Year: 1868




The new postal treaty between the United
States and Great Britain, by which the rates
of letter postage were reduced One-haif, went
into operation on the 1st Of January. Ii IA
terminable by either party on twelve months
notice. The public we believe. is not generally
aware that before the treaty went into opera
tion, and before there was any fair opportunity
to Judge how it would work, the British Post
master General gave notice of the intention OF
his Government to terminate the arrangement
at the expiration of the required interval. We
are not aware that any reason has been assigned
for this unexpected action; but some light Is
thrown upon it by the recent publication by
order of the House of Commons of the contracts
for carrying the mails made by the British
Government with the Cunard, Inman, and other
Steamship Companies.


BY the new treaty each party was to provide
steam conveyance for its own mails. In ac-
cordance with this arrangement our Govern
ment advertised for proposals and accepted
tenders from the Inman, North German Lloyd,
and Hamburg lines, and at a later period from
the Cunard line also. The British Government
made contracts in similar way with the In
man and North German Lloyd Companies, allow
ing them as remuneration the ocean postage OF
one shilling per ounce. The Cunard Company
made no proposal in the form prescribed, but
offe red to carry the mails to and from the
United States for the fixed sum of E95,WO a
year, reduced afterward to fS0,OO0. This con-
tract system had been for years the great
obstacle in the way of cheap ocean postage,
and it was the expiration of the former bar
gain with the Cunard Company which gave
opportunity for the reforms embodied N the
recent treaty. To those, however, who know
the devious ways of official transactions,
and comprehend how easy it is for
rich company, which has long been
amassing wealth from Government business, to
make friends in high quarters even without re-
sort to vulgar bribery, it will be no surprise
that the demands of the Cunard line were
complied with. AS their offer, however, was to
carry the mails both ways, the British Post
master General sent n special Commissioner to
Washington to persuade our authorities to
violate that clause of the treaty providing that
each party shall furnish conveyance for its own
mails, and to pay over to the British Govern
ment the postage received on all letters sent
from here to England by the Cunard steamers



Company was consequently Obliged to make
proposals to our Post Office Department in the
usual way, and to pay over to the English
authorities all that ii received from us for the
mail service Hereupon Great Britain gives
notice for tho termination Of the treaty.


1t may be that this extraordinary subservi-
ency to the interests of single steamship line
will result after all in new treaty, establish
ing still lower rates of postage. The CORE
spondence laid before the House of Commons
shows that the National line offered to carry
letters at the rate of one penny per half ounce,
and TO run their steamers in fourteen days all
the wear round-which is the time now allowed
the Inman line between September and April
and the offer was, most unwisely, declined
This proves that il We cannot have three
cent postage by the fastest steamers
any rate, have it by steamers which
would be fast enough for large majority OF
correspondents. Cheap postage is blessing
more especially to the poor and the emigrant; 1;
to them difference of forty y-eght hours in
time is nothing. but difference of nine cents
in money is great deal The proportion OF
business letters which require speed In trans
mission, we are credibly informed, is to other
letters not more than as one to nine. If this
vast preponderance of correspondents prefer to
send their letters by slow and cheap lines, we
see no reason why they should not do SO; and
when new postal treaty comes TO be consid-
ered we trust the point viii be looked after.


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