Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1859-03-23
Posi- OFFICE DEPARTMENT,

SIR: In answer To the inquiries contained
in your note, just received, | bes to submit
the following statement:
Congress, for the first time since the or
canization of the Government, has expired
without having made appropriations for the
service Of the Post Office Department during
the next fiscal year, which will commence
on the LIST of July. Had the members OF the
next Congress been elected from all the
States, the President might Oh the 18th OF
March have called an extra session, and this
omission of the late Congress might have
been thus supplied. This was, however. I'M
possible, without DISTINGUISHING the people
of nearly half of the States of the Union
which had not elected members. At that
date there were fifteen States without Rep
resentatives. New Hampshire has since
elected: Rhode Island and Connecticut will
elect in the beginning of April; Oregon in
the beginning of June: Virginia on the
fourth Thursday in May; Kentucky, Ala
bama, North Carolina and Texas. i'll the be-
ginning of August California early in Sep
TENDER; Georgia, Mississippi, and Minnesota
in the beginning Of October: and Louisiana
and MARYLAND not until the first Monday
and Wednesday in November. This is most
unfortunate There ought to be no interval
when full Congress could not be convened,
and it is to be hoped that there never will
be one hereafter.
Had the appropriation bill which failed,
made provision only for the fiscal year COM
mencing on the LIST of July next, there would
obviously have been no necessity for an eX-
ira session. The first quarterly service OF
contractors for that year will not have been
performed. so as to entitle them to pay, until
the first of October and by the terms Of
their contracts those for railroad routes
only exccptcd-sixty days more must elapse
before their accounts can be finally settled,
which would postpone the day Of payment
till the lst Of December. within less than a
week from the regular meeting OF Congress.
If it should be deemed advisable. Congress
might be convened for the middle of Novem-
Der, in ample time TO provide for the pay
ment of what will be due contractors for the
first quarters service Of the next fiscal year,
before il will he in fact payable. This state
ment makes it manifest, therefore. that had
the appropriations proposed in the bill which
failed been intended to meet only the llabll-
ties of the next fiscal year, there would have
been no sufficient reason for calling Congress
together before the regular period of its as
sembling.
Such. however. is not the case. That bill
also provided THAT the sum of S3,S3S,l2S
be and the same is hereby appropriated, out
of any money in the Treasury not otherwise
appropriated, to supply deficiencies in the
h. n&.n hnnn ~, for
the year ending the 30th June, 1859 Up
on careful examination and investigation
il has been ascertained that the deficiency
will amount to about the sum OF S4,3S5 Isl
%. 1t ought, however, to be observed that,
after the Both of June next, the sum of
S7OO,OO granted to the Department by the
acts of March 3d. 1919, and March Sd. 1881,
for the transportation and delivery Of free
mail matter for Congress and the Executive
Departments, may be applied in part 70 the
cxtinguishment of this deficiency. This
will leave the balance to he provided for
<. So. 2Sl %. Of this sum of S4,3S5, PSI %,
the deficiency which existed in the quarter
ending OH the 3lst of December,
Amounted Ii?Sll rs
That for quarter ending 3ls NH. to...l ,96iljj 20
That for quarter ending Goth June to l,6Il 80 81
Si,3Sj,2SI IS
The $149,SH .GS-teing the unpaid bal
ance Of the quarters liabilities closing ilst
December, and payable 18th Fcbruary-can
and will be paid by the Department within
sixty days from this date. The payment Of
the principal part Of it will be made within
thirty days. The effect of this will be TO dl-
l.. IL l,s.,, ,f - 4 lSS sDS1 hn-
tween the quarters ending 3lst March and
30th June. and payable 3lst May and 3lst
August: so that the suspension of payment
on no part Of this Indebtedness will exceed,
beyond few days, six months before the
regular meeting Of Congress; on nearly one
half of it the suspension will be but for a
few days more than three months.
1t is gricyouS misfortune to the contrac-
tors that the Department has been left with
out the means of diseharging this debt at
its maturity. Under existing circumstan-
ces, however, it would be impossible to con
ycnc Congress in time to meet these respon-
sibilities without virtually excluding from
that body the representatives of several Of
the sovereign States of this contcderatcd
Government. This would be Il ust cause Of
serious complaint.
The choice Of the President has been I'M
ioubtedly choice between great evils: but
in his Judgment, the lesser evil would be to
wait until the first Monday of December,
when Congress will be full.
The debts due and to become due 10 the
contractors are Of sacred character The
contracts. out Of which these debts arise,
have been entered into under the express au
thority Of existing laws of Congress. Toap-
money for their payment is as OBJ
ligatory and binding upon Congress rs it is
to provide for the principal and interest
Of the national debt. There never will be
there never can be-a Reputation of This
debt by the representatives of the American
people After the amount due to each con-
tractor shall have been ascertaincd and final
" settled according to law, this amount be-
comes a specific debt of record against the
Cnited States. Its payment is inevitable,
and if the contractor desires to borrow mo
ney upon it the lender could have no better
security. Besides, rs Congress are in default
for not having made an appropriation to meet
this debt. 1t would he no more than strict
Justice for them to provide for the payment Of
interest on these accounts from the time OF
heir final adjustment by the accounting Off
,ers of the Department, and when warrant
would have issued for their payment had an
been made This interest
from view that on the s. 1851
now in the course Of payment, and applying
IN the lst July to the extinguishment Of the
principal the 500, 900 for free matter, which
Kill he then available shoull Congress- think