The republic., 1851-07-14


packet, so cents; whereas, in the first instance,
the true rate is SO cents, and in the latter 20
cents This results from the following provi-
sion of the 18th article of the postal treaty
with Great Britain and the law Of 1851: the
treaty providing that the United States postage
to be charged, in the cases referred 10, shall be
the same which shall al The time be authorized
and taken under the laws of the United States,
to wit:
s'The rate of postage taken by the United States
Post Office upon letters arriving in the United
States either by British by United States pack
ets from the United Kingdom, and to be forwarded
through the United States to the colonies or pos
sessions Of the United States of the United King
DOM or 10 those territories which, according TO the
law of the United States, are beyond the limit Of
their established post-routes, or to foreign coun-
tries and rice vsrsa shall be the as the rate
which is now, or which may hereafterbs, taken by
the United States Post Office upon letters conveyed
whether by sea land, to or from such colonies,
POSSESSIONS territories, foreign countries re-
spectively, when posted at the port of arrival
or delivered at the port of departure Of the packets
conveying the mails between the United States
and the United Kingdom
Hence it will be seen that, as our own post
age laws change, some OF the rates of postage
under the British treaty are also liable to
change, not being fired by treaty.
The Courier and Enquirer will therefore
perceive that we here repeat what we said be-
fore, with reference to the inaccuracies in the
table in question; and, moreover, that we even
tuTe to make such statement with the official
documents staring us in the face"
In regard to the franking privilege, we said
in our former article that the Courier and En-
quirer writer, in stating that the weight Of pub
lie documents which members Of Congress may
frank was restricted to three pounds, and that
the franking privilege of members is "to cease
upon the expiration of their official term," was
in error. We say so still.
In support of his assertion that the weight
is restricted with respect to all public docu-
ments, he quotes to this effect, Regulation
No 26S,' from the pamphlet claws and Reg
ulations" of IS47. But if he is perfectly con-
versant with all the details of the Depart
ment," he should have known that this Greg
ulation No. 26S," and many others laid down
in that pamphlet, have long since been either
materially modified or rescinded altogether, by
orders of the Postmaster General, Of which
postmasters and others have been informed by
printed circulars or otherwise.
To prove his correctness in the other asser
tion, that the franking privilege of members of
Congress is ''to cease upon the expiration of
their official term," this writer copies from the
HntelHgencer the announcement of the Attor-
ney Generals late decision as to when the
franking privilege Of members commences. We
said that their franking privilege extends be-
yond the expiration Of their official term to the
time of the meeting of the next succeeding
Congress on the first Monday in December.
Where the writer gets authority for his asser-
ton on this point we have yet to learn. The
Attorney Generals opinion referred only to the
time when the right to exercise the franking
privilege commenced, and not to its termina-
ton; and the third and fifth sections of the
act of March l., lS47, give in express terms
to members of Congress the right to frank sup
10 the first Monday in December follo,cing,
The expiration of their term of office"
We must also be allowed, from authentic
information, to insist that editors are not, by
the laws and regulations of the Department,
permitted to exchange prices es-current, simply as
such, free of postage. We did not aver that
prices-current, when contained in bone fde
newspaper, were not legitimate matters of free
exchange between publishers.
His mistakes in regard to postage stamps the
writer attributes to the printer. He thinks the
printer substituted the word two for three and
six for ttcetUe. We give him the benefit of the
suggestion. But will he be kind enough to in
form us whereabout those German States" are
located, spoken of in one of his tables as being
f'not over $500 miles" from the United States,
and to which, according to said table, the
single rate of postage is 10 cents?
The truth is, we are inclined to suspect that
this writer for the. Courier and Enquirer, so
perfectly conversant with all the details of
the Department" has imposed on the editor,
by pretending to knowledge which he does not
possess; otherwise, the editor certainly would
not publish, as applicable at the present time,
tables and instructions which have become
obsolete and of no force under the operation of
One word in regard to the official postage ta-
bles, as originally published in our paper. The
Courier and Enquirer writer says &c they were
incorrect in several particulars" This is true,
to this extent: they were put in type in great
haste, and it so happened that three, and only
three, essential mistakes (Which were merely
typographicaD escaped the eye. of the proof
reader. These errors were the occasion of the
telegraphic despatch to which the Courier and
Enquirer alludes. On their being pointed out
to us, what did we do? Did we enter into a
long argument in attempting to show that no
error had been committed? Not at all. We
republished the entire tables, carefully cor
rected, few days afterwards, and called atten-
tiop to the fact by an editorial article.
The Southern Wings.
The Union takes exception to a remark Of
ours IN tho DoD,,bB< of tho II III instant that