Connecticut western news., 1873-02-21

Wholly or partly ln writing, except book, magazine and newspaper manuscripts, and corrected proofs passing between publish CTS and authors, and excepting also cores. pondence on postal cards, on all printed matter that is so marked as to convey any other meaning than the original print, ex- cept the correction of mere typographical errors, on all matter which is sent in viola. tiOn of the law or the regulations of the Department respecting enclosures, and on all matter upon which no specific rate of postage is assigned, postage shall be chsrg- ed at the rate of two cents for each half ounce or fraction thereof, and this provis- ion shall include all letters commonly known as drop or local letters, delivered through the post-off1ce or their carriers and magazine manuscripts and newspaper manuscripts are hereby declared to belong to the third class of mailable matter.
 SEQ. 2. That from and after the first day of January next, under such regulations and in such manner as.the Postmaster Gen. eral shall prescribe, the postage provided by law, to be paid upon printed matter or msilable matter of the second class, shall in all cases be prepaid, and collected at the rate of Is cents per quarter. provided that weekly newspapers within the respective counties where the same are printed and published, and none other, may pass through the mails free of postage, as pro- vided in the 8th clause of section ls4 of the ''Acts to revise, consolidate, and amend the statutes relating to the Post Office De. partment."
 SEQ. 8. That any person who shall take any letter. postal card, or packet, out of a post office, or branch post office, or in the custody of any letter or mail carrier, before it shall have been delivered to the person to whom it was directed, with the design to obstruct the correspondence or pry into the secrets of another, or shall secrete, embez. gle or destroy the same, shall, on convic- tion thereof, for every such ofense, for. felt and pay penalty not exceeding $500, or be imprisoned st hard labor not exceed ing one year, or both, at the discretions ol the Court
 We are very serry that there were few publishers of newspapers on the old plan, (we feel sure, they were actusted by pure malice, ) who endeayored in quiet way tc introduce to the attention of Congress 6 bill, which was presented by Gen. Earns worth, and which contained clause that read as follows: Provided, That weekly newspapers within the respective counties where the same are actually and sos0lls printed and published, and none other, may pass through the mails free of postage. ' As further evidence of the malice, we copy below an item concerning the new postal law, which we clipped from one of these uneasy journals, and which was exultingly copied in another of the same sort.
 If the new postal bill now before Con. gress is passed, it will be death blow to patent outsiders. It provides that no pa- per shall be exempt from postage in the county where published, unless sehollg printed in said county. Heaven grant it may pass speedily, and put an end to the existence of scores of newspaper abortions.
 If these papers that are making SO much noise about ''patent outsiders were half as good as an average ''patent outside" and were in no danger of losing their readers by their subscribing for patent outside in stead of theiH patent medicine outside, they would find less occasion to be SO continu- ally in nettle about this, what tbey know to be, dangerous rival. And what have they gained by this little attempt to squelch thosewho have an equal right to an existence with them? Perhaps this question cannot be better answered than by publishing the resolutions passed at the semi-annual busi- ness meeting of the Massachusetts Press APsociation,a at Worcester. Mass. a few days since. Those resolutions read as follows
 ResosUed, That the emphatic protest of the Massachusetts Press Association, in meeting assembled, is hereby entered against the passage of the proposed law by Congress, requiring prepayment of postage before mailing to regular subscribers, and be it further
 ResolUed, That the members of Congress from Massachusetts are hereby requested to use their influence against such law.
 These resolutions tell us that the law con- corning prepayment of postage on weekly newspapers and which is embodied in the new law, just passed, is what the patent medicine outsides don't want, and if they had not attempted to be quite SO sharp on the newspaper postal law question, ''en- deavoring to put an end to scores of news paper abortions," the Congressional mind might not have been wrought up to @ change of some sort.
 Thus it is: they have not only failed to obtain what they sought Gnjury to others) but thave brought upon themselves postal law that the above resolutions inform us is obnoxious to them. At the commence ment of these remarks we sad feso of the old-plan publishers had taken an active part in this sque!ca;ng law, and 1t is pleas ant to say there were only eery few, the great mass of them possessing too much good sense, honor and decency to become party to SO nefarious scheme.
 Keep Your Mouth Shut.
 Mir. Catlin, who recently died, and who