Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1835-01-28
REPORT UPON THE POST OFFICE.


(which, the reader will recollect, sat by order OF
the Senate during the late recess OF Congress)
made report.
The reading of this report occupied the
Senate until the usual hour OF adjournment
and was not concluded when the Senate adj
journed.
AS il is doubtful whether it will ever be pos
sible for us TO publish the whole of this Report,
however desirable it would be 10 do so,) we
have avaied ourselves OF casual opportunl-
ty to make such an abstract OF the Report,
in this and the following columns as time al
lows, without limiting ourselves to that part on
w of it which has been read in the Senate.
The Report Notwithstanding its large volume
and the evidence which ii carries on its face,
and in its bulk, of great labor and prrseve-
rance, is not dehnitive, but rather report OIL
the progress of the committee, 50 TAR as they
have gone.
The report, after stating the meeting of the
committee in this city on the 10Th OF September
last and the accommodation OF room In the
Post Office afforded to them for their sittlngs,
commences with a description OF the confused
state of the Books of the Post Office which
rendered it impractcable to ascertain with any
thing like accuracy the true state OF the imam
ces of the Post Office, or of the accounts oil IN
dividuals with it. In many cases, the state oil
an account, in important particulars, was ohiy
to be gathered from pencil-markS In the margin
of the books OF the inaccuracy OF these &C
counts several instances are stated; of which, as
our analysis of the report must necessarily De
very brief q single Instance quoted from
the Report as follows, must serve as an exam
ple:-
"Your.C ommitte called for the account OF
Jas Reside and it was Shewn to them on the
LEDGER, when there appeared a balance a
'gainst him. on the first of April 1884, OF Sl5, o69
or The accounting officers, how ever, In
formed your Committee that the ledger did not
present all the credits to which MIR. Reside was
4 a.. h -, n hit al
count containing many additional credits, by
which there appears to be a balance IN his ia
yor on the first July 1884, of 81, 529 50, making
a difference of about Sol 900. Some of the
credits bear date between the 1st oil April and
list of July, but large part OF the amount Is
made up of entries, which, il entitled at all TO
place in the account belonged to date pri-
or to the first of April. 1884 The correctness
of those several credits will be considered in
another part Of this report"
In consequence of the difficulty experienced
by the committee from these causes in arriving
/, at true results, from the books, the committee
employed two accountants unanimously ap-
proved, to examine and audit the books, inwhich
business these persons have been and are still
- diligently engaged, the result of whose labors
the committee Will report when arrived al anu
examined.
Meanwhile, with the materials in their posses
sion, the committee enter into an elaborate
comparison of the reports of the present and
late Post Master General, and OF the reports OF
the present post Master General with facts dis
closed by the books &c. to which nothing but
literal transcript (Which we have now no oppor-
tunity of makng) of the whole of this part of
the report can do Justice. There is one para
graph of il, however, whiChso forcibIy attracted
our attention. that we have thought it proper,
by extracting ii, to make it an exception to the
rest. II is follows
"There is one other item introduced into the
statement of theg6th December, 1884, of which
your Committee Knew nothing until since their
former report and did not even suspect its ex-
sistence. II is balance against contractors
for payments made them prior to the LIST April,
1884, for the current services OF the quarter
(which ended that day, and Tor prior services,
(which had not yet been placed to their credit,
S2S4, 1877 49, Your Committee did not sup
nose a fund ofthis character and amount exist
ed to the credit ofthe Department, because they
sknew by former statements, that there were
very large sums actually due to contractors,
for services fully and faithfully performed, in
sprevious quarters, which the Department was
sbound, in good faith and in justice. to pay
sThose sums actually due were not paid for
want OF funds Large sums were also borrow
ed from Banks on interest and it seemed in
conceivable that under these circumstances,
so large sum of money should have been adj
svanced to few contractors, before they were
ientited TO receive it by the terms Of their con-
tracts But the presentinvestigatio has salts
fed your Committee that very large sums
swere, and still are, due from contractors for il
slegal payments and advances of money, and
shat this sum at least, and probably much
slarger sum, ought to be reclaimed from them,
and placed to the credit of the Department"
The next topic embraced in the report is that
of the removal of PostmaSters without cases
to make way for mere partisans, in many cause
wholly unworthy of credit or confidence, &C.
In the prosecution of their inquiry into the cause
of these removals the committee were. as the
reader already knows, met by refusal of the
Postmaster General to furnish the committee
with the information demanded, in letter which
the Postmaster General, with disrespect to-
wards the committee that is merely alluded to
in the report, caused to be published in the Off
cial journal here within few days after the
date of the transaction. This branch of the
Report concludes as follows:
"Your Committee did not think il incumbent
ION them to enter into a discussion with the
sPostmaster-General on the subject of their
srespective rights and duties, nor do they now
think it proper in this paper to examine them,
A.. htand aruumeDt on constitutional In N,