The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1857-03-05
A POSTAL MoNEY-oRpRR sYsrEm.

lhe suggestions contained in the follow
ing remarks Of the New York Times, or
the necessity Of a postal money oztler sys
tenn, are worthy of special consideration
"4Secessity. for Postal Money. Order .Sys
tent must be confessed, to our great dis
credit, that the postal system, Of the United
States is practically inferior to that of any
s'aropeAE country, In one of its most i'm
por'ant branckes-the safe conveyance O
moncy-it is wholly deficient. A mer
chant prefers an express company rattle,
than the Post Office Department with 9
valuable package, and though the made
quacy of the latter to supply the great and
Increasing wants Of the people ia notorious
yet year after year passes away, aud we dc
not see the slightest effort at improvement
If, 10 obtain such improvement, we were
obliged to wait, by force of circumstances
until some new and unheastl Of plan could
be successfully adopted, there might be
some excuse for this negligence. But plans
have been already invented, and, in other
countries, are worked with the most marked
success. We have only TO adopt thcm-to
pnt into practice system, the benefits OF
which have been already demonstrated; yet
we refuse to make the attempt, and cling
TO oil fogyism with a tenacity wholly op-
posed to the general spirit of Yankee go
aheadativeness.
"Our present system Of registering let
ters Is a l'umbug. Every one knows it to
he lumbug. 1t offers no more security
for the safe transmission Of valuable let.
ter than is 10 be found in the ordinary
channel. The only difference is that an
extr" fee is charged. This system of regis
tration has been established for several
years, but, instead Of being check to steal
ing money entrusted to the mails, it has
rather been the means Of pointing out to
dishonest men in the service the cxat,
place where money letters can he obtained
1.-The practice of rcmitting sums OF
money through, post Office orders has exis-
ted in Great Britain for long period. In
Canada, also, the same system has been in
successful operation for several years. It is
estimated that over s5o,ooo,ooo arc annu-
ally transmitted through tile British post
office ly means of mcney orders, aud not
two dollars in the million are, wi,l.in the
sane period: lost by mail robberies, fire, or
other causes. This is surely ample proof
of the safety oF ,l.is mode Of transmitting
money. In Great Britain no order is is
sued for over five pounls sterling; but we
sec 10 reason why orders should not be is-
sucd, as i'll Capala. TO tie extent of twenty
five pounds, or 800. According to
the English plan, every post office is a
money-oder Office; dut in Carada, the
larger offices, or about one e,eiglth of the
whole number are authorized to draw mon-
ey orders. These, however, are details
which may Or may not be adopted, accord
ing TO circumstances. We want the sys-
tenn first, and can make improvements af-
terwards.
"We believe chat the establishment OF
soma safe mode for the transmission of
valu;,hle letters amounts now to necessity
and the want of it should 10 lapger be tol:
Grated. We trust that the matter will re-
ceive the attention Of Congress before adjourn
'nent. It's Importance to the mercantile
community cannot be over estimated; asd
the adoption Of tile British money order
system will he invaluable to the whole pub
lie, and will make considerable addition
to the revenue Of the department.: The
charges made in England for issuing orders
are on scale of one.l,alf per cent; aud
our people would willingly submit 70 even
a higher tax, provided it insured the safe
conveyance Of their letters. Tho benefits
Of the system would be felt by every class
of the community, and especially by sub
scribcrs to newspapers aud other periodi.
GALS"