Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1855-12-22
PREPAYMENTS OF POSTAGE.

Mr.. Pliny Miles, in his recently published
work on Postal Reform" takes strong
ground against the system of compulsory pre-
payments. He contends that it is as llogi-
cal and Improbable, in q financial point of
view, as it is inconvenient and unjust to the
citizens. Government, he affirms, actually
loses by it. nearly ore million per annum.
In 1852, the only year for which we have a
Report, on the subject of paid and unpaid
letters, there were over 50,000.000 of letters
prepaid, and o little over 100000 that
were sent unpaid. The difference between
the average postage, was about two cents and
three mills per letter. and the extra charge
brought no less than SS57,000. Mr.. Miles
says:
Had this law of compulsory prepayment
not been passed, tho postal revenue next
year, the fiscal year ending July /, 1856
would have been much larger the receipts
would inevitably have been more than they
will be under the present regulation. The
postage on 1,259250 letters-the number
detained for postage" in year, at the rate
they are now coming in--would be over S70-
900; sum that would be nearly sufficient to
defray the expense of sending back all our
dead letters. Had the English law been in
force here-that of returning all dead letters,
and collecting all the postage due on them
our Dead Letter Office for years past might
have more than supported itself The num-
Der of "unpaid dead letters" reported in the
official Report of 1852, was 2653909. The
postage on these averaged nearly six cents
each. and amounted in the aggregate to
Sl50,2i6, sum far more than sufficient to
defray the expense Of returning all the dead
letters to the writers. (Sec. 92.)
We chose to burn them up, to destroy
their value-all that there might be to the
writcrs-and sink the entire amount Of pos
tage that should have been paid on them. II
there is any show of justice in seizng and
destroying all letters that happen, from any
cause not to be prepaid, could there be any
injustice in holding every one responsible !or
the postage on his letters when not prepaid
provided the person addressed did not OF
would not receive them. We can prepay
our letters if we like-accidents excepted
and if it is our pleasure, why do We want q
law compelling us 10 do it? We can refuse
all letters that come to us unpaid, if We
choose, but why not give us chance fseeine
whether we will take them or not? Some O
our Post Office officials fail back on the
monstrous proposition that our postal bust
ress will increase in consequence of this law
! for finding heir correspondence miScarry 50
| QItch, me pH6ftc Uit ETue more letters "A
doctrine worthy of the tyrant who plundereG
his subjects of their hard-earned gains, ant
justified himself on the plea that industry
was virtue, and that in consequence Of his
acts, the people would he more Industrious
Mr.. Miles argues that the evils of the Law
of compulsory prepayment are widely felt
and there is no prospect of their diminishing
The number, too, Of unpaid or forfeited let
ters does not decrease. He states further
that in the United States over two hundred
thousand unpaid letters will, within year
by the operation of this law, be totally de
stroyed, and without the knowledge Of tn,
writers or owners