New-York tribune., 1869-03-25


thew leave open all the doors that the most
ingenious rogue could devise for the admission
of fraud unon the Government The main
features of their bill are the following; The
Comnanv are TO build in the United States
steamships of certain specified dimensions iout
il is not said how many, Tor the transporta-
tion of mails and passengers once week De-
tween New-YOrk and Liverpool, ana queens
town, and once week between either New
York, Philadelphia, or Boston, and Antwerp or
some Prussian port. The POstmaster-Genelal
is required to make contract with the COM
pany for the transportation of the mails for the
period of fifteen years, and to pay for the work
in adyance, after the following manner de
is to allow the Company the whole sea and in
land hostage, and estimate the amount by taxi
ing an average of the yearly receipts for the
mast three years. The average receipts Tor
three years have been about $7SO,OeO per an
nnm. but as the rates were heavily reduced
in 1868, the annual receipts now are only
100000. The Company are empowered
to issue bonds for three quarters the
amount of the fifteen years. postage-that is to
say, for nearly $4,000 0OO-and the United States
is to guarantee the payment of both principal
and interest the terms of payment and rate OF
interest being left TO the good pleasure OF the
Company. These bonds are to be used in pay
ment for the steamers, one-quarter the esl-
mated cost of each vessel being delivered to
the Company when the contract for building
it is signed, One-quarter when the ship is in
frame, one quarter when it is launched, and
the remaining quarter when it is finished The
Company are to be paid in advance, 1T will be
seen, for carrying all the mails; but they are
only required to carry such matter as may be
destined for Europe on their days of sailing,
unless their trips should average less than eight
days from land to land, in which case they
may be compelled to carry all the mails. OF
course there would not be the remotest prob
ability of such q contingency occurring. Now
let us see to what we commit ourselves by
such o bargain as this:
1. We make ourselves liable for the pay
ment of nearly S0,OOOOOO of bonds, carrying
interest nobody knows at what rate, and
having nobody knows how many years to
run. The company may fix the date oil pay
ment one hundred years hence II they choose
and the Government will be liable for the IN
terest all that time! .I.u..t,
9. We advance this 100000 to an utterly
irresponsible company, with no assurance that
they will devote any part of it to the purpose
for which we intend it, They may sign con-
tracts Tomorrow for $9,OOO0OO worth of steam
sbins: the Government will thereupon have to
hand them $225O,00O worth of guaranteed
bonds and they may sell them and walk on
with the money.
! 8. The contracts for building the steamships
may be made at any price and may cover stu
pendous frauds. The Government will be re-
| sponsible for the payment, but will have no
power to fix the amount.
| A. We now have four European mnils week,
for which we pay in the aggregate about
100000 per annum. This Company offers MS
t,ro mails only, and gets for it about 100000,
,cih interest, and if we want the other two
mails we must pay foreign companies to carry
them, as we do now.
8. The new steamships may be as slow as
they please, and are offered premium in fact
for not being fast. Nevertheless, they are TO
carry the mails in preference to fast lines,
though they should be two weeks and more
on the voyage. ........
g. If the Company wish TO abandon the
terprise when the bonds mature they can
throw their ships upon the Governments hands
and retire from the speculation, losing not
penny of capital, and keeping whatever they
may have earned by the conveyance of pas
sengers and freight. In other words, we are
to pay for line of steamships, and let a few
private gentlemen try to run them, with the
understanding that if the line prospers they
are to get all the profit and if it fails We are
to bear all the loss.
Upon the whole, we think this bill the most
impudent ever presented to Congress. 1t en-
bodies nearly all the Objectionable features of
the Commercial Navigation Company's scheme,
and combines with them some original de-
merits of its own, the boldness of which is
really astounding. We hope it will not come
back from the Committee without few sharp
words of comment.