Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1859-01-26


Of that amount In the shape of hostages, Congress
having, by act of July %, 1854, provided for
the payment Of the extraordinary expenses OF Cali
fornia post offices cut Of the hostages collected
Since then the Tehusntepec passage has been
tsblisbed, with scarcely az equal chance for some
years to make any material returns 10 the Depart
ment. The great overland routes do not stand solely
or even mainly on their opening additional COM
mnnicaions with California, Oregon, and Washing
ton. They are intended TO spread cut our populG-
tion TO find for the hardy pioneers new homes for
their offspring, to develop the agricultural and min
era resources OF our country; in fact to discover
new CALIFORNIA; between the valley of the MissisS
sippi and that which now reposes on the shores
Of the Pacific.
But We need not go to California fer illustrations
to prove that it will not 30 to strike down all postal
service that will not ps7. again refer you to Mis-
cellaneous Document, ~. los, of last session. and
also to statement APPENDED to this report con
tanning much useful information on this subject 1t
shows the gross revenues from posiages and the
sale Of stamps in each State; the compensation of
pOstmasters and the incidental expenses of their
Offices the nett revenue; the cost of transporta-
ton, and the surplus deficit in each State, after
paying the cost Of transportation Il ezhib Is the
remarkable fact that if the various Gums paid d.
reeay by the Department for blanks, wrapping pa
per, postage stamps, and stamped envelops, adver-
Using, mail bags &C. were divided pro rata to each
State and the amoant of foreign postage collected
at Boston and New York. and returned to the several
Governments for whom il was collected under postal
treaties, be taken cut, not one Slate pays the ex
pense Of its mail supplies
With these facts before me, in making out my last
annual report deemed the occasion properons.
now thst,we had reached nearly the IN tximum cost
Of furnishing m Ill facilities 10 our VII lie country,
to suggest certain measures the consideration Of
Congress- by which the revenues and expenditures,
if they could not be brought to entire and per-
feet equality, might nevertheless approximate it
nearly TO reconcile The public mind TO the dis
creptney.
The first of these was that Congress should more
emphatic4lly declare that, hereafter, the Poslmas-
ter Central, in advertising and accepting bids for
mail service, shall have reference convey
anee of passengers or freight Of any kind other
than regular Eail matter This is probably the
meaning of the present law but no Poztmss Gen
ersl, snce its enactment has been able resist he
opposite construc lou. Nothing but express ss0rds Of
prohibition would be likely TO succeed The opinion
vas advanced that this change in the Law would
probably effect saving of 81 900 600 Il may be
| less or more, as the book and heavy document
! business may increase or diminish in Congress aad
| the various Departments. 1t could not be effected
at once, because 1t could not, in justice and fair
to the present contractors, be carried until
their contracts for he her grade of service had ex
pired.' lit were effected at once by allowing
months extra pay, it is more than probable the
parties would besiege Congress for relief from loss
es on stock, stages, Sc, rendered unnecessary by
! the change.
The next suggestion was, 'that if Congress de-
sired to relieve the Treasury from the acquisitions
| upon it by this Department" they might take the
bill rs 1917 in reduced the last session by dis
! tnguisbed member of the Senate, and make it the
basis of q great and decided improvement in the
| revenues Of the Department. That bill proposes no
mutilation diminutoR Of the present service but
is based on the distinct idea that whilst the people
desire and are entitled TO large and liberal postal
accommodations, they are both wiling and able to
pay fair price for them-just what il costs 10
furnish them-nO more, no less. To arrive at this
true and just standard required many experiments.
Accordingly, many different rates OF postage have
been tried and their actual results carefully noted
in oil the reports of the Department. These re
ports show that under the rates of postage letters
and printed matter fixed by the law of I845,
Statutes-s Sarge, vol 8, 1872 the revenues and
expenditures we're about equal-s small surplus as
often as a small deficit Since the passage of the
law Of 1851, Statutes, vol 3, p 5S7, fixing the
present rate of three cents, &c the excess Of ex-
peLdture over the revenue has been regularly and
| largely increasing. These facts obviously suggest
that if Congress is determined make the Depart
meut self sustaining one, the surest means of do
ing would be to go back to the rates of 1916 In
doing this they would have the knowledge and ac-
usl experience OF the past; any other rates could
only furnish CsDjectures of the future. The bill
under consideration is 337) fixes the rate of five
cents for any distance under three thousand miles
and ten cents for that distance. This can diff
fer very little from uniform rate of five cents for
all distances, there very few letters sent in
land over 900 miles. The estimates made by the
most experienced officers of the Department are
that the provisions Of the bill would raise The Teve-
nue. from hostages about So 500 0O0, ruhout takiag
pisl0 the 4h section relation to the Transmission
Of public documents. What the provisions of that
section would effect it is difficult TO anticipate The
Government now aPPrOPriates 500 900 annually as
compensation for free matter transported amt de-
lvered for Congress and the TX ecutve Departments
under the SBppOSt0H that the postage on the matter
conveyed would come to that amount. 1t is be-
lieved in the Department, however, that the post
age would come to more than twice that amount
say 81, 40O, O00-fOr Congressional books and doc
umenls alone without taking into view the imnens
correspondence Of the Executive Depar ments, aud
the vast amount Of returns accounts packages, aud
parcels received and sent from the General Land
Office, the Pension Office, the Patent Office &C. It's
clearly right, if the Post Office is considered as hay>
ng been established simply for the convenience of in
dIyidusl citizens in transmitting their correspon-
dence from place to place, Ter which they pay
the full amount Of the cost, that the Government
whenever it wants its correspondence, books docu,
ments, Sc, transmitted, should, like all others
come forward and pay not haiG but the full amount
fer the services rendered. But it, on the other
hand, the Post Office is to be regarded as a great
Government institution, established not by law
merely, but by the Constitution itfef in order that
i n light have a regular and perpetual channel
through which to transmit It's orders and iDstruc-
tions its agents, civil and military, and receive
prompt and reliable information from all parts of
the Republic in return, then the interest of indi
viduals becomes not only subordinate, but almost
los in the dignity and Importance of the institu-
ton. Nor is its high nationality diminished when
it is regarded as the great agent of commerce and
the pioneer and patron Of Christian civilization.
Recurring, however, to the Senate's bill, No 337,
of last session, suppose it to be reliable to So
that under its provisions the would be in
creased some four or four and half millions If
Congress to incorporate in it the substitution
of postage stamps in lieu of the franking privilege,
recommended in my annual report, it would m, st
probably add million MORE If used by the mems
bers TO the same extent as they now use their
franks have no idea however, that this would
be the fact in relation TO the use of stamps Mem,
bers would not have such large accounts made
against them, but would content themselves with
such reasonable number as would fairly protect
them from loss by correspondence with their con-
stituents Besides, the two Houses would at every
session, look to their contingent fund.- and in pro-
tecting it, would thereby protect the Post Office De-
psrtment from having to carry millions upon mil
lions of letters and documents to all parts of the
country for no compensation at all For these con-
sidersGons put down the benefit to be derived to
the revenue from the use Of stamps at only half
million instead Of a million.
The bill thus amended, the proviso in the LIST Sec
ton in the act of August 80, 1852, Stats vol 9,
u 80 allowing q discount for nrepa wing nrinted