The Portland daily press., 1874-03-24

possessed some fatal gift of magic or sorcery
whereby he was enabled to extort immense
sums of money from innocent merchants by
few threatening words. The more reasonable
inference was that he had discovered evidences
of fraud against importers SO conclusive and
overwhelming that they preferred compromise
on his own terms to judicial investigation. IN
one instance, as the public know. the sum
offered was SO enormous that the secretary
refused to permit it to be paid, a positloh from
which it took six weeks of negotiation and the
most urgent entreaty of the accused parties to
move him.
But JAYNE has anticipated the popular ver
dict by resignation and it is to be hoped that
the public service will know him no more for.
ever. By whatever arts he has replenished the
public purse and filled his own, it is plain that
his occupations gone" If he has any claim
to the gratitude of the community, it is be-
cause he has been the means of calling uni
versal attention to the conduct of that branch
of the service, whence so much of the revenue
is derived, and thus preparing the way for
revision and amendment therein
The Collector, with becoming dignity and
self-respect, declined the invitation OF the Com
mittee to appear before them, lest his presence
might be interpreted as evincing desire to per-
petuate the moiety system. Whatever opinions
he NAV entertain, his sense of delicacy as an in
| terested party, constrained him to withhold
| any expression of them. The public Judgment
will approve this credtable course of action.
| Whatever may come of the inquiry, no word
has been or truthfully can be said impugning
| the official or personal character of Gen. Ar
thur. He has approved himself an able, faith
| full and courteous officer, combining in an un.
usual degree, for a member of the legal profes-
sion, the promptuess of business man with
the cautioniof a lawyer.
| Everybody who knows tDistrict Attorney
Bliss felt sure he would appear upon the scene
| Nothing is so delightful to him as a controver
sy. What gave especial zest to this, was the
fact that Mr. SehaIt1 hu, for years been stead
fast and devoted friend to Bliss. He made
him Counsel to the Board of Health, and hat
as much to do, as any man alive, with secur
ing his appointment to his present Office Bliss
is miracle of activity and vital force. He i,
| an immense worker. He was imported here
| from Springfield, Mass. and served as private
Secretary to Gov Morgan in 18J9-60. After
that he commenced the practice Of law but his
passion for politics always mastered him. He
| had great many warm friends bnt his blunt
ness of speech and fondness for sharp repair
tee, have made him enemies. One can get
some notion Iof his temperament by calling tt
mind with what apparent relish he lugget
Judge Davis name into his talk before thu
| Ways and Means Committee. There was nj
need of this. His best friends regretted it, AM
many of them exclaimed 'Thats so like Bliss ?
The Judge is good man, but of course he il
human, and not above looking after his fees
Probably if he had remembered the prvat
letters he wrote to Jayne, he wouldn't hav
gone to Washington. But Jayne is none tn
less a mean creature for giving the let
ters publicity. On the whole nobod
seems to have gained any laurel
in this underplot in the play TIL
force of Judge Davis opinion on the
Phelps, Dodge and Co. case. given shortly afte
he retired from Office, and which constituted
one of the main props of their original publ
defense, is to be sure, seriously impaired by tn
discovery that the Judge has been on botf
sides of that vexed question. Of one thing the
public may be assured. If a satisfactory sub
stitute can be found for the system of rewards
to officials, which has prevailed for three quar-
ters of century, there will be no obstacle inter
posed, in any quarters where opposition woul'
be availing, to an adoption. The President ant
Secretary of the Treasury will heartily second
any measure which gives reasonable promise of
improvement, and if the readiness with which
the Committee of Ways and Means has re-
ceived all the information attainable on the sub
ject furnishes any Indication of the temper o
Congress there need be no apprehension Of in
action on its part. The whole tariff system
could doubtless be revised to great advantage
There have been so many changes from time tt
time that there is good deal of tangle in the
skein. A rate of duty has in more than one in
stance been made or unmade by an error
punctuation. If people would occasionally re
fleet upon the complexity and intricacy of th
vast organization whiob we call government
they might perhaps be more forbearing toward
those whom they ntrust with the working o
its machinery YARMOUTH