Mobile register and journal., 1841-12-30

In copying, yesterday an abstract of the report of the Post Master General, noticed that an import ant part of it had been passed over. IL is his sug gestiun that Congress should create debt of eigh millions of dollars once, in stock at per cent interest, for the purchase from the principal rail roads, of [" the right transport the mail upon these roads in all time to come, free from annual charge upon the Post Office Department" The Post Mas ter General has two objects in view, in this project- the relief of the rail road companies from their " barrassmens and difculics,'' by the C aId of the general government;'' which is put first as most m- portant in his estimation and secondly, to the United States 'amTle equivalent" In other words, he would have tlr United States borrow the money to lend the rail road companieg, on the secu- ity of an annual relnqushmen of tolls to the amount of the interest. The contract is to last for Gall time to come.' If the Government of the United States is willing to bind itself carry its mails in one di- rcction, and by mode, to the end of the world it seems to that the capacity of rail road compa- ny cannot be extended, eyea by liberal constructions quite so far Corporations, by fiction of law, sometimes made to be perpstua, but the legal fiction is not such guarantee would make their iminor-
 
 may prudeny tax ourselves eight millions of dollars, to buy apcrpetual annuity from them, of four hundred thousand dollars in tolls. Who guaranies that these companies will live in '' all time to come '' that they will keep up their railroads in good repar that they will perform the duty faithfully for any number of years that their roads will continue to be the best routes for the mail, and their modes of conveyance, the most speedy and convenient; that no rival i'm provement will not expedite travel between the same two points; that some new power may not be invented, within the lifetime of corporation war ranted to last forever, which may make the use ofany rail road at all for the mails, inexpedent? The Post Master General appears think that we have arrived at the highest pOintof in mail lransport- alton. by rail roads, that science has nothing more to teach on this head, {" in all time to come' and that ought, as nation, to secure the enjoyment of these perfect machines under the control of mmor tai and infable corporations at the cost of any num- Der of millions; or else he must have sympathy fer their suffering and embarrassed condition, which has oyerpowered his judgement. We hope Congress will not let its pity for these distressed corporations car " them quite far to favor the Post Master Ge neraPs expensive and expansive charity.
 Mir. Wicklfe claims, however, that this plan would operate as relief to tle people and to the depart ment. The general correspondence of the country is now taxed by heavy posages, to support the depart ment; while the correspondence of Congress, and the government generally, goes free: and, if under stand him correctly, he thinks lhis annual of four hundred thousand dollars paid to the rail roads, lief to the department al the general cost of the try, and equivalent to inc amount of posages which te government would have pay al the regular rrates It did, indeed, seem occur to him, that there is another way of cquaiziag these burdens--for Govern ment to pay postage all its own correspondence, and then proceed to adjust new scale of rates that basis. But the idea did not occur to Lm in ths simple form-but means of raising money by the department to pay the interest the loan. The loan is be the chief thing the relief to correspondence, and the egaalizing and reduction of postage, of paying the interest the loan-so that, after all, the project to be judged per se and that aspect will be, we think, pretty summarily disposed of, device to increase the public debt without any bonding profit to the public-but for the relief of em- barrassed companies and the advantage of distressed politicians.