Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-08-07
WASHING TON.
The New District Attorney
General.
The Legal Status of Letters Once
Mailed.
Prospective Change in the Pat
ent Office.
Vale. EIshar }

| WASHINGTON, Aug. Cite President
has signed the commission Of Henry H.
| Wells to be United states Attorney for the
District Of Columbia, vice Fisher.
An Interesting Postal Question.
Special to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
On the sSth ult. the Swiss Postal De-
( Partment sent a cable dispatch asking the
Postmaster General 10 return unopened
certain registered letters addressed to Dun
can, Sherman q Co., Of New York CITY.
The Postmaster General submitted the
matter to the Solicitor for the Department.
Judge Spence, and finally to the Attorney
General, and under the advice Of these
legal gentlemen sent reply to the Swiss
authorities declining tOreturn the packages.
IN supplementary letter in relation 10 the
matter he says: "The postal laws Of the
United States have been uniformly con-
strued to terminate the property and con-
troll over q letter by the writer when the
letter leaves the mailing Office, and also at
the office Of delivery the letter becomes the
property Of, and is subject to, the control
exclusively Of the party TO whom it is ad-
dressed and therefore he could not in the
present case interfere adversely to the
rights by the law of Messrs. Duncan, Sher-
man & Co., the party to whom these regis
tered letters are addressed.
The Patent Office.
1t is generally understood that Hon. ]. |
NJ. Thacher, Commissioner of Patents.
will retire from that position in a short |
time; and already there is a three-conered |
fight in progress as to who shall be his sue
cessOr. The present Assistant Commits |
siOner, SpeeT, IS a candidate. together with /
several broken-dOwn politicians. Promi- |
nent among this class is r. Holland Duell, /
late member Of Congress from the State Of /
New York. His appointment will be bit /
terly opposed, on the ground that if ap-
pointed it will be through the influence Of |
Senator COnklin, and as that gentleman
practices as a patent attorney before the /
office, it would not be Just to have Com
missioner acting as judge who owed his
position to the attorney who appears before
him.
Farm Wages.
From tables prepared by the Department
Of Agriculture, it appears that the average
price of farm labor with board in the
United States is SI2.40 per month, being a
decline Of nearly twenty per cent since
1869. Part Of this difference, however, Is
found in the disproportion in numbers Of
abOrers Of the higher and lower classes in
and money value. The calcula-
ions are based on the numbers given re-
5pectively in the census of 1850 and 1870 |
md in the latter the slaves of the former |
DeriOd, who had DO place in that enUmera-
ion, are included as farm labOrers, incress-
nc the proportion Of lOw-priced labor and |
educing the average. The average price !
# labor, with board, in the Southern States
S Sl017; in the Western, Sl3.66; in the
fiddle, Sl6.Sl; in the Eastern, SlS.5S; on
be Pacific Coast, S2S12; and in the Terri
cries, SlS.25.
Deep SOundIngs I'm The Gulf
Special to the Cincinnati Gazette.
The arrival at the Washington Navy
ard of the coast survey steamer Blake,
lieutenant Commander Charles D. Sigs-
&c, [. ) Navy, commanding, has excited
attention. During the past
inter, and until lately, she has been en-
lOyed in running lines of deep sOundings
D the Gulf of Mexico.
Heretofore the depths in the basin of the 7
-ulf have been unknown.
he Centennial POstOhIee-HOw Uncle
Sam is Made to Pay for Ii Against
His VIII.
Special to the Chicago Times.
The amount Of money appropriated for !
Re purpose of allowing the POstOfiice De ,
lrtment to make a display at The CenteD-
ial was very small. This trouble, how ;
-eT, has been Obviated by making the Cen
nnial postOtfice a station Of the main
ice in Philadelphia, thus giving chance :
the regular appropriations to pay its ;
Zpenses. The object Of this Centennial
)stoffice is to furnish mail facilities !
T the small army Of exhibitors and their :
.bordinates, as well as the thousands of =
sitors attendant upon the exhibition, who :
Ould not desire to 90 away down to the ! !
ain office for their mail. The clerks en- | !
Dyed in this office will make use of the
ferent natiOnalities represented at the :
sOthat every beEighted foreigner
i'll find a fellOw-cOuntTyman, or one who
N speak his language, in this cosmopolitan !
,st Office. 1t is proposed, az present, to
ave a special set Of carriers attache to
e centennial Office. The money-order /
ice for foreign orders will be made a !
ointment feature.