The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-05-07

case, and he presumed il would not be before.
Whea that time would arrive the gentleman could
better determine than himself
This was a subject IN which the people were
deeply interested and in which il was not the post
masters alone who principally interested, as
had been declared. Mr.. II. commended that Il was
for the interest Of the people that the postmasers
should be fairly and reasonably paid, that compe-
tent and faithful men could not be got TO discharge
the duties without pay, and that in they could,
the government Had no right 10 ask their services on
such terms. r........ ...-....-......
He had made these remarks principally with a
view to show, as he had fully shown, that the facts
sustained him in the statement he had previously
made with regard to the compensation Of postmas-
tsr and he repeated the expression Of the hope that
The proylso would be stricken out.
Mr.. G. DAVIS agreed, IN some respec 5, with
the gentleman from Indiana, [Mr. PErTIr,l in his
Reproduction OF the disregard manifested by the head
Of the Post Office Department Of the law regulating
the compensation Of postmasters. He hoped the
provso Of the second section going TO enforce this
law would not be stricken out. The laws regua-
ting postage and the rates Of compensation, had
been rechlessy, boldly violated by The head OF the
department in as Aagous and wanton manner, in
his humble opinion, as had ever before been done
by any executive officer Of the government.
He read the tariff Of commissions upon the re-
ceipis OF the respective Offices allowed as COM
pensalon 10 the several posmasters, under the law
of 1926 and the section Of the act Of l645 empower
ing the Postmaster General in case OF commission
being less than S25 to raise il in his discretion pro.
yded il shall not exceed SO per cent fthe receipts OF
the Office, and conended at some length, presenting
his argument in various forms, that the obligation
was as clear and strong under these laws to con-
hne the compensation Of poslmasters 10 the commits
sions specified, il would be TO conhne them 10
a salary stated IN express terms The departure
from this principle and the allowance Of additional
compensation by the Postmaster General 1t his dis
cretion, was the ground on which he arraigned the
Postmaster General. He also anmadverted upon
the construction given by that functonary TO the
laws regulating the Thanking privilege OF members Of
Congress.
The proyiso to this section The said) was intended
to correct this gross disregard by the executive Of
feer Of the law Of the land and compel him To ex-
ecute il. He admitted, with the gentleman from
Indiana, that the compensation Of deputy postmas-
tiers was too small; he might incline to vote for is
increase But that was not the question. IL was,
Will Congress regulate the postage and the COM
pensation ofdeputy postmasters-and will Il permit
The Postmaster General to disregard this law, and
determine for himself the rate Of compensation
Il was sought to be justified by necessity. He
repudiated this eyer-ready plea Of tyrants. He
knew no such plea under a government OF constitu-
ton and law. Where the law makes a require
ment the officer who executes II should be held TO a
strict observance Of it. There safety except
IN COuTSt u was ulilc W aIIcsh 0nis suspciu-
ing this dispensing power over the law, by the will
of the executive officer. Ii the law defective,
and the compensation provided by it to deputy post
masters was insufficient, let them remedy IT, but
leave it not to be regulated by the head Of the de-
partment by his own arbitrary will, and that IN de-
hance Of the law.
Mr.. HUNTER had listened with great deal OF
attention to the gentleman from Kentucky, MIR.
DAVIS as he always did, and had listened with at
tention and some surprise, to some Of the gentle
men who had spoken the day before yesterday He
confessed from the assault first made on the opin-
ion Of the Attorney General, and the action Of the
Postmaster General upon il, he was somewhat stag
gered; and it did seem to him that they had acted
improperly and departed from the express pro.
visions or the law At that time he had not read
the law or examined the subject; but since then he
had been induced 20 bestUw some examination upon
the law, and the opinion Of the Attorney General
and he had come TO a conclusion entirely the oppo-
site of that Of the gentleman from Kentucky. He
thought the opn on Of the Attorney General correct
and the action Of the Postmaster General upon tina
opinion correct.
There had seemed to be general misunderstood
ing in the House In relation 10 the matter; and i
had been supposed that il the necessity Of the
case which had required the Postmaster General Il
make these allowances, and that in order TO kecT
the Post Office Department, he had made them. HI
had supposed that it attempted to justify then
on the plea of necessity; and, like the gentleman
from Kentucky, he thought that plea entirely I'M
satisfactory and insufficient. Let the laws we
enact, (said he,) no matter how incoherent, how
loose, how impotic, yet if they are the laws Of the
land, let them be faithfully executed by the execu
tive department Of the country.
But in point Of fact the opinion Of the Attorney
General was based on such suppostion; but il
was based on the conclusion that the Postmaster
General was authorized to make these allowances
by the law of 1s45 II true that these allow
ahces were contrary to the law Of 1928, but since
that time, another law had been passed partially
repeating that law 1t was the opinion Of the Attor
ney General that the 22d section Of this act of lS4s
invested the Postmaster General with the discretion
of making these extra allowances to all department.
of the mail service except that Of the Post Office De-
partment here provided he kept within the bound;
of SAL millions, as is required by that section.
Mr. H. read the 22d section Of the act of lS45, as
follows:
Of hostages collected from the rates of postage pre-
scbed by this act with the annual appropriation from thu
granted shall prove insufficient 70 dsray the expense
the mail service throughout the United States to extern
to What enjoyed BY the and s o n
portion with the increase and expansion Of the population
particularly in the new States and Territories the de
in the treasury not otherwise appropriated ropded Ths
the Of expenditures for the Post ONCE Department
officers clerks messengers of the General Post Office
and the contingent fund Of the same exceed the
amount Of four million five hundred thousand dollars
Now was it not clear that it was apprehended BY
this section that the mail service throughout the
country might fail under the new law, and that j
was intended by it to confer on the Postmaste
General authority to keep up the same amount o
mail service to which the people had been accustom
| ed, and reasonable increase for the Territories
And was he not invested with discretion to make
sufficient amount Of appropriations to effect this OBJ
ject, provided they did not exceed in their tota
amount four and half millionsi Now he believed
was conended that he not allowed any discretion
in reference to postmasers, because this provision
was in reference to "the mail service" But did no
that embrace all the expenses of the Post Office De
partmen,' By the very terms Of the proviso, woul
1t not embrace everything connected with the servc
of the Post Office Department, unless the Post Ofc
Department here were excluded by the proviso
What was the necessity for the proviso, unless
was that this term "ma service" had this genera
broad Specification and acceptationi 80 .......s.
But it was said that this special provision of tn
9th section of the former act that il any posmaste
receive less than s25 per annum, the Pos'maste
General may increase his compensation, provided
Il