The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1859-08-04
THE PACIFIC
Commercial Advertiser.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 4.
The Nev, Po.r-omcc Regulations.

be found printed on pages % 10 ~ Inclusive u
the revised Statutes.
Sec. 397 establishes a post-ofice bureau, and
confers on His Majesty the appointment OF the
General.
Sec. 1893 makes the collectors at the various
ports of entry p~ost-masters for those places, and
authorizes compensation to be made to them II
necessary.
Secs. 399 and 400 authorize the Postmaster
General to make all necessary rules for the depart
ment and to employ mail-carriers on the various
islands.
Sec. 4O1 is an entirely new provision in our
statutes, and as it very stringent, we copy it en-
tire. 1t was inserted no doubt to prevent the
recurrence of such tricks as have several times
been played by captains or supercargoes of vessels
arriving here in OBTAINING letters on board till
they had secured the object of their visit, in
taking advantage of any rise or fall in the mar
ket here or abroad.
Section 4O1. No ship or vessel arriving at any
port of these islands where a posi-ofice is established,
shall be permitted to report, make entry, or break
bulk, until the master or commander shall have de-
liyered 10 the Postmaster at such port, al letters
directed to any person or persons within TINS KING
dom, which, under his care, or within his power,
shall be brought in such ship or vessel. except such
as are directed to the owner or consignee OF the ship
or vessel; and the Postmaster to whom such letters
shall be delivered, shall pay to said master or COM
mander as remuneration therefor, n sum not exceed
ing two cents for every letter so delivered. And IT
shall be the duty of the collector, or other officer OF
the port empowered to receive entries of ships or YES
sells, TO require, from every master or commander OF
such ship or vessel, an oath, or affirmation, purpor~
ing that he has delivered all such letters, except as
aforesaid. And if any commander or master OF any
ship or vessel shall break bulk before he shall have
complied with the requirements OF this article, he
shall, on conviction thereof before any court, forfeit
for every such ~offense, a sum not less than one hum
dred, nor more than Ave hundred dollars; and In de-
fault Of payment, his vessel shall be liable to seizure,
~demna and sale, in order to satisfy such
penalty.
Now it strikes us that this section, if fully car
ried out, as it reads, will be found unnecessarily
severe. The purpose aimed at could have been
gained by some less stringent requirements, such
as, if the Postmaster or Collector has reason to
believe that q mail bag is detained on board, no per-
nit to enter or land goods be granted, unless the
above oath be given, or such mail given up. 1t
should be borne in mind that our ocean mail
service is almost a gratuaty, and if such stringent
laws are to be put in force, vessels coming to our
ports, or even our regular packets, may refuse
unogerner 10 Dr7ng our mails, and we have no
remedy.
Letters directed to n consignee of the vessel do
not come under the penalty of the law, and the
same is probably the case with a letter bag adj
dressed to a consignee. usually called a ships let
ter bag. Such bags are always allowed at United
States ports to 90 to the Office of the consignee.
The law, it is presumed, will operate on whaIers
as well as on merchantmen. Now, what earthly
use can there be to compel whaleship masters to
90 to the Custom House, make oath and pay one
dollar for the privilege of informing the collector
that they have not got on board, among their
slops or in their blubber-room, such an article
as a letter, which nobody would ever dream of
their having?- How ridiculous, yet the will
be gained,-a fee of one dollar from ''every ship
or vessel arriving, amounting to several hundred
in the course of a year. 1t would have been an
easy matter to have limited the application of the
law to such vessels as usually bring mails or let
tiers. The probability is that for every fee and
oath the collector takes from a shipmaster for
this purpose, the government will receive gratis a
score of oaths outside of the Custom House.
Sec. 402 compels captains of coasting vessels to
carry mails free of charge. This is hardly the
fair thing for the government to charge two cents
for sending a letter to Lahaina and then by law
TO deprive the captain of receiving any pay for
the service which he has rendered. In the foreign
mail service, the captain participates in the pay
received why not in the inter-island service?
Sec. 4O3 provides the rates on letters and papers
to and from any foreign countries, which are the
same as formerly, viz fire cents on single letters,
trco cents on newspapers, eight cents on month
lies of the size of Harper's, and fro cents an
ounce on all books by mail.
These rates are double the United States postal
IL. - OAAn
miles, three cents over 5000 miles, ten cents |;
newspapers, if prepaid quarterly or sent in pack
ages half cent each, if not prepaid or transient,
ono cent magazines, quarterly, three cents each.
Bound volumes one cent an ounce. These are the
rates from New York to San Francisco, or with
out respect to distance.
Sec. 4O4 provides that the outward postage on
letters and papers sent to foreign countries shall
be prepaid.
Sec. 4O5, forbids all vessels from taking any
mailable matter to foreign ports unless the usual
postage has been paid thereon. Penalty, 800
to $500.
Sec. 400 imposes an int island postage as
follows two cents on letters under a half ounce,
and two cents for each additional half ounce.
One cent per ounce on bound volumes. News
papers, one cent each. Pamphlets, two cents
each. All parcels, other than printed matter,
are excluded from the mails.
Sec. 4O7 provides in regard to inter-island let
tiers
lst.-That no letters shall be carried in the
ma unless stamped or prepaid.
2d-Coasting vessels and individuals are for
hidden carrying unstdmped letters from port to
port. Letters marked paid by q Postmaster will