# United States Statutes at Large/Volume 3/14th Congress/1st Session/Chapter 43

Chap. XLIII.—An Act in addition to an act to regulate the Post-office establishment.
1810, ch. 37.Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, from and after the first day of May next, the following rates of postage be charged upon all letters and packets, (excepting such as are now excepted by law,) conveyed by the posts of the United States, viz:
Rates of postage after the 1st May, 1816.For every letter composed of a single sheet of paper, conveyed not exceeding thirty miles, six cents; over thirty and not exceeding eighty, ten cents; over eighty and not exceeding one hundred and fifty, twelve and a half cents; over one hundred and fifty and not exceeding four hundred, eighteen and a half cents; over four hundred miles, twenty-five cents; and for every double letter, or letter composed of two pieces of paper, double those rates; and for every triple letter, or one composed of three pieces of paper, triple those rates; and for every packet composed of four or more pieces of paper, or one or more articles, and weighing ane ounce avoirdupois, quadruple those rates: and in that proportion for all greater weights: Provided,Proviso. That no packet of letter conveyed by the water mails shall be charged with more than quadruple postage, unless the same shall contain more than four distinct letters.
Weight of packets restricted: evidence of lawful postage, &c.No postmaster shall be obliged to receive, to be conveyed by the mail, any packet which shall weigh more than three pounds; and the postage marked on any letter or packet, and charged in the post bill which may accompany the same, shall be conclusive evidence, in favour of the postmaster who delivers the same, of the lawful postage thereon, unless such ​letter or packet shall be opened in presence of the postmaster or his clerk.
Pamphlets, magazines, &c. Memorandums written on newspapers, &c. to be charged letter postage, &c.Every four folio pages, or eight quarto pages, or sixteen octavo pages, of a pamphlet or magazine, shall be considered a sheet, and the surplus pages of any pamphlet or magazine shall also be considered a sheet; and the journals of the legislatures of the several states, not being stitched or bound, shall be liable to the same postage as pamphlets. Any memorandum which shall be written on a newspaper, or other printed paper, and transmitted by mail, shall be charged letter postage; and any person who shall deposit such memorandum in any office for the purpose of defrauding the revenue, shall forfeit, for every such offence, the sum of five dollars.
The Postmaster General to allow commission to postmasters, &c.Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the Postmaster General be, and is hereby, authorized to allow to each postmaster such commission on the postages by him collected, as shall be adequate to his services: Provided, That his commission shall not exceed the following several rates on the amount received in one quarter; that is to say:
On a sum not exceeding one hundred dollars, thirty per cent.
On any sum over and above the first hundred dollars, and not exceeding four hundred dollars, twenty-five per cent.
On any sum over and above the first four hundred dollars, and not exceeding two thousand four hundred dollars, twenty per cent.
On any sum over and above the first two thousand four hundred dollars, eight per cent.
Except to the postmasters who may be employed in receiving and despatching foreign mails, whose compensation may be augmented not exceeding twenty-five dollars in one quarter; and excepting to the postmasters at offices where the mail is regularly to arrive between the hours of nine o’clock at night and five o’clock in the morning, whose commission, on the first hundred dollars collected in one quarter, may be increased to a sum not exceeding fifty per cent.
The Postmaster General may allow to the postmasters, respectively, a commission of fifty per cent. on the moneys arising from the postage of newspapers, magazines, and pamphlets; and to the postmaster whose compensation shall not exceed five hundred dollars in one quarter, two cents for every free letter delivered out of the office, excepting such as are for the postmaster himself; and each postmaster who shall be required to keep a register of the arrival and departure of the mails, shall be allowed ten cents for each monthly return which he makes thereof to the general post-office.
The Postmaster General may allow to the postmaster at New Orleans, at the rate of eight hundred dollars, and to the postmaster at Warrenton, in North Carolina, at the rate of two hundred dollars, and to the postmaster at Wheeling, in Virginia, at the rate of two hundred dollars a year, in addition to their ordinary commissions. The Postmaster General is hereby authorized to allow to the postmaster at the city of Washington, in addition to the allowance made by this act for postage collected, and for free letters received by him for delivery, a commission of five per centum on the amount of mails distributed at his office: Provided, nevertheless, That the whole annual emoluments of the said postmaster, including the extra compensation heretofore allowed to him by law,Act of April 30, 1810, ch. 37, sec. 40. shall always be subject to the restriction imposed by the fortieth section of the act of Congress approved the thirtieth of April, one thousand eight hundred and ten, to which this act is in addition.
Members of Congress, &c., may frank letters, &c. for thirty days before and after a session, &c. Proviso: as to weight of letters, &c.Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That letters and packets to and from any member of the Senate, or member or delegate of the House of Representatives of the United States, the secretary of the Senate, and clerk of the House of Representatives, shall be conveyed free of postage, for thirty days previous to each session of Congress, and for thirty ​days after the termination thereof: Provided always, That no letter of packet shall exceed two ounces in weight, and in case of excess of weight, that excess alone shall be paid for.
Certain sections of former acts repealed. Act of April 30, 1810, ch. 37. Act of February 27, 1815, ch. 65.Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the eleventh and twenty-eighth sections of the act, entitled “An act regulating the post-office establishment,” approved April thirtieth, one thousand eight hundred and ten, and the first and second sections of the act, entitled “An act in addition to the act regulating the post-office establishment,” approved February twenty-seventh, one thousand eight hundred and fifteen, and the fourth and fifth sections of the same, except such parts as relate to steamboats, their masters, or managers, and persons employed on board the same, be, and the same are hereby repealed.
This act in force from 31st March, 1816.Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That this act shall take effect from and after the thirty-first day of March, one thousand eight hundred and sixteen.
Approved, April 9, 1816.