Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1840-01-23
DOMESTIC.


Yours truly, J. =. CaLho'N.
DOMESTIC.
Posr OFFICE DEPARTMENT.,
January :, 1910. J
joshua V,xsAST, Esq, Postmaster, b"itmorn.
Sir-Your letter Of the 9th, to the contract Once
s,atnr that the trunk containing packages tor y lork
and Philadelphia stopped III the dePo VA your cry
the preceding day. by the Vice President oil te hroau
Company has been laid before me.
When instructions were gwen you 10 take Out OF Inc
,J IN. ,,ckages of letters for New York and Phila
elnba. and send them forward by special messenger
N order 10 rive them the greatest practicable exped
t;on i was not supposed that the Department
tempting TO infringe upon any right or privilege OF the
Railroad Company. To them, such special messenger
could only be known passenger subec to the laws
and regulations, charges and fees, which govern and
are required from an her passenger. Limiting hun
self TO the ordinary weight OF baggage allowed to be
carried it was not supposed that the Company had
right 10 inquire of what it was composed, much less TO
stop IT, should il be found TO embrace letters newspa
pers or pamphlets.
Claiming nothing of the Company which is not the
right of every traveller passing their road, the
Department necessity or propricty IN informing
them before hand that these special messengers would
be cmplnyed although ii well knew that from the
ture of their business, the fact would Immediately be-
come known TO them
Grave considerations arise out Of this assumption of
power on the part Of the Rail Road Company, TO arrest
passenger, by stopping the trunk which contains his
baggage If this Department has not right to send
special messenger the road, conveying packages
Of letters papers, neither has any other department
of the Government. Messengers OF the State, Urea
surv, War and Navy Departments, conveying papers
of the utmost Importance to the business, peace, and
security the country, may be arrested in their course
BY stopping their baggage, because they in the act
of conveying letters and papers which belong to the
| Government.
|
in the law which distinguishes public messenger with
his baggage, from the agent of merchant, or other
citizen or his baggage. The company have the same
right refuse to carry the trunk OF merchant clerk
travelling to New York upon the business OF his en-
plovcr because has letters papers in It not his own,
that they have to stop the trunk of messenger OF the
| Government Every merchant i'll Baltimore, and
every other citizen who senG al agent along tins road
is liable to have his business arrested By the stopping
Of his trunk upon the ground that il contains some
thing which the railroad company do not choose to
convey.
pubc or private on account of lis contents, they
stop the trunk of other traveller for the same rea
SON ANY ordinary traveller IS liable to be arrested III
his Journey by the arbitrary stoppagc of his baggage
on the pretcncc that there is something with II which
does not belong 10 him, and which the Railroad Com
panv chose to put under their ban
/ Does not this assumption of right to stop trunk
embrace another right-he right IF Scarcb' If the
Company have right To stop n passengers trunk on
account of its contents their right 10 take the
crssary steps TO ascertain what those contents be
denied: Cannot they refuse to carry any trunk I'M
less it lie opened and its contents shown 10 them
that they NAV know there is nothing contrahand in IL
On advertnr to the charter of this Company
granted BY the State Of Maryland, ! find that it con
tams the following provision 10 tolls passengers
viz:
! "For the transportation Of passengers; not exceed
4 ing four cents mile for each passenger and baggage
not weighing than fifty pounds, or occupying
space Of more than two cubic feet
! No power is given them TO discriminate between pub
lie men or private citizens between agents principals
offering themselves as passengers The company are
common carriers who bound 70 convey all person:
offering with their baggage. rs to the character OF tho
baggage the law gives them right to inquire. rs
10 quantity, they have right 20 that it docs moi
yyc uh than fifty pounds, occupy in space more
than two cubic feet. If there be overweight or over
bulk they have undoubtcd right To refuse TO take IT
but Tor no other And in accordance with this
principle VAS probably never before heard OF in tbs:
country tina, Railroad Company refused 10 carry the
lera weight and bulk Of baggage on account of tho
materials which composed it.
/ In this state of the law and the facts, cannot but
look on the act of the Company stopping the trunk
referred to, as high. handed assumption of power as
little iustiiablc in itself as il is in the motive which
dictated it. The Company had refused to convey the
mails the terms offered by Congress, demanding
a rate Of compensation never heard Of for like ser
annum, or upwards of $500 per mile. Not being au
horizcd or willing to give this rate of compensation
the Department made arrangements for the convey
ance Of the mails other lines; hut to keep up the
correspondence between the North and the South with
the greatest expedition, willing TO hire special mes
seneers to pass this road daily carry the letter
packages or so many of them did not exceed the
weight of baggage allowed by law to passengers
This did tho Company no harm. On the contrary
it gave them two additional passengers every day
nd "a dav q
i 900 per year. What motive actuate them in
throwing away this sum in clear profit? They are un
der no necessity to change their hours 10 run in the
night, to the Susnehannah in the dark, to do any
thing whatever which brings them loss, danger or IN.
convenience. VIVA then can be the motive of this cx
traordinarv step, sorry not to be able To perceive
any other than determination TO put the public TO all
practicable inconvenience in IFS letter correspondence
with the view of cocrcng submission TO their exor-
bitant demand Ii there be any other motive, II would
rive me pleasure 10 know ii, because it is reproac
to our country and age that institutions created to
serve the public so often to be its masters.
As whose duty it is 10 maintain the rights of the
public connected with one OF the great Departments
i of the Government, deem il incumbent on me TO vim
dcate By all lawful and constitutional means, the RICH,
of the Government TO send special messengers this
road with whatever baggage it chooses TO entrust to
them not exceeding fifty pounds in weight, and not oc-
cupyng more than two cubic feet.
Il Very respectfully,
Your obedent servant.
! AMOS KENDALL.
We learn from the Delaware Gazette, that at meet
ing of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore
Railroad Company, held at the Depot in Wilmington
on Monday last, committee of five gentlemen ap-
pointed to proceed to Washington city, to endeavor TO
enter into arrangement with the Postmaster &C.
neral for carrying the mails between Philadelphia and
Baltimore Philadelphia Sentinel.
GENERAL THOMAS NELsoN-Gorsrnor Of r'irgiaia
From CGss Rcrnlcction and Private Memoirs Of the Life
| and Character of Nasincton
Among the patriots statesmen. and soldiers that Fr-
gina contributed to the Congress and armies of the
Revolution, Thomas Nelson will claim an elevated
rank Descended from highly respectable Eng
fish ancestry, Gen Nelson educated in England,
and engaged prior to the Revolution, in mercantile