Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1860-1862, 1861-10-10
The Federal Plan of CampaIgn--POst
Omce DeIinquencIes Explained.


We make the following extract from a let
ter from Richmond, dated Oct. 3, addressed
to the Charleston Courier:
It is the opinion among some of the officers
belonging TO Wise's suite. that the enemy
design grand demonstration against Rich
mond by the way of North Carolina. Nc
Clellan is busily engaged in terrifying Wash
ington for the winter, and does not propose
to come out of his entertainments at present.
In the meantime. Scott or some other expe-
rienced General is to land on the coast of
North Carolina with 100, 900 men. aud march
on Petersburg. This will force Johnston
Smith and Beauregard to abandon the Pc
tomac for the defence of Richm md. and thus
Washington will be relieved. IT Mcclellan
is disposed, he can then march out aud at
tack Richmond on the North. and also oc-
cupy the valley of the Shenandoah. If Rose
cranz succeeds in defeating Lee and occupy
ing the Virginia and Tennessee Rail RoId
Richmond and our armies being cut of from
the rest of the South on all sides. of course
they must fall into the hands of the Lincoln
ties. This-argue the officers in questions
evidently the plan of the Federal Generals,
and it explains what the Northern papers
mean when they say Richmond is to be reach
ed by another route. It explains the secret
preparations going on at the North since the
battle of Manassas, and it explains the APP
parent unwillingness of Mcclellan to risk
another engagement just now on the banks
of the Potomac. There may possible be some
value in these conjectures. [ give them to
you for what they are worth.
A few days ago the Courier contained an
appeal 10 some one of its correspondents in
Virginia, TO find out, if possible, the cause OF
the present disarrangemeat in our postal sys-
tenn. Taking the hint. your correspondent
in the premises has made it his business to
call at the Department and gather some in
formation upon that subject. which, at the
present time. so vitality interests and boihers
all classes of the community. The officials
are courteous and obliging. aud seem to feel
as keenly as those outside the Department,
the troubles which have attended the inaug-
uration of the postal system in the Confeder-
ate States. From antleman who holds a
prominent position in the Department | get
the following Statements.
The public are disposed 10 condemn the
Department without reflection. They expect
the same order, regularity aud promptness
upder the newly organized Government,
that they enjoyed under a Government
whose machinery had been in constant run
ming order for fifty years. The revolution
in the South upset all Government arrange
ments. The States seeded separately and at
different times, and successfully threw the
Department into fresh complications. Add
ed to this. several large contractors for car
rying the mails threw up their contracts
Two instances are given. Sawyer and Rish-
er, who carried the mails in the State of Tex
as,receiying nearly S130,000 per annum there
for. abandoned their contracts with the old
Government on the LIST of August, and re-
fused to contract with the Confederate States.
Rapley, Henning and Gaines, who carried
. he IL in, Ari-a bair
tracts on the first of July. In both of these
instances the mail arrangements were thrown
into almost iuextricablc confusion. The De-
partment advertised in the Arkansas papers
for new contracts, and many weeks elapsed
before it received single bid. On the 18th
of May the Postmaster General issued his
notifying all. Postmasters,
Contractors. and Special and Route Agents
in the Confederate States that the new Gov
ernment would assume control of the postal
service on the 31st of May. and requiring
them without delay to forward to the Depart
ment their names. &c, so that new commis-
sions might be issued to them, or new con-
tracts effected. 1t is remarkable fact that,
to this day, October 81, the returns to the
Postmaster Generals proclamation are still
coming in slowly. There are mail agents
and contractors on little routes throughout
the South, who have never noticed the pro-
clamation in question.
Another fruitful source of disarrangement
is the intractability of the railroads. From
their directness of route and rapidity of trans
portation, the postoffice is forced to make use
of them. But the Department cannot com
pei the railroad companies to enter under
bonds for the faithfcl performance of their
contracts. Some railroads will give bonds
Others refuse to do so-and there
is no law, Confederate or local, to force them
to give bonds. In many cases the Depart
meut has no alternative but to employ rail-
roads of this character. If they fail to do
their duty to the Government and to the pub
lie, the Department has no remedy, unless it
Is to stop payment-in which case the mails
are in worse condition than ever. At The
present time additional difficulties beset the
mail agents. Since the battle of Fort Sum-
ter the railroads have been heavily engaged
in the transportation OF troops and munitions
of war. These always move slowly. Very
lew of the railroads now run according to
schedule time, and connections, instead of
are the exceptions to the gen.
eral rule. Persons who have Travelled be-
tween Charleston and Richmond within the
last few months are aware of the repeated de-
tentions on the ronte. 1t has frequently been
the case that passengers have been detained
during one continuous journey--twelve hours
at each of The following stations Florence,
Weldon and Petersburg. If the
railroads fail TO carry through the passed.
gers, how can the mails get through? The
has no control over some of the
railroads; and if the others fail, it can do no
more than fine them according to the con-
tracts.
The Department has made and is making
repeated attempts to correct the railroad
It's agents, not long ago,
called upon the Superintendent of the seve-
raj roads from this point to Pensacola to
meet him In Goldsboro', N. c., to arrange a
system of schedules, so as to facilitate the
of the mails without delay here
AFTER He was present in Goldsboro', at the
time appointed and found that only one Rail-
road Superintendent had responded to his in
vitation. The Others gave it no attention.
Of course his mission failed, but the Depart
ment was not disheartened. On Monday
special agent was dispatched over the entire
route to see and consult with the railroad au-
thorities on the line, and to arrange uni
form schedule.
Now, to descend to an Individual case of
Latterly the mails have ar
rived very irregularly at Charleston. The
causes are these: On the 9th of September
the Superintendent of the Wilmington and
Weldon Railroad notified tie Department, by
that on the next day, the 10th of
September, new schedule would go into op-
Grafton. This was all the warning the De-
partment received. By the new arrangement
il is impossible for the mails to connect in
time at Weldon and Wilmington. The De-
partment has objected strenuously to this
change, and this has been one of the main
reasons why it has dispatched special agent
over the route. as / have before iptimated
1t is certainly hoped that be viii succeed in
remedying these defects.
These are only few of the difficulties
which the Department, in its infancy, has
been obliged TO struggle against. The Post
master General and the heads of the Bureaus
are not unmindfnl of the wants and conve-
niences of the public. They are said to la
Dor not only during Office hours, but far into
The midnight, to dispose of the vast amount
Of business accumulated on their hands by
the present confusion in political affairs. Da-
ring this time they have to bear up against
the misconceptions OF the public and the
structures of the press. They are even