The New York herald., 1851-12-23

bird, and by far the most important 01icss In the
service, are called distributors, upwards Of ffy IN
number, where the N ais are overhAuled, and the
matter assorted for the various routes diverging
from them.
Under my arrangements, the grade OF Offices night
more properly be designated as follows:-lst, Ihe
United States General Post Office I'd, State omces;
Sd, county post Offices; and, 4th, special or SUP
offices. The General Post Office, or official head,
should retain all the functions peculiar 70 " now
that ofa general direction over the entire posi-
bat relieved of many of those features which now
only embsrsss the service, and sdd greatly 20 the
expense Of its support state offices should be the
official heads of county Offices, while these should
have complete dstao sn'
corps of special and secret agents. acting under the
direction of the Postmaster General, ~ well as
the postmasters of State and county. onices,
should be continually employed in passing over
the mail routes, investigating the condition
of the service, and tracing up depreda tions com
mitted upon it. The accounts, reduced to few
simple forms, should be 30 adapted as to check one
class of office, as well q one state, against another
without the expense the labor, and liability to err
that is row incurred. To do this, the post bill
should be materially changed and sinpihed'
am disposed to believe that all the ends ascem,
pshed by the use of the post bill could be gained
by substituting a small circular check, containing
the name OF the Office, the county, and State:
The stamp Of the Office, with the date, should
be imprinted on the address aide Of the let
ter, as now, with the addition. of the year
and the word "paid, or "unpaid" S1b-ofices
should all use red ink, county offices black
and State offices blue or green. The check
should be pinned or clasped to the back side Of The
letter. II paid, check printed in red should be
used; if not paid black one. suppose, under this
arrangement, paid letter to be sent from sab
ofce the postmaster afixes the usual stamp OF his
office, and then attaches the red check. The letter
(which we will suppose addressed to sub-ofice in
another State) is mailed, and without entering INTO
any registers accounts whatever, IL rtacnes ies
destination. The postmaster here has nothing IN
ba to do vyth IL but the red
check place it on file, and deliver over the letter
All this, it must be remarked, is the work OF mo-
ment (under our present system it is far otherwse)
The postmaster, in reporting quarterly to the
proper county office, specifies the number of
checks on hand, and the States to which
they belong. The county postmaster reports TO
the state Office the aggregate am ount OF checks
held in his district, against other States, and this
enables the State office to keep its accounts with
the General Post Office; the State offices being in
fact, the only bookkeepers among all the Offices.
Now, the checks having performed this service
fatisfactorily, they are returned to the States
whence they emanated, and from thence to the
proper county and sub Offices that issued them-the
postmasters paying over to the General Post ofhc'
the oney In their hands for which the checks were
issued ! have no doubt that the same checks,with
proper care, would for four or five times
over and although the paper consumed woald
probably amount to ten or more thousand dollars
annually, yet, compared with the post bills and
wrapping paper now used, saving OF more than
thirty thousand dollars per year would be effected,
without considering the saving of labor, Of ac-
ceQnts and of time in the delivery Of letters, which,
after ALL is the principal reason they are to be pre-
feIred.
Upon unpaid letters, the black check would ac-
company the letter in like manner, but this would
merely give official notice to the receiving posi-
master that he stood charged with the collection of
the postage In case, however, he failed to collect,
he would be credited with the amount Of letters on
hand as now.
The old check could, | think, be used for all tran
- 10 latta Why n0fI
Transient matter is all payable in advance, and
objection to fixing the check to it, in the
same manner as uIen letters True, would oe more
liable to be torn of but all paid matter should
be placed as nearly as possible, on equality in re-
gard to security and accommodation and by proper
precautiCn, this objection would not be very ma
terisl.
In reference to unpaid newspapers and periodi-
calls sent from the office OF publication, tue postage
is pay able at the office of delivery, quarterly in ad
vance conss quently the checks woald not be re-
quired Besides, majority Of the post offices, by
u svstem, entitled to all the revenue accrueing
fr0i. lhem and no account therefore, so Iar az re-
lates to them, need be kept. AS for other Offices,
they would make q return OF the amount OF news
paper postage under oath, and the correctness OF
their state enty would always be open 20 the in-
quiry and nvestigaton Of the numerous secret
agents employed in the service. There would be
harm on this oint, not half as much as there is
new.
There is very important feature, long ovr
looked, which propose to introduce into our post
system-I mean the transmission Of money by mail
upon the security the Department. There is NO
telling the amount OF money annually lost through
the mail service, owing to the careesness or depre
dstons Of its agents There 10 scarcely merch ant,
or business in the Union, who is in The habit Of
receiving sending remi mittances by mail, that does
not lose or lees every year. know parties
who lost, last year, from oae to twelve hundred
dollars in small sums, while venture to assert that
there is not newspaper or other publishing office
in the Union, which does not annually lose from ten
VI x IN.l-
Graham, Sar,ain & Co., Harper & Brothers, Gen.
Webb, q Bennett, and others, lose heavily-and
how All there's mystery. No clue can be
obtained to money abstracted from the mail in time
TO secure it, When it is lost, il is gone forever,
and search for it had well be made in the Allan
tic ocean. During the last three years, should
Judge that more than fifty thousand dollars have
been abstracted from letters passing through the
Post Office at PhiladelphiA alone ] make this
estimate from the arrests made and the testimony
elected, OF parties charged with puroining money
from the mails In that city, during the period
specified
the security Of the Department might be conducted
az follows Sub officers should have capital Of
6itJ or one hundred dollars, and upon this they
might Ieeeive on eerosit, for transmission, GER
responding amount. Suppose the capital to be
one hur dred dollars; they could Issue drafts 10 half
that an cunt, while they would always be prepared
to cssh those drawn upon them, limited in each
case to twenty-five dollars. Their accounts being
settles quarter y, would allow tnen a margin Tor
TRANSACTIONS not exceeding four hundred dollars per
year.
The modus oppordi Of making remi;tances you'd
be as folows.--John Jones, residing at Brancbville
Pest Office, Clay county, Texas, deposits twenty
dollars With the post Of that Office in favor
Of James Brown, residing in New York The post
master gives Mr.. Jones . receipt, ani then hands
him draft, ., follows :--"The postmaster at New
York city will pay James Brown twenty dollars,
provided be comes forward within eighty days en-
suing from the date hereof. and makes proper
Identification Of himself; otherwise he will no. pay
a. directed This is on account Of John Jones, OF
Brsnchyille, Clay county, Texas. Given under
my post Office stamp, November 20, 1855.
JoBS SMITH, Y. MC
Mr. Jones theiotes The draft TO Mr. Grown, who,
duly receivDgit it, pfes su,s himselfto the postmaster,
ard receives s2j in gold Nov, hsd he received
q motey in bank notes from Texas, or any other
distant State, there would have been at least tven
iy cents discount on the amount whereas the
" hole cost, (incuding postsge,) Of ioT~ardng IL in