New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-03-08

About - 500, 900 of this SUN, it may be seen,
are for current expenses, and the remainder for
deficiencies. No one not directly interested in
maintaining the Government monopoly OF the
mail service can, upon due reflection, doubt the
advantage Of putting 1t in private hands. Prooa-
bly, one-fourth of the above sun would in private
hands be ample, leaving the capitalists a fair
return. But politicians are only great men when
they have patronage TO bestow or seize upon and
should the people diminish essentially the distrl
button and command of material wealth, the rela-
tons Of these pOliti ,ians TO society would be-
Immediately charged. Hence We do not see any
movement in Congress to abolish the Post Ofi:e
system, not to mention other useless Government
appendages. That must come from the people
themselves before their representatives will act.
A staple in the rhetoric Of our national self
graduation s the readiness of our people to abol-
i.h abuses, compared with the ignorance and ir'
resolution of Europeans in the same particular.
When, however, We look q. the imbecile manner
in which our countJmen leave every department
of the Federal Government essentially the same,
except in the matter of exaggerasiOn or abuse, as
it was set down originally in the Constitution,
we cannot but think that our good opinions of our
selves need some qualification. Reduce the
powers If the Government TO their least proper
tons and Congress neeo not know long, hot
session, with its conceptions; nor the country be
stirred by agitation during Presidential cany ASS
The matter in hand the Ocean Mail Service, has
"a we all know, caused an amount of corruption
openly charged upon Congress, OF itself forming
good and sufficient reason for putting the whole
Mail Department into private hands.
After all, the Government cannotcarrythe mails:
they are now all carried by private companies; but
Goyerpme mt reserves to itself the appointment OF
the receiving, recording and distributing agents,
and the trading politician thereby finds great
source of power, patronage and corruption.
Why should not the people of the United States,
instead Of COMMUNICATING the condition Of those of
Europe devote their attention to the reform fther
own general Government, and simplify the bust
ness Of Congress and the Executive in accordance
with the lights of the century and the immense
eXtempOrized resources Of private citizens 20 do
public work now not allotted them The Post
Office system, as now 10 the control of the Gov.
eminent, is unne cessary. The mails are carried,
It is true, and batting the wretched PostO
provisions of our large cities, no great fault
il found but the whole system of de-
putting such work TO the Government
is an Inheritance Of monsrchical and aristocra.ic
Europe, and Of the times vH-o the people knew
not their own strength, aud delegated others to
DO that which could best be done by themselves.
The amount ofjobbing and corruption involved ia
the present system is too great for analysis and
only the more salient points, such as the Collins
Line business, or the ordinary rewards for par.i-
san service contained in the appointments to
leading Offices, are to be estimated. IL is posi-
Bile, however, to purify the Government and
economic expenses by abrogating the whole sys-
TEN as at present devised and leaving 1t to indi-
vidual enterprise.
Take another branch Of Federal expense-the
arDy-and see how the appropriation swells for
the fiscal year ending with June, lo56: