Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1851-12-16

/ the like receipts for the preceding
year.
/ The reduction Of postage, unde,
the act Of Mareh last, did not take
effect until the commencement Of thu
present fiscal year. The accounts
for the first quar- ter, under the ope;
lation of the reduced rates, viii not
be settled before January next; and
no reliable estimate of the receipts
for the present year can yet be m hde
1t is believed, however, that they
will fall far short of those Of the last
year. The surplus Of the revenues
now on hand is, however, SO large
that no further Appropriation from the
treasury, in aid ef the revenues Of
the Department, is required for the
current fiscal year, but an ad ditional
appropriation for the year ending
June 80, 1858, will probably be 70 pnd
necessary when the receipts OF The
first two quarters of the fiscal year
are aseertained.
In his last annual report the Ppst-
master General recommended d re-
duction of postage, to rates which he
deemed as low as could be prudehtly
adopted, unless Congress was pre-
pared to appropriate from the treas
ury, for the support of the Depart
ment sum more than equivalen t to
the mail services performed by it for
J the Government. The recommends
ltions eff the Postmaster General, in
respect to letter postage, except on
letters from and to California and
Oregon, were substantially adopted
by the last Congress. He now re-
commends adherence to the present
letter rates. and advises against a
further reduction until justified by
the revenues Of the Departme emit
He also recommends that the rates
| of postage on printed matter be SO
revised as to render them me re sim
pie, and more uniform in their ppe-
ration upon all classes Of printed
matter. / submit the recommen da-
tons of the report To your favor able
consideration. z
| The public statutes of the Uni
States have been accommodating for
more than sixty years, and, inter
ispersed with private acts, are sea tier
| ed through num- rous volumes, and,
from the cost of the whole, have be-
come almost Inaccessible to til great
mass Of the com munity. They also
exhibit much of the incongruity and
imperfection Of hasty Leg Station.
AS it seems to BE generally co needed
that there is nd "commen law of
the United States to supply the de-
fects of their Legislation, it is most
important that thht legislation ST ould
be as perfect aF possible, defnlng
every power intanded to be made
punishable, and prescribing the pun
ishment to be inflicted. lp addition
to some particular cases, spd kd n Of
more at length. The whole criminal
code is now lamehtably defed tive
Some offences ARE imperlectly de-
scribed and others are entirely omit
ted; so that Hagrhnt crimes may be
committed with impunity. The
scale of punishmfht is not in all cases
graduated according to the degree
and nature of the offence, and is of
ter rendered mi re unequal. by the
different modes Of imprisonni tent, OF
penitentiary con nement, in the dill,
:, ferent States.
/ Many laws Of a permanent charac-
ter have been intr oduced into appro.
Ipriation bills, and 1t IS often dllhcult
to determine whether the pa rticulal
clause expires Wi h the temporary act
of which it is a part, or continues IN
force. 1t has al$o frequently hap
pened that enactnh ents Of PROV sions
of law have been II Introduced IL IT'D bills
with the title or general subject o.
which they have little or no connex-
ion or relation. In this mode Of leg.
/ islation so many enactments have
been heaped' uFd n each OF her, dnd
often with but little consideration
that, in many ms ances, it is d ffidult
to search out and determine what Is
the law.
/ The Governme mt of the Uni tee
States is emphati@ally a government
ofwritten laws. The statutes SHOULD
therefore, as far BIS practica able, moi
only|be made accessible to all, butIex
pressed in language so simple a + t
be understood by bll, and arr angeH IL
such method as I'd give perspicpity
to eHery subject. Many OF Il be States
/ ltd ..:i 4Ld;I v,,bl,o ohio dial