Year: 1859

The U. S. Senate, by a party vote


every Republican opposing it, decided


to double the present rates of postage


So bent upon it were they that they


put the provision into "two bills" the


"Post Route" bill and the Post ssOffice


Appropriation bill. The House, eve


ry Republican voting "aye," struck


out the obnoxious clause, and sent the


bills back without it. The Senate un


der the objections of Toolnbs and Ma


son would not concur, adhered'to THEN


determination to double the postage


and SO failed to pass any Post Route


or Appropriation bill. This is briefly


the cause of the failure of those impor


tant bills, which offers one of the two


alternatives to the Administration, eth


er to close the Post Office, after q few


months, or to call an extra session OF


Congress. Let us state the history OF
the matter little more fully, that all


may understand it, and be able when
the time comes to set the matter right
if Misrepresentation be attempted. On
the 26th of February the Senate passed
the Post Office Appropriation bill, with
out any clause relating to the rates of
postage. About the same time they
passed the Post Route bill, on which
was tackled a provision nearly doub-
ling letter postage, every Republican
voted enc" OH this clause. Thus the
two bills went from the Senate. The
latter bill being of little Importance
dropped on all hands, and nothing
more was done with it. The House
passed the Appropriation bill, which
was the important measure, almost ex-
actly as it passed the Senate. 1t was
now the business of the Senate to con-
cur, as the House had accepted the
Senate bill without demur. But the
Senate. after agreeing to the House
amendments, tackled upon this bill also
the double postage provision, deter
mined, on some bill or other, to pass
through the double postage tax.


BY this last amendment the Senate
tried to compel the House, under the
screw " of having the Appropriation
bill defeated and the Post Offices closed
to accede to the double postage. But
the House, on motion of Mr.. Grow, de-
cided that the Senate had no right to
originate measure for raising revenue
as this did, and sent the bill back to
the Senate to strike it out. The Senate
in furry of dignity refused but at
last consented to Committee of Con-
ference, which, after due consultation,
agreed to report to both I-lses, as
compromise, the bill that first passed
the Senate, exactly as it was passed.
the Senate could hardly ask more than
that they should be required to pass
over again a bill they had already
passed once. They yielded nothing by
this course but the double postage.
This compromise, or original Senate
bill, was passed by the House at once,
and so far as that body was concerned
the Post Office appropriations were
safe. But the Senate would not give
up its darling idea of double postage.
Toombs, of Georgia, Mason, of Virgin
ia, and Bayard, of Delaware, declared
that it should never pass the Senate, if
it had the House, and they talked
against time till the session ended, and
the bill was killed. Remember, the
House passed this appropriation bill
exactly as the Senate had passed it,
with few little appropriations added.
The Senate refused to receive their own
bill after it had passed the House, un-
less the rate of postage was doubled.
And after the refusal Of the House to
concur in this abominable tax had made
a committee of conference necessary,
both Houses was offered, by the com
mittee, the original Senate bill, exactly
as the senate had passed it first. The
House passed it. The Senate refused
to adopt their Oacn bin, and thus killed
the appropriation. If an extra ses-
of Congress is called, or the Post Office
closed by the first of September, as it
is calculated they must be, the people
will bear i'm mind that the Senate caused
the mischief, by refusing to pass the
bill they themselves originated, because
the House refused TO saddle it with the
double postage tax. This is the fact,
as the official reports show.-Indsaaaa
Journal.