The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-01-22

: Congress-A Poor Prospect.
The two houses of Congress, after rest of
, day or two from their exhausting labors,
viii reassemble for business this morning.
We have entered upon the fourth week of the
second month Of the session, and what has
been done2 Nothing Of any consequence. We
have had good supply of buncombe speeches
and resolutions in both houses and budget
of bills introduced which may be counted by
the hundred; but nothing has been settled
upon the great leading practical questions Of
the day. Two or three general amnesty bills
have been passed by the House, but they
stick In the Senate. From that solemn and
dignided body we have secured another Gus
tom House investigation and the usual
result, disclosure of numerous and very in
teresting Custom House frauds; and we have
p promise from Senator Sherman of COM
prehensive bill of reforms, and we have had
two or three exhaustive and exhamstinQ
speeches from Mr.. Sumner on the equal rights
of our colored brethren with ''white folks" in
hotels, railway cars, steamboats,, theatres
and public schools. Furthermore, we have
had some appropriations passed to carry into
effect the provisions of the Treaty of Wash
ington. &c. but still the question recurs, upon
the subject of the tightening Of our heavy
burden of national taxes, What is the pros
pectP Aud still we must answer, the prospect
is very poor.
The President, in his annual Message, gave
very good reasons for his recommendation of
. general reduction of our internal and tariff
taxes, including the abolition of the obnoxious
and superfuous income tax and all the rest of
our internal assessments, except those upon
sprituous and fermented liquors, and upon
tobacco in all the forms in which it is manu-
featured or prepared for the Market and
excepting stamps. Upon these propositions
OF relief to the country, however, there is
hardly chance of any bill of any general
value from this session Of Congress. Upon
the tariff question the protectionists insist
that the most acceptable relief which can be
given to the great body Of the people is the
abolition of the duties upon tea and coffee,
because the free Introduction Of these articles
will not interfere with any of our home pro-
become with all our people articles Of universal
necessity. The free traders or revenue re-
formers on the other hand, insist that the tax
upon tea and coffee must be retained, if not
enlarged, for the very reason that this tax
does not afford any incidental protection to
home industry, and that the duties upon
foreign iron must be taken off because they
operate as bounty to the iron makers of
Pennsylvania. Such difficulties as these
between protectionists and free traders, we
fear, will defeat aven the moderate compro-
mise tariff bill introduced in the Senate BY
Mr.. Sherman.
Equally difficult, we apprehend, will be any
bers of Congress from the West and the South
generally represent constituencies that do not
pay much in the way of income taxes, and, of
course, they are opposed to the repeal of this
tax, or are, at least, rather inclined to keep it
up than to abolish it. because it comes mainly
out Of the pockets Of the ''bloated capitalists,
stockholders, spectators, monopolists and
Stockholders of the East" We presume that in
order to enter actively into the Presidential cam
paign the republican members Of the two houses
will close this session Of Congress on or soon
after the 9th of June, the day of the meeting
of the Republican National Convention at
Philadelphia. One powerful reason for this
comparatively early adjournment of the long
session, should these bitches and cross-pur-
poses continue, will be the game Of postponing
any definite action upon internal aud external
tax reductions till after the Presidential cleo
tion. Assuming, however, that the two houses
of Congress will remain in session until the
adjournment of the Philadelphia Convention,
it is possible that, with the denomination of
General Grant, the republican factionists in
Congress may be harmonized upon some bill
or bills covering the tax reductions suggested
by the President. But it is apparent that until
this issue between the Grant and anti Grant
men is settled we can expect little or nothing
but gas blowing and 6ddling and tinkering
from Congress.
Humpty Dumpty the Woodstock.
They have terrible parsonage in England
called the Lord Chamberlain, whose province
It is to keep an eye on the stage and rigidly