New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1850-12-16
NgFTTyG IN FAVOR OF CHEAP POSTAGE


meeting was held at the Merchants Exchange
on Saturday afternoon, of the friends OF CheAP
Postage An error in the notice created mlsuh-
Outstanding as to the hour for assembly, and N
consequence the meeting waa not SO large ~ II
would Aave been had the notice read correctly,
On the motion Of Mr. SILAs WOOD mF 'A"AI
DE- PEysrER OoDEy was appointed President Of
the meeting. Rr,,co
The yice.p-esidents were Stewart bEo ,,,
1oraoo p Nurray Elias Hicks GaieO pass1o"'
Tbomas Moses Tayor Alfred Pen SCI eta-4
u nGolla' IIaTy5g3. Wrigbt Haws Henry u
Anterior. addressed tha n7aet-
'F' % +I great subcc; or which this as
~. ~ 1,.as convened together came nome u Iii1
Ir.i,ose and BOSOM and pockets OF every ulan'
80 nm and child taat could VIII IL WIS lutei.
| -, alike TO male and temae Ia iSot' al "Vto
Interested in the question o. cheap postage 0eY'
III ,~eors ago, gyhen the present Chairman pre-
O. ;.d.t cheap postage meeting in this hail. there
90. ,onch opposition 10 contend with, and many
eynressed their fears for the result OF the move
| rnant. while some said twas Quixotic and others
that it was an opposition got up against the fosC
! Office Department. The newspapers IN the IN
terest of the Government all sEeered and the OIL
cias in the Post Office, from the very highest
down to the boz that swept out the ONCE were
arrayed in hostility against the proposed reform
The friends OF cheap postage were toid that th9y
were sInugglers OF letters ana. III act there was
a very general opposition Ii time permitted, nc
would give the whole history OF the postage move,
ment from the time this Exchange was burned
! and the Post Office was removed to the ParA. ne
/ inconvenience OF that arrangement being lelI oy
! the merchants, they petltoned tor branch Gown
! town The Post Office authorities conde'
scended to listen to the petition, on the condition
that one cent should be paid for every letter de-
posted and two cents for every letter received
while sum OF 81 was charged Ior boxes; inns
was the state Of things under their inend Amos
Kendall When Mr.. Curtis and he My. Batesl
| went to Washington TO endeayor to get this tax
removed, another concession was asked, Whch
was also refused, and the members OF Congress
| far NeW.York begged It il vain. This was to per
NIT the steamers mails TO be opened at the lower
branch Post Office. y the eXertIonso OF Col 0ra-
ham however. these evils We're partially re-
noved-a enc building was obtained Tor the Post'
/ Office and the TWO cent tax removed = but
the s for boxes still continued. Why should 1t
be continued when in Boston the charge was only
SGT He supposed il was because New \ ork was
richer more onterprising, and more liberal. but
this was not a solid reason Tor tax winch pro
duced more than double the rent OF the Whole
building. lie adverted to those difficulties to
stimulate them to future eXeIton, by pointing
to success IN the past. The state OF the Post
Office prior to the reduction in lS47, was one
of bankruptcy. The letters were reduced from
of the high postage and the number carried by eX-
press Il remained stationary at that figure Tor
! several years The revenue was reduced $780,
900 in three years congress had to make an ap-
preparation TO meet the deficiency, and the favor
tie doctrine Of some political economists that The
Post Office should maintain itself was not real
lied. The reduction OF postage was achieved IN
l845, and in four years the revenue increased
S69l 900. The changes were elected, rsti re-
ducing the rates more than fifty per cent and sec
,ifTl4 LOT tar
was the most important, because person can
now send any number OF pieces not weighing
half an ounce as single letter, and letters which
would then cost seventy-fye cents can now be
sent for FIVE cents and letters that formerly cost
dollar can now be sent for ten cents. AS was ex-
peCted the first two years there was falling oil
in the revenue but not so great as TO require the
whole Of the appropriation of S750,000. In the
third year the revenue exceeded the expenditure;
in the fourth year it exceeded 1t by SO9l. 600, and
in this the fifth year there is surplus OF 81 1872
045, and this Notwithstanding that the expenses
of the Department have increased more than
half million in the last year. In the next they
will probably increase q million; and IL they go
on increasing the same rate, 1t Will be very
long time before we get down the revenue. IL
may be asked, then, what are we to do say,
we ought to urge on the Postmaster to adopt the
two.cent proposed rate because the Senate and
the House, and the most distinguished States
men have declared in favor OF it. had a
letter from General Cass on the subject nm
other from the late General Taylor, and third
from Mr.. Buchanan, who says he IS In evor
of universal prepayment OF two cents The
President himself is with US. | saw hlm lew
DAYS ago, when he told me that if required
the present surplus revenue to meet any detclen-
CIV arising from the proposed reduction OF postage,
the money could not be better employed than IN
diffusng knowledge. (Cheers) That sentiment
was worthy of the President, who thus explodes
that old obsolete idea that the Post Office must
support itself Why should it support Itself any
more than the judiciary, and other branches OF
the public service The reduction now proposed
by the bill before Congress is to two cents tor hall
an ounce on letters prepaid, and one cent on
newspapers. Comparatively this reduction ls not
so great as that of ls45, and is approved OF by the
Chairman and Committee OF the Senate 1t Is
also approved OF by members OF the House OF Rep
resentatives. 1t has been tried in Great Britain
and has succeeded 1t is not 30 high as to pre-,
vent people from writing, so low as not to yield
revenue. In the FIRST year the increase OF letters
will be at least 100 per cent. do not go so far
Great Britain where the increase the first year
was l22 per cent This would give US lao mil
lions of letters, and revenue OF S2800,0S0; III
the second 4 further increase OF 100000, or
1890 00On all, bringing revenue of s., $4,000;
in the third year an increase OF tortytwo millions
more of letters, making IN Gil 224 millions OF let
tiers, and yielding revenue of S4,480000. To
meet the efficiency the surplus on hand will be
nearly suFicient--S 900 will be saved in dead
letters, and the revenue from ship letters will in
crease SO that at the end of three years there will
be little or no deficiency. What has been the re-
suit in Great Britain In ten years the letters
have increased from "a to $50 millions, and the &C
count of revenue and expenses stood thus in 1919;
Revenue ofhe British Post Office in ls49..."S07l86z9
Expenditure Of manssemen I0l6210
Surplus .s3.7o24a9
The 800 millions ofletters have been written by
80 millions OF people, We have population Of
20 millions; and shall we not write as many let
tiers in proportion to our numbers as the inhabi-
tants OF Great Britain? With them, 40 per cent,
Of the population cannot read nor write with US