The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1851-03-05

ougntt 70 ue uhHorniiy IN those matters And IN addl
The expense pf the dead letter portion Of he Post Office
Department is ,5oo This win not increase that sum
ne average number Of dead letters returned ooo
the average postage on which is cents II is know
that probably nine -tenhs perhaps tweneihs
Of the letters will be taken out by those who sent them
postage at present The dead letters is about S52O0O ,
only fifteen per cent Of these will be returned 10 the de-
partmenl, il is supposed; and this will make sbou,
2s ooO and OF course there will be great saving to the
government very intelligent gentleman says he will
be willing 10 give $50 900 year for what he could make
in this way oul OF the dead letters. -
Mr. RUSk. regard this as altogether too great u
change in the pre- sent system 10 DO adopted upon the
spur Of the moment Withoat being considered more than
we now do What il the amendment! will
read II s +
"Aad be (.tlsr .,.,esd Thai all letters wbica reach
hedseI The Ganeta Post Office lio.n the sew
sa ssss :. & IS si s., s y, s.y pssaa %
nsnes Of the writer wriIcrs Of ssd ef,ers
Or ws p hs p % oss
and II said letters are moi taken out on tie payment
rom The General Pos. oioc 10 she las, place TO which said
letters were ema'led thea tho sad letters shall ba ngao
subject provisions xis.ing in relation dead
letters And number OF letters thus emailed, and that
eae year together with the postage pa upon
mo ssne under snch objections as 'ha be prescribed by
the Postmaster Gencral"
Now, one OF the greatest drags upon mail service
is these deal letters They amount 10 several millions
annually AM the transportation of them from the offices
where they become dead, IN consequences OF not being
taken out, 10 the General Post Office very heavy
charge upon the department. Then they require TO have
special bureau in the department for examining these
letters, and the labor OF that bureau is immense They
select only such letters valuable renal them 10
the persons who directed them give notice TO the
writers, in order that whatever is valuable may be
claimed Where there is one valuable letter there are
thousand that OF sort OF importance hat ID the
consequence OF the operation OF this section You VIII
double the number of your post office clerks a,
the time that you double the already heavy trans
1hA pf
Tor when the dead letter to the post Ufce there
have to be employed clerks to examine it, redirect aud
emai there half enough clerks for thai
pur pose There is then another transportation back to
the oire oi the writer and, all probability out OF
ten OF the letters thus sent back will be taken OUT
and the conseq will be that they viii become dead
ietlers second time and the Post Oics Department will
have TO bear the expenses OF transportation again.
Mr. GWIN. The senator has entirely msconceved
the object OF the amendment The mails not bur.
dened by dead letters much as by printed matter !;
and believe that nne.enths OF these letters will be
taken and paid for, and ihas produce large rev.
enue And an 10 the additional expense, IL wilt clog the
business of the dead-leer partmen but very little
However, rather than have debate upon IT, withdraw
the amendment '- @M
is an important wish that had time to consider it,
or that had been offered to the consideration Of the SEN
ate before.
The amendment is as follows.
sEc isd be ii further enacted rhr, there be. and is
hereby grant 10 Josiah Snow, Auson Bangs, and their
sociuos. composing iiie Auanuc and Pachc Telegraph
",
which may the line OF eie
graph taoed by tue said company from Nachez
~ the Hse -lnssipp, by tue town OF ~ Pa,o on The
RIO Grade del Sorie thence 10 The Junction OF be Gia
Colorado rivers, and thence 10 San Francisco in Cali
fofnia ~ .#4.s ,
of aiding in the construction OF the said line of telegraph
the United States pay the said Josiah SNOW,
bangs, and ther asocates composing he said AT
aud Pacific Telegraph Company, upon the compe
aud every oneeghh part OF the line of
telegraph, described In tue fsl section Of this the
OF hiry-seveu Thousand five hundred dollars aod
nj
ple,ed and ia practical OPERATION, as 10 communicate
fin,ellgen from end Of said ne 20 the othcr hin
eighteen months from the hrst day Of July eighteen hun
dred and hiy then, and that case. the United
States pay to the said JOSIAH SNOW Anson Bangs
and tstr ASSOCIATES alore said the fuclher oi fy
thousand d.rs Pr0rbdod That the said individuals aud
their associates and bind themselves 10 the satitc
ton OF the Secretary The lnerior before tho payment OF
any part of the aforesaid t. prosecute The sad line OF
tedsrapn TO completion and also h, ia consideration ol
pH Of them aforesaid they
will. lu the Term OF ten years fom tue completion OF the
said ne Of when any oee o. asen,
the said telegraph any communication required tor the
public service ol United States, any and every de
pa nent OF the ernien ffon extremity OF the said
line elesrs ph the ohe from any and every net
place may be established by The individuals lheir
associates ior the transmission oil intelligence by the said
'eegaph
Mr HUNTER. | rise to question Of order. ask
IL this amendment is admissible under the rule we
adopted this in relation TO appropriation bs
MIR RUSK. ask for the reading OF the rule
The PRESIDENT The Char will read the rule
adopted during this session
..No amendment proposing additional appropriations
shall be received TO any geneta appropriation b unless
be ade 10 carry provision of existing law,
some resolution previously passed by the Senate
during session, IN OF estimate from
the head OF department.; and amendment shall be
recri object shall be provide for private
claim, although The same may have been previously sane
toned by Ia. Senate
The proposition OF the senator is to establish tee.
graphic line and pay certain OF money IN and OF
the xecuton OF the work The rale OF the Senate as
adopted does not expressly state that additional llabl.
ties shall be created 1t, however, evidently the IN
enion prevent any appropriation or any amendment
maue to the appropriation bills that created these adj
unal liabilities the part OF the Senate at the time OF
lis adoplion inasmuch as. il the liabilities created by
the amendment, the next Uoment the senator turn
round, because il has then been saactIoned and make
the very appropriation which he would have been prevent
ed from making but for the creation OF the liability In the
bill iisef STILL the Cnair does not feet authorized under
the oil the rule according TO the words
OF it, decide that the amendment entirely out Of
der II with the Senate, therefore, say whether
il doeA conflict with the rule adopted by them, and
whether il is improper to be presented The Char will
the reore put the question TO the Senate whether the
amendment shall be received. E-a
Mr. RUSK Mt President, desire simply TO say that
il seems my mind clear that the amendment is not
contrary TO the rule The rule says, /" No amendment
proposing additional appropriations shall be received
rhs amendment 10 clearly not an appropriation ere
aies 10 be sure, liability. OF that there is no doubt
But the rule does at all bear upon Liabilities nor can
Of the rule which applies resolutions previously passed
by the Ssnate Thus amendment Of itAelf and, IL
adopted would authorize appropriation to be offered
a. an amendment afterwards 10 carry u out In fact, II
does no, in contemplate that any such appro
priaon should be made. 45It t1 a1r. fHhl..
Mr.. HUNTER Mr.. President, this IN mater which
very important relation 10 the busnes Of the Senate
II the construction OF the senator from Texas should be