Weekly national intelligencer., 1854-04-15

ounce shall oe charged with additional single postage
United State such from foreign country
Posages shove specified shall be prepaid;
after ne hr ct day Of January 1885, such prepayment shall
by stamps and all drop letters letters placed any pos
ONCE not or transmission through the mail but for deliver,
only sha be charged with postage the rate
remani AZ uncaed for in any post Office shall b,
charged with each addition to the regular postage
both to be accounted for other postages are.
Sec q And be further enacted That so much Of tho seeont
section Of act entitled An act amend the act entitled
An act to reduce and modify the Of postage in thu
1862 as is in these words viz when the
any newspaper periodical paid quarterly or yearly
yan at the office where the said periodical
deli yered is paid yearly quarterly in advance
fee where the mailed and evidence such
is furnished to the Office of delivery in such manner as the
or hall Of said rates only shall be charged be
is hereby repealed.
seos And be further enacted That all acts or parts Of
cts which in conflict with the provisions this be
and the same are hereby repealed.
AIR. 0LDS said that Monday week. when he submitted
to the House the bill increasing the compensation of de-
putty postmasers he stated that he was willing to vote
for an increase OF the present rates of postage Having
committed himself upon that OCCASION he felt to be his
duty to bring the question before the Committee ON the
Post Office and Post Roads, and they instructed him
report the bill which had just been read to the House.
1t was necessary for him to state to the House that
they should do of two things they should either
abandon the idea of making the Post Office Department
selfsusaining branch Of the Government and throw
as charge upon the Treasury Of the country or they
should raise the present rates OF postage to amount
which would make this Department self-snsainng. SO
long as 1t should remain neither the the other it
would operate peculiarly hard upon the rural districts
There was at this time deficit of than two millions
of dollars in the Of the Post Office Department
and the consequence that when gentleman from the
Western or Southern States to the Postmaster Gem
era and asked him for increase of mail service upon
certain route or for the establishment of new post Office
he was answered that the Department had funds that
was crippled that it could grant increase of mail
facilities Now then, if they should abandon entirely the
idea OF making this Department sefsustainng and do
away with all postage and let all mail matter 60 free and
make charge upon the Treasury of the country then
the Postmaster General would understand that he could
grant the rural districts increased mail facilities If how
ever the Post Office Department to be self sustain
ing one then the postage should be increased that point
which would yield sufficient sustain it and en-
able it to give additional mail facilities the rural dis
tricts.
Mr.. SHELTON requested the gentleman from Ohio to
consent to the posponement Of the bill day certain
as 1t was OF too much Importance to upon the pre-
sent time lie was satisfied that reform need
ed IN the present rates of postage but he would like
opportunity to examine the bill and to offer amend
ments to it, should he deem them necessary
Mr. OLDS replied that he should have objection to
the postponemcnt of the bill day certain provided it
should not be put too far off.
Ha then proceeded to show, from various statistics
that the present rates of postage three and cents
had reduced the receipts of the Department below the
revenue point and that the of FIVE and ten cents
proposed in the bill before the House would make it
self.sustaining machine.
He then explained that the bill proposed change Of
i've cents the single letter for any distance not exceed
ing three thousand miles, and that distance cents
the postage in all to be paid in advance by stamps
which would establish complete check on the posmas-
ters, which did not now efficiently exist the law to 90
into effect on the first of January next enable the De-
partment to prepare and furnish to the deputy post
masters new stamps.
The next change proposed by the bill was in regard to
conn
why twenty cents should be charged for the transporta
ton OF letter three thousand miles by sea- only five
cents for the same distance by land The BILL therefore
proposed to charge the on letters carried y
those carried by land except in cases where we
have or may have postal treaties with foreign Govern
ments.
With regard to newspapers and periodicals the bill
proposed to repeal SO much of the law made
reduction of fifty per cent for prepaid postage.
II the bill should be passed it would annual
increase in the of the Post Office Department Of
two and a half millions of dollars. ..
Mr.. CHANDLER then obtained the floor stating that
he desired to reply to of the remarks made by the
chairman of the Committee the Post Office and Post
Roads. He, however yielded the floor to
Mr.. SAGE, who moved that the further consideration
Of Che bill be postponed until this day four weeks and
that the bill be printed r..
Mr.. LETCHER hoped this measure would not be post
poned from day to day, but that it would be commit
ted, other bills usually 1t really seemed to him
that they had swapped the devil for witch. daughter
They had at last got rid of the Committee Public Lands
ana now the COMMITTEE the Post Office and Post Roads
were trying to put all of their bills their passage and
was likely that the House would get beyond that
committee
The question was then taken, and the motion Of Mr.
SAGE was agreed to.
=@... JUDICIAL SYSTEM. r".
Mr.. STANTON, of Tennessee by consent, from the
Committee on the Judiciary, reported bill to modify the
Judicial system of the United States; which was read
twice.
Mr. S. stated that his only object in reporting the bill
was to enable the House to examine and understand it.
as 1t was one fyery great importance He moved to
commit the bill and that it be printed; which was
agreed to. III
THE PUBLIC LANDS.
On motion, the House then went into Committee of
the Whole the state of the Unien (Ir. FULLER of
Maine, in the chair and resumed the consideration of
the special order, being the House bill to encourage
agriculture, commerce, manufactures, and all other
branches of industry, by granting to every who is
the head of family and citizen of the United States
Of the public domain upon condition of occupancy and
cultivation OF the same for the period herein specified and
to graduate and reduce the price Of the public lands
The bill as amended yesterday merely provides for
graduating and reducing the price of the public lands
The following is the scale: Lands that have been in
market Tor ten years upwards 10 be subject to sale
the price OF one dollar per fifteen years upwards
at seventy cents per twenty years or upwards at
fifty cents per acre; twenty years or upwards at
twenty i've cents per and thirty years at
twelve and half cents per provided that this
ton shall not be so construed to extend to lands
served 10 he United States in acts granting land to States
for railroad or other internal or to mineral
lands held ?. dollar and twenty-five cents per
acre The bill also provides that nothing in this act shall
be so construed as to interfere with any right which has
or may accrue by virtue Of any granting cption
to actual settlers upon public lands
hx.nf lAl 49,