The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1843-10-21

4 has a right 10 complain OF him The vast extent
complication and expense Of the operations Of u's
Department render II Of the most labori01s' al
6cult and responsible, Of the branches oi FEDERAL
Administration, Wilde II The time the fact tha'
every failure On any Of us inierninable ramiii-
cations raises tempest Of seoIdng among the editors
who suffer, and under The very best administration
hat could result from the hsPPiest combination OF
system energy, industry, and honesty, the mere ne
oessary imperiection Of anything human, would, IN
is consequences here forever keep The head Of the
Department 10 that uncomfortable element Familiarity
known by the name Of shot water
The people Of the country have demanded one
ihing, above all Others in the eonEe, anee Il the
mail-thst Is speed and, 10 the present state Of the
country, hold II quite impossible 10 combine speed
with certainty. The mail Is eonluusiiy treading 90
its toes One important reason a, that II over
loads Itself with such vast and unnecessary bulk Of
newspaper The monopoly Of this branch, II would
seem, is more burden than profit, and might very
well be released. On the railroads II may not much
impede the mail, bot there it probably costs
more thah il IS worth. The excuse Of tie COmpa-
mes for making high terms Is the great weight and
greater bulk Of the mails. Ii is as mere feight an
every day Of the year On The stage routes the
Is stall stronger. Horse power 10 horses is very
different thing from horse power 10 locomotives. Add
to this the fsllibiy Of drivers, the instability Of
coaches, long tracts Of sand, deep swamps rotten
bridges and all the accidents Of storm and food aud
who could expect the mortal weight Of bali ton Of
mails TO escape perpetual misehaDce II is by such
conveyance, and through such miscellany Of dam
gers and troubles that the mails the great route
TO New Orleans, go back and forth peppered in eve
ry direction by Dcesssnt storm Of editorial squibs,
casms complaints--and these not against Prov
dence Ia unbridges the streams foods the swamps
soiens the sand and sflicts the horses with bots
no I ut against the Postmaster General, who does
none Of these things and tries his best to remedy
them On the route between Charleston and New
York, great advances toward certainty combined
with speed, have been made by the recent arrange
mepts Of Mr. WickiiGe. Few failures occur now IN
Virginia and the additional tune given 10 the VIII
mngton boats, has relieved that part Of the line from
the charge Of delaying the mails. OF the perfect re-
gularity Of the mail conveyance on the South Carroll
and the Georgia railroads, we need not speak
it is above all praise Beg oBd this, clouds and dark
ness, to be sure, the predominant feature. Bot
this will not last. For whether Southern route by
Mobile, or Northern by Memphis be finally adopt
ed for the New Orleans mail, either Of them leads
through country Of vast resources and rapidly grow
ing imPorshce-both will, their resources, in
a very few years, sustain sys Of transportation
speedy and certain We need not vex ourselves be-
cause must wait little-because all the arrange.
ments of an old country not found in new-be-
cause nature has not made bridges and railroads but
has contened herself with giving TO her children
heriiage OF bouDdless cspaciie. for wealth which
they themselves TO fashion by art aud labor all
the uses Of . noble civilization.
Thus much We have thought i, proper to say or the
Post Office Department and, in conclusion to give
our opinion that Mr. Wickife has in hi. conduct Of
the Department, done the work of able, lndustri-
ous, and honest man. and has discharged his duty in
way 10 deserve the general praise, instead Of blame,
Of The country