The New York herald., 1851-12-23

have mails that travel by night and day, which
know no rest-which know no delay-which rattle
and tear through the forest, and the valley, and
over the mountain top, as If hitched to streak of
ngntning. Arrange your schedule time to minutes
and seconds, not to hours and days, and months.
Give us-give us, for heavens sake-dispatch,
oeierity, certainty. Do this, and then you may
properly talk of "the danger of clogging ap the
The moment cur mail transportation is increased,
the moment We shall have secured dispatch, promp
ness, and unfaiing celerty-that moment the
amount Of mail matter will increase three-fold.
is not the rate of postage letters newspapers
that is SO oppressive il is rather the rate of ira
vel-it is the disappointment, the delay, and the
everlasting failures in the service, that are fes
most.
When m an writes letter, his first thought, as
is also his last, is as to time not as to postage
"How long will il be before get an answerP This
mode Of conveyance are only considered. The
amount of postage is really scarcely ever thought
Of. But, will my correspondent receive the letter
directly on its arrivalF' Here is a difficulty We
all know how letters suffered to lay in The post
ofnce, day after day, and week after week 10 wing
TO the neglect Of the persons addressed to inquire
for them at the post Office. IL is this which daily
restrains thousands from writing letters of imme
disse the swifter and briefer
message Of the telegraph, whenever it can bs used
at hundred times the cost of postage Tele.
graphic messages are delivered TO hand, in all
cases where 1t is not expressly inconvenient to do
20. After having carried letter ten miles, or a
thousand miles for three cents, why cannot the De-
partmens 60 few steps farther, and deliver it d-
recty on It's arrival into the hands of the proper in
dividual This could easily be done in every city,
town and village in the United States; and, the
additional service might readily be performed If no
more were gained than the trouble and expense
advertising uncaled for letters and returning them
TO the dead letter Office. Advertising su:n letters
alone amounts to over s65,000 per yea. Bl.
propose 70 provide for this nice in another way
As to trans spor tatioa, this should be improved at
% AM hOt ali nd for
1t. Congress has power to establish post Off ;es
and post routes. IL is constitutional power,
higher than any other earthly power AMI corpora
tlsns, as well as individuals, are bound 10 obey it.
Why, therefore, cannot Congress exercise a con-
troll over railroad and steamboat routes! In France,
railway companies are bound to carry the mails
gra.uitousiy. In Great Britain, Parliament exer
cises control, and the Postmaster General orders
the mail to be conveyed over them at such times,
and with such speed as he chooses to direct Can
not this be done in the United States! No doubt it
could. If Congress directs it to be done, it must
be done, and ought to be done, right or wrong.
sut let it be done, for il happens to be right. Rail-
roads are established for the common benefit all
the privileges they enjoy are items surrendered from
the community at large, individually and collect
lively, for the common convenience and benefit He
who never travels has as gsoi inherent right to the
benefits OF railways as he who travels always.
Whether our interests or pleasure invite us to ira
vel or not, railways are, and properly should be,
&he carriers OF our thoughts as well persons
md comm odies; and, like any other road or high
way, they are, and ought to be- under the control
al Congress, ut least so far as to secure and carry
Uut the general accommodation, implied in their
construction.
The Postmaster General, therefore, in addition
to his other powers, should be Director General
Of Railroads, and post routes Of every description
he should have power to order the mail over any
and every road, and dictate the rate of SPEED aud
the hours OF arrival and departure aLd thu service
should be exactcd at liberal, bat uniform rates of
compensation. Nor could the ssyeral railway CON-
psnies lose anything by such controlling infu-
ence. Organization, they well know, is much
needed, and how are they to achieve organization
and harmonious discipline, but by central or chief
head, acting under the authority Of the government,
in whose security all their interests depend.
Such authority conceded TO the Postm ister
General the fret step to be taken should be towards
the improvement Of through, on connecting routes.
by present arrangements, hours and days are lost
On these routes, owing TO the margin afforded for
connections at diverging and connecting points.
Commencing with the great through route, at its
Eastern end, say Portland, me } and proceeding
South 10 Charleston, Is. C.) nearly one half the
entire travelling time is consumed by delays at
the various connecting points-thus the mails SUIT
fer delay at Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Bal j.
mere, Washington, and every other connecting
poin. on the route. This should not be The mails
should set out pupctually at designated hours, in
charge Of competent agents, and occupy more
time st connecting points than should be really
requiTed TO exchange mails and proceed from one
depot to the other Moreover, they sho aid travel
as much as possible by night, and, after certain
Travelling with the most extraordinary and un-
bea,6-of speed Agents should accompany the
mails TO assort snd arrange as much Of the matter
~ possible on the te This would guard az gains.
delay at connecting points The mails thus travel
ling OF night, would pick up the mail matter tha
daily accumulated at the close Of business surs in
the priI cipal cities OF the Union, reaching the
south ard more sparsely populated regions of the
country in daylight. The supplies Of mail matter
for the various points diverging would thus be de-
posted in good time to be borne of on stage routes
TO the interior the next day while their timely ar
nval towards evening enables the route agents 70
receive aud arra,ge their supplies on .he way,
which, otherwi'e, would probably lie over till the
next day.
transportation on through routes should at all
hazards he performed by night, leaving the rsdi a
ting or Inferior routes TO be supplied by day. Few
pe'sons are probably prepared TO appreciate the
extraordinary Advantage to be derived from such
an arrangement. j, would, in fact, throw new life
and vigor into our whole mail service ls would
give despatch, In tho transmission Of corresPon-
dence, hitherto unheard Of The force of the
whole thing consis,s in this The day is devoted
to busiDess, durirg which time letters written
they should no sooner be written than carried of
aEa delivered. Every noaent Is valuable worth
i've times over The Insignificant postage Il Is not
tho mere carrying which the correspondent buys ;
1t Is rather the time. lie cannot use the night in
his regular buslness-he IL only for slce p.
Gut why should IL not be equally available TO him
as the day Why cannot mis- letters, being writ
ten bo trunsmit by night, while he is 70 yosing.
and IL Information he desires be laid before him
tho next or the succeeding day Hours, days, are
thus saved, ard the Department shares the adyan-
tsge with those who purchase its speed.
Tho route agents accompanying the mails should
receive all letters rendered along the read,
abd place them In the proper m,is, for desti-
nation. This would accommodate n numerous
Glaze Of letters and packets, sting from mme
diate and monetary circumstances, and arriving a.
the post ofhce after the tags arc made up and
elofed.
The transportation service being thus vastly i'm
proved, our next inquiry Is In regard 10 delivery.
There Is, In this, as previously suggested an OBJ.
vious deficiency. After carrying letter, packet,
certain distance, the Department should undoubt-
eoly deliver Il with speed corresponding to that
with which IL was Transmitted. This could easily
be done, at yery insignidoaht cost, at any ofice
surrounded with population ~ two .hous aud and
upwarcs, and embracing, probably, oae third Of the
whole nun ber.
While the i.lEediitc delivery would stimulate
ihoasshds abo ta"uancs 20 THsing letters, upon