The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1856-01-18

The n. Y. Tribune thus alludes to what our
inefficient Postmaster General has done and
has not done:
We have already commented upon some of
the positive faults of this Report Its sins of
omission are, however, equally glaring and
far more blame worthy, and those we now pro-
pose to notice. In the first place, it advises no
amelioration whatever in our wretched postal
system. In fact, during the whole period of
Judge CampbelPs term of office-nearly three
years--he has neither recommended to Con-
gress, nor carried out in his official capacity one
single improvement of any consequences. He has
however by way of compensation, procured
the passage ofseveral laws seriously detrimen-
tai both to the business of the country and to
an efficient postal service. He claims, indeed,
to have done something toward bringing about
better distribution scheme at distributing of
fees. We will give him his due, and acknowl +
edge that he has made the plan of distribu-
ton more complete and a little more systema-
tic, but it is merely an extension of an old
plan. 1t cannot claim originality. He has al
so procured the passage of law OBTAINING,
opening and destroying all letters that happen
to be mailed without payment of postage, by
which means one million two hundred thous-
and letters annually are prevented from
reaching their proper destinations This same
law, moreover, will frequently entirely stop
the mails in consequence of the Offices getting
out of stamps, and thus throw the business of
! the nation into the hands of expires; compan-
les 1t will also operate with great hardship
I on the settlers of our frontiers Moreover,
this law takes away from the Post-Office at
least five hundred thousand dollars of its an
nual income, and that, too, at the very tine
! when the Department is greatly in need of
funds We hazard nothing in predicting that
just as certain as the financial year rolls round,
Ito July, 1856, the annual Postal revenue will
be halfa million dollars less than it would
have been put for this law, notwithstanding
the increase of postage rates to and from Cali
4 iEornia. This prediction may in due time be
verified or falsified, as the case may be by COM
lparing the actual income with what it would
have been, according to the ordinary increase
ofpast years
The Postmaster General also procured the
passage ola law raising postage from six to ten
icents on all letters going over three thousand
miles This is both unjust to the C items of
our Pacific coast, and is a measure of bad poll
Icy, it perpetuate; and n;reases the irregular
ties in our postal rates, and creates an actual
IeXtra expense of u million of dollars a year
that would not have been incurred with uni
form postage. He has furthermore procured
the passage of the law for registering letters,
a complete farce, pretending to carry on its
face a guaranty of safety, while it is no guar
anty at all, but direct swindle. Having thus
: shown what the Postmaster General has ac-
tually performed, let US now see what he has
not done.
He has not advised the abolition Of Thanking,
a system the iniquity of which is acknowledg-
ed everywhere. Ii saddles an expense of mil
lions on the ost-Office, keeps the Depart
ment on the verge of bankruptcy, and by its
enormous burden furnishes pretext for pre-
venting extensions of mail service to all parts
of the Union. He has not advised uniform
rate of postage, a measure that by its mere
economy and convenience would effect an an
nual saving Of nearly a million ofdollars, and
which with the abolition of Thanking. would al
: low ola uniform rate of postage of two cents
: and would entirely support the Department
He has not advised Congress to establish slet-
ter-carrers and receiving houses in cities and
: towns, a measure in operation in nearly every
; nation in Europe, and which, as is well known
= completely supports itself without any extra
charge, and is a great convenience to the peo
pie, while it also pays a large profit to the
Post Office. He has not advised Congress to
n pass law establishing money-order system
for safety in renting money! system thai
: has long been practiced with entire success
! in France, Spain, Prussia, the German States
and Great Britain. and is greatly needed in this
country, where there are mailed annually
: over ninety millions of dollars. He has not
proposed law requiring all dead letters to be
a returned to their writers. He has not propos-
h ed simplifcation and reduction Of rates o
e postage on printed matter, while the expense
5 of mail carriage is now four times the price
e charged by expresses. lie has on the contrary
II advised raising Of the rates on the poor mans
e newspaper, measure that could not possibly
S add half million to the postal income, while
: four times this amount is added TO it's expenses
by the ranking iniquity.
Disastrous CoNFLAGRATIoN-Loss OF LIFE
e Ia disastrous fire occurred in this city early