Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1880-01-09
Consul siosby.
from tho China Mail,

sui at Hong kong, with all its alleged oce1tri
cti:s, las certainly succeeded in sttrac:iog at
! tentioa 10 the Ulited States. Whether or not
his motives are entirely uncolnectcd wth party
| politics, end whether or not he has doue what
: DC has dcno n the way that must commend it.
sell 10 the State Department ct Washington
are q1es:oos that litile concern Us. As Consul!
Mosby appears by his acts to be a1 honest ard
| conscientious man. these are most likely uuos,
lions hat are also Of little coDcer1 to him. The
! great consideration, as ne hgve previously
! pontcG cut, ie, neither corruption docs o. decs
not X'st 10 too high cffcal pl :o?s cf the u. S,
| DIPLOMATS and Consular Services. There arc
many !cas0nS log s1ppoS!cg that it does, aud.
while party tGe!ln2 il apt to be mixed 10 with
every polltcsl issue 10 the Ulitel States a
! stropg movement begins to show iisolt 10 that
! Iuatry TO, 6ot only arrlVo at the truth, but to
eradicate the Siaia which dishonesty Inevitably
] leaves uron the patton. Il is subj: ct for deep
regret that nacies lJpg hono:cd 10 China a1o
nelGg dragged into az un3ati3lsc cry coan;c ion
With cc'nas Of so dlshonocabe ald dishonest
EGturt; but this t:c; ueyortholess must not be
permitted to Interfere r aay way With he per-
i0rmance Of pubic duty. If Col. Mosby be
right, thcr u lesllorably more than one Of
icer Of the United States Government in Chine
is most radically aud immcasuEahIy wro5g. The
groa; difficulty appears to bs 10 bring the charges
clroluslyely home 10 those c,rc irue3; aud if
hall of the statements made by the Washing.
ten and Philadelphia papers DO !ruo, ore of
tho obstacles sppears to BE- the attitude
Of protection assumed by tho State Ds.
parinleut towards tho accused. We have
already published dispatch sent by Cousul
MosCy te tho State Department, and which, it
saoins, was first communicated to the members
] Of the SeEats through tho columns Of news
paper, sith0ugh its substance must nave ma
terlaly affected certain nominations before that
body had it been brought before tho Senators.
A mCst unsatisfactory cXolansion or rather no
explanation at all, OF tals rGeGuarity has b3eu
! attempted by Stc-etary Egsrts ard the las,
papcrs from the States shuw that peoEio there
| arc oonai.!, rab!y exercised on ths subject.
| Notwithstanding ;he numerous feflrouccs to
cficial rcnukos aad threats tow.rds Con,ui
| MuspY na;:e by c2rtaio journals, there is 30
truth mhatescr either 10 the rumor that Nlr.
M15by aa3 resigned, or that he has received
ary ofjcia conDieiat whatever regarding his
! conduit. [: is technically true that the Cousul
! has beon Irregular 10 dis c0mpu cicstiols, bat
ho was driven to this curse la the iutercsts of
l truth and Is,!ce. owing to what suoms yer,
J like the i'bboiy Ct tho State Department. We
| very much regret 10 note Gue s!gGlcaDt fact 10
! onnnecti2p with this agitation. Although the
chargrs against Minister Seward have been
! made pubic tor 7oais, 40 honest sttctnpt has
I Jet beer lusde 70 meet them in O manly Wny !;
aud although several months have elapsed siace
iha. srsye i7resGiari;;cs have been alleged
agsiuss Colonel M1Sb9's p:edeoaisur5 nos
| bnc ham al; ;tcr n.ra ii S,ntrc
; by Way OF doteEcI OF eEplaua:io9.
| A few dbys ago Eo referred to the agitation
! which bad bcor caused by the exposure, made
| By Colonel Mosog, United States Consul OF
/ Ho,gEorg, OF tho irregularities which had
! found tbeiy way into tha conduct Of tha Con.
sulatc during the last sever cT eight years. 1t
would seem thst, il his capacity of commits
sioncr to investigate Gu behalf Of the State Do.
psrtuent, tho present Cot5uP5 researches
arc still going OF, aaG that Grf.r:uuatcly
1 the enc Of the Investigation hos aCG yat
been rcsched. Or c1urse. as wo have already
stated, 10 deteuca hiss yet been raiaed hg those
| charged with The Irregularities alleged; and el-
though it would be rash and unfair to BRAID
| any enc before trial, it il passing strange that
| no coG!r, ,dictior or csplsnaiior has been youoh
5afed 10 r2GaEd 10 reccnt 0flcai sotion. TIE
allegations. however. IoH assume diif f-r2ut
shape, aGG 10 logger rclar solely &C the Govern
mont Of the Uaijcd States. There may posi-
oily be somc duf0noe-and, to judge from the
attitude OF the State Department, there sutalS
must be some excu:e-co the part OF tho u. s.
Consul for rctalulrg and an9roprztlng fees ior
sauigIaticn, shpDisg and dlsGhargipg sea1len
il DOW appears to be, that the Ho5gk0ug Gov
4 hcC al n ham l,iS ,,,1-r on
towards Increasing the pc!gllslles Of the United
States Consulate, ths investigation may be said
10 have entered into a new phsss altogether.
From documents aod official records which ws
have examined, thsre can be 90 lnauaer CT
doubt thst 10 the matter Of shipping seameD,
the Harbour Me5tera Depar' Hent (Msrcantile
Marine Office has been deprived during the
las: seven or eiaht years cf over three thou
sand dollsrs. BY a local ordinance II is enacted
that Zee Of 81 lone d0ilai) is to be cbag ged for
every seaman shipped, aud i! appears that an
arrangement existed during tho period meu-
toned under which the u. S. Consul under
took &c cslact this Ice aud pay II to the officer
in charge Of lhe Mercantile Marine Office. The
modus opersld is too complicated Tor us to DE-.
scribe here in Gotaii bui the custom generally
followed Has. ne have reas0D TO believe, that
6 tho Saipoicg Master of the Consulate coIIec Cd
The mooey. and granted receipts to the ship ioi
the same in be 10 n oi-so mary permits frou
Harbour Msstcr to ship 81 each. Certain
: payments were suEs Q!eT, y made By the Con-
sulate based upon r ilras furnished t
the Harbour Master b. LIE Shipping Master.
ssThe way iG Whioh the discrepancies Ehic'
exist between the Consular records ard tie re.
turns recorded ia the Hsrbor Masters book
we're discovered and inquired into vas tbs; Col
Mosby having suspected thst there 1as Sc % e.
, , thing wrong, obsined tx!rsc:s fIou ships leg
kept during the years covered by the periot
; named, 10 which eu;rics were found of sesnel
, having been shipped at HoDgkone in tn