The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1849-12-03

tndt Win WHICH tucy ldDOIcQ lot the great pOstdi
arrangement which now exists throughout Great
Britain. The most sanguine expectations having
been realized on shore, from penny postage, both
regards the number Of letters conveyed, and the
revenue derived from them, the same reformres
are now inquirng why the rule will not work just
as well at sea. 1t can, without doubt, between
England and the United States and we presume
that, if our government should propose system Of
cheap ocean postage, 1t would be at once favorably
entertained by England.
In noticing the fact that four great ocean steam
ers, intended for the New York and Liverpool
trade, are now (among many others) being con-
structed in this country, the Liverpool Courier, in
a long and well dlgested article, urges the neces-
SHY OF the British government adopting at once
system Of penny postage for the ocean; and, among
other arguments, shows, from our past progress
in ocean steamship building, that in no other way
can British vessels compete with our own, in the
carrying of mails. On this point, it says
If we calculate that these American steamers
will have the ordinary namely one horse to two
tonswe shall lind addition Of $4,000 horse power to
the going steamers Of the United States with ca
pacity for carrying 10000 tons Here Is competition
tucb have never experienced before lt will
test the whole service OF the steamships With US whe
tber it relates 10 passengers or the conveyance
OF letters We shall be under the necessity Of treating
the letters conveyed by American ships in the same
do No exclusive privilege
bs accorded here TO British ship because any legisla
ion part against the American line as regarded
letters, could be retslatei the other side In this
respect there must be equality. But the Americans
&c. ahead people. Letters they want, and letters
they will have If il he posbe to get them. Ii We COM
pete for letters Liverpool and New York and
our postage is a shilling, Jonathan will offer to do it
for sixpeBce. Amy business will see the effect OF
this. lt is apparent that whatever be done in this
by the Americans must OF necessity be met by
us. IL W would place Ourselves in an unsssaiabe po-
sitop, must come TO the penny postage by sea as
by land No country. except our do 1t and,
II we rightly apprshend our duty We will do 30 speed
jly' rs. llaI yfh ?. ...1
The same journal urges ocean penny postage as
a natural sequence TO the system on land Ocean
penny postage is now greater necessity TO thirty
millions the British islands, than penny land post
age was when 1t was first adopted The contlnu-
ally increasing tide Of British emigration towards
the New World has reached such point that
there Is hardly family in Great Britain or Ireland
which is rot interested IN cheap ocean post age.
Every town, and village, and hamlet, and we had
almost said every house, in Ireland, has sent us an
adventurer; while, by every fresh arrival, we are
receiving the farmers Of Eng land and Scotland,
the potlers of North Stafordshire, the locksmths,
and artisans OF every name, from Birmingham, the
, weayers of Manchester and Bolton, the miners
! from Cornwall, and The golfers from Yorkshire.
More than three millions of fellow citizens have
come from the other side Of the Atlantic, and dur
ing the next three years, Great Britain will trans
| Ter a million Of her subjects to our shores. These
! millions Of seli-expatriated emigrants need the
means Of communicating with the homes and
| friends they have left behind them. But, at the
present exoTbnant rates Of ocean postage, the poor
tmerant must pay halt the price OF days labor
for tier from his friends, which weighs ounce,
while a barrel OF -four, which weighs two hundred
! pounds, is carried for the same money. And figure
TO yourself, reader, the poor wretch in Ireland, who
| must pay this enormous charge before she can
| know the fortunes Of her absent son! Why, the
| British and American governments ask that Irish
mother more for carrying ounce across the
ocean, than her labor will bring her In a week IL
! is baIbarous cruelty, and it is felt by millions
! But the system oppressive upon every class of
community, and upon the people of every Eu-
ropean nation; tor they all have their repre- nta-
tVes here, who have leff their correspondents be-
hind. Ii weighs heavily upon our merchants,
whose hostages amount 10 hundreds, and in many
instances, thousands, Of dollars every year. The
exigeRcies of commerce will brook no delay
commercial intelligence must go by the most
rapid conveyance No matter If there be or
an hundred invoices, costing twenty-five cents, or
twenty-five dollars, they must go. No matter If
it be one sample, or fifty, of styles Of goods,
they cannot wait-they must go: and for the most
part they pay letter ros'ages. The samples Of one
/ house in Bread street, by recent steamer, cost
one hundrd dollars postage, which amounted to
almost as much as the freight on the goods them
selves. The samples weighed few pounds-the
goods as many tons.
ltweighs heavily on the press--it Is one of our
nov rottsl I'm efaa
sec amounts 10 an intoleroble tax; for on all our
foreign correspondence we are obliged 10 pay our
own postage, aud we are often compelled 10 take
flom The Office, piles Of letters which we never
publish, rather than run the risk of losing the few
good ones which we cannot dispense with. In
this way, we have been taxed, uselessly and I'M
justly, thousands of dollars.
Now, il cen be easily demonstrated that where
YER correspondence s large anu rapidly increas-
ing, the revenue auemenis just in proportion as
the rate Of postage is reduced. II was so in
England-t has been so here. The same
would, doubtless, hold true Of ocean postage.
Even at the eXoIbitant rate of twenty-four cents
per letter under half an ounce, there are two
millions OF letters now carried. Who doubts that
even at the rate of five cents, the number would
not quadruple AT two cents, il would be vastly
greater; and the Enghsh journals are pressing the
penny ocean system with resolution aad vigor
which promise success. Let US not be behindhand.
II does not become fee government to be ont
done by monarchy in liberal institutions. and,
least Of all, in liberal arrangements for the trans
mission Of intelligence. We shall press this mat
ter or The attention Of government, and we hopeell
COED citizens will Join with US. 1t is believed that
the present Postmaster General is satisfied that
cheap postage brings the largest revenue; and,
therefore, in recommending reduction on our
present home rates, We hope ne will favor cheap
ocean postage. 1t is called for by the wants Of the
world, at this period Of advancing lightly the ex
igences Of commerce, at time when steam is an
initiating oceans as railways and teleeraphs have
annihilai.d distance on land. II is called for by
wise policy; for throughout the civilized world il
has been proved, wherever it has been tried, that