The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1859-05-06
Cutting Down the Mails.

OubtAA6 1<OWh Wiz AA0hos
1t will be seen from the following ex-
tract from the Washington correspondence
of the philadelphia American that in
consequence Of the failure of the Post
Office bill at the last session Of Congress
Ia Democratic Congress- that the people
will be deprived Of their present mail IA
cilities after the let Of July next. Es-
pccially will that be the case with the
people of the Southern States. But the
blame all attaches to the bogus Demo
cracy--a fact the. people should always
bear in mind. Here Is the extract refer
red to:
after several weeks of hard labor, the
ten or twelve thousand bids for the mail
service in Virginia. North and South Caro-.
lima. Georgia and Florida have been as
sorted, so that proper idea can now be
formed of the costs of this service as com
pared with the existing contracts which
will expire on the 30th of June. BY re-
| fcrring to the last Report of the Post
master General, it will be seen that he
contemplated an increase of fifty per cent
on the mail facilities of this section. -
The proposals ON the basis of present
service. averaged between fifteen and
twenty per cent. above what is now paid,
so that in order TO Keep the expenditures
within the existing rates, 1t became ncces-
sary TO reduce the service instead of inn
| proving it. Tri-weekly mails will gencr-
ally be cut down to twice a week, and
those of the latter class to weekly The
same scaling process must be applied to
other branches. These contracts run four
| years. AS yet the proposals for transport
| ing the mails by railroad through these
States have not been considered. They
are deferred to the last, owing to the ab-
sence of competition. Mr.. Toombs' con-
! stituents will now have the opportunity
of feeling the effect of his refusal to al
low the Post-otiice appropriation bill to
pass after the House had accepted the
compromise which committee of con-
/ ference reported.
LAS yet. no bids have been received for
carrying the mail between New York and
New Orleans and San Francisco, for the
| nine months between the expiration of
| the present contract and the beginning
of the ensuing fiscal year. 1t was so OBJ
vious all competition must be excluded,
that the Department did not even adver-
tise for proposals, but contented itself
with issuing circulars. The old companies
will doubtless finally get the contract,
and it is impossible, in the present state
of our Central American relations, if any
attempt will be made to open the Nicara-
qua route. No confidence exists in the
action of the government, or its shifting
diplomacy in that quarter"
COURT Practice IN THE DISTRICT OF Co.
LuNBIA.-The Geographic report of the
Sickles trial for the Associated Press
gives the following mode of proceedings
in the Courts at Washington, on the
closing of a case:
The mode of procedure here is some
what peculiar. After the evidence i.
closed, either side may ask the Court fol
instructions to the jury on the law, ano
if no one asks, the Judge has nothin,
whatever to say to the jury in the way.o
charging them. If instructions are asked
by the one side and objected to by tn,
other, the matter is argued, and, after the
argument the Judge instructs the jury
when the summing up speeches are made
the counsel for the prosecution having
the last word. The Judge has nothing
further to say to the jury. In this case
if the prosecution do not ask for instruc
tons the defense will not, and thus argu
ment on that point will be avoided, anc
the Judge will have no right to INSTRUCT
the jury.