Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1847-12-28

cent less !Jr the steamboat service, Will o 90,
led TO 1871 dollars for the railroad ara -.
for the slaamboa service-lnaking ~, zo2 doi!als,
less by 1890 dollars than the amount lece'ea
under the award ci President Tyler
Thiscompany al first demanded :of The sciViCe
36 zoo dollars which exceeded their Oh pay lao
doals bu, finally yielded so !ar as 10 accep' we
pay allowed by he award OF MIR. Tyler. eoulu
make no such contract, because The demand tA'
ceeded the price which was authorized 10 pay oy
The settled adjudication of each of my predeGes'
sors since The passage uflhe act OF 1885, as wen DIS
by myself and recognised by Congress in the acls
of 1899 and lS45 Nor would have done So
il the law had permitted me 10 pay hlsheii ue-
cause, in my judgment the sum deihahueu va" .h
greatly beyond just and lar compensate, ,os
line service: and because every other h!st-ciass
road performing single daily service, which mao
been lei 10 contract since the act of le45 had ac-
cep,ed The rate offered this company, and were
performing the service for it and could see no
reason why this company should be paid more
Than olhers-cspecially those which perform Inc
service over their roads both ways IN Inc nlsh',
whilst lhis company performed the service hioe'
OF the year in The day time. -. ,,o
Before the establishment Of this railroad, Inc
mail to Richmond in steamboats, and coaches eos'
5 445 dollars per annum, and Inc price pau SUI
IS43 Tor steamboat and railroad service mas III
creased to 81, 80 dollars der annum, wh'isIna
narration OF everything else than the mall mas
been greatly reduced. 49,.
The company declined the service, and ar
raneemenrs were in progress for contract 10 lake
The great southern mail from Baltimore down Inc
bay in June'lasl The president OF The company
mir. Edwin Robinson) protested Willingness
TO continue the service, ard 10 trust 10 my sense
OF Justice for an additional compensation. BE-
lieyine that the services Of the road would be more
accepiab!e TO The public than any other, ai'er ex-
plaining 10 him fully my settled opini"ns OF inc
law. and M duty under it, agreed a' once W
hermit The service 10 be continued, anu aoahaon-
Ell the arrangements by The Bay route, %h'ch
co,d AZ ina, season Of the year have been advan-
,.osorsIv made The service has been continued
nnier This arrangement since The lst OF July last.
On The 9th day o; October formal no!ice was
Given the department that The company would de-
Cline taking the mails after The 10Th OF Decem'
her without additional pay. Would ii be I'm.
reasonable 10 suppose that The President oil the
company, in his communication, intenHed 10 IN
dpcp the DEPARTMENT 10 continue The mails on The
road without written contract, as had peeh 'he
case since 1913, until the opening Of winter ana
,he meeriDo of Congress- under the expectation
that mo arrangement could be made for the SER
vice in winter or, ii made, that bad roads, ice,
&c would render the service Irregular, and ere.
ale more dissatisfaction in The pubic mind, and
the department, or Congress- or both, might be IN
duced the more readily TO yield 10 the eXacllons
OF his company The compensation offered that
company is al The same rate Tor which Inc SER
vice is performed from Richmond to Petersburg,
to Weldon, and 10 Wilmington, from charleston
IN AUGUSTA and TO Alabama, taking the same
GREAT Southern mail, and some OF The roads per-
forming the service both ways in the night, and
one of them with more speed Than is given over
this route where the service is in The day Time lol
| great proportion OF The year.
The compensation offered Ter steamboat service
from this TO Aqua creek is al Il much Ii CHER ralt
than is paid upon any Steamboat route In Inc U
States cycer, The sea rouie between Charleston
and Wilmington, which is paid al the same rate
offered this company. From Louisville 10 Gin
cinua,, abou, 40 miles, the service is rendered
daily in steamboats, al $500 dollars; from New
| York TO Troy, about $50 miles, daily in steam
boats during the season o! navigation, (a6ou
nine months tor The sum OF IL 7oO dollars; iron
| New York 10 Sloninston, about l25 miles, lh'
mail is taken daily in steamboats, for the sum
| 5000 dollars and 80 on other routes; Wills; OF
This route Of SIT mics long, they demand IL, rs;
dollars, and ON The railro d l9, 500 dollars. Ar
| engagements have been since completed for TIT
| transportation of the great southern mail iron
| Baltimore down The bay; and though the service
NAV moi be SO good as that over the railroad, We
| there will be no serious inconvenience expert
enced, except in Virginia, near this ROUTE wher
| i, will be impossible 10 give the same expedition
| TO The mails by any other conveyance. To obVi
| ate this Inconvenience as far as practicable, hel
| offered the company one hundred dollars per mil
| for taking the local mails 10 Richmond, which
the highest price authorized by The act of lS4o L
be paid 10 railroads for second class service. Fo
a.. Is ,uho pln n
| that or any other route could be made. This oi
fer was likewise refused, and the local mails vii
be sen, hereafter by s,ag'S from THO to Richmond
and this service, and the transportation OF tn
great mail down The bay, will continue until IN
Isl of July, 1851, unless Congress shall olherwis
order.
This and similar efforts on the part of few
contractors in other sections Of The country TO OBJ
lain, under one preence or another, higher price
.han the maximum rates settled in The department
have produced much Inconvenience to The public
and. il practicable, should be avoided in future
This can only be accomplished by such modi
fcation of the law as will give more prccis
aud certain basis for the adjustment Of their com
pensaion.
II affords me grea, pleasure 10 say that a yer,
large proportion OF the companies owning rail
| roads and steamboats, have accepted The terms o
the department. aud perform The public seryic
with great energy and regularity, and 10 the salts
faction of the public as we'll as the department
The service to Oregon from Charleston ant
Panama, as directed by the 6 h section oil the &C
of The Sd March, lS47, has not been put in ope
ration. The usual advertisements for the ser
| vice were made, and no bid was received Tor IN
whole service, within the Limitations OF The law
that could be accepted A bid for portion o
the service from Charleston TO Havana was mad
Ia ~ a nf Ghor N 10
| was accepted by the department upon condition
that it should be approved By Congress, and al
appropriation made Tor the payment. This wa
done upon the superstition that Congress nigh
| still desire the establishment OF this imporlan
line 10 Oregon, even il more money had to be pail
| than the sum limited in The law. The whole ser
| vice will probably cost more than double tn,
amount appropriated. The contractor is Of I'm
doubted ability, and will put the line in operation
should il be The pleasure of Congress 10 sanction
the contract. An estimate for the necessary sun
for his payment will be submitted.
Much anxiety has been manifested in some
parts of Florida for this line TO touch al 81. Au
susline and other points on the peninsula; but a.
no bids were received for such service, although
invited j, could not Re done.
At the earnest solicitation OF the citizens Of Flo
rida, have invited proposals, under the Slh sec
ton of The act OF the Sd oil March, l845, ito pro-
vide for The transportation of the mail between the
United States aud Foreign countries" for line
Of steamers touching atthe principal ports on both
sides OF The peninsula, in smaller class otseam
boats than those contemplated by the 9Th section
of the &C, OF The 81 March, lS47. As it is moi
probable that any revenues will be received from
The offices 10 justly such an expenditure, thought
proper TO invite the proposals al time when
Congress would be in session. that il mic hi be de.
cided by that body wheher other considerations
than those connected with the Post Office Depart
menl would induce i, 10 make the necessary ap
propfaions Tor the service. Such class Of
steamers could readily enter the differen, ports
on the Gulf Of Mexico, in the service OF the Post
Office Department. would be OF great importance
to the citizens residing on the coast, who are al
most entirely destitute oil mail facilities, and
would increase rapidly the sale and settlement OF
the public lands, and might be made OF still more
importance in the protection of the general reve.
nues.
1t mas been suggested that this service may be
nerformed without much additional exnense 10 the