The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1859-12-07
,o.t .mnste,. general Holt.

1t has been the good fortune of this Gov
9sernment to have some of its ablest and purest
Statesmen at the head of the Post Office De-
uartment;-indeed, SO extensive and intricate
have become the machinery of this important
sBradch Of the public service, that none other
than a man of great and peculiar attainments
can successfully manage it. From the first
opening of the Books of the Department by
.sBE3J. FRANKLIN to the present hour, the
business of the General Post Office in all its
zdetaiis7has1 never received more careful and
judicious scrutiny than under Mr.. Holt. He
has encountered embarrassments unknown to
oany of his predecessors, and which very few
Emen would. have had the courage and capacity
to ggrapple with, but hehas ~triumphed over all
-idificulties-and the failure of Congress, thro'
"a eombination of the anti-Lecompton and Re
publican forces, to make the usual and neces-
sary appropriations, while it has resulted in a
sslight curtailment of mail facilities in some
portions of the country, has also resulted in
economical reforms to an extent which very
few of his predecessors would have deemed
spracticabfe:.
a Bit we had intended here simply to copy and
IcIcf 10 the SeQLlu60Lb OF a letU6T u Tue EOSG
Master General, which we find published in
sthezCfevefand National Democrat, and to say
fthateTery right-minded man will rejoice at the
sexpositonsh he gives of the law, and will heart
lily approve the high toned Kentucky chivalry
which ,peryaaes the letter: @
Letter. From the Post Master General:
.u,The important letter which VIC give below,
from the Post Master. General, will be read
witb.great interest. The sentiments expressed
sBYhim will receive the candid APPROVAL of ev-
e person who desires to walk in the rank of
honor and propriety. Like every document
-Ehich emauates from the pen Of Mr.. Holt, it
is marked with that soundness, eoneiseness,
and beauty of expression, which denotes the
accomplished statesman, scholar and true man:
@@A PosT OFFICE DEPARTMENT.,
1 September 10th, 1859.
SIR:-I am in receipt of yours of 9Th inst.
-Xou.state that the. Post. Office at A--has for
~sseFeral months been used by unknown parties
in transmitting anonymous letters rejecting up
on the honor and integrity of certain ladies and
sgentieme en- of that town, of high character
Tand position, and that with a view to the de-
lection of these secret. and maligantl defanm-
vers, a brother of one of the ladies assailed,
1preparsda letter, under a fictitious name, which
purported to have been written at R,
and was addressed to the person on whom sus-
Spieion had fallen. The object of this step
sbasste extract a. reply and thus obtain a know[-
edge of the party's- handwriting, Such a re-
ply, directed to the assumed name, at R,
stwas placed ins the Post Office at A., and
swas there detained andopened by the gentleman
who wrote the letter 20 which it was an answer
-sKer. The result seemed to have been the ascer-
.tainment of the guilty author of the previous
calnmnious communications You add that
the person who thus opened the letter was
inneofyour Deputies, and express+much regret
ssat the, 9occurrence, and appear DESTROYS of
knowing whether it is your duty, under the
-circumstanees, to take any action in the mat
afhe question presented is, whether the stat
ute of 1926 has been violated. The penalty
odepounced byothat law,zis for the offence of
zopening, not. certainlyzone's own letters, but
letters addressed to others. Your Deputy be-
cane the correspondent of the calumniator,
sTnnder< = fctiti6ds signature, and the response
dswheneverthey have good eason to believe
sfhata fictitious address is being used for pur-
poses of fsud55stbey have fall power to with