, 1869-11-29
tls1;tiec can 10 furnished by l.e 1cam,

CL@IGssc can be fnraiahed f,y l5e rcam,
without any merchandise tp;rg sent.
The warehouse department Of the Gus
:. III uouse is universally repated to bs
t4uru Important haatre Of fraud. Tie up
'lu1 which officers Of the Custom House
have, Ut selecting The warehouse to which
imported goods shall be sent, Tho 1nesns Of
te4nsportAt,oa, and ths mon who arc plnced
u Charge, and tie power uf facilitating or
DELAY ing tho I'aasage of the goods to and
from the warehouses;, and Of accepting and
sancelling the bonds given for duties on the
rveds willie in store, ars all discretionary
,xucrs which place the merchant at the
mercy Of the customs officer, and prompt
him to enter into thuse ilegitinatc AZ
sargcments which divide the foreign CON-
.uerce of the country between h0mezely
questionable md the clearly felonious, and
which xunke the frauds in the collection Of
customs duties greater, probably, than
ttosc perPetsated by the whiskey ring un~
der The two-dollar ta1 On distilled spirits.
The primal mischief in tho adulinistra-
ton Of the New York Custom House, is
the wide opportunity it Affords for per-
quisites and profits Of various kinds, apart
| from salaries 4 large number Of import
e1s are charged with e1ctting q s,ipendiarS
| Influence oyer certain deputies and ap-
,1aisers' clerks. It is at least known
that Officers, ~Lo entered the Custom House
q few years aeo On salaries which have not
rsid third of their living expenses, are
row wealthy. Bet, under tho mixed md
uti!dled system prevailing, it is very diff.
wit 10 prove that srcu results arc illoglti-
1:asc. Tie system has Ieen to give every
body IN interest in corruption, and then
set spies to watch him. The SPY is adrnit-
| ted IL h1arc, mud he then needs counter
| spy, and so on The Naval 0fFica.. ~e-
cv.rliug to an ancient 1nd amusing tratli-
tim, is check OF the Collector. Special
Treasury Agents are appointed to witch
the whole Office. And somebody is needed
! to witch these.
| All tL;s needs to Lc reversed 1fiuform-
e,s' sha,es nre to be given 10 the Collector
tLes should be compelled to Pay the costs
Ct suits in which they arc defeated, nnd
should be deprived of all power to CON
promise Probably it would be wiser &c
.loliah the distribptiye share system al
together. The customs laws shonld bt
codlfed and simrlided by bringing them nj
into ono act, and by reducing to twenty O
thirty the articles subject to duty, and s.
laying the duty That no discretion OF opinion
| whatever shall be left to the customs office
us to the amount to be collected al
| .f;cial disc1etions are pregnant with cur
7u,sion. At all events, the compensation Q
! The Collector should lie such as to Civ
hin, greater interest in tho fair and peace
:r., tl,.u in the fraudulent md plundering
collection of the revenue. Finally tn
abole country needs as Collector for Se'
York one of our most vigorous and homes
executive men. The office docs not bclou
to New York city. That metropolis SUI
Tits the defrauIets Of the revenue, b.
| ;le whole country pays it. Nor can taa
| administration continue with credit IL
:1aihuorM policy Of making it m asylul
for political Lacks or bankrupt merchant
1t needs mar cit to preside over congre
. ~ command 4 <"73s d"rmcf.