The southern press., 1851-08-08
UNITED STATES POSTAL GUIDE.

Washington CITY
UNITED STATES POSTAL GUIDE.
and orFICLaL ADVERTISER.
us 10 sho'o 'ohat is DON'T and phat should be done
Ia e0ice.~SU
CuARLns Nd. Wps' WmIasp.' Editors a~d Propri4tors
Terms. =" The United States Postal Guide and
Official Advertiser containing about 40 srper-rovai
ocfovo pages, Is published monthly for ONE DOL
LAR ONLY, per annun payable In udva,cs---ov fvs
dollars for slE copies ordered At amy time.
PREPARATORY NOTICE i
The enterprise in which we now embark, AMI
Of which this paper is at once the commencemast {,
and sample Of the papers that to follow, as
for its aim no less purpose, than to impart in
struction, in the general and detail, to the Officer
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 organ
ization, 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 tho issue Of instruc
lions, more or Isss comprehensive, and II intervals
more or less extended, have proved wholly made
quate in the absence Of the construction or those
Laws, applied to particular cases, and of details
and illustrations to make the regulations and ns
structions Ineligible The valuable documents
annually reported to Congress, are too yoluminous
and printed in quantities too small for general
circuIatiOn; whilst the debates in Congress and
the commentaries of the press upon their proceed
ngs, 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 60, and
some of them Indispensable; but there is much
that do not reach the hands Of ALL nor If they did,
do they furnish those rules, methods, and exam
pes for the despatch Of the public business which
can render the discharge Of public duty either safs
or easy, whether in respect 70 the incumbent him.
self, or the department or bureau under which he
acts. We shall make an 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. msthodical, and ey
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 ey
tent at least--apart from, and independen OF
any party or personal interest or question what
| ever
| 1t is known to most Of those to whom this pa
per will be SENT that the Senior Editor was Audi
tor Of the Post-Offce 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, frstin tho War
Department, and subsequently, in the Treasury.
L
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 fatters himself he has
preserved the respect and regard of most OF the
present incumbents Of the departments, and il on
becoming terms Of intercourse aud civility 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
| IL - sh - k,,. L.
this stock Of experience, 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 paper, 80 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 %
| Post Offices, and compilations of the Laws ana
| Regulations, are issued by the Post Office Depart
ment only once in two or three years. 1t 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 of3
fees in the tables which are no longer in operaon9
and Offices in operation which not in the tables1
AT this time there perhaps thres 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 mOdf-
cations made IN each month, and by being filed
| and preserved, will afford to postmasters full and
| exact information upon both subjects, up to and
for time being. How much Of the present misdi-
| rection, remang, 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 inteIli-
gent postmaster can estimate for himself.
These advantages alone and independently Of all
others, are worth many times the price we charge
for the paper and will, 1t 10 hoped, induce every
postmaster who feels just pride in his office,
| patriotic regard for the credit, prosperity and
efficiency Of the whole Post Once system-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
| respect TO them. Notices Of the decisions Of the
Supreme Court, in cases turning upon questions
of official duty or national interest, VIII nnd place
IN this papsr.
| A department of our paper addressing itself not
| merely to postnasters and other officers of the
Government, but TO all other citizens who give
tenton the affairs OF the nation and the progress
and development Of the untry, will embrace in
condensed form the matters submitted 10, or aris-
inc in Congress- At each session vast deal Of
valuable Information il communicated to Con-
gress by the several departments and their subor-
dnate 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 papers,
The standing number printed of each docdment
and report is only twelve hundred in the Senate,
and fourteen hundred in the House or Representa-
,ives. which at once shows the impracticability of
their dissemination. The ADvERrrsER will CON
tam abort abridgments or analysis Of all these
documents and reports, and the compsnd will
therefore not only prove exceedingly useful and
instructive in ITSELF but viii furnish easy index
% those interested, wheneYH il is found desirable