The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1860-02-02

Ah1AuVAAhlTr OF THE oOCTHEkN MAIlsS.-Auo
delays to which the Southern mails are sub.
jected have long formed subject of complaint
and remonstrance. The more that is said about
the matter, however, the worse the evil be-
comes The contractors seem utterly indiffe-
rent to public censure, and the Post Office De
partment which has the power of holding them
to the strict performance of their agreements,
takes no steps to apply remedy. Whilst the
Pacific mails by sea and overland are trans.
mitted with unfailing regularity, those between
New Orleans and New York are. subject to de-
tentions of the most capricious and annoying
character. AS an example Of the way in which
the system works, we may mention the fact
that our newspaper exchanges of the latest
dates frequently arrive a week or ten days
ahead of the previous issues, so that, were 1t
not for our telegraphic dispatches, it would be
impossible for Us to follow mp continuously the
chain Of events. The same Irregularities pre-
vail in regard to the letter mails, although,
being lighter, one would suppose that an
Effort would be made to forward them ip time.
The loss and inconvenience caused by these
daily cutlery. They cannot see any reason,
nor do we, why the mails from St. Louis to San
Francisco, carried for the most part through
desert region, should travel with certainty and
punctuality, whilst those between New Or
leans and New York can never be counted
upon within a week or ten days after they
are DUE
As regularity in the transmission of the mails
is one of the first conditions of success to
commercial community our business men natu-
rally chafe at a state of things for which no
valid excuse can be offered, and for which no
one but the department can be fairly held
responsible. To show how injuriously to mer-
camille interests the system operates, we have
only to take the case of cargo of cotton
despatched from New Orleans to an English
port and drawn against by bill of exchange.
The first letter of exchange is usually accom-
panied by the bill of lading and sent on here
for negotiation. 1t occupies ten days or
fortnight in transmission, owing to the deten-
tons to which it is subject by the irregulari-
ties of the mail contractors, and thus the
parties to the transaction are cheated of so
much interest for that period-the frequency of
these occurrences making up heavy aggre-
gate of losses at the end of the year.
There is no doubt that the persons who take
these mail contracts sacrifice without scruple
the convenience of the public to their own in
terests. We can hardly blame them, however,
if the supervising power appointed to watch
over such matters neglects its duty or connives
at their neglect. AS general thing, our 60
vernment does not pay sufficient attention to
the intimate relation which exists between
regularity of postal communications and COM
mercial activity and success. Abroad these
things are better understood, and in Great
Britsin, especially, there is never any hesita-
ton in appropriatng large sums to such pur-
poses, in the certainty that they will return in
another form vastly more than the outlay in
Cured Unfortunately, with us political mo-
tives but too frequently stand in the way of
this wise policy. The neglect and bad faith of
contractors and official subordinates are wink
ed at, because they may happen to control
few votes in their respective neighborhoods.
Such laxity, 1t is needless to add, is ruinous to
the interests Of any community which devotes
tself specially to commercial pursuits.