Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1854-07-25

3 j.
rhs Ramsey and carmisk schsms.-The
Postmaster General Il just now being abused |
by the New York Herald, and any number of |
writer's Tor tho pres from this city, by way of |
designating and maligm1g him into exc.
cutting conditional contract made by his pre-.
decessor with Ramsey and Carmick, for the |
transportation Of the mails between New Or. |
leans and San Francisco, via Vera Cruz and |
Acapulco, on the condition that Congress
should advise and consent to 1t before any OBJ
legation on the part Of the Government to pay
for mail service under that engagement,
should exist
The maligners Of the Postmaster General
conceal and misrepresent this condition of the
contract; representing, as in last Sundays
Herald, that that functionary stopped the
due execution of their engagement on his
mere order, against it's lettsr and spirit, which,
they pretend, amounted to an agreement that
they should perform the service, but go with
out pay for it until Congress approved the con-
tract IN question. They would have the pub
lie believe the late Postmaster General made
. bargain by which he gave the parties an
equitable claim for some $500, 900 per annum,
while expressly declining to sign contract
which should involve him in responsibility
for the establishment Of the service until Con.
gress should have approved it.
To make ont their case, the Herald and ;ts
co-laborors in other journals, say that the
present Postmaster General, instead of going
to Congress about the m1tter, contents him.
self with sending for le.ter.writers to induce
them to write down the Ramsey and Carmiok
route, and write up the Tehuantepec route,
Both branches OF this allegation are infa.
mously and maliciously false that portion
concerning the lettar.writers being also ride.
uloas. .a1e71 y a'.-4 -se,..s-. go
We find, in his first official communication
| to Congress ION the LIST of December last) the
following clause
0nthesd Of March, 1858, Postmaster General
Hubbard concluded contract with Messrs.
Ramsey and Carmick, of New York, at S424.-
0o0 per annum for service semi. monthly from
Vera Cruz, Mexico, by Acapulco, San Diego.
and Monterey, to San Francisco and back in
| thirteen days each way, being an extension of
two OF the trips on the New Orleans and Vera
Cruz line through Mexico, for the purpose of
| conveying the mail, and thus making one
| tnrough-line in sixteen days between New
| Orleans and San Francisco, COPY of which
was communicated to the Senate on the 18th
OF March. This contract contains stipuIa.
ton that 1t shall not have any validity unless
| congress should sanction it by the passage of
| an appropriation to carry it into effect On
| the 18th OF June the department received
comHunioauon from Robert G. Rankin, presi-
dent Of the Ocean Mail and Inland COMPANY.
who states that that company is the real party
TO the contract entered into by Messrs Ramsey
and Carmick, reporting progress towards put
sing service into execution. To this commu.
nication the following reply was sent by me on
the 9th of July: "Your letter of the 18th
ult. came duly to hand. My attention having
thus been specially called to the circumstances
connected with the contemplated line to the
Pacific, rsc Vera Cruz and Acapulco, I feel it
my duty, after due deliheration, to inform YOU
| that the conditional contract entered into be-
tween my predecessor, Mr.. Hubbard, and
Messrs: Ramsey and Cermiok, for the convey
ance Of the mails over this line to San Fran
1 cisco, does not meet with my appreciation.
ID tne nrst place, as at present advised, I
CONSIDER tho route impracticable for mail pur.
poses
In the second place, the sums of money
yearly drawn from the treasury for contracts
| which have for several years been, and are
Sill in force, fer the transportation Of the
mails between the Atlantic and the Pacific, are
very considerable, amounting to about $751;
sos: In view Of this fact, and Of the many
sections and neigh Dor hoods in the different
States which are either greatly restricted in,
or deprived altogether Of mail facilities, it
appears to me both inexpedient and unjust to
60 into the expenditure of still further sum
OF $4,000 for the service in question. More.
over, disapprove of the principle upon which
this contract is made. In my opinion, if the
Postmaster General has the right to make
such contract at all, it ought to be made
without the restriction or limitation contained
| in yours, by which its force or validity is made
| to depend upon the passage Of an appropria-
ton by Congress to carry it int effect I am
unwilling to recognise any contingency of this
kind, because although the contractors may,
under such conditional arrangement, establish
no legal claim for compensation, they may,
nevertheless, 90 on and incur expenses in the
expectation that they will be paid, and Con-
gress, more from private sympathy than from
public policy or right, be at length induced to
yield to . measure to which its prior sanction
| never could have been obtained"
Since that time the department have not
heard from the Mexican Ocean Mail and Inland
Company.
Now, it will be perceived that he simply de-
clined to allow these parties to obtain an
equitable claim on the Government, until
Congress should act in the matter; thus en-
forcing the important clause in the contract
aforesaid. All honest and common sense peo-
pie will applaud him for 50 doing. However
much such persons may desire to see the Vera
| Cruz and Acapulco route opened at the cost of
the Treasury Of the United States, they will
at glance realize that Judge Hubbard acted
correctly in refusing to give the arrangement
vitality until Congress should approve it; and
also that Postmaster General Campbell has
| simply discharged his duty to his trust, In
peremptorily directing that nothing should be
done by his subordinates in the establishment
Of an entire new mail service across the oonti-
nent, at an annual cost Of s424, 900, until the
power in this Government charged with or
dering all expenditures of the public money,