Year: 1866

The COLLECTOR AND NAVAL OFFICER or THIS
PoRY.-The President after . long delay
appointed Collector for this port and thus
settled the agitation, a. we supposed, in regard
to that Office. There Is now vacancy In the
Naval Oface, and we notice that there is also an
effort being made TO open the question Of Col
lector again A cabal is being formed here
and in Washington for the removal of MIR.
Smythe and the appointment Of Mr.. Wakeman
in bis place. In connection with this some Of
the journals in this city are making the charge
that the present incumbent has been selling out
the warehouse and general order business.
We know that this charge il false. 1t has been
the custom Of Collectors heretofore to sell this
business out to cliques and certain favored
politicians, but Mr.. Smythe has peremptorily
refused to do It. and we presume that this cry
has been got up by those disappointed by his
refusal to sell that business to them. The
President was long time making the appoint
ment and to the detriment Of the busi-
meas Of the Custom House left the Office va
cant for several months. He finally selected
one Of our old citizens, who has thus far
discharged the duties with perfect satisfac-
ton to all, except It may be q cabal who
are anxious to make money out of the
position and perhaps rob the government.
We do not see why he should be removed and
the whole question again opened, nor why
the vacancy should be made for the benefit Of
Mr.. Wakeman. He has no prominence here to
justify q move Of that kind; he now holds
the office of Surveyor Of the Port, and may do
very well for that position, but we are unable
to see what he has ever done to justify this
change Of positions.


Instead of unsettling the affairs Of the Gus
tom House in this manner, the President should
at once select some person to discharge the
duties of Naval Officer. There is a report that
he intends to leave this Office vacant until next
December, for what reason we are unable to
divine; nor do we see any just cause for this
delay, to the detriment of the public service.
The Office should be Immediately filed. Let
the President select from the list Of the
recent applicants for Collector some of the
best men, such as Stebbins, Depew and
Gordon Granger. and offer the position
to them. If they decline the offer, he can
then find some other prominent citizen who
will accept it All this fuss about Colonel
Hillyer is mere bosh. He may be a very good
man in his way, but the President has been
successful in taking one Of our prominent citi-
zens for Collector, and he should follow it up
by making selection in the same manner for
Naval Officer. This official should be person
known to our people and identified with the
interests of New York. We do not believe one
word Of the reports that General Grant is
favoring this or that man, or that he cares any
thing about who is Naval Officer. The sooner
the President makes this appointment the bet
ter it will be for the public interest; and If he
wants to make selection that will be salts
factory, let him tender the appointment to
one Of the prominent candidates for Collector
that we have named. II one refuses, then try
another, until he fuds one that will accept
He should by oil means act at once.