New-York daily tribune., 1864-04-14
NERO FIDDLING.

fraction of 30 per cent In those twofacts are
condensed volume of current history. Henry
! CLAY, in time of peace and ease, when very
near the close of his long and brilliant career
entered his public protest against the practice oi
adiourning Congress as mark of respect TO
dead member He thought that proper re-
spect for worthy and useful members would
more fitly be shown by his survivors eylncihg
increased diligence in the discharge oil ther
dutes-and we heartily agree with him. our
practice of speech-making and adjournment
in honor of dead legislator ls ut
terlv unknown to the British Parlia-
meut-eyen hereditary Peer passing away
without the hollow hOnors 50 laylshly accorueu
here TO members who had never taken their
seats. and are positively unknown to theT
fellow members as well as to the country. NO
respectable legislative assembly in Europe
has this bad, wasteful habit of Congress
Yet we can hardly hope for its abolition. Men
are so fond of magnifying their VOCATION or
whatever distinguishes them favorably from
Others, that Congressman will probably persist
in making poor, inflated, empty orations over
their dead fellows until blackguards cease to be
proud OF white skins-which will be some time
yet.
! Congress has now been eighteen weeks IN
session-a term amply sufficient for the ma
turing and passing of all the measures oil an
average session. During those eighteen weeks,
scarcely anything has been accomplished; and
the little that has been well done in one House
has generally been undOne in the other Mean
time, the Nation is drifting steadily toward
bankruptcy; Capital is defrauded of its just in
come and Labor of its due reward and all for
want of prompt and proper legislation.
| Had Congress, within two weeks after its
meeting. doubled the tariff on all imported arti-
cles but those of prime necessty-the increase
to take effect from the 1st Of January ls6i-
and then proceeded more deliberately, but with
resoute energy, TO increase the Excise or inter-
nal taxes wherever they would bear it, We
should have retained several Millions of Gold
that have since gone out Of the country, and so
strengthened the credit of the Government that
the new Ten-Foty Loan could have all been
placed long before this. But though four
months have passed, no general Tax-bill has
vet been even reported; and the petty and par
tial measure increasing the Excise on Distilled
Liquors, after passing the House in a shape
calculated to render it efficient, was so cnt
down by the Senate to favor the Whisky
gamblers, and to enable them TO profit by
their corner as to deprive it Of all vitality
or consequence.
Why do we speak ofthese things'
| Simply to warn the People that they must re-
solve to stop electing to responsible positions
such men aS now buy or bore their way into
Congress. Tor the country is lost beyond rcdcmp-
ton. II cannot outlast ten years more OF such
government as we have had for the last ten;
and, weak OF wicked as our Executives have
often been, they have generally been better than
the average of our Members of Congress.
OF course, there are, and always have been,
good men in ConTess-large-m clear
headed, capable worthy and patriotic-but one
Lot could not save Sodom. We are now in the
grandest crisis of our National history; and we
| CHOOSE NV ais ~ w lllC hOlh NIliNu nNll
employ angels. There may be forty men in the
/ two Houses who richly deserve to be there; but
there are at least a hundred who would be in
business fully up to their capacity if one-half Of
them were trying twenty-dollar suits as justices
Of the peace, with the other half pettifogging
before them.
Take our City, for example: Consider what
able counselors, sagacious, experienced mer-
chants, ripe, renowned scholars, and strong
men in every sense and sphere, We have among
us, and then think of our six representatives in
Congress! And we do not at all intend to say
or intimate that these, being our political adver-
sares, arc less capable than the candidates
whom they defeated or than the members whom
they succeeded. We believe our City members
at least equal in average ability to tn, Z sent
from the rural districts and from other States
Still, they are not-quite apart from their poll
tics-such men as should represent our City in
a crisis like this-or at any time
Our Country must live, whoever dies She
calls upon us-that is, upon THE TRIBUNR-for
at least Twenty Thousand Dollars this year in
taxes, including that on Paper. We shall be
very glad to learn that this is not at least half
Of all we make, over our inevitable expenses.
If the Tax.bills that must be passed call for the
other half, it shall be promptly and cheerfully
forthcoming. We have invested in the National
Debt every dollar of our past earnings that we
could command If we have or shall have any
thing more, it is at the disposal of our