The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1870-03-23
Madame de Stael said to Talleyrana that he

Madame de Stael said to Talleyrana that he
was SO double-faced that he smiled in front
when he was being kicked behind. Mr.. Pike
unfortunately does not possess this rare pow
er of controlling his facial expression. When
he is hurt he shows it plainly enough to graf
ify his most malignant foe. His reply to our
exposure of his errors and Misrepresentation
is, in substance, that our principles are not
good and that we can be bought. No one
who has followed the discussion can fail to
perceive that so far as Mr.. Pike is concerned
1t has reached the point OF complete exhaus-
ton. We are reluctaLt to pursue him furth-
er, but even in connection with the virtual
confession of impotence and confusion en-
braced in the charge above cited, be reiteratcs
some of his most unfonnded statements.
l. He says that he made no mistake in re.
gard to the bills reported from the special COM
mittee on navigation interests, but admits that
he said the committee proposed to retain "this
unequal and in many instances burdensome
tax" This was no mistake, he argues, be-
cause he did not say that the tonnage tax is
to remain precisely as it is" We cannot
permit him to take advantage of the ambigu-
ity of his language in this way. Hesuppress
ed the fact in his first letter that this Gun
equap and "burdensome" tax (of which he
was one of the Originatorsj had been read.
justed so as to make the burden fall largely
on the aliens into whose hands the bulk oil
the carrying trade has passed, since it could
not be removed without seriously endanger-
ing the whole scheme tor relieving our ship
ping. By making those objections to the tax
which are valid only on the hypothesis of its
remaining as it was, and by carefully ignoring
the fact that it had been modified, he told the
public in as plain language as he knew how to
use, that 10 change had been made. What
does "to remain" mean, Mr.. Pike-to remain
as thing aoas not3
2. Mr.. Pike evidently thinks that the Inter
national Line is his ''best hold" and clings to
1t with all Of drowning mans persistence
Now we are willing to give him the full bene.
fit of his discovery that single line of steam
ers, established at great risk but fortunately
proving ramnneratiua- will innidnniallu derive
benefit from general scheme for the rekabil
itation of American commerce. The interests
of this line and of the coasters that Mr.. Pike
would antagonize with it are really identical,
so far as the bills before Congress are con-
cerned. Both together they will either gain
or lose the drawbacks and the exemption from
local port charges embraced in the bills to
which Mr.. Pike objects.
3. But why not take the tonnage tax off the
coasters altogether, leaving the other provisions
of the bills as they are? innocently asks this
veteran Congressman. The reply to this is-and
We have made itseveral times before-that such
an exemption would kill the whole measure.
Does Mr.. Pike wish to purchase exemption
from the tonnage tax at such a price? If so
the coasters do not agree with him.
4. For man trained in the legal profession
and whose wits ought to have been sharpened
by his experience in public life, Mr. Pike is
surprisingly loose and unguarded in his state
ments.
This last letter furnishes an extraordinary
example of this. He says:
1t is an error to suppose that foreigners un-
der the tonnage bill, If it becomes law, would
DO the chief part OF tax-paying. No record is
Kept at the department by which it can be
determined how much is paid by foreigners
and how much by our people, but by the COM
mttee's bill L have no doubt our citizens
would continue to pay the major part of the
tax as they undoubtedly do under the present
law.
Mr.. Pike "has no doubt" &C.! Who cares
whether he doubts or believes when figures
are accessible to everybody, that will tell the
whole story. The bill provides that vessels
engaged in transatlantic commerce shall pay
tonnage dues every time they enter port from
abroad. Now what proportion of transact
laatic commerce is carried on in American
vessels may be judged from the following fig
ures just furnished by the Bureau of Statistics
At Washington. During the eleven months
ending Nov. 30, 1869, there entered at the
United States ports 2S,SO1 vessels engaged in
foreign trade; of these 9,752 were American
and 1000 were foreign. The tonnage of the
American vessels was little more than half
that of the foreign vessels! 1t will be seen
that Mr.. Pike makes his statements without
any reference to facts.
3. Mr.. Pike silently abandons his idea of
getting up mass meeting of Bath shipbuild-
ers to oppose the committees bills on the
idictic notion that they require vessels under
register passing from port to port to pay the
tax every time they enter.
8. Mr.. Pike says he is not candidate for Of
fee. We are glad he realizes that it would
take something more than an act of Congress
to remove his disabilities.
CAPT. EYRE.-Notwithstand the Eng
lish residents at Japan stuck to their coun-
tryman through thick and thin and upheld