New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1851-11-27


.ere IN, about $4,000. Charles Burial was his as
sistant Among his reports to Congress hnl one
connlainipe that the Legislature Of NewJersey had
undertaken TO raise tax, ard levied siOOper annum
for this purpose on his contractor, for carrying the
MAJ, IN stages between New-York and Philadelphia,
which he regarded as great imposition, as IN MS
oninon If all the States were 10 do 50 the General
Government would soon be PLACED at the mercy 81
the States. Ibeheye the different States have, not
uithstandine. continued to this day to tax uncie
Sans maiI-coaehes whenever their Legislatures or
Count, ar.horites have taken Il into ther heads 10
do so.
The Office TIL this period amounted to ou' clerk
shin. so limited were It's operations
Co,o,ess nassed revised and much Improved
st.I law on the goth OF February, 1892 arranging
The hostage tariff in federal money, and on more
eouitable basis. No prophetic genius having ye'
forshadowed the future consequence, and almost
;uir,itahle circulation of newspapers through the
mails no hostage rates had hitherto been designated
n, .hero. This ordinance fixed these at one cent
and one.and a-half cents, according TO distance,
which continued the charge down to lsi5. Half the
revenue therefrom was allowed to the Pos,masterS
collecting the same The act also made the salu-
tary provision of allowing newspaper publishers to
transmit to each other through Uncle Sans port
manteaus, single copy of their issues without
charge 1t fixed the salary of the Postmaster-Gen
raj at $4,000 per annum and that Of his Assistant al
$1,000. which, two years subsequently, got up to
s2,4OO and $1,000 respectively, and al five years
later date, to $4,000 to Sl,70O.
Joseph Habersham, OF Georgia, very intelligent
gentleman, took the PostmasteT-G enerais desk on
the 25th OF February, 1885, in consequence OF Nh.
~o.-4 -e(o 80, IN He iS
said to have proved eminently successful in inpah-
ing system and certainty to the operations OF the
establishment In January, 1893, he informed Con-
gress that the list Of post Offices had increased 20 100
and the length efpos.roais to l6,0CO mes-.egenfold
their amount ten years before making IT necessary
to settle about coo accounts annually that he had
to supenntend the conduct and performance as
well as answer the letters Of said deputies, and
Of about geo contractors also TO open 1900 dead
letters annually which maze il essential, in his
opinion, for the law-mahelS to augment the number
OF his clerks, then only four
\ revised postal laE, proposed by him, was enact
cd on the ID of March, 1892 embracing, among other
Improvements, a repeal OF the death penalty, con-
tanned IN the then existing statutes for stealing or
robbing the mail. Mr.. Ha5ersham urged d repeal Of
this clause on the grounds thai it moi in accord
dfCt Win tlt humane VVItt 81 th' ob"'Vsi 'il 'i'
capital punishment, il ever resored TO- should only
be inflicted for crimes whose enomity or frequency
ofrepottion evincel such utter depravty TO leave
no hope that would be safe for the offender again
to mingle with society lie advised the substitution
of logging for the death penalty. This change vas
made out no jury having been found during The
next eight years. however clear the evidence Of
guilt willing to bring in a verdict Of guilty in a case
til lie nh
sequent enactment abandoned that penalty also.
The laws on the subject now in existence make the
punishment therefor five 70 ten years Imprisonment
and death for the second ofiense.
In these times 1t required forty days to obtain
answer at Portland to letter mailed 20 Savannah.
and forty-iour at Philadelphia for reply to Id
dressed to Nashville
In leIOa Postmaster & eneral exultinsly informed
Congress that these periods had respectively been re-
duced to twenty seven and to thirty days The wides,
Imagination had not then embraced the idea that Col
ms's magnificent steamers would bring us answers
from England in 1851 in far less time Barlow dl
not sing till 1898, and Of course his prophecy had
not at that time been fulfilled
soon shall thy arm, unconquered steam, atar
Drag the slow barge or DIVE the rapid car"
In the first quarter of 1902 while the office was IN
Philadelphia Mr.. Habersham selected for his Assist
ant Abraham Bradley, who continued in that clpaci
ty about thirty years, and exercised in consequence
of his eminent talents and devotion to buineSs,
very potent as well as beneficial influence the
rangements Of the establishment. His younger
brother, Phmeas, a name nearly as eminent was as
ISOLATED with him neatly al this period.
Gideon Granger, Of Connecticut. took the Post
master Genoralship in 1902. He possessed magni-
fcent person and commanding talents, and contin-
ued in Office over twelve years About this time,
has been stated the establishment was transferred
TO Washington 1t was at first located at the corner
OF L and Ninth SITS , IN a building now used for
female seminary, whence it was subsequently taken
to some Of the rooms in the old War Department,
west Of the Presidents mansion, and IN 1912 TO a
building located on 1t, present sire, and originally
built ior hotel
further revision Of the postal law made by
Congress in 1910, when a Second Assistant Poslmas
ter-General was authorized, and new SET OF routes
substituted for those previously established. 4
clause inhibitIng the employment of any but free
White persons in the conveyance of the mails was,
al Mr. Changers instance, inserted. Previous to this
period blacks had served as malriders wiihou, let
This inhibition has remained in the postal law till
the present. Mr.. Changers argument was tina, the
evidence of blacks in some of the states was not
admitted against the whites that only the lxeliest
OF them were employed as mail.riders that they
would, by mlnglng with the white agents Of the
office, acquire information enabling them 10 form,
and carry out, connected scheme dangerous to their
white reghbors and that, whether such a catas.ro-
phe happened or not II was but prudent for Congress
10 look out for and guard against II, Ear this
proposed amendment might effect SO desirable
result.
The General Post. Office was engaged in the latter
part OF Mr.. G's term in an enterprise which Will ap-
pear to people nowadays rather queer 20 Wit
transporting the mails between Baltimore and Phila-
delphia in its own coaches, hauled by its own hor-
SEES, and carrying passengers for profit About
Sill 900 cleared TO Government by this line during
three years of It's operation Mr.. G. was intenoga-
ted by committee OF Congress as to the propriety