Daily Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1840-1842, 1841-01-15
FoR rHE WING.


rise TO some new and useful movements eonneete
WIN 'he commerce OF the state. A.
FoR rnE WING.
THE POSTMASTER GENERALS REPORT
The Postmaster General appears to take il 70
granted that the Department does not possess ,h
mears TO meet its engagements, and makes an Ella
bora,o argument to show how the Department, be
came embarrassed-snt, strange to say. he propose
at once to abridgc the mail service rs a measure O
relief, ard suggests To Congress the propriety of lie
gislatiag on the subject by reducing or graduntin,
mail servi c. Now, if the premises he hos present
ed he based on statement Of facts il vii
seem that he has come u wrong conclusion rs e
the financial condition of the Departmental prov,
which, propose to oiI;r few remarks.
In his Report. which published on the i6tl
nlt'mo in the National Intelligence, paper re.
markebo for It's accuracy, lind a "tabulnr state.
ment'' which exhibits in two parallel columns, III,
one presenting the "Revenue,r the other the "Ex
penditures" OF the Department. for eleven successive,
years, beginning June 30th. 1885, and ending Jun,
JOth, ls39-thc total amount of "revenuer for N b,cL
period appears to 10 s3247o, 1924 -; the to,al
amount of expenditures" foe the same period nm.
pears to he 3l,937,925 05-thus leaving n Imam,
! IN favor of the "Ieveuu." to the amount of ss21
o61 %, and being an actual surplus {, that amour,
on hand, June 30 h, 1889. As the Postmaster &c.
neral represents the excess Of expenditures and Lin
oiities for the year ending June sob, $780, to he
over and beyond the receipts of the fiscal vear.
szis,sf' IL, we will deduct that sum from the us
certaned surplus above stated, and it leaves clear
surplus on hand June 30th, 1910, TO the amour, Of
s3lS,22l 90. In the report there is a singular ma
nh H. T.
OF surplus, that will be well here 10 y;ye the sen
tence alluded TO entire, that il may be The be,er M
derstood-thus: e' W"
The annual cost of transportation estimated nj the
rate of pay erisfing at the close of the vsar
was 81, 296 SIC" June 30th, 1901
The Report hears date in December heinz 6,.
months after the fiscal year had closed Why Then
estimate the cost of sportRton for the past wear
why not stare its actual cost and set inside aI nh;
guilty IN regard TO an important and interesting fac,
The expense did or did not mount to the sun, I'm.
doubtiully stated. Ii the books of the Depnrtment
are properly and accurately kept by Journal nrd
Ledger, as under the administrations of Mel CO.,
Meigs, &c, the TACT could not fail to appear be-
heVe the inference affair one, TO suppose that the ey
renses al that year than is Tins byno,bc,;
caly stated If so, the actual surplus would exceed
the sum sta cd IN the report Ito the amount thar The
transportation was in fact lesS) have dweIt ON
TINS point not on account offs intrinsic importance
but as an evidence of great ambiguity or in,rcur,c,
IN the report There are also several other material
inaccuracies, some OF which shall mention before I
close my remarks. Having, as | believe fill,
shown hat On undispu ed surplus was on hand on
the Isl day Of July astto the amount OF S3I322l g2
that sum, tcgehsr wi The constantly accruipr in
come OF the Department, cannot fail To meet ,yo,,,
eng cement rnd liability, and more, TO graduaIy
constitute furd to reduce The present hieb rate -,
pos ase, instead OF reducing nil services as nrono
seq oy Tie POSTMASTER General. The Postmaster
General very properly rebukes his predecessor for
ms rrodgalty IN the years 1897 '3s and 80 and
might properly have added 1910, as we supnose
that all the essential liabilities were incurred belofe
the present Incumbent entered upon hrs official du-
ties. lie mis- hit have specially noticed u g asopnd
ing increase If expenditures in 1888 Fm,un,iry IN
Sl,3lS,OOO, ns Appeals also by the tabular state
meni, as wei os tie report OF that year. Can we
credit such statement tefore VIC see the items con-
stUuting II placed before usl Ii seems TO be illuSo
ry. 1t tie fact that such an augmentation of ex-
rendlture did occur IN year, there can be but one
OPINION rs 10 the onuTe uniitneSs uT tie officer
ior the office conhded 10 him. The Post Mas
Ter GeneriPs report says that there was sur
Pus on The 80 June, 1856, to the amonnt of SOIL
S42. Ills predecessor represents that there was n
balance in that year TO the same nmount I'm, no
does not admit 1t TO be a surplus. 1.-THE Post Mas.
ter General will refer TO thot report; he will nrn
badly discover the use 10 which the balance was
applied, and why il could not be considered snr.
p'us.
The report, in another place, represents the SIR.
pies TO he S75G20S in the year ending June 3Otb
ls31, His predecessor teprcs ents bahnce TO th,t
amount and at that period, bot acknow ledses
surplus TO the amount of 100000 TO be On
hand. But the report OF the present, and the
TcporS OF the late Post Master General are
greatly AT variance in many other particulars
and evidently show that but little If INV rc
lance can be placed on their accuracy 1t fully
demonstrates, Also that the pretent plan of keeniny
accounts in this department is to saw the least Of
~ bad one and that ii must of necessity be abnn-
doned. will not pretend 10 assert il as a fact bu,
certainly the discrepancies IN the report of the pre-
sent Post Master General, and those of his prede-
cessor VIII Justify the conclusion that the fiscal nC
fairs Of the department now in a worse state
than even under Major Barry.
he late L. NJ. General reported the cost OF incl
dentals, IN his report Of 1885, rather "incident,
expenses" as amounting TO S92,924 90, without
any particulars as constituting that charge I'm hi,
succeeding report, IN 1886, he mentions various ar
tIc'es-such as wrapping paper, GdUsTtsing spe-
cal agents, &c, &c. as incidental and states their
cost to amount 10 S27S,29S 81, being about two
hundred per cent increase in one year In his suc
eeedIng reports for the years 1897 IS and ,39 he
IS silent, II my recollection serves me, ss TO
lncidcniais But his successor comes m,nruI.
ly forward, ard in his late report rates those
expenses as amounting for the year ending june
oo'n, i9io' 10 SHIFTS 90, and partculurizes
many articles IL will be perceived TINT this
years expenses for ncidcntals was about five times
greater Than IN The year ending June 1886. Why
did the late Postmaster General charge incidentals
IN 1893 ana 1856, and omit the charge in his reporis
for ls37-'3s and 1877 Had he special reasons for
the omisslon2 was the incidental account so i'm,
perfect IN those years as TO forbid their representa-
toni lnudentals may cover many wrongs.
There IS one more Paragraph IN tie report of n
singular character, to which have before referred
VIZ: "As periodical roircnchments are unavoidable
1t deserves consideration, whether II would not bo
wise for Congress to prescribe some rule by which
all general cunarcnts be effected so as 10 re-
move Executive di crtton and secure an equal pro.
portion Of the reduction Of service among the diff
forcnt sections ofthc country" The +. H. Gene.
raj must have forgotten, when he penned that pgya
graph, that hc for the time Leirg, knew or ought 10
have known, the precise sum he had to expend
each and every 90 days and IT he Possessed com
mon sense and sound discretion, rs IL is to be rrs
sumtd he does, he would not make engagements or
incur liabilities beyOrd the regular means ard in.
come Of the department. II the z. NJ. General will
reier TO his tabular statement" and 10 his own re-
port, he will discover that he and his Predecessor
have raised the annual t1pencs q the Department 10
a sum exceeding two millions of dollars since the
iscal year ending June 80, lS35-being a greater
sum Than tie tntus expenditures Of the department
IN lne years 1929, 80 and 81, and almo 1 as much
as The whole expenses Of 1892 Now, let me ask
the worthy Il. NJ. General, what legislative enact
mcnis could be framed that would thectdairy cor.
rect such devious and alarming abuse Of power1
w.
ORPHANS FAIR.
he H. u.