The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1853-12-15


by the following statement, from which the
sums received for Government postage in 1916
and ls47 are excluded;
Year ending June 80, lS45 sos, 765 %
Do. do. 1916 630,O52 So
Do do 1s47 622,2lS0 90
Do. do. lS4S 767, 334 IS
D.. do. lS49 8i9,0l6.20
Do. do. 1850 9l9,485 90
DO. do 1851 -l,O35;I3O SO
The act of March Sd, 1851, provided a new
scale of hostages on newspapers, periodicals.
| and other printed matter, graduated by dis
tance and while it greatly reduced the rates
esta blshed by the act Of l8i5, upon pubica-
tons issued to regular subscribers, it increased
the rates upon transient newspapers and other
descriptions Of printed matter Under this
graduated scale, which was found exceedingly
inconycnient in practice, owing to there being
no less than ak different rates Of postage on
regular newspapers, according tn distance, the
revenue from printed matter, which had
amounted to 81 ,035, 1909, in the year ending
June 80. 1851 sunk in the year ending June
80, 1852 to S7S9.2l6 SO being decline of
S245 ss453, or 2334 per cent.
In order to remedy the inconvenience to post
masters and the public arising from the char
as well as to simplify the rates on such matter
generally, the act amendstOry of the act OF
1851 " to reduce and modify the rates of post
age &c, was passed on the 30th of August,
1882, to take effect on the st of October fol.
| lowing but this act still further reduced the
rates OF postage on printed matter, so that the
three quarters of the fiscal year ending 30th of
| June, 1883, amounted to less than the three
quarters which immediately preceded them by
the sum OF $3.50 1874 AZ, being u reduction be.
low the revenue on printed matter produced
| by the act of 1851, of more than IS per cent
| This great reduction is mainly attributable to
that provision in the act of August, 1852,
which requires only half the regular rates of
postage to be paid on newspapers and period
Gals when payment is made quarterly or year
| ly in advance, either at the Office of mailing or
| delivery
The act of 1851 does not seem, thus far, to
have answered the expectations of it's friends ;
| but while such has been ts effect upon the
revenue, the expenditures Of the Department
particularly for transportation, have been very
| much increased
Whist from 1912 to i849, including the sum
of S255 692, paid in the latter year for foreign
| service, the cost for transportation, in part
| owing to some salutary changes made in l845,
| decreased i'll the sum OF S403 5S9 since that
time it has gone ON very rapidly increasing
In the year ending 30th Of June 1919, the
transportation of the mails cost the Depart
mcnt the sum of SASH, 407 II in tho year
ending the 30th of June, 1850, the sum of
| So 965 1856 Sc; in the year ending June 80
| 1851, SO 53S 063 Ca in the year ending June
80 1852, 81 OPS gil 2s; and in the year end.
M June 80 1853 the sum of S4,906 800 05,
being an increase of s. 1868 24i Al for trans
| oortstion alone since the act Of 1881 went into
| operation.
| A development Of important bearing on the
interests of this Depar tment has come to my
aotlce, in observing the operations of the act of
1851 A large amount Of letter correspondence
passed through the mail, chiefly from the cities
aud principal villages, at but cent postage per
letter; whereas rents when prepaid, and
cents when unpaid, was the uniform rate for
letters contemplated by that great measure Of
reform. The letters referred to are sent at two.
thirds lesl than letters generally, because the
body Of them are printed or Autographed, in
stead of being written.
In every respect they are letters, aud serve
the purpose Of letter correspondence; but ad
vantage is taken OF the provision Of law in re.
gard TO printed circulars, and they are mailed
land legally, too) under that provision need
DOT point out its effect in reducing the revenues
and Disappointing expectations in the working
OF the lOw-postage measure nor need show
how vital the difference this provision makes
between our experiment and that of England,
or the injustice Undersigned, indeed) in reliev.
ing q GLASS OF letter writers of twO-thirds Of
their postage tax, and imposng it on others.
The great deficit in the revenues of tho De-
partment it will be seen, is owing to the large
appropriations of money voted to the steamship
companies-appropriatlons most unjustly char
ged upon the correspondence Of the country.
| The cost of the service for the last fiscal year
on the several United States mail steamship
lines, and across the isthmus of Panama, is as
| follows:
New York to Liverpool-Collins
| linc-tweDty.six voyages 1888 900 90
New York, via Southampton, TO
| Bremen, eleven voyages 1888 33
New York, via Cowes, to Havre,
twelve voyages 100000
| New York and New Orleans to As
pinwall, Twenty-Five voyages
including twenty-four voyages
between New York and New
Orleans, via Havana 284, $40 90
| Astoria via San Francisco, 60, to
Panama, twenty-nine voyages
between San Francisco and Pa
mama and twenty-Our on resi-
due of line GAG, $50 90
| Charleston, via Savannah and Key
West to Havana, twenty-iour
voyages $4,000 90
New Orleans to Vera Cruz, five
voyages 1850 90
| Aspinwall to Panama 1924 90
l,965,5s7 80
The report Of the Auditor for this Depart
ment hereto annexed, shows that the aggregate
amount Of postages, inland, sea, and foreign,
on letters and other mailable matter, received
and sent by these several lines during the last
fiscal year, was ~ follows
By Collins line New
York end Liverpool,
on letters S3O3,73 70
On newspapers, inclu-
ding those by closed
mails 662828
-$3l0,38 l .9s
Rv New York and Rra-