Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1861-04-04


upon the grounds that they the true ones to in
crease the revenue and corresponding with small
est denominations of coin. The increase of postage
over the three cent system of the late Un States, is
to be paid not out of the Treasury heretofore but by
those who the mails for their convenience and busi
ness The ranking privilege toO is abolished, whereby
the revenue will be largely increased in various ways
AS a consequence of this abolition while those who
have heretofore sent their mail matter Free will contrib
ute materially in the way of postage, the contractors
afford to carry the ma cheaper being relieved from
the heavy burden of free matter. We might add too,
that Congress will not print tenth portion of the doc
uments as in times past and thus to the treasury
OF the Coniederacy hundreds of thousands If not mil
| lions of dollars.
The postal committee however did not rest solely
upon the Increased rates of postage letters and print
ed matter and the abolition of the frankng privilege to
render the department sesustaning. They knew that
these changes alone would not be sufficient Their
views more practical and comprehensive than those
which have governed the cheap postage advocates of
the Northern States of the old Union They addressed
themselves to the important enquiry as to what SAVING
be effected without any material disadvantage to the
public convenience Their able report suggests four
ways of doing it, which will receive the immediate at
tention and persistent effort of Postmaster General
Reagan. The committee believe that oUer a mil
lion Of dollars can be saved in the Confederate
States by abolshng numerous Post Offices that cost
than their receipts and convenience by dscon-
tnung sundry mail routes whose cost is greatly dpro-
portonae to their convenience and the receipts of the
Post Offices supplied BY changing the service on
dry routes daiy to riweeky tri-weekly to semi-wee
y, sei-weekly to weekly and by reettng all the mail
contracts, strictly upon the star bid system-that is
allowing contractors to adopt any mode of conveyance
provided they carry the mails with CELEBRITY certainty
and security" With the increased rates and these
concentrations faithfully carried out, we may bid good
| bye to deficits in our postal service
The data from which the committee ascertained the
postal receipts and expenditures in the Confederate
States, not exactly correct, although prepared
der the direction of Mr. Holt, late Postmaster General
of the United States. 1t charges too much to the SER
vice in those States, and thus the deficit appears much
larger than it really is AS instance take the State
of Louisiana. The deficit here is stated at 1856 OOO
while among the expenses of mail transportation are
1886 900 for mails to California and $lO5 900 for river
mail to Carlo, ILL., 1he whole cost of these lines is
charged to Louisiana, while but a small portion of it
only should be. But so much the better for the pros
pect of our system paying It's expenses large margin
is left in our favor then, for contingencies.
Correspondence of the London Times
Gaeta after Its FaII.-The Terrible Effects War.
GAETA, February %. X / went Yesterday
for the last time to take long and minute survey of
the battered place. had hitherto found pleasure rather
in viewing batteries roads, trenches and parallels than
in contemplating the havoc and desoation which were
the result of those ingenious contrvances. went
the ground with all diligence nevertheless. Gaeta is
not Gibraltar the hill is not Steep the rock not so
hrm the batteries not cunningy screened from view
ABOVE all tnngS, the SthmuS is not so long, the point
of attack not so tar removed yet there is enough in
the insulated ground, IN the cramped up town, in the
sandy iShmus In the general look of one place to re-
mind one OF the appearance of the other.
No part of the whole mass Of town. fortress, and hill
has entirely escaped the raVages of the artillery which
thundered at it from the land side. Where the cannon
ball did not hit point blank there the bomb shell fell
with dire effect The besiegers reckon they fired during
the whole siege, about 900 shots l3 900 in one day
alone the 22d of January 1t hardly an exaggeraton
| q a tha ffact Of
ecte you almost to the conclusion that not one
of them has been hurled in vain The siege of Gaeta is
believe, the first instance in which riaed cannon has
been applied large scale to the batering of walls
and bastions.
The Piedmontese, as | told you, had reared 80 of
these new war engines their batteries and no man
who has not it can believe the havoc they have
caused. l already described to you the condition of
that part OF the town had already visited that narrow
slip stretching from the town gate to the Royal Palace
The houses IN this part may be said to be either alto
geher blown away or struck up all of heap the bat
erles lining the sea- before these houses and even in
some instances the classmates under them mass of
crumbling ruins The Royal Palace and the higher and
lower town before it, still standing but there is hardly
building, lofty or owly whether utng out shrinking
back that may be said to be unScathed saw several
Vllanous holes through the root of the Catholic Church,
and more than of It's windows smashed of all shape
AS ascended the hil the road the ground the fencing
wallis the whole nearly up to the summit was here
and there poughed up leveled down. torn asunder de-
stroyed with violence exceeding all could imagine
as the effect OF mere human contriVance. The whole
hill, up to the foot of Rowand's Tower, was srewn
with proectles. The round tower itself was hit in
more than one spot and although small battery of
four rfed cannon reared by the Neapotans on the hill
crest, had not suffered, yet there was no evidence
that no inch of ground within the peninsula of
Gaeta might be considered as safe from the enc
my's fire. I walked half way down the hill to the
Queens battery and there may say out of four of
them were dismounted, and the parapes were every
where grievousy damaged but proceeded to the low
er basons, which had evidently borne the brunt of the
attack and there is exaggeraOn in saying that the
original design of the works scarcely any longer to be
recognized, miserably gabons, sandbags walls para
pets cannon auts and the ground they stood on have
been blown and, as it were wnnowed together. have
seen such havoc caused in Italian vineyard garden
by some furious hallstorm where few sumps Of res
all that remain OF what was half hour before rank
mass OF luXurant vegetation, but could not repeat be-
leVe that fOrtres part OF it could be crumbed
as old piece of paper" as | Gaeta yesterday
There something bewilderipg, appalling in the sight
of so extensive wreck; the buildings storehouses
barracks, sheds, chapes fountains small suburbs
vents and churches which scattered here and there
between and behind these lower bastons have been in
many instances, not only crushed and pounded to
shapeess fragments to atoms but they have been actual
swept away. Stone or BRICK iron mud, the hardest
the softest material equally gave way the projece
seemed to bring destruction with it in the very wind
that encompassed it. Its effect lot batering mere
; ly, but blasting
: GEORGIA PLUCK-Georgia furnishes to her sister
States of the South the best possible argument in favor
of prompt acon-precpitate action if you choose-in
the way of redressing wrongs inflicted upon or by an