The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1848-01-07

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Postmaster General proposed that the company continue
TO carry the mail till Congress should meet and act on the
subject He would pay. no than he mad already
offered The company did not expect him, their
swer showed, to ask Congress for more This wa.
June, and the company went without complaint till
October 30 On the Goth OF October there a meeting
OF The company and they notified the Postmaster Gene
raj that they would not carry the mail the price he had
offered. A negotiation with the Portsmouth Railroad
Company for taking the mail had, in the tme been
broken off
Another offer was subsequently made by the Postnas
ter General To the company-to w.t. that they should
continue to carry the mail without contract; il being
! sui understood that III would the Postmaster
General pay any more than he had proposed; and the
State directors-for the State owned twoffths of the
stock OF the company-voed in favor of the continued
transportation OF the mail by the company till Congress
should meet. The company, finding that they were
kely TO get any more refused TO carry the mail the
expectation OF exorting the compensation demanded by
them from Congress The Postmaster General had been
anxious throughout to continue the contract but the com
pany wished to force nm to pay the amount given them
TO sanction all such attempts to larger compensa
iion than the law aows' Here was the law of Con-
gess and Congress ought to stand by the department in
its enforcement ltwoud be that the Postma Gen
eral took the highest compensation paid on any mail route
lie answered the argument of the gentleman from Virginia
Mr. Borrsl on this point II the post-coaches the
Richmond route to carry all the passengers as well
the mail then the compensation ought not to be half
SO high as the Postmaster General had offered Again
if the maximum rate allowed by law should be estimated
now upon the present cost OF transportation in post
coaches, the company would not get the oered-of
gentleman from Virginia, Mr. Borrs we were to ascer
tam the rate by asking what contractors ordinary
post would carry the mail for, and then add twenty
five per cent to that rate OF compensation and thus de-
termne the to be allowed for railroad transportation
Here was an attempt TO get more than the law allowed
and more than was just What would be the result of
yielding to this demand If all railroad companies should
combine, and say 'you shall increase compensation"
how the Post Office Department hereafter resist their
frauds and exOrtion? We must give Just what the com
panies choose to ask,
We bound (Mr. B. sai) in case we broke off the
contract with the Bay line, and the other contractors now
conveying the mails to Richmond ana Petersburg to pay
them adequate compensation in order to induce other
companies hereafter to of the department
when attempt shall be made to impose upon it. We had
been led to believe that great confusion had existed in
relation to the conveyance OF this southern mail under
the new arrangement But the Bay line had uniformly |
been taken by passengers going from the northern cities
Charleston II it true that the railroad did not OBJ
tain many passengers, it was proof that the Bay
route was preferred In giving his opinions this sub
eci Mr. sad that bat ne spoke as the representative in
interested in the mail establishment and who in |
fact were Large stockholders & 70, in the Richmond railroad
sor,,xas citizen of Philadelphia The largest portion
of tIk stock was, he believed, held there
He alluded to the allegation, that frequent and unprece-
denied failures had taken place the route There
had been great clanor account of interruptions of
the mail. But he had before him statement showing
that by the new route no more failures had occurred than
by the Old route, as compared with December 1915 In
1916 there were fewer failures the old route because
there was less ice and snow But, as compared with
december, lSil, the new route had 1Ound to be
more free from failures than the old established
The route from Baltimore only eight hours
longer to Charleston than the old one, the winter
But in the season; the time would be the
same as under the old schedule Should wo he asked,
submit to extoron. for the sake Of saving these eight
hours' AS to the Virginia way-mal, the Postmaster
General had made an offer that could take excep
ton to- He had offered the railroad company that mail
at one hundred dollars mile, and the company had
hs people ey wod 20
they refused it, in order to force Congress to reverse
the decision OF the Postmaster General The question
now was, whether we would suffer the COMPANY to
coece the government to pay sum that the law did not
allow.
The committee rose and it proposed and agreed to-
that at half past O'Clock the debate should cease
The House went again into committee, and
Mr.. G0GGlN said he hoped the House would under
stand that his participation in this debate from the
which had reported the joint resolution. And now,
when the resolution had been fully discussed by its
friends, he thought that those who advocated the subst
tute might at least be heard He had congratulated him
self, when this subject was introduced. that it in
which no party feeling could be evinced; He did not
look upon ii as at all connected with the party with
which he associated Neither cared he whether the
company might be satisfied not with the course to be
proper regardless Of the views of his friends the
pany or anybody else, He should endeavor to do his
duty connected with the company the House, and the
country, but as disconnected with party
The gentleman from Pennsy lvana, mr. C. BRowN,
who last addressed the committee, had gone what
into details than other friends of the resolution re-
Poleu ny ING eohhuco, anu He W4uu, tHeieIoIt, Ue1
leave to pay his respects to that gentleman first He had
called upon that gentleman to exhibit the contract under
the award of President Tyler, and since then he had
handed him the paper privately but his object was to
have the paper submitted to the House, because of the
fact that the award OF President Tyler simply for
year.
tract to be entered into for four years; and the award
says 9" authorize the Postmaster General to contract
with this company" Phe President therefore, author
lied the contract Tor four years.
Mr. GOGGIN. The endorsement of the paper says it
is only for one year; and when the gentleman tells us
the award of President Tyler was -
Mr.. BROWN. Read the award.
MIR GOGGlN. The endorsement of the paper says for
one year. and Mr. G. could not now take the time to
read over the whole form of the award The fact
manned unchanged and Interchangeable The Postmaster
General had put himself upon the dignity of the law
and by doing il was as good admission on his
paving to the company the price demanded for this mail
service down to the lst of July, 1s47,
He desired to call attention that disclosure made by
the gentleman from Pennsylvania, saying that almost all
the passengers from the south north from Richmond
by way of the mail coach line, preference to the Rich
mond and Potomac railroad and steamboat line. And
now he would ask that gentlemen if when all the pas
sengers go by the malcoach route, should require
the Richmond company to keep up the railroad and
steamboat line for the mail service alone 'or this, il
anything, was the argument,
Mr.. g. also directed the attention of the committee TO
the resolution of Congress- passed in 1s43, by which the
Postmaster General authorized to pay to the steam
boat potion of this route, under peculiar circumstances,
the full amount fixed for railroad service Whh Mr.. G.
was proceeding with his aEgqment--