The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-12-28

poTpose should b. charged with exactly the same rates
been io waTded BY private ctizeps The frankmg priv
sRe, - accoTded 70 various officers of the
~ss rvn me beginning and still anomaly 10 the pos
SYN M and IN direct conflict with the true theory Of
At Csau"n Had this department, IKE tho Others 300
placed y charge upon The treasury and we're essen.
asion h would b. for il % demand yemune
alton ioi ms services the government as il would be
or the army and navy 70 do but this Ia never
as been ne sciuai OF theoretical status Beyond It's po
iucai authority in establishing the department
md rs revkory power over is administration, the
j lie private ss c,sp @ S
.lxea ~ ne several acts permanently approprsatng
yer snnum for transportation Of ffee mailerh
provision made for the support Of the department from ts
"wn revenues but Is an appropriation from the public
e sury and IS 10 lis terms specific compensation for
connected With the administration Of the government
important 70 be noted IN, this connection because il
must rest On an mission Of the soundness Of the prnc
pie Insisted on, though h It's amount il falls ar short or
ne logGA result 10 which that principle would lead Il
wen known that The expenses Of The department for
traptPm tsuon nave rapidly increased within tho last
ten years In lS4s they amounted TO s2577 ao7 II but
tor the year ending the 10th Of june 1862 they reached
Sas and a weight nsS 0ssn Ss m ~
which arc principally due 70 the vast quantity Of heavy
BOOKS ana printed documents sent under the government
frank NAILS which but recently weighed few hundred
pcuDds are low, from this cause, found weighing TONS
he rises q postage on printed dOcum nts &c beng but
ne cost q their conveyance rs in fact TAX on
be letter correspondence OF the country Hence, Is tho
reat mass q the matter ranked by the government Of
hcias Eted we're Is even paid for ut the prevailing
patron Of thu mas would the be nunerave
70 the department We're the "iree matter now con-
syeo cnalsed WIN the existing RATES Of postage It Is con-
II least one million eight hundred thousand dollars; vet
for this service the department receives but 500
expenos 10 s performance but little, anything,
The obligation Of the government to pay for the use
o the mails, Of the rates imposed on the private
fhut aran tsnN A0o
eeen deliberately made and urged with much force
bat this act q Justice shall, il possible be made re.
prospective Could the amount which the department has
expended for the transportation OF free matter from the
foundation Of the government be acer taned-xhich "a
obviously mpracticabiet is difficult perceive what
ground Claim 10 hs reimburBemeDt-les the aggregate
OF the appIopi auons made from the treasury for the sup
i0Ft OF the aepaf,meatcoud be resisted II the princi
,e commended for right now, has been SO from the be-
ginning.
But IL may be asked does not the government virtually
comply with this Iequsiton 70 pay its hostages BY
tue annual spps oIratoD which makes meet the def
cit III the postal revenues, and there any substantial diff
ference between such provision aud the ent Of
IL postages IN detaiR The answer is that there is d
renee, and this difference vitality concerns The honor and
reputation Of the department The appropriation referred
to y offered, not in satisfaction Of whit Is confessed
10 be due, but Is rather bestowed an aims II
Is not paid az TO creditor for fully rendered.
hut 70 EXTENDED as relief deaulsng branch OF the
and 10 save from bankruptcy and dshonor
Ids places the department. continually in false POSITION
and presents II TO the world delinquent, when IN
truth is not So So org as it is thus treated however
u
al the bar Of public opinion and as rahess
10 its mission. This is moral wrong, great polit
cnl error When the department has 10y ally discharged
every duty incumbent upon II, and has performed SER
vices, the compensation for which, IL fairly made would
render independent II has right IN the name Of com
Don justice to claim that 1t shall e allowed 70 assume
that attitude, instead Of the Notifying one i. has been
driven to occupy Tor ycarshat Of an improyident and
discredited nsoen, ever begging at the doors Of the
public treasury.
1t may be added If 1t is proper that the government
shall DC charged with the expense OF conveying tho
matter now passing free through the mails, justice alike
TO the public and TO the department requires that
the amount thus due shall be precisely asoertaned which
Can best be- done by prepayment al the ma ling Offices
There be enlightened administration OF the postal
stem without complete knowledge Of is financial re-
sources ana liabilities, which be attained while
the incubus Of the ranking privilege 10 hanging it.
Under the sitting PRESSURE too, Of this incubus the de-
Par tmen is forced to continual efforts to emcorato it's
condition, which must often result in curtamonts to be
deplored because they deprive the public OF mar
modaons for which they have fully paid ana which thew
are, therefore, entitled TO enjoy.
Another potent reason for the abolition Of the franking
privilege as now exercised found in the abuses which
seem 10 be nseparabe from its existence These abuses
though constantly exposed and antmadverted upon for
been often stated BY my predecessors, and is "a
matter OF public notorieiy, that immense masses
xs III a p Of the
creating the franking privilege woud Justify that
large nnmbsr q ossc,s documents and packages are
in violation Of law not BY themselves but by some real
or pretended agent-whe whole sacks Of similar matter,
which have never been handled seen by govern
ment functonnfies are transported under franks which
have been forged The extreme difficulty Of detecting
such forgeres has greatly multiplied this clRss OF offences
whilst their prevalence 80 deadened the public senti
ment In reference 70 them that conviction, however
ample the proof scarcely possible to BE- obaiued Tho
statute of 1885, announcing the counterfcng Of official
frank under heavy penalty is practically imperative
refer 70 The case reported at length by the United
this vatea public opl ion rejected from ,hs ury Dos ing
proof was completes and the case unredcemed by single
paaton and yet the offender was discharged unrebuked
to resume, it should please him, his guilty task This
verdict Of acqual is underatood have been rendered
two grounds First that the accused said he did not
commit The offence "to avoid The payment Of postages,
and second that the nence has become prevalent that
no longer proper to punish It. These startling pro-
positions, whehor regarded In their legal moral iogi
Of statute legal is only necessary to render Il general
and that the counterfclter Of the frank Of a member OF
Congress- in order to shield himself from punishment has
only when arrested TO declare that he committed the in
famous crime from no hope Of pecuniary gan-thus
versng that automatic principle OF philosophy and of law
template and design those results which necessarily fol-
low from bis conduct II such language this, coming
up from the criminal courts OF the country, does not
Congress to the necessity Of promptly reforming
this already great md rapidly growing evil then is to
be feared that nothing can do go. The Thanking priy
lege has thus cecome an active instrument OF pubic de-
moralzation When crime Is committed under the in
uence of strorg temptation large measure Of integrity
may remain with The offender; but where offence like
this, essentially mercenary in its spirit and crccpngy
clandesnc in IFS perpetration committed for tho gain
Of few cents, and when such offence becomes wide
spread in It's prevalence, evidences CONDITION Of the
public morals which cannot be contemplated without pro-
found and the iveliest apprehensons. Did no
other reason exist than these abuses and the disastrous
consequences TO which they lead Congress would be fay
justified in abolishirg the Thanking privilege.
OF the substitutes which have been proposed, that OF
pre- pay ment by stamps, recommended by my pre-
decessor, is probably TO be preferred It would harmo
mise with the existing system, and being emincntly
jnst, simple and practicable, could be put
into immediate operation without the slightest
embarrassment That part OF the abuses Gnu
mer ated might eth prevail, Is not denied, but their
consequences would fan, as they Should the govern
ment by whoee officials they perperaed instead Of
on this department, as they do at present
While the frnnking privilege was enjoyed by the British
1t limited in its exercise by the Design
ment Of given number Of franks to each member per
day, and the adjustment of this question by Congress
would present favorable moment for considering who
ther The public interests DO no; require tina. similar
restriction should be imposed upon the unlimited license
that now prevails
But the restoration of the department to It's original
cannot be accomplished without the adoption
Of another of justce-that OF charging the
public treasury all
IoCrss STRICTLY POSTAL
The revenues Of the department constitute special
trust fund, OF which the treasury is tho custodian tho
Of tho United States the responsible trustee