New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1848-12-28
>.o.taI Reform-Mr. Hobbies Report.

.ders have had fair time 70 read mark
- ;,v.,a,. digest the Report Of Assistant
Al Gen Hosbie TO his superior on Rates
- po.,sge and Maj Service, and We trust tie
better portion Of them have not neglected. 20 a.
trsctive duty. There are very Re" men II .'''s
country who will 10. be wiser after realms N"a'
Report than they eve were before ana i - 0D0
OF the excellences of the documsnt mat ''' p
oles and suggestions reach ,eyona ihe cue a."
prompt Transportation Of Leaers am G.
Th.,s mine Of useful knovledge IN tnat ne
port bearing upon the trsnsaot'n o. 'A''"''''
business generally
We have had considerable Is" ." nan ""'
Postage Reform ere this, but Mr. HoEsiz has mere
o,s.so,sd the first comprehensive syst'" Of POST
oacs MANAGEMENT Some Of his REFORMS may
no, be feasible at this moment but as "h'le
thew strike US very isvorsbiy we nave o'hn-
dence in their making their way
II might mortify some OF our more wholesale pa
tr,ots TO learn how much we might proftsoy Dor
row from Eng land, they not IRON sucn
ohsgrin by their inveterate habit OF reading no
thing less irotby than partisan Editorials auo
Fourth Of july Orstious. Great Britain IS a osaiy
governed and shsmsiuly over-tezed country out
when the interests OF Business er Trace are al
feoted. her rulers are keenly conscious that mis-
government will not be tolerated Her commerce
!. the best guarded ana cherished, and her Nal
system i. the cheapest and best IN the world We
ore quite unlikely TO surpsss, but II Is olgn time
we began in this respect TO initiate her
W. are not vet convinced that Uniform Rate
n Postage for Letters, whether conveyed one
~. kaes Il
country. IL has many obvious advantages-sin-
pHci,y, cheapness, SC but we cannot quite rear
izs IT'S iqstice. A New Yorker has three letters
20 mail one morning-to Newark, \. J.-hagie
Hsrbor. Lake SupenOr-and CasTovile, Texas
respectively--is 1t quite fair to charge the same
postage on each Of these letters : 1t does not
seem so 10 US We believe the British example
il too blindy followed among as, unnlndioi OF the
vast disparity between the poPulous compscIness
of the British Isles and the immense and ;h'nIy
peopled area OF our own country. we wotld Gull
prefer as have already indicated, rates OF one
two three and FIVE cents for distances under ten'
two hundred one thousand and over one thousand
miles rsspectively-escb rate % be double on Let
tiers not prepaid, with an extra charge for letters
mailed at unreasonable hours or places so as 10
give extra trouble 20 the Department Yet the pop.
ulsr current seems 20 set strongly m favor Of q
uniform rate that shall probably defer b i anh
mite Ia favoring trial Of that plan. If work bad
y.wecsn easily go back to a discriminating seized
ule OF hostages IfUniiorm Postage is to be tried
we csnnot doubt that Mr.. Hobbie has hit the
proper rste-Thrce Cents for prepaid letters--we
would prefer Five Cents for unpaid. We appre-
bend Three Cents especially if there be An ad-
~. II lao ont ID
the Post Office many City letters which would
otherwise contribute senslby 70 the Postage heN'
enue. In this City alone. If every citizen could
drop his letter in at some well known sno'rost
Office on hi. ow n or the next block paying one or
two nts and be sure of its reaching It's destlna'
ton in any part OF the City within an hour or two
40 that he might expect an answer IN an hour or
two farther with like delivery radistng to the
suburbs, the number of such letters IN year
would be immense. beyond computation. Boston
and her environs would afford like revenue:
Philadelphia and her suburbs another But three
cents is a high rate for this business Nh. hobbie
10 quito ri ght with regard To the City delivery
but equity and policy require that the reduction
he proposes should he extended to the suburbs oil
each great city as well
Mr.. Hobbe is not liberal enough with regard to
Newspaper Circulation. II he will reduce ms
rates one-half he will treble the Newspapers, &c.
circulated through the Mails, aud obtain an In
oresso of income without a material increase o.
expenditure. Especially on Newspapers sent
but few miles-say less than thirty or hity-hs
rates are entirely too high. The local or country
journals are very hardly used by the present rates
and must have some abatement. a county Jour
= L L. a.. aa..Ia
pies within radius of five to twenty miles OF its
place of publication, in packages OF ten 70 MI!
copies. Tocharge one cent esch-thstis, i've TO ten
dollars per week-tor merely conveying these pa
pers from the Post Office OF the shire town to eight
or ten OF the nearest Post Offices is downright ex-
torton, and mus, BE- amended. IL gives the City
Journals which are conveyed three to seven hun
dred miles at the same rates an unjust advantage
In circulation Now we no believers IN send
ing anything through the Mails free, but we insis,
that each journal should be delivered within a
short distance OF its place OF publication al the
lowest possible rates-not half those charged Tor
longer distances To charge one cent on each
copy 10 simply ~ drive them out OF the Mails 81
mnishing at once Newspaper circulation snd Post
Ofhce revenue, while subiecnng the publishers to
serious inconv enience and loss. We cannot per
ceive that any one is corcspondinsly benefited
There are many OF Mr Hobbies recommends
tions that we do not feel competent TO criticize
for want Of familiarity with the machinery of
Mailing Transportation, ~. but the whole Report
impre,ses us very ,a,orably, and must prove high
ly sericably 10 the future reformers Of our Post
Offce system.
TKIxoRAFsiSG--A very large proportion OF the
matter teegnphed from day to day and Inserted under
this head in the newspapers Is absurd ami ridiculous