New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1856-01-05

"n,ot hc claimed As belonging TO the sea scrie, and
thercvenue from posiagcs only Wa sJsI SE o2
showing an excess OF expense by this be o' SHOi'S
The contract pay Of the Bremen line j. $4,000 per
o,num while tie total United states postage on mails
convey cd during the year was ell','1i 10 Deduct
tL, inland po,ta.,e on mails conveyed by this line,
and A., revenue derived from sea postage Only wes
So ,O31 %. .. ...
Tie coutrnct pay Of the Hsyre line Is $4,000 per
anuuln The total poSingos on mails conveyed during
,Le wear was Oi L. and the postage after de-
,lucing iho United State inland was s72,7e9 81
The total po,tagcs inland included on mails con-
veyod during the year by the New-fo anu California
steamship lines was S3i6,4' Ia, and the CO.'S OF trans
portaion including the ishInus service, was sl7i-
O3J So
The total possgcs on mails conveyed blythe CGahcs-
ton and Havana line dUrng the year was so'sSO ~,
and the cosi of transportation, Sjs,33s
The total postage on mails conveyed by the New
Orleans ami Vera Cruz line $500 -, and the
amount paid for transportation, s3i.Oo3 IL.
In my last Annual Report | referred to the large
amounts annually drawn trow the Treasury by the Col
Inns line Of steamers and recommended that the SIX
months notice required 10y the act OF july 81 i'Ss
should De given. IL j. not necessary thai should
again r. Ter to the mpOr anac that the Collins hne OF
steamers is receiving from the Government sos, 200
Cr twenty-six trips while the British Government paid
the Cunard line $500 700 tor hty-two tnpSi nor 70
the Injurious effects which the establishment OF this
monopoly must have upon the commercial interests
of the country Their original contract entered
into bv them, after full consideration, bound them
10
fer passed mdshpmcn and man ageN, ana
for the mail service they were to receive the sum OF
So $50 trip. Congress has relieved them rom that
rar of their agreement which Obliged them I" MAIN
tain the four midshpRen. The Post-Oihce Department
has not ken advantage OF that pant ot the contract
which empowers il to send ont mail agent and which
ohliges the Company 10 accommodate and sUb~ist
him; and the Company instead OF building hve sieanl-
ships. a. stipulated in their contracts have bott but
four With the knowledge that the Company had
built hut four Steamship; that they hat been NJ
hcvcd from two oneIoUs. conditions Of Their contract,
one by Congress and the other by the action of the
Po.t-Ohce Department, IN a spirit of muritcence
and iberalitvon the 2l~t of July, 1852, the amount
Of compensation was increased To $4,000 trip.
Temporary embarus- mcnt caused 10y the Companys
entering into new enterprise may have been
the cause of this action on the part of Congress;
hut these reasons can 20 longer eN,t. Apart from,
the prices fixed IN their own contract the sum paid
by the British Government is in my opinion full
equivalent for them service aud il = tor this reason
that again refer 60 IT. but whatever unexpected out
LAYS there were the part of the Company Congress
has certainly dealt with them m truly liberal aud
generous spirit Since the passage of the act of July
81 1852 computing from the lst OF January, 1882 the
time when the additional allowance commenced, 10 the
LIST o December 1855 the Company viii have received
= 400 500 more than they would have been entitled 10
for the saline amount of service under the original
tract and If this period be heightened and the notice
not given until March, il will make the sum whchthoy
will have received amount 10 II ,61o,O0O. Whatever
therefore, the views O Congress IN granting THIS
increased compensation, cannot but regard the COM
tuance of il a. mere gratuity destroying all COM
petition most important route, and, like all such
appropriations attended 10y most peInicious influences.
Some further correspondence has takenpl on the
uhicct Of the pending postal conventions with France
and Belgium, but without any satisfactory result.
Measures have recently been taken to lay before the
Mexican Government such proposals on the subject OF
postal convention, in the form of treaty. as 10 hoped
may prove acceptable. IT il proposed as the basis
Of the convention that there be but rate of postage
for letters between the two countries and that this rate
Ia. n tppn
States to three cents Mexican inland and cents
sea pOstage-thc latter to TO the country per-
forming the sea or Gulf service.l
In the Annual Report of the PostmasterGenera Of
Great Britain, referring 10 the remarks in my last
Annual Report on the subject, he takes occasion to
present the views and arguments of his Government
on the principal points of difference between the two
countries in regard to postal arrangements. Except ia
Ortwo particulars it not perceived that any reply
from this Department is demanded either To bis obser
walton. in bis report in his letter of the 5th OF April
last the same subject to our Minister, large part
Of which consists OF an extract from the report. With
reference Ia the action of the British Govern
ment in Withholding its assent To the admission of
The Anerican-French correspondence, under tbs
treaty upon what the United States has from the
first regarded fair and reasonable terms, my views
have already been fully stated in my letter of july 49,
1852 to the secretary of State, and prine'jo EXeeu-
tive document No. 10 Of the Senate last session. which
letter has also been communicated to the British Cow
eminent. refer to this part of the subject now only
Or the purpose Of correcting very erroneous impress
sion, winch cOud not lal To be conveyed by the man
Ter IN which the POsmastcI-(encTal OF Great Britain
a. stated the case in his Report lie admits that the
United States receive but twelve aud half cents nm
ounce transit postage OH British and Canada closed
sHls and that Great Britain receives twenty -four
cents ounce nearly double the sum- for the transit
conveyance of the United States and French CORE
spOndcnce passing through England; but by partial
arrangement entered into between the Governments Of
England and France, this correspondence, when trans
united to the Cunard steamers goes in closed mails at
n reduced sea mot transit postage of ten cents the
single onequartcr ounce letter; hence he alleges that
Il Is inconsistent on part 10 complain that hls
Government thus enables French subjects 10 receive
their American letters by British packets at rate
OF 10 cents while we deInagd 10 cents from our own
citizens for the like service by United States packets
and al the same time to complain that the British
charges too high He adds that the United States
has the matter IN its own hands, and may make the
rates on both Initcd States and British lines uniform
by reducing the rate its own lines; and that a
uniform rate would not be- secured by n reduction Of
the British transit charge TO Cd. Tor III ccntsl IA de-
manded by the United States without such reduction
of postage. The ingenuity Of this mode of stating
the case ~ frankly admitted, but not its 'arnfss II
il a sufficient answer to say that the only con-
trOvelsy has been with reference to reduction Of
the British tanst pOstage-thst the sea poAagc
has not been Il point in dispute, aud that
reasonable demands for reduction OF the tIsIsit
postage acceded TO- the reduction Of tho
sea postage by the United States lines would
follow Of couisc, since the United States and Er0nch
maii- would then be treated closed mails aud al
letter. between the two countries, passing through
England would be transmitted at ul,lorIn rate Of
postage True, the United States has il in Il power,
in two ways, to make the rate uniform by both United
States and British lines First, by reducing the sea
postage on onc-quarter ounce letters by its own lines;
and, secondly BY raising the inland rate from five to
eleven cents ON all American French letters conveyed
H. Ill., l. L. r 4 u.