Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1845-03-11
NEW posT-oFFICE LAW.

ahounds with useful statistics upon The past and
nresen, condition OF The English postoihce laws,
comnared with our own-and with many striking
views OF the benefits which the people OF the Y.
States might derive from reduction OF the post
noe MIR. N. had offered an amendment TO the
bill. providing that each package weighing less
than half an ounce be considered single letter,
and charged with cents postage for any DIS
lance less than 100 mies-over 100 miles, III CTS.
MIR. Miller OF New Jersey moved an amendment,
charging CTS. for any distance not exceeding So
miles and Is cents for any distance beyond 4UO
miles
aThe Post Office Establishment (said MIR. NJ
= IN singular condition It's revenues have
been falling off for several years, and are now
insufficient to sustain its expenses; and, al The
same time, the public are complaining that your
rates OF postage are TOO hlsn; ana SO sTons Is
This sentiment that the law is openly violated and
private expresses are established between all the
important, commercial cities, which convey
large portion Of The letters which otherwise
would he conveyed in the mail. Underthese cir
culnstances, what was 10 be done? We want.to
raise more revenue, at the very time that public
sentiment demands reduction OF the postage
tax Some saving has been made in The recent
lettings of contracts, and the department has made
all The curtailment which the public interest will
admit of, and still the revenue is deficient. Re
,luction of expenses, and greater economy, might
aid HE department some, but cannot exIrlcate IL
from its embarrassments; besides, the public de-
mand reduced rate OF postage II appeared 10
him that there was but one course to pursue, and
that was TO revolutioniZe the whole system, and
10 look 10 another resource to restore the declining
revenue of the department-ihe increase OF let
,ers 10 be conveyed through the mail. To make
This resource available, requires low rate oil
postage, which may draw all euers, now sent BY
private expresses and otherwise, into The mail,
and greatly increase the correspondence oil Inc
country. This would be an experiment, and per-
haps hazardous one, if we had no light TO guide
us but opinions and calculations as TO the pro.
bable results of SO great change IN our man
system.
aRut fortunately, if we have no experience OF
our own. we have the experience OF another coun-
,ry. which has pretty fairly tested the operation OF
a system OF low postage; and he begged leave 10
cali the attention of the Senate more particularly
than had been done to the results OF the expert
ment which had been made in England, OF what
is there called the penny system. Their estab,
lshment differs in some respects from ours, and
possesses considerable advantages over II IN re-
card 10 The expense Of the mail service. The
country was moi only OF limited extent compared
with ours, but the transportation was performed
AZ much lower rate. There are in Great Br-
tain but about 81 900 miles of post routes whilst
we have. as appears by the last report from The
Department more than l44 900 miles. Their
average compensation for railroad service is but
about nnety-six dollars per mile per annum Tor
The conveyance generally Of four mails daily
Here two hundred and thiTty-seven dollars per
mile is paid on many OF our railroads for two
mails per day. In England the average rate OF
coach service is hardly 3 cents per mile for the
actual distance the mail is conveyed, or about
an average of so per mile for the length oil
the routes. Here the cost Of coach service is
fraction over s cents per mile for The actual dis
lance the mail is carried, or on an average OF from
$50 10 SO per mile fer the extent OF the routes.
These differences are greatly against us. But
there is an important fact 10 be taken into The ac-
count; which is that with the very low rate of
cents letter postage, and no charge for newspa-
pers. their revenues greatly exceed the expenses
uf the establishment. According 10 the statement
in report just received from The department, II
appears, ihai in 1913 The excess, or nett revenue
in England was f643, 721, or exceeding The sum
al S3O00,000. II is true, more than 100000
of this surplus was expended for the packet ser
vice but that was no part Of the inland mail ser
vice The whole receipts in England, in 1913.
were FL ,620 000 SO il appears, that the surplus,
or excess over the expenditure, was more than
one-lhird rart of the whole revenue which ac-
crued. This excess of receipts over expenditures
is a large margin, and would seem TO be sutiicen;
10 meet all the additional charges to which our
system is subjected. Let me now call attention
10 the effect of the penny system upon the revenue,
as compared with what il was under the old sys-
TEN. Ii went into operation in January, 1910;
and the falling off OF the revenue that year, as
compared with the average revenue for the five
preceding wears was fl 100000, being about 43
per cent But this was the result OF single year.
Unfortunately, the statement does not inform us
what has been The increase the last three years.
Blu, We know il has gone on increasing, and has
not vet fully developed its efficiency in producing
revenue He had seen statement somewhere,
that the postage revenue the past year had in
creased l3 per cent, whilst their other revenues
had increased only one and a half per cent. Thr.
teen per cent on the gross revenue of FL 10000
is about f200 900; and the three last years, there
fore, at this rate, have produced an increase OF
revenue to the amount Of about fG00,00O, or one
half ofhc falling of during the first year; 50 that
il would seem that the decline in the revenue at
The close OF the 9TH year was but about f600000,
or something like twenty per cent OF the former
amount and the increase is still going on; so that
we may reasonably suppose, that, in two years
more the whole deficiency will be made good
and The postage revenue be as great as il was IN
der the old system; and this astonishing result
will have been produced by two-cent rate OF
posage-little more than one-fourh OF The ave-
errors Of fact or estimate there may be in these
statements, i, is certain thar the great experiment
in England has been successfnl-decidedly, trium-
phanily So And who has or can duly estimate
the importance of this great reform measure, in
lis pervading influences on the varied interest OF
society? We can Judge something of this, by
public sentiment there; and we find, that al this
lime, the author of this low-postage system is re-
garded by the whole nation as public benefac-
nd lacttpf
benefits on his country; and the people arc now
manilesins their sense of the good he has done,
by some public testimonial Of Irrational gratitude,
worthy OF great and intelligent people 10 beSlow
and of a public beneiactor 10 receive.
"Such has been the result OF this great expert
ment in England; and why may We not aniici
pate equal benefits and equal blessings .iom il
here1 II has increased The letters transmitted by
mail there tourtold, and has sweled The number
during the last year. 10 the astonishing amount
Of ID 600 900; whilst, in this country, with near
" the same population, the letters sent through
The mails did not, probably, exceed 26 OO0OO =
Inthe most hourishing year OF our establishment,
in (iSS6l the number ofleters charged with post
age, were but about 29000000. How vast The
difference! And the benefits OF the two systems
are not 10 be estimated according TO the difference,
bur according 10 The amount of communications
through the mail in each country, and The charge
OTCOSt duCuuihS tucH. uC ipiitISH SlClI lOu-
iers on the people of that country all the advanta-
ges and benefits, in relation 10 business and So
cial intercourse, OF more than 220,000O00 of COM
munications through The mail, at charge oftwo
cents each; whilst our system dispenses only the
benefits OF 100000 900 of communications, al an
average charge of say, cts for each letter.
The number of letters is more than 10 |; whilst
The cost is but about one-eighth part there Of
what il is here on the letters transmitted.
"Mr. N said, he was for. system OF low post
ace. both as an end and as means; he went for
low postage for the advantages and blessings ii
would confer, and also as the most effeclual way
Of raising the necessary revenue. Fortunately,
these two objects, both 50 desirable in the present
condition OF the finances Of our establishment,
were uni,ed the more letters conveyed, the great
erthe benefits, and the greater The revenue. And