New-York tribune., 1872-03-26


enormous amount of money handled in the
Treasurer's Office seems to have suffered small
loss.
A Special Agent of the Treasury Depart
ment who was examined by the Senate Gus
tOm-house Committee yesterday, made re-
markabe charge against y. S. Appraiser
He declared that the Appraiser did not
know anything about certain class
of goods that he passed on; that he
confessed his ignorance of their value, and
held that they belonged to that category of
things about which, az Dundreary says, no
man can find out. TO decide whether the
| Special Agent or the Appraiser is the more
Objectionable person is now the business OF
| the Investigating Committee.
We trust this Legislature will not adjourn
without exempting Mortgages from taxation.
They are at best but evidences of q divided
interest in real estate, and to tax house or
farm as other property is taxed and then tax
the mortgage, which only proves that two own
| the property, is unjust. main objection to
! it is its manifest tendency to deprive those
who want to buy farms, but are unable to
pay in full for them, of their only resource
borrowing a part of the price and giving
mortgage as security. Since taxation became
| heavy, little money can be borrowed on mort
gage, and so thousands cannot bny farms as
they would We trust this obstacle to lauda-
BILE enterprise will soon be removed.
Representative McCrary of Iowa has intro
duced bill which is designed to effect, Oh a
large scale, what has been attempted to be
done in a bill now before our State Legisla-
ture Awaiting himself of the clause in the
Constitution which provides for the regulation
of commerce between the States, Mr. Nc
Crary proposes to have the equalization of
freight and passenger charges on railroads,
passing from State to State, taken in charge
by Congress There is, undoubtedly, great
need of some examination and revision of
these tariffs but it should not be forgotten
that even railroads, as common carriers, have
some rights in the premises which should
not rutheSsy be swept away by rash legisla-
ton.
No light has yet been thrown on the origin
of the Paris dispatch purpOrting to give
statement concerning the action of the French
Government in relation to the Arms Sale scan
dal The Senate Committee, yesterday, got
all the information now accessible, but this
only traces the dispatch to the Reuter- agency
at Paris, which proves nothing at all. The
Committee, however, learned that the arms
sold to France were practically shipped on
board the French chartered vessels by sub
officials of the Ordnance Department. II is
plain that, whatever the Bureau chiefs may
q have thought abOuti it, the subordinates knew
very well that they were shipping United
States arms to France. They were checking
the cases as they went from the lighters to
the ships. This knowledge cannot be hidden.
II is a good sign to see the Aldermen cast
ing critical glances toward the Controllers
Office and inquiring into the expenditure of
moneys there. We like their action of yes
terday in this direction On general principles.
We wish that all complaints of unauthorized
employment of counsel by city officials might
be investigated and the abuse corrected;
but it must be borne in mind that Con-
troller Green came into authority when
his department was in state of chaos, and
legal advice was frequently necessary; and it
should not be forgotten that at the same time
the regularly constituted Corporation cOunselors
were not such as most RefOrmers like MIR.
Green and the Aldermen were disposed to
trust. Reform cannot be thorough until all
the Offices are filed with trustworthy men,
and 10 this end labor should be united and
directed.
A Treasury statement, showing the value of
the principal articles exported from Great
Britain to the United States, during January
and February of the past three years, gives
also the exact ratio of increase in the amount
Of these Imports The articles specified are
nearly all shown TO have been increased in
volume, the quantities having been augmented
as well as the values. OF such manufactures
as cotton goods, hardware and cutlery, iron in
various forms, steel, salt, linens, wooden
and worsted goods, carpets, &C., we i'm
ported in round numbers, $20,0O00OO
worth in the first two months of 1870,
S22, 100000 in the same months of 1871, and
S32 100000 during the corresponding period of
1872. Part of this enormous increase is,
probably, due to a speculative demand for
some goods, which has prevailed during the
, nast few months; but this will not account
! for al, of the increase. IL is evident that,
even with the moderate tariff which some of
our political expermenters are so anxious to
tear down, imports which directly enter into
competition with domestic products steadily
increase The country is satisfied with the
| tariff as it is, and the figures above quoted
indicate surely enough W misfoTtunes, be-