The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1854-04-27
OUR NATIONAL POST 0FFIcE-rHE NEW YORK
QUARTERLY.

We are under obligations Messrs Taylor Maury for
the April number Of the New York Quarterly most val
liable periodical devoted science philosophy and era-
ture attention has been particularly attracted by the
first article which elaborate and learned essay upon
Our National Post Office IL is evidently from the pen
Of thoroughly eonyeant with the history and opera
lion details Of the postal systems of every nation At
this time when the subject is engaging earnestly he in
veshgatons of able men, both in the executive and legis
tive departments of the government such contribution 10
their abors must prove highly acceptable and practically
valuable The writer dwes with much force upon com
parative view Of the postal systems of Great Britain and
the United States and the contrast is so favorable the
former that the importance of thoroughly compehending
the odus opaad Of the British Post Office regulations be
apparent To contribute as much as is in power
to the improvement of system, invite the at
tenon of those interested in the subject to the following
historical sketch Of the British Post Office commencing
with the time Of CROMWELL;
q In postal affairs many other things, Cromwell
complished than all his predecessors In 1856
passed establishing general post Office for the speedy
carrying and recaryng of letters by post to and from all
places within England Scotland and Ireland and into
parts beyond the seas The chief officer styled
Postmaster General Of England and Comptroller of the Post
Office 1t made complete monopoly Of government
and all persons forbidden set up employ any foot posts
by weight At this time the posts famcd out
rented the contractor paying 10000 year
and all the OF the Post Oce and receiving All the
posages Four years later in $780, the restoration Of
Charles H. the Post Office rented for Ell 900 year.
and in 1868 all the profits of the Post Office settled by
law the Kings brother the Duke Of York, afterwards
King james H. and his heirs male We hear of more i'm
poant changes in the of the Post Office the
Of postage till the reign of Queen Anne In 1858 metro
potan penny post established for the delivery of
the houses throughout the city, and the envron of Lon
don. At this time attempt made to set up separate
post office for Scotand but it failure the contractor
Sir Robert Sinclair losing and throwing his
tract In 1884 great Improvement introduced by Mr.
Palmer who established mail coaches greatly increasing the
speed safety and efficiency of the mails ThNNnprovement
like memorable at later day, met with the most
bitter and determined opposition of the officers
particularly the post office authorities It however
successful On the introduction Of mail
coaches the Of the department
annum, and in years it was f40O 000 in twenty years.
The transfer of the mail from coaches to railroads,
all the main routes in the time of William w
of course and the introduction of the penny postage
principally through the efforts of Mr. Rowland HILL in ls40
is familiar every Many under the impression that
the receipts of the British Post Office under the universal
penny postage equaed the received under
the former higher and Id aetter This isa mistake
The largest received under the old rates in 1882
and amounted e. 1853 los. 3D. while in 1851 the
gross 422 l6s Is I'D, with constant in
to the present time The of management of the
British Post Office greater than fourteen
ago. while the of business and the accommodations
the public increased than five fold and the clear
profit to the for several years has amounted
nually to than five million dollars
The writer gives interesting sketch of the
history of the Post Office in country. We have
only for much embraces the sketch from the
appointment of Benjamin Franklin Postmaster General
Of the colonies, in 1883 as follows:
Colonel spottswood died in 1883 and the home govern
with
him Mr.. William Hunter. They to have six hundred
pounds year between them rorided they could get il!
Franklin says:
The American Post Office had hitherto never paid any
thing that of Britain We have six hundred pounds
year between us, could make that out of the
profits OF the Office TO do this variety OF Improvements
ming expenveso that in the first four years the office be-
above nine hundred pounds in debt to But it soon
the Minister'S had brought yield three times
much clear to the Grown the post Office in Ireland
Since that mpruden Transaction they have received from IL
not one farthng.
"Frankn was thus turned out Of the Office Of Postmaster
General for the colonies in IVA, after having held it for
twenty-one years His equanimity probably much
disturbed by this freak of the Minister'S for though he suf
ered official decapitaon the year he rcnstated BY
higher power being unanimously appointed Postmaster Gen
era of the United Colonies by the Continental Congress The
year ambassador France and vacated
the Office of Postmaster General and the It'll of Noyem-
Der l776, Richard Bache appointed The and last
General chosen by Congress under the conedera
cy Ebenezer Hazard who into Office January 49,
1884, and remained years Since the election Of the
first President the Postmasters General and the years
their appointment to Office, have been follows:
Samuel Osgood appointed In 1889 Timothy Pickering
in 1901 Joseph Hsberbam, 1895 Gideon Granger, 1902
Return j. Meigs, 1914; John Mclean, 1923 William T.
Barry, 1929 Amos Kendall, 1885 John NJ Niles, 1910 ;
Francis Granger March, ls4l; Charles A. wickae Sep
TENDER ls4l Cave Johnson lsi5 Jacob Coamer ls4g
Nathan X. Hall 1850 Samuel d. Hubbard 1851 and james
Campbell, IN 1883
The Of postage from the time OF the confederation
when Mr. Bache Postmaster General the year 1916,
from to SO cents, according distances In 1916 the
fixed by act Of Congress at TO- l2 1884, and
cents and thus remained till the postal Of s45 when
the reduced five cents The last atera-
ton postal by the Of 1851 making letter post
age three for n distances under three thousand miles
prepad and when not prepaid, five and double that
for all distances three thousand miles the weight
allowed for single letter being half an ounce"
After giving comparative Of the number OF
letters the receipts and expenses Of the postal systems
the two countries, the writer proceeds to say:
five compare the number mailed in the United
States with the number in Great Britain we find that in 1852
there mailed in this country 957so522 while Great
Britain the year there 600 Reckoning
the population Of that country thirty millions and that
the United States twenty five millions the number OF
mailed in this country should have been S5, Ges,
than write by 2l9,sT6,l4t. The postage on
that number OF letters at three cents each would be
ga 32 which added to the actual receipts from
postage in 1859 (4 226 792 90) would give annual
from postage alone Of $40 s23o77 ~ Asan ar
gument stimulus to induce population TO write that