New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1860-03-14
ANOTHER Rad hill.

We beg prudent Republicans in the Assembly to
scan some of the provisions of the bill reported BY
the Committee on Commerce and Navigation, to
amend the act in relation to HarbOr-MasterS for
the Port of New-YOrk.
Clearly, the steamships, steamboats,, and propel-
lers, by means of which large part of the CON-
merce of this city is maintained, must have fixed
places at which to arrive and from which to depart.
Certainty of locality is necessary to their prota-
BILE use as certainty of time. The 18th section OF
this bill deprves them of BOTH The 4th section of
the bill empowers the Harbor-Master to assign
them such berths as it shall be his pleasure or his
interest TO dictate How great wrong is proposed
to be done by the one section How dangerous
power and how liable to abuse, does the other
confer
How needless is this interference Who has
ever dreamed that the Hudson River and Sound
steamers, having their own wharyes, would be bet
ter managed for their owners interests and the
public good by being subjected to the arbitrary au
thorty of Harbor Masters-that it was public policy
to compel them to pay heavy fees to officials whose
services will never be needed and never would be
employed
To free the passage of this bill from the obstruc
tons which the Canal interest would offer, boats
and barges navigating the canals of the State and
the Hudson River are excepted from its provisions.
But all vessels from foreign pOrtsal vessels, little
and big, in the coastng trade-all coal barges and
boats, oyster schooners and market sloops whether
coming through the Sound, the Narrows, or the
Delaware and Raritan Canal-al steamboats, aud
tugs engaged in tOwing-all steamers of regular
lines either coastwise, riyer.wise, or oceanward,
some of which arrive daily, and many several times
day-all the propellers-indeed, the entire floating
machinery of the commerce of this great city, save
the canal boats isrequired to report to the Harbor
Master, and accept such berths as he shall assign
them, and pay him fee Of one cent and half per
Jun on the tunnage of all of them. That seems
very small tax. But the Republicans of the Legis-
lature will be astOnished 10 learn that under this
bill ssrenteen millions of tunnage employed in the
foreign coastiDg, and river commerce of this city,
will be assessed and that the tenth section of it will
enable one Harbor-M Master and ten assistants to d.
vide among themselves the enormous booty of Two
Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollars per annum.
Surely this measure can have no chance of passing
into q law.
There may be special pleading in its behalf-that
tax of one cent and half per tun upon great
ship needing berth is but trife-at the utmost
fifteen dollars for a vessel of one thousand tuns.
Granted. But lawmakers and politicians should
remember that the life of this port is the small yes-
sells making short and frequent voyages, and the
steamboats,, whose arrivals and departures are
daily. What shall be said in excuse of lobby
scheme for burdening with a tunnage tax for the
benefit of eleven officehoders, the steamers in the
New-Hayen, Hartford, Bridgeport, Norwich, Ston-
ngton, Fall River, Flushing, Astoria, Sag Harbor,
Glen Cove, Oyster Bay, Norwalk, Stamford, Cam.
den and AmbOy, Staten Island, Newburgh, Pough-
keepsie, HudsOn, Albany, Troy RondOut, Sing
Sing, Fort Lee, Shrewsbury, and Catskil trader
Multiply the tunnage of the steamers on these sew
eral routes by this projected assessment, and multi
ply that amount by the number Of their arrivals,
and you will see that the HarborMaster and his
ten confederates, under this law, would harvest
from these vessels alone the annual revenue of
$135,OOO
Republicans Of the Assembly we call upon you
to put your feet upon legislation of this charac-
ter. We shall not fail to do our duty to our party
and to the public by striking it always as soon as
we see it.