The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1858-12-07

Portland, instead of New IOrk, the American ter
minus Of the line. This proposition was declined
by the Navy Department, and, the contract SUN
remaining in force, it out of my power to en-
gage other than temporary service by the single
trip on that line, authorized by provision III
the first section of the act ollast session making ap-
preparations for ocean steamship mails. TINS delay
and uncertainty in respectt this line had the eect
also, independently OF any other cause, to prevent
the making OF any permanent contracts tor the
other lines to furnish the full NUMBER oi
trips required, and the result has been that all lDe
service performed has been entirely Of a temporary
character.
Upon the Collins line, up to the 30th OF Septem-
Der, 1855, nine outward and seven inward trips
| have been performed for the postage on the
! mails conveyed at an average sum OF S5,ji9 per
round trip, and i7e round trips for the sea and IN
land postage, amounting to S7,l2j per trip. upon
the Bremen line, from June |, 1851, to October -l
1888, inclusive, fourteen outward and fifteen inward
| trips have been performed by Cornelius Vanderbilt
for the and United States inland postage, aver
! aging SSG2l per round trip; and upon the New
Ork and HaVre line, from June Il S57, to OctODet
l. 1855 inclusive the old contractors have made SIN
| teen round trips on the same terms, averaging
| Sl49l per trip.
The fourth section of the act of last session, above
referred to, provides that it shall not be lawful for
| the Postmaster General to make any steamship or
other contract for carrying the mails on sea
| for longer period than two years. nor for any
other compensation than the sea and inland post
ages on the mails so transported" and the nun
section Of said act confines the compensation to the
postage only, if the transportation is by for
eign vessel. Can the service be obtained ON these
| terms?
The Postmaster General believes that itmay be.
Ii deemed eXpedent to employ foreign vessels, IL Is
| certain that parties stand ready to take the
mails for the sea postage. But shall this service be
| relinquished entirely to foreign steamers =? and Ii
not, will American lines contract under the exist
ing law? Nothing is clearer than that it is for the
interest Of this Government to employ American IN
preference to foreign steamers for the conveyance
| of our mails, if they can be secured the terms
| 1utbOTiZp1 bV law. but whether this be done
is a matter of doubt. Save during the winter
months, there would probably be no difficulty in
getting the mails carried on these terms; but for
period so short as two years, it is hardly probable
that contracts with American lines could be obtain
ed to carry regularly the year round.
To secure to such lines their due share of the
postages it is essential that perfect regularity
should be observed in winter as well during the
other months of the year by at least weekly depar
ture and arrival on either side. The want of regu-
arity heretofore has had the effect to rive the ad
vantage to the British lines. The evidence is now
before me, that of the correspondence, for instance
| between the United States and Switzerland out of
5000 letter. 4, 500 were transmitted by British
! sells, owing it believed, mainly to the circum-
| stance Ofthe known regularity of these vessels in
| sailing a given day. Why may not the same
regularity be established and maintained by Ameri-
can ships? Let this be done, and no good reason
is perceived why they may not carry equal pro-
portion of the mails, the postage on which would af-
ford fair compensation for the service.
This is susceptible of demonstration. For in
- \ =
States inland postages the mails by the different
lines of United States and foreign mail packets be-
tween the United States and Europe, for the year
! ending June 30th, 1858, was 81 2G6 $50. This for
| semi-weckly service, would give an average of
Sl2lSl the round trip, or at the rate of 1888 434
per annum for the weekly service desired from an
American line or lines, with the prospect of steady
increase from constantly increasing trade and
| correspondence.
AS calculated to furnish the requisite facilities
ot communication between Europe and the south
ern and southwestern States, the projected lines be
tween Norfolk and England and between New Or
leans and Bordeaux, in France, are among the most
important to be established. 1t is unnecessary to
point out the advantages these lines would be
tain to have in developing the resources OF those
States. They could not fail to be otherwise than
! highly satisfactory. The lines to Bremen and
| Havre touching at Southampton, should be
tnued land, If practicable, increased to semi-month
ly service.
\ Bremen company are now running fine steam
! ers semtmonthy between New York and Bremen
haven, carrying the mails for the postages If this
can be done by parties in Bremen. why not, also
by enterprising citizens in the United States, and
| thus secure regular and permanent weekly com
| muncatiOn Such an arrangement would not
only afford the best and cheapest means for the
TRANSMISSION OF the mails between the United States
and continental Europe and it NAV be to and from
the East Indies by the way ofTrieste, butit would
| also be highly advantageous in a commercial point
| OF view. With reference to American overland
communication to India, via Trieste, the Postmaster
General is credibly informed that negotiations are
pending to this end between the Lloyd Steamship
Companies of Bremen and Trieste, and the inter
mediate railroad companies; and that it is intended
to take effect Il weekly line is established
| between the United States and Bremen. 1t is be
| cved that this route will furnish cheaper and bet.
ter facilities of communication than any existing
route.
But if the compensation for ocean steamship SER
vice is to be limited to the postages, it cannot be
expected that parties will contract for so short a
term two years, and Obligate themselves carry
no ntnrn nn he Mo Dpst1,,a lI,p
eral, therefore, respectfully recommends that the
law be so FAR modified to extend the term for all
such contracts to period not exceeding ten years.
at the discretion of the Postmaster General
As regards line from some suitable port in
the United States to Brazil, and the extension Of
the California line from Panama to the south Pa
citic coast, which, for commercial as we'll as for
mail purposes, it is desirable should be cstab-
shed, and the line from New Orleans to Vera
Cruz 1t Is apparent that the postages to be derived
| thcrcirOm would deray but a trfnn portion of
the expense of the service. The Postmaster Gener-
al regards it highly important that the line to
Vera Cruz should be continued. From the lst of
july to the lst of November of this year. there
was no mail upon this line, and temporary service
is now performed for the postages only, in the hope
| that Congress will Immediately authorize the max
ing OF contract at reasonable compensation
! The Postmaster General respectfully recommends
! this, and that the authority be granted re-
specting lines to Brazil and the South Pacific
The contract on the Charleston and Havana line
! will expire on the Both of June next, and tbis
also, it is apparent, will require other aid than
| what could be derived from the pOstares to sus-
tain it. The Vera Cruz and Havana lines as well
as the lines to California, should be cassed as
! coaStwlse, and whether susceptible of being sus-
tanned from the postages or not, should not in
my Judgment be subject to that restriction. But
with reference to all lines where this restriction
is not imposed, it is respectful recommended that
/ the Postmaster General be prohibited from enter
ing into any contract, except under advertisement
| inviting proposals in the ordinary wav. The OBJ
lection heretofore urged against the system of adj
papt ptIsgpa af,pf hat 4
! bid, for the purpose of selling out for bonus TO
others who are able to perform the service will
no longer hold regards foreign lines, since the
act of June 27, 1915 prohibits the transfer of anv
contract for transporting the mail to a foreign
country.
In his last annual report the Postmaster General
recommended an appropriation for one years ex-
tension of the mail steamship contract on the Pa
! ciic, between Panama, San Francisco and Astoria
IN order that the service by the connecting lines on
the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the Isthmus of Pa
mama might terminate simultaneously, as original
| ly intended by Congress. A specific appropria-
| tion for this purpose made in the act of June
IA, 1855 but the fourth section of said act con-
tains the provision also, above mentioned that the
compensation under any ocean mail steamship
contract shall be limited to the postages on the
mails so transported the question was raised as to
whether this provision intended by Congress
! to apply to the proposed extension of the Pacific
| steamship contract.
This question was submitted to the ATTORNEY Cen
era, who decided that it could have been so in
! tended; and, accordingly, the contract with the
| Pacific Mail Steamship Company, which expired on
the lst of October, 1885, was extended at the same
! rate OF compensation to the lst of October 1859,
the date OF expiration Of the contract on this side
o the sthmus, the company agreeing also to trans
port from the Pacific terminus of the Tehuantcpec
transit, to and from San Francisco all mails rcru-
| larly conveyed between New Orleans and such Pa
chic terminus of the Tehuantepec route without
additional compensation.
! The New ork and New Orleans Steamship Com
| pany, running line of steamers between those
cities via Havana heretofore carving only ship
letter mail, have entered into contract with the De
partment for semi monthly trips, except in July,
commencing lst Of August last, aud to continue till
""th June, lSGO, at compensation limited to the
sea ana inland postages the mails transported.
Up 10 lZth November, six round trips have been
S9G3. rN' '''P w
by the time the contracts for the California lines
wa ahama and Tehuantepec, expire on the lst
Octoper 1853, tits probable that the route bv Lake
NlcaraguaW have been re-opened. and in successful
operation This presents the question whether one
t"o or al tnree OF these routes shall thereafter be
! employed Tor mail purposes. The Tehuantepec
r"ute is the shortest and most readily protected
against interruptions; but it will be comparatively
700 heW and the line of staging too long, to furnish
win certainty adequate and satisfactory commuui-
Gatlon between our Atlantic and Pacific possessions
H,,,l,t to