New-York tribune., 1868-12-22
THE OCEAN POSTAL sERvICE.

Onr readers will remember that during the
last session Of Congress bill was passed
authorizing the Postmaster-General to contract
with the Commercial Navigation Company OF
the State of New-Yolk for the weekly or semi
weekly conveyance Of the European mails Tor
n term of ten years, and TO counterslgn the
bonds of the company and guarantee the pay
ment of the interest to the extent of the post
age actually earned. Mr.. Randall, interpreting
this bill as permissive instead of mandatory,
refused to execute tho contract; and the Com
pany is now before Congress asking for fresh
legislation TO compel the Postnaster-Generai
to give them the contract, to extend tho time
for building their steamships one year. ana 10
authorize them TO hire other vessels while their
own arc building Senator Ramsey has INTRO
dnced q resolution to accomplish these ends
We hope it will not pass.
The Commercial Navigation Company owns
no vessels, and has not yet commenced any.
WHO compose it, and how much capital 1t
possesses, we cannot say. We doubt II, with
any amount of capital, it could now build In
the United States seven frst-class trean
steamships within year from next July as
reauired by the act and wc are almost cert nm
that it could nOtlhire seven such vessels un' er
the American Gst. for they are not to be ma L
Bu, even il these objections could be obviate' :
there are others which ought TO condemn the
scheme entirely.
First: No contract ought to be made with
any line for so long period as ten years. we
hopo to SEQ ocean postage reduced year by
wear, and under system of long contracts 1t
nrobaby would not be-
Second: We get our mail service cheaper
under the present system than under the pro-
posed one; the Commercial Navigation Compa-
nv is to have the whole sea and inland postage
on every letter, whlo the steamers now en-
ployed receive less than the sea-pOstage.
Third: The Company existing only on paper,
offers no guarantee for the performance OF its
promises.
Fourth: The Attorney General, If we aro not
mistaken, has decided that the Company will
be entitled, If the law is made mandatory, to
carry all the mails to Europe; that is to say,
instead of four mails week, rs at present. we
shall have only one, or at most two This
alone ought ia be fatal to tho bill.
F;hh: The Company is at liberty to charter
vessels of any nationality until their own are
built SO their operations would not foster the
American shipping interest, for the vessels
they would have TO charter would be foreign
vessels.
Sirth. They would probably try to make CON
tracts with the same lines that now carry the
mails. If they succeeded, how do We know
that their own vessels would ever be built
We might have every year new application
10 extend the time, and meanwhile the Post
Office Department would pay greatly in
creased sum for mail service, and tho Com
mercal Navigation Company standing as
middlo-mon between those who really did the
work md those who paid for it, would clear n
handsome profit for rendering no service at all.
We shall be glad to support any well-deyised
scheme for securing an American limo of mail
aud passenger vessels between our own and
European ports but this is not such n scheme.
We know nothing Of tho character of the in
corporators of this Company. If they want to
defraud the public, the bill gives them nbun-
dant opportunity.