The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-12-04

The to al amount of expenditure, oeltied 81 --'I
The year which has passed has been dis,n
puished in many portions Of the country parc-
ularly in the South and West by excessive
rains and floods interposng obsructons the Iepu-
lar transit of the mails, which it was impossible for
the most vgilant and enterprisng contractors "a
overcome With exceptions of this kind, the service
has been generally well performed by contractors.
The revenue collected by Postmssters with very
few exceptions, has been promptly paid and account
ed for, and is worthy Of remark, that of the ST.
4SS,OS7 Is collected by Postmas,ers within the last
iour years no material loss has been or will be- sus-
tanned by the Government.
Contractors, and all others having legal claims upon
the Department, have been, during the same period
promptly paid
IL gives me pleasure to say of the disbursing agent
OF this Department that be has discharged his trust
with commendable fidelity. The whole amount of
appropriations, for the lAsi four years which have
been discussed by him. is Si0i S52 6s. His accounts
have been regularly settled at the Treasury up 10 the
3OIh September, 1874, and every dollar legally and
properly accounted for.
The various duties Of the Asssta nts and Clerks Of
the Department have been well and efficiently per-
formed
The Report Of the First Assistant Postmaster
General, OF the extent and nature Of the service fr
the last eight years, with of transportaon me-
companies this report. refer 10 this renort a con
tanning valuable statistical information Of the amount
of capital employed IN the transportation of the mail
II VIII also be seen by the same report that al the re-
cent lettings Of the middle section without any niu-
rious alterations Of the service, the sum Of s9I al
has been saved compared with the amount pad I'm
der the former contracts
The number Of cases Of mail depredations reporel
10 the Department for three years preceding the 10Th
October, 1874 is nineteen hundred and tb;r,y = n,
Amount of alleged loss, Si62 1856 Amount of mo
ney recovered or loss satisfactorily ascerained 1901
242 One hundred mail depredaors have besn ar
rested and tired, during The same period.
am warranted in the expression Of the opinjon
that the number OF mail depredstions has been di.
mlnlshing within the last few yenIs and greater az
curly, by greater vigilance has increased public con-
hdence IN this mode Of transmitting money from one
portion of the county TO the other.
From the ABOVE facts II may be inferred that the
Special Agents OF the Department have not been al
together unmlndu OF their duty. IL IS not alone TO
silent Investigations into Of losses by mail that
their lsbors have been con6ned They are charged
with general outdoor superintendent of the ser
vice and the preservation of the public property Of
the Department.
The necessity and importance Of such supervision
and the advantage of strict system Of responsblty
may. m some degree, be known from the value and
amount expended annually for portion Of this pub
lie property. Take, for instance the item of mail
bags The amount expended for this purpose. for
the four years, including the amount Of accounts
suspended prior TO the first OF July 1870 which amount
VI 'cCounh, was paiu IN lS4l and lrA2
was s2l6,Ss9. The amount actually expended for
the tour years preceding the first Of July 1874. is
SIC, 55S 40.
The members Of the convention who framed IN.
Constitution OF the United States felt the necessity
that the power to estab post Offices and post road.
and to conduct the operations Of the mail was one
which, TO be useful and commensurate with the
wants Of our extended country and diversified inter
ests, must be exclusively vested in the Congress. Of
the United States, whose legislative functions and
supervision would pervade the whole sphere of The
operations Of that power.
The expense Of the system must be sustained by
the same power which created and controls it,
For reasons obvious u those Who founded the post
Office system Of the United States the principle thai
II must sustain itselfby ts own operations wa. en-
grated into the FIRST and has been adhered 10 in eve
~ subsequent, act Of legislation concerning the De-
parment Whilst IL has been required TO sustain
ih own expenses, unlike the system in some other
countries, II has not been regarded az source of re-
venue to the General Treasury.
Our predeces ors seemed TO have adopted the rul,
that those who used the Post OfFoo Department for
private or individual purposes or benefits. should DE-.
fray The expenses Of transporting and delivering their