO fit the garment. The next
article in the official organ and separated from that
on the Tariff by only a double-leaded line, is au
elaborate editorial, filling a column aud halt, IN
favor of the Thirty Million bill for the acquisition
of Cuba So much for the Cabinet and The
JniOns statesmanshlp.
Now for that of the Democracy" in Congress.
They have been lectured in favor of retreucnment
and economy, by the President, by the Secretary
of the Treasury and by a succession of caucuses
Of their own party; while The Union has been
ping upon them leaden homllles daily for SIX
weeks past Wen, the last time they were IN
Committee on the Appropriation bills, we had an
exauistely ludicrous illustration OF the progress
which the pupils hsd made under these teachings.
Nearly the whole sitting was consumed IN debate
on a proposition to strike out an appropriation for
the pine boxes in which members send home huge
masses of The CONGRESSIONAL Gf0be, the Paclhc
Railroad Exploration, and other books 0f that
description. None of these . statesmen seemed
to be troubled about the hundreds OF thousands of
dollars expended on the books-but the two deal
boxes for each member Extra Billy Smith of
Virginia, who emulates the financial fame Of
NeckeT Hamilton, aud dusklss0n, put 1t to
honorable gentlemen whether not sufficient.
Perhaps IT is hardly fair to say that the whole day
was spent on the boxes Somebody made speech
Ia show that the four newspapers now furnished
gratis TO members might be cut down to two;
while another somebody urged retrcnchment by
curtang the horses used ia transporting printed
matter to the capital; and still another, warrlng on
the wagons employed in like service seemed To
insinuate that handsome sum might be saved To
the exchequer by substituting wheelbsrrows there
for.
One of three things is pretty sure to result from
the present complication of financial affairs at the
capital: a heavy loan, an efectual revision of the
tariff or an extra session Of Congress. Whether
the action of the Democratic caucus on Saturday
night will enable the Administration to weather the
storm without conyening an extra session, remains
to be seen.