The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1850-11-16
OSlI ssp e srAEns R1sTAL GUIDE

AND oPSIeIsI .aDvERTrsER
IL To skosc schat is aose and scAas should be done,
..,. in Office .-zsT ~ taas
PErER @. WAsHrnGroS,( r,. Is
CHARLES M. WILLARD, a"o's a"a f'cp''e'o's;
TERMs---' The DATED States Postal Guide and
Official Advertiser containing about 80 superroyal
ocfaro pages, Is Published monthiy for ONE DOL
LAR ONLY, per a,ssuas, payable IN adrancs on .fpe
dollars tor str copies ordered al any one time.
PREPARATORY NOTICE. aI q
The enterprise in which we now embark, and
or which this paper 10 at once the commencement,
and sample OF the papers that are to follow, has
for jig ann no less purpose, than to impart IN
structon, in the general and detail, 20 the Officers
and Agents Of the American public, in respect both
to their duties and their rights, and to make them,
and the people at large, acquainted with the argan-
lzation, decisions and action Of the Executive de-
partments of their Government. There has hith-
erto Teen no vehicle for the regular and proper
communication Of information OF this kind. The
publication of the Laws and the issue of instruc.
tons, more or less comprehensive and al intervals
more or less extended, have proved wholly inade-
quate, in the absences0f tina construcsinu &C tluue
Laws, as applied to particular cases, and Of details
and illustrations 70 make the regulations and in
structions, ineligible. The valuable documents
annually reported to Congress, are too voIuminous
and are printed in quantities too small for general
circulation; whilst the debates in Congress and
the commentaries of thepress upon their proceed
lngs, and the proceedings Of the Executive branch
Of the Government, besides turning mostly upon
general principles, address themselves only to
party ends, and to matters Of national policy.
These publications in their various forms are
highly useful in themselves as far as they go and
some OF them Indispensable; but there is much
that do not reach the hands Of ALL nor il they did
do they furnish those rules, methods, and exam
Piles, for the despatch Of the public business which
render the aofr, d,,t
or easy, whether in respect to the incumbent him
self, or the department or bureau under which he
acts We shall make am honest effort to supply
this vacuum, and to provide for these necessities
II we succeed in rendering the functions Of the
primary offices more uniform, methodicaI, and ex-
act, we shall make the administrative duties of the
departments more easy and effective and thereby
promote the real and substantial interests Of the
country. And this we expect to do, to some ex-
tent at least--apart from, and independently of
any party or personal interest or question what
ever. ap s VIII r. '.3 @,
tits known to most OF those to whom this pa
per will be sent, that the Senior Editor was Audi
tor OF the Post-O Office Department until the month
of November last; with by far the larger portion
OF both postmasters and contractors, he has had
direct intercourse, in person or by letter. He en-
tered the department fourteen years since, and for
many years previously. had been, first in the War
Department, and subsequently in the Treasury.
He has therefore had the best opportunities for
understanding the arrangements OF business in all
the departments, and being acquainted with those
who carry It on. Since his official connection with
the Government ceased, he 1attera himself he has
preserved the respect and regard Of most OF the
present incumbents Of the departments, and is on
becoming terms Of intercourse and ciyility with
them all. The Junior Editor has been asssiduously
engaged for several years, in studying, by per-
sonal inquiry and examination, the practical and
daily routine and details Of the Post-Ofice and
other branches Of the public business. II is with
this stock ofexperence, and these advantages for
reaching the various sources Of administrative ac-
ton, and for mparting minute and illustrative in
struction, and valuable periodical and statistical
information, that we challenge your confidence
and solicit your support and patronage.
We have fixed upon the 18th Of each month az
the day for the publication Of our paper, SO as to
afford time for obtaining from the departments,
all the orders, notices and changes issued or made
by them during the preceding month Tables Of
Post Offices, and compilations of the Laws and
Regulations, are issued by the Post Office Depart
ment only once in two or three years. Ii is a
matter of Inconvenience and complaint, for which
hitherto there has been no remedy, that in one
month from the time of these issues, there are Of
hces in the tables which longer in operation,
and offices in operation which are not in the tables
AZ this time there are perhaps over three thousand
offices of the two descriptions. In like manner
laws have been passed and regulations established
since the issue Of the last volume Of regulations,
of which many postmasters and others are wholly
ignorant. We propose to prevent, for the present
any increase of the evil of either kind, and from
the time another issue shall be made, our paper
will furnish the additions, corrections, and modif-
cations, made in each month, and by being filed
and preserved, will afford to postmasiers full and
exact information upon both subjects, up to and
for time being. How much of the present nisdi-
reciion, remailing, doubt, confusion, error, and
imposition, will be saved by the progressive state
Of full and exact knowledge, for which we have
provided, and for which we engage, every nteli.
gent postmaster can estimate for himself. rse ts
These advantages alone and independently of all
others, are worth many times the price we charge
for the paper and viii, it is hoped, induce every
postmaster who feels a Just pride in his office, or
a patriotic regard for the credit, prosperity, and
efficiency of the whole Post Office systenl--at once
to subscribe. The same considerations apply to
the orders and notices, decisions and instructions
Of the War, Navy, Treasury, State, and Interior
departments, and the same course is intended in
reapect 10 them. Notices of the decisions Of the
Supreme Court, in cases turning upon questions
of official duty or national interest, will nd place
in this paper. s"sf "'f3 asa .th1t97&
A department Of our paper addressing itself not
merelyto postmasters and other officers of the
Government, but to all other ciizens who give at
tenion to the affairs of the nation and the progress
and development of the country, will embrace in
condensed form the matters submitted TO-, or aris
Ing IN congress. At eaCh session vast zeal OF
valuable information is communicated to Con-
gress, by the several departments and their subor
dinate bureaus, and profound and comprehensive
reports are made by committees Of both Houses
But the great mass Of the community know moth
ing of the contents Of these documents and re-
ports, except the brief notices of them, which
from time TO time appear in the public papt RI.
The standing number printed Of each doc, ment
and report, is only twelve hundred in the Sci ate,
and fourteen hundred in the House Of Represei
tivea, which at once shows the impracticabiity Of
their dissemination. The ApyERrisER will con
tain short abridgmcnts or analysis Of all these
documents and reports, and the compend will
therefore not only prove exceedingly useful and
instructive in itself, but will furnish easy index
TO those interested, whenever it is found desirable
10 obtain and examine the document at large.
There is a large field before US, the materials are
ample, 1t will be our jealous care to collect and
arrange them in the proper form. We have every
confidence that the subscriptions will be ample to
enable US to accomplish Il all. The information
we propose to give, comprehending and confined
to the action Of the Government is solid, useful,
and Eve might almost say) necessary to the Off
- e Al "a -. H. IN