The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1847-06-29
From the Boston Post

Judge Woodbury. Charge ON the POSE once
Eat our request Judge Woodbury. has kindly furnish
ed us with the following able and interesting charge on
the important subject OF the post Office establishment lie
ivered by him TO the grand jury OF the U. 5. circuit
court Boston, May 10Th
GENTLEMEN GRAND JURY The various OF
fences against the post office establishment, when aggr
waited IN their character come under your special cog
nlzance From the great importance Of mat establish
punished Allow me- then, Tor few minutes, TO occu
ply your attention with few remarks in explanation OF
that importance, and OF the reasons for furnishing viola
tons of the laws made TO protect that establishment In
almost all countries and ages, system has existed
for transmitting information under the protection and
power OF public laws In ancient times il looked chiefly
TO the accommodation OF the government; and, being
connected most frequently with military operations
speed was the great deslderaum That speed was there
tore, attained highly than in modern times,
MI the wonderful invention of steam and the magnetic
Telegraph but it was attained great expense, and with
hue oenef to the community at large, IN matters either
OF business social intercourse II was accomplished
at tunes, as II IS now in Europe, and occasionally here,
by individuals by means OF carrer-pgeons, educated to
carry only lew lines attached TO Their bodies but
was with the eetness of the Wholesome flying at the
rate OF sixty miles per hours or, by swift iootmen as m
Mexce before the Spanish conquest was passing for
ward light documents from station to station; or, III
Persia and Italy, where the roads would permit was
by carriers horseback, riding express from post
post and hence the name OF posts and post offices
was given 10 the places where they halted In these
last two to three hundred miles per day often
passed Tberus, il is said, threw away dispatches
over twenty days old from ASIA or ten from Africa or
NOUS compared with the weight and number Of packages
carried and the people at large received little direct ad
vantage from it, as the public movements of fleets,
armies, or high political functonares, constituted the
chief subjects OF the matter transported. 1t easily be
compehended how little of the weight by hundreds,
TONS which belongs TO modern sy stem of mails,
and is for the benefit of Millions could be carried the
wing OF pgeon or in the pockets OF fleet man;
the back OF race horse; and hence how very useless
to the people at large was any such establishment how
costly From the nature OF the SYSTEM then, for
merly and the bad condition OF highways generally the
use OF the mails was not only much confined govern
men dispatches Alone but 10 brief and light documents
OF public character, and would not do much in distribu
ting even public documents, such twenty thousand
pies OF the Presidents message and the reports accompa
nying it, modern Patent Office report often equal to
ten tons in weight, and dispersed than
million square miles, among twenty millions Of people
The ancient systems therefore, limited, exclusive,
and narrow in their operation, so as to exc ude the
community at large from any deep interest in their
cess and to force them to employ private expresses at
great expenditure Tor sending private correspondence
on business or pleasure, or friendship, with unusual
quckness IN any imperative emergency. But expe-
rience and civilization advanced and highways improved
and the ghtness weight and bulk of paper or parch
mens enabled more TO be carried than single piece
few single dispatches; and the interests of the people
at large became more attended TO- and their economy and
convenience consulted Closer on account OF their power
and influence in government; and they, by gen
eral diffusion OF the knowledge of writing and reading be-
came able prepare and anxious send and
correspondence at distance and in large and frequent
quantities, the post Office establishment underwent rad
cal revolution. It was gradually modified to
commodae individuals more well as the government,
and in other maIlable matter well as letters Hence
the organization OF this establishment, for the general
convenience OF the community, did not occur Europe
till after the revival of letters and reached nothing Of
its present regularity and universally letters
saying nothing now of other matters, till within almost
three centuries Since that popular power and inter-
est have become felt Ever since that, like other
institutions, the growth or consequence of improved
roads. commerce, and literature the progress in it has
been constant; and the expansion its for the com
muny especially in this country, rapid beyond any pre-
cedent
Fl Il. 1.
na here now enters into the business and enioymens
OF society at large and hence how important ii for
injuries to with exemplary severity, few facts may
not be without benefit The first and most striking i'm
poyement in the mails here, in the quantity of matter,
most OF ii useful nformatlonva knowledge for
the pubiic--now conveyed for the community, no less
the government Formerly, here less than in
Europe, since modern improvements
what advanced, most OF the mails contained
than could be carried single horses, and consisted
chiefly of letters. Coaches used but little for this
purpose hll The present century while now nearly
travelled by mails in coaches steamboats, and rail
road cars, to that horseback and in sukies united
The mail here goes about million OF miles BY steam
seventeen millions in stage coaches, and but eleven mil
lions in sulkes and on horseback. This is partly de-
manded for public safety and partly for convenience 10
which is bulky and heavy The weight of the mails
despatched from the city OF New York alone week
ly averages over 10000 lbs In the third week Of May,
A. D. 1876. rather light one it exceeded thirty
1t is not little remarkable that, going back to A. D.
1888, the weight of the mails from that city and
Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, united, was
for one week only 556i lbs being less in all of these
than they in New York alone In this ratio, the
weight Of the mails sent from New York city yearly
would be three millions of pounds and, in this pro.
portion, computing from the postage received in New
York city compared with all the United States, the
weight OF the whole, yearly, would be eighteen millions
of pounds in the United States To illustrate the rapid
progress in this weight, that sent from New York has
fyebled in less than ten years. and from Philadelphia ii
has more than doubled 1t is estimated BY the Post Office
Pn-fO RaltmOre
Another evidence of the design in Post Office
adjustment to dfuse and carry intelligence for the peo
pie large and not merely dispatches for the govern
men the great number of post Offices sprnkled over
immense territory, for the accommodation of almost
every neighborhool The number exceeds fourteen
thousand and increases almost yearly at the rate of four
to five hundred; while in England, in A. d. 1881 the
annual addition. This tends TO bring letters and
other useful information through this establishment al
literally to every mans door and hence this estab-
iishmen than any other in government is often
spoken of coming home most to the bosoms and bust
OF the masses OF our people
Another illustration of the great utility of the present
system to the public, the improved speed it untes
with SO large weight and bulk of information diilused
through every and artery of the body polite Where
only day IN many places, and IN some little
hour The swiitest mall the express, between Boston
and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, fifty years since, was
two days on Its and went three times only week
1t short of three hours and passes or three
times day each way and where the magnetic telegraph
established and used under government direction
in place, and ought to be universally we must
compute distances. in sending information,
minutes and seconds, rather than days hours This is
ODptn iup mn nan IN 1yhar chopu