The New York herald., 1845-12-07
LATEST INTELLIGENCE BY THE MAILS.
Report Of the Postmaster General

bui like The report OF the Secretary ~ The Navy, lis
great length and the nall, .tate of our
columns, prevent our giving more than few brlef
extracts in this days paper. The following con-
prise the leading features:
The extent of the post routes in tho United States
which the malls we're transported on The 30 day OF
June last, VAS s44 wies. The annual tiansporis
iion Of tho malls these fonies the day,
356sI2h9 mes on hotsebHch aud in sukes, II 225 Gal
miles, BY stpge ANA coach, 1q9f Ol6 miles; by steam
boats and railroad 6.4si 500 miles hich the Uni
ted States - 900 ,50I.
For the service horseback and in sukies sa4s ass
For the service N coaches ana siases. ialo'oao
For local and mail agents, and mail
gers incident to the service on railroads and
steamboats,. .....''. 3!ol3
sasos,so4
The number OF contractors that day in the
OF the department. III; mail agents, 30 and matt
messengers ia, the number OF local agents 3-al con-
nected with the railroad and steamboat service.
II is gratifying to find that whilst the annual transFor
tston was greater the year ending the both June,
lslo than for the preceding year. by 2246s5 miles, the
cost was less by S62 79.
On the so,h june isi5 there were "a lss post Offices
There were established during the preceding year asa
new Offices, and 269 discontinued.
On this day the number is IL 003,
There were appointed duiDg the same period. 3O33
ros,mssters 1897 appointed in consequence Of
deaths or resgnations IL IN consequence OF change
Of the site Of the Offices 753 removals; Ia where tho
commissions expired, and not rcsppointed $50 by tho
establishment OF new Offices Bio OF the number OF
tractors were fined deductions made from their psy
Tor omissions toperoim orireguiaIies IN the perior-
after deducting the remissons OF fines.
The revenue OF the department. for the SAME period
amounted TO 81 2sg s4l So The expenditure for the
same time amounted TO 4s2o73l 90
The net revenue, after deducting the commissions Of
postmasters, contingent and incidental expenses,
amounted to 81 2l7 ~.
Full of posmssters for the quarter ending the
30h September ashav not yet been received ard
settled as TO enable the department to make an accu-
statement of the of that quarter
FL examination has been made Of those received and
by com parison with hem of former returns from the
s,I
falling of from the nett OF the last fiscal
of forty five per Assuming this to be trus
and that the savings contracts let and to be let will
equal the Of routes to be put in operation
and the improved service that may be rendered neee,
be diminuon OF the OF the department to meet
the expenses for the present year of si,aaa.se.
The difficulty heretoioreexistng between the de.
partment and the Philadelphia and Baltimore railroad
take the mail from Philadelphia Immediately on its srri-
val from New York in the night has been settled by the
cessary aud important rvice on the opening Of the
spring after they have completed the repairs of their
road which sill Increase the despatch of the mail west
OF Baltimore, and south Of Washington twentyiour
hours.
Philadelphia railroad company still persist in their refu
sal to convey mail agents Tor the department over their
road This Is service rendered by all other companies
where it is desired and upon no OF er route is It more
needed than this Frm tins the most important route in
the u Sta and TOR which they receive the maximum
pay allowed by law the mail agent is excluded and
the service thereby material injured
has been shown that t ,avings in New York and
New Eng and the lettings last spring exceed
qua + mill on OF dollars Shout sim lar ngs
be al zed the OF sections when placed un er the
ne law there i'll be, western section al ert'
st of Ju next, a reduction in the OF the annual
ransp tat OF about 900 in III southern ecion
alter the LIST OF July, 1871 about s2ssooo per annum
and III the middle section, a.te the let OF July lsSS
slso,000 per annum The ". ole red ction thus made,
alter the st July, 1913 in the transportation OF the
mails, will be 81 ,005 900 per annum. 1t may not
be safe 10 infer the ucti Of ices OF uans-
por,aion in New York and New England. that
simil.r may be sde in the 9th secio of the
uh H. Whe su'Jeste ! me pro isions OF Q new
law In the former, the higher grades Of service had
been generally employ ed because of ihs greater
facilities for the mail service than in the latter The
new law only requiring that species Of service which is
mails would enlarge the field Of competition, and reduce
the prices more IN the ore than the ohers The prices
for transporting the mails may be iuoronsly effected
by the state oi the trade and markets OF the country
The extent OF the country its increasing population.
will demand additional and improved service and. II
tended to Texas and Oregon VIII not allow any reduc.
ton oi the expenditures IN this branch Of the service
The compensation to pos,masers, and the expenses of
their offices, the next principal source OF expendi-
ture amounted for the year ending sorh Of June
last, 10 the sum Of siaos.s7s IS
The practice Of sending packages of letters through
the mails to agents for distributor, has not entirely
superseded the ion of letters over post roads
OF the mails by the expresses. The character of
this offence is such as TO render detection very
tam iuil proof almost impossible, conviction The
penalties seldom recovered after conviction and the
department rarely secures enough 10 meet the
OF prosecution. II the officers of the department
in these violations OF the law arrested their packages,
trunks, or boxes seized and examined before proper
judicial officer and when detected in violating the law,
retained Tor the examination OF the court and jury 1t is
believed that the practice could he AT suppressed
smuggling letters and robbng the department of its
legitimate revenue should not be punished in the
way and 10 the same extent as perons guilty Of Snug
gliug goods; nor why the same means OF detection
should not be gwen the Post Office Department which
are now given to the Treasury
Weight anu bulk OF the mails add much to the cost OF
transportation, whicn constitutes three ourths of
the whole expenditures of the departments and if it is
to be sustained its revenues il is but Just and
proper that sill mater passing through the mails should
be compelled to pay fair proportion of the cost incur
has usually been made in behalf of ne vspspers and
other printed matter because they supposed to sd
the general diffusion of Intelligence among the people
upon which depend the maine and perpeuaion of
our free Institutions There was under the old w too
great difference between the tax upon letters and
printed matter. The tax upon the former
sary high and became oppressive to the citizens; the
tax upon the latter not so gh materially to inter-
fere with their general circulation There regu
lar made to the department. OF the weight of the
different kinds of matter passing through the mails
upon which opinion might be formed of the actual
cost Of the different kinds and the proportion which
One of my predecessors 1885 had an account kept
for week. Of the weight of the mails distinguishing
the we weight OF M letters & and and
tmore. Washington and Richmond, from which it ap-
peared that the whole weight OF the mails was sS,21i
pounds of which,
The newspapers weighed. IA SOS pounds
The periodicals ..S,Sj1
Letters, free and taxable .....1 ,9I6
II is confidently believed that the difference in
weight between the printed matter and written
munications passing through the mails is greater
since the passage of the late law than before-thst
nine.tenths of the whole weight of the mails, and
greater inequality in bulk Is composed OF printed
matter, paying about oneDinth Of the expense This
great inequality in the cost ofransportation did not
rant the difference in posages under the formerlaw and
most unjust to the friendly and business correspon
dence OF the country. The reduction OF the letter
by the late law was but an act of Justice to that class
OF citizens who had been SO long and oppressive
~ taxed for the benefit OF others
The necessity did not exist Tor reduction OF the
postage printed matter That had always been low
greatly below the actual expense Of its transportation
and yet not so high to interfere materially with tho
gene raj policy of the government.
| therefore recommend continuance Of the rates OF
postage written communications with these modihca'
tions that FIVE cents pay for each single letter for