New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-05-18

h. as,ed how the mail bags are dis
,,o.ed Of where there is not separate room Tor
t,sm. They are carried in the same apartment
Nth the passengers baggage, and the same man
has charge Of both. This railway mail "guard'
j. probably appointed and paid part or oil OF
his salary by the Government. He wears tne
uniform Of one "in her Majesty's service ana
by thus economizing space and duty vast saving
ia Effected. Look at the figures along Win inc
British second class railways-usualiy aoou''"0
pence sterling for each mile Travelled Inc oo"'
tract with mapv Of these companics--ootn hrst
.r5 ,e.o,d. cI,ss-is such that the Government
H.. ,hs ,,;vilece of sending a mail by every pas
.r.;n If desired. This is the case On the
Na,.oastIs and Carlisle railway; and between
Liverpool and Manchester there are four or hVe
mails day each way
Now look Of our railway mails. We pay over
$500 mile on some roads for service twice
day six days in the week, where the mails do not
average 1850 lbs each, the weight of an ordinary
passenger. Thirty. three railroads having con-
tracts with the Fost-OfFice Department receive
over 5000 mile We have taken notice Of those
roads only that arc mentioned in the Postnas-
ter-Genersrs last report as having contracts with
the Post. Office on the 30th Of June, 1884.
Now let us look at the most important consd-
Grafton of all-the fixed principle on which con-
tracts are made in Great Britain between the
Post Office Department and the Railway Com
panios Many suppose that the British Railway
Companies are obliged by clause in their char
fers to furnish their services at a certain price
and subject to the regulations laid down by the
Post Office Department. This is an entire mis-
take. 1t ia purely q voluntary thing on the part
of the companies; a contract for services TO DO
performed precisely the same as contracting
with drover to transport so many cattle from
Durbamsbire TO London. The British Gov
ernmept has not one single advantage or
claim that the United States Government or
priyate person has not. Their method OF max
Ing A contract is this: An officer of the Post
Office Department, designated by the Postm,s-
ter-(aeneral, confers with one appointed by 'he
Railway Company. The space, number OF trains,
time of running and usual weight of mails arc
all laid down by the agent of the Post-Ofice;
and the railway officer tells at what h.ur they
run passenger trains, the price they charge, the
prices for different classes Of freight, ETC., and
if they cannot agree third person-an UNI
pire-is chosen, who is wholly disinterested.
Sometimes it takes several days to make con-
trnct. The actual cost or value OF the ser
vices required is got at in this way; The entire
cost Of the road and its equipments is furnished,
and also the expense Of running the trains; every
~. md haln ria ak iut ST
of money, depreciation Of stock, etc. The prin-
ciple is that with certain investment and at
a certain current rate of expenses the Railway
Company is making certain profit; and if they
are to add to their present business that of car
rying the mail, what shall be the rate of COM
pensation OF course the expense is enhanced,
and the compensation must be increased in pro-
portion to the sacrifices made for running out Of
their usual hours.
We see how the figures in the above table of
first class railroads in Great Britain exactly cor
respond to the principles laid down. Look at the
Chester and Holyhead Railway, with the enor-
nous sum of $3.50, 900 paid for two trains each
way per day over 9i4 miles of railway. This is
S1,596 a mile, nearly three times much as is
paid to any other road in Great Britain. And
why is this All for very good reasons The
railway cost more than almost any other road in
the Kingdom. One structure, the famous Brit
ANNA Bridge over the Mena Straits, alone cost al
most three millions ofdollars. Then it is the most
direct mail route TO aud from Ireland, and II is
quite essential that there should be two daily
mails each way, and running at such hours as to
make convenient connection with other routes
and with London. The interest of money, the
current expenses, and all sacrifices, must be
taken into consideration.
Look at the London and Northwestern Rail-
way. 1t carries the heaviest mail of any road in
the Kingdom, and yet it only gets SAB mile
In going both north and south it carries nearly
ell the mail that is transported over both the
Chester and Holyhead, aud the Lancaster and
Carlisle railways. The aforementioned road has
to run in unison with the Caledonia on the north,
and the London and Northwestern on the south,
in carrying the great mail between London and
Scotland, and for the service out of the usual
hours and thus being put to extra expense, it
must have extra pay. The same is true Of the
Csledonian; and on some parts Of this railway
there are three mails day each way. These
roads get each nearly 5000 mile.
Now estimate the value Of mail transportation
on the American railroads according to the prin-
ciple that governs the contracts on the British
roads; and certainly nothing can be onfairer bust
ness principles. The average cost of all our rail-