Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1852-03-20

NO. sss
the General Post Office and views the fine adaptations o.
its bureaus, indulge the complacent reflection
E quorum magma pars fui.
On bis resignation in May, iS40, John NJ Niles Of
Connecticut was selected BY Mr Van Buren for the post
He had the necessary mind, but in Office too short
time establish character, the political revolution Of
that year having made prudent for him to abandon the
position the Sd Of March following.
The new President General Harrison placed the
Department the following day, Francis Granger, Of
New York He roo possessed suitable qualifications but
continued in Office short period to become familiar
with its details the Cabinet Of which he member
having resigned in September following, in consequence
of rupture with Mr.. Tyler, whom the decease Of Gen.
Harrison had placed in the Presidential chair
In that month Mr. Tyler commissioned Charles A.
Wicklife as Postmaster General who filed the Office tE
tie Sd of March, 1915. The establishment in q
prosperous condition during the whole Of his official term
On the day OF his withdrawal Congress passed post
Office bill reduying the previous high and complicated
ratesof postagct, FIVE cents letters not going
three hundred nils,s, weighing half ounce
This great relief the citizens generally and i'm
portant ntroddcing principle into the postage
tariff viz weight in stead of the numbers Of pieces Of
paper embraced in ANAL package This law also intro
duced smother important principle viz that tae
spondence Of the country should previously, be-
taxed for tine conveyance Of passengers This it did By
the clause requiring the Postmaster General in all future
contracts for conveying the mails regard only their
certain, safe; and expeditions transportation.
On the accession Of Mr. Polls the Presidency the
4t of March, l845 Cave Johnson of Tennessee put
in charge Of the postal reins. He gentleman Of
fair talents large experience in public ars, and remark
ably bland He discharged his duties with
credit and usefulness exactly four years.
President Taylor selecsed the Office. the 4th of
March, l849, Jacob Collamer of Vermont, who united
excellent moral character great rmness prudence and
Judgment At his suggestion Congress made handsome
addition to the clerical force of the The death
of the Presden about sixteen months and
the formation of Cabinet AGAIN created vacancy
in the post.
The present incumbent; Nathan X Hall, Of New York.
is considerably younger than most Of his prede-
having been but forty years u age the date of
his appointment Owing to my relative position to him,
it does not become speak Of his qualifications
The country has had considerable opportunity toudge Of
them. deem it not improper however, to say that he
deyotes his time and energies to the supervision of the
Office and evinces laudableambtion give the great
practicable energy its operations Much credit is
due him for his agency affecting three postage
rate.
As ahisory of the establishment woadbe in my opin-
on quite defective which failed notice the gentle
that 1.-the Office Of First Assistant from 1900 to
1851 Abraham Bradley and Selah r. Hobbie Edeem it
proper refer them here The former acted Prime
Minister the different postal chiefs down to 1922 the
latter during the residue of the period They alike
distinguished for their intimate acquaintance with every
thing Of Importance touching postal aair and their
industry devotion 10 the interests oS the DepArtmen
Their services Of great value TO il ronsanf
respective termss
The Department has on its registers six thou
sand mail and nearly many mail contractors
Within the last few years two classes agents
have been extensively employed in its operations adding
much its ehciency well to its refer to
mail messengers and agensthe latter more pro-
perly styled travelling postmaster OF the former
hundred employed convey the mails to and
fro between the steamboats, and railroad having
with the Postmaster General and the landings or
depots who by exchange Of pouches,
obyiae delays in the through mails The travelling post
masters Of whom there about hundred and fifty,
and post-b the mail packages handed them during
the hour intervening between the closing Of the mails and
the departure of the cars whereby they forwarded as
early placed in the Office before the making up Of
the mails. This is vast accommodation to the busi-
the country The benefits of the establishment
also been greatly enhanced of pe by the introduce
ton of system Of mail lines which, although in
their infancy already extend England, France, Ger
many Cuba the sthmus of Darien, and our Pacific set
Elements Efforts being made to form mail connexions
with other European countries and the South American
States These add to national respectsbiity and
promote universal intimacy and brotherhood
alluded in the of this article TO the.
regularity and dispatch Of the English and French posts
but II is doubtful whether the United States mails do not
at our principal towns excel them in these particulars
The augmentation in the size Of our mails Is
also worthy Of Only twenty-five years ago tn
boot Of single coach suced for any mail leaving
principal cities Now, at New York, Washington, snd
others Of our large commercial towns they amount
veral tons each day
The Post Office Department and the Sixth Auditors
Office kept in the beautiful marble building street.
the Patent Office, midway between the Capitol and
the Presidents Mansion. II has about hundred and
fifty clerks half Of whom assigned TO the Audi
tor II stands unrivalled among the Executive Depart
ments in regard the extent If not also to the mpor
lance, Of its operations.
\ FLouRY TnrBUrE.-At the Charleston Is. c. tn sa~
re few evenings ago. several times during the per.
formances the actors well that portion of tha
audience occupying the parquet and boxes r eted
with shower Of something white, which seemed to be
thrown from the upper tiers At the point Of time
which defined the limit between the virtue and the sb
surdty of patience discovered that the Aors Of