Year: 1859

A great quarrel is now going on between
the Administration and Republican papers
as to which party, the Administration or
Republican. is to blame for the defeat OF the
Post Office Appropriation Bill, at the last
session of Congress. The public are aware
that the Appropriation Bill originated in the
House, and that something like twenty mil !
lions of dollars were appropriated by it for
the mail service of the United States. With
out this appropriation, the mail service must
be very greatly curtailed and various por~
tions of the postal system totally suspended,
un' ess, indeed, contractors are willing or able
to credit the Government and take their
chances for remuneration at the hands Of
Congress hereafter, for the Post Office De.
partment is at liberty to make no contracts
and to pay out no moneys beyond the mea-
gre postal receipts which may come into the
Treasury before the first of July next. The
House was more than willing to pass this
appropriation of twenty millions-dld pass
it, and sent the bill to the Senate. The SEN
ate not satisfied with concurring with the
House, must go to work,-notwithstanding
the near approach of the time for adjourn
ment and the imminent danger of delay,-to
amend the bill by inserting a clause which
divested members Of Congress of their frank
! ing privilege and increased the rates of post
age from three to five cei Is on each letter
| 1t was pretty well understood that this
amendment would not he agreed TO by the
! House. tor that body would have inserted a
like clause had they desired it. the PROPOSE
ton having been very extensively discussed
at the Capitol previously. The Adminstra-
tion Senators deliberately inserted the amend
ment. when they kney that it must endanger
the bill Consequently they must bear the
responsibility of having originated the first
difficulty between the Senate and the House
The hil thus amended, went back to the
House. The House, under the leadership Of
Mr. Grow, who controlled the Republican
vot,, refused to consider the bill in its exist
ing shape at all, on the ground that the in
crease Of postage was II revenue measure.
and, under the Constitution, the Senate had
no power to ori- mate q revenue measure
The hill was therefore retured TO the Senate,
with the understanding that that body was
to recede from its interpolation or sacrifice
the hill The Senate concluded to sacrifice
the bill, and did so.


Now, the Administration papers are trying
to saddle the whole responsibility Of the de.
feat of this very important bill upon the Re
publicans and a few Democrats, who voted
with them. in the House. 1t seems to us that
the Senate has no advan age of the House in
this controversy at all. for, had the former
been verv anxious to see this bill passed, it
would not have encumberedit it with an amend
eur, at so late a period Of the session.


The Administration majority in the Senate
must have known that their amendment |
would defeat the appropriation. and that, if
defeated, there was no remedy, because the
President would hardly think it advisable to
call an extra session, when. to call it, wouli
be to put Republican Speaker in the Chair
Of the House, with all the immense political
against the Administration which
that position would give Besides. the time
for meeting the outlays for which the appro-
pratOns were to be made, would be passed
before the Extra Congress could possibly as
semble The danger, too. of permitting
Republican Speaker for the Extra Session to
be elected was very great. because if the
next regular Congress happened to be split
up so as to prevent the election of a new
Speaker. the Republican incumbent would
still hold his position and thus the Admins
tration would have thorn in its side as thor
oughy ineradicable as it would be continu
ously annoying.


The fact is that the present administration
IS not very cordially supported by anybody,
having failed so greatly to command the res
peCt Of the country that even its best friends
are not willing to take any great pains 20
support it. 1t has plunged the Union in
debt, fomented universal discord, crippled
all the resources Of the Government and so
disguised everybody that it is left founder
ing in the mud. to get out if it can and to
stick if it must. Bennett used to say " Poor
Pierce" Poor Buchanan is a more signi-
ficant phrase than the former ever was