Newspapers / Southern Citizen (Asheboro, N.C.) / Sept. 13, 1839, edition 1 / Page 1
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1 ! 1, 1 ro W T3h -Tft PTM 4!1 t WHAT DO WE LIVE FOE, BUT TO IMPUOVE OURSELVES AND BE USEFUL TO ONE ANOTHER ? , i, . VOMWK III. nijmbur s; YffN TT. cITO T r 1 , PUBLISHED WEEKLY .. bv -U-wTTI Church and the people, though opprts bed by it, never thought to disturb it, tin tins tmpie--yet magnmoent -scheme of Mr.Rowlund Hill was submitted to ffieir consideration. This Mr, Rowland Hill, is, it seems, a private "gentleman who, having , devi ted hit TIJRM8 Sxa Dollars ir annum, in advance, of London. or i nice i jonurs, u hoi pm ,h umui attention to mo subject, pUDtisnea a three months from tho date ot the. pamphlet, in which ho proposed! to re first number received. , K 1 model the whole Post Office System by i inscription to be discontinued till abolishing altogether tho existing rate." all arrearages bo paid; unless at the. of postage, and, with them the rractlre discretion of the Editor. i of charging double and treble postage. failure to order a diiconlinuance be-;iV.c.,acrording to thj ;tiumber of cn fare the exriratiop of the subscrip-j closures, together with.alrnbc complex Iioil year, is equivalent, io a uew engagement. ,,: Letters, Communications, dec. to come post paid. Trice for Jidrer thing. Advertisements will bo conspicuously J handsomely inserted at $1 00 per iare of 10 lines I and 25 cents fr ev- , . . t-i V; lUDsequcm inicruon. io buit- f'ineut, however short, will be cbarg less than for a square. Court Orders and judicial advertise :nts will be charged 25 percent high ; (we sometimes have to wait so long !) . , r . ... Those who advertise ry the year wui entitled to a deduction of 33J per cent kJid ihey pay ta-adva a tcrg From Brother Junathoni, ' POST-OFFIC REFOU.M. .... We have always been of opinion th it jr present rates of postage fere ettab li ed upon wrong uatis as wcu . as jiravagantly high, and that some grand ins couiu do acvisco, ny wuicn me a : 111 xopon papers and tetters cwi oe i!uced,to the Immense : benefit of the i:i!cctual and business community, It an agent had been sent to England tne rrcskienn; io examine inio Air. uland Hill's celebrated plan, the rpose of introducing the same intohe 4 Oflice Department in tho united iitcs. l'cople have comprchcpcieu (tie ml idea of Mr. Hill's scheme, so at it proposed to charge a penny on eh letter to all parts of the country a -c, but they are not acquainted w ith p reasonings and facts upon w hich he sea his tncory; or wnn ine goa bcticsl results which must follow its ptton.' " This information is fully and ufaetorily given in Uw leading paper the Aucust Nor of thrIemocratic view, and we propose at thi time to e the substance oi mat anew, tnai F renders may form their own ' judg. Ints of the featibilitv of a . scheme of ,'uring postage to Mr. Rowland HillV Jet in this country. : (Th writer in the -Democratic Re w commences by expressing hii sur htif while tho newspapers of the tied Mates have Kept us accurately 'rmed'of the slate of stockoperatkns tendon and other ' financial matters Httki or no general interest here,' no kettiiations should have been made ::h the important dcvclopcmcnta of t Ulhce Keform, which have xtco- ety agitated the British public for the 4 two years. ; .' ..I'.. . ""' "'" " '""'" rrangcmen'i for keeping tho post mas :rg' accuunts at the, I partnieiv, and for the pria ary distribti'icu 1 letter-j-and to isubeutdte in their eud a uniform rate of postage, without regard tv dis tance, of oiie penny for each Laliounce, collccti'd in advance." ' ; t Startling as the proposed change ap peared, et such w as th interest fclt by the people in the reasoning and factg, which led Mr Hill to his extraordinar) coiicliusiutis', .that Uie icnult ere , long was a complete conviction of their ac cDracy in all esential particulars, and the entire practicability, as a cotise quenc.e of accomplishing for the coun try the unexampled amount cf good which the adoption of the propcd charges could o. la it to produce. The first statement of Mr. Hill, which rivittcd attention, was, that notwithstan ding the irnnieiife increase of population. commerce, wealth, and cducatton in 0 real Britain, and of all other sources of revenue, the Post' office had not in creased. Indeed he khowg Ironi con vincing figures, that the revenue has decrease wthinlhc last twenty years. He also shows, that, wlnlo the biage Coach Duties, for conveyance of per sons and parcels had increased, the re ceipt lor carrying letters had diminish ed. His conclusion, of course, w as, as ours must be, that the rates of postage were altogether too Ugh ; and that the revenue would really have been greater iu the iamo -period of time, had the rates been much f less. This is not.a deduction' but a fact ; for in . France where the postagets less -onef wis than in England, tho receipt have increased from twenty-four to thirty-seven million of francs. , Mr. Hill states that the nett revenue denved Irom the Lnghsh 1'ost Ulhce iroin the j-rcwniesidiiiktuiitiit. ll toc-y find, on due investigation, thai it is bad, it is-their- business toxhange Jul. It Jia j already been determined to do so in England, and from present indicat'ioiia, weshould suppose that Mr, Hill's plains likely to be as warmly received in this country. In England it met w ith oppo sitiontrom all the directors and clerks of the lost,.Ot!ioe ; here it w ill not, lor it is uhderstood thai. the Postmaster General' favors, 'ihc plan.'i O'vicg to the bud roads, bad conveyances, and other ditliCuliies pi travel in this country, the Post Office has not with us &g h- has iu Englaud, yielded a handsome reven ue, but with every increaee in the facili ties of exportation, of course the ex cn?e of sending the mail must be-deceased. , Jty lew years at furthest we may hend our mails as cheap as thev do in England. Mr. liillshous that thin isf now remarkably v.hcap,. He shows that with all the present enormous and unnecessary expense, the cost of carry ing each letter does not amount to over one penny and a' third Supposing, how ever, that thektters were transported on hit plan with an outlay of no more than is n quisle, each letter ' might be reckoned at about mgiityiour fcundredihs of a penny each. So nice is Mr. Hill in all .his calculations. , Lest these astounding disclorures y u d in his DroiMMed modification of the process "of machanism. iimm, a nhn p..st otlice arrangements, yn i J&VU&X jwell known, count the number ol letters P11 facility.ofdistribu ibw and unilorcn rate, aud regulated Cytibn, eaejelTer,: wfien7tam,T9 fo be weight1, should in ,all cases be made thrown by the receiver into a box, mar payable in advance." - A combination , ked with the initial , letter of t tho post- .A ........ I I l. J L-L vi uitac piiuciuics ueveiopea : nis plan; the postage ought to be of a very low rate to reconcile the public to it pay. ment iu advance, and it ought also to be uniform to simplifv the mode of ac counting for its recei'pt, and payable in advance, whiqh would narrow down all further charge by the post office of a lei- icr to its sate and prompt delivery. i . This article being already somewhat too extended for our little sheet. We diall defer the furtlier exposition of this teazle plan and its advantages till to morrow or the day after. ,' - - ; , v - Uvving lo the present high rates, it is tie practice of the common carriers. who pass from tow n to town, to convey lettertfand deliver them for one t'lennv each. It is thought that the number sent in this way far exceed those depos ited irithe-post Office. When, besides lis mode of forwarding letters, we re- IJect that vast numbers are sent by pri vate opportunity, we may conclude that not over half as many letters and packa- ges go oy me mails as ty other modes arithmetic f the mysteries of postage, wnn conromiunis oiaouoie ana tre ble letters, should be deemed inaccurate or impossible,' Mr. Hill verified his cal culations by another test w hich' Lft no thing to be doubted. - He formed a mi nute and careful estimate the cost of conveying the mail between London and liiiuburg, a distance o( lour hun dred miles and found it lo be, inclu ding the mails of all the intermediate places, five pounds per day I ; " L.., The average nett weight of mall far riej for this sum, he found to be six hundred weight, which made the rate 1o be. sixteen shillings and eight pence per hundred weight., Ine cost of con veyance was, therefore Per ounce and a half, the average weight of a newspaper, about, one tirt h of a penny. , ," , 1 Per quarter of an ounce, the-average weight of a ringle letter, but one thtr ty sixth of a penny. , -.' As the distance to Edinburg much exceeded the tiverase which '.letters, of convevancc. It is. therefore, hw A iness impossible to be executed, he a . ; . .. T-Jt.Jr....i . j l- - umiuautiy answered as , w nave Been, by proving that , the existing establish- means an extravagant rcalciilationtQ double the entire cost of management ; ; &c, would - have to 4be carried -Mr. that one-third of the maiL at least con I Hill deduced, from the above incontes- slsta of Iranksjand newspapers i from t table'resulis te'first grand principle 'of which it follows that the" tax on the his schcme,!rixi . f y , . ; ' transmission ol letters in the British cm- "If the charge for postage be made pi re is more man tnrce nunarco per i proporuonaw to ine wnoie expense in: cenL on the actual cost of their trans- leurred in the receipt, transit, and de mission. This if indeed an imposition ) livery of the tetter, aud in the collection on the people, and it strikes us withsur of its postage it must be made uniform- .. m . i I , .i t i . r L. . . iy mo same irom every posi-town in the United Kingdom, -unless it - can be shown how we ate to collect so small sum at the thirty-sixth part of a pen vV - . " Inrthc whole" range of i human nn rof tho da v. ,ln jTTcmcnt and progress, there is no 'ere to be found a more ' brilliant tri h of genius, than it presented by the pent state of this great question of ' Ulhce Keform in England. A lew l i : f .V ' J prise that Lord Brougham" and other society -iorino-miiusion-oi-usciui-Kncw-edge people did not think of the reduc if t-kpt ft M m - ft mnrfl imnnrttini means Jorihedisscminalm2-xLiwclu 4 ov irenee than anv cheapneng to which! ; Again, as thaexnenseof receipt and . ll l .f II . iJ.I' L AX . I I .L - tliey could DnngDOoKS ana pampnieis.i ueu very are not muen aneciea oy me The highest beneficial desalts would weight of each letter, w ithin moderate doubtless accrue both in Eogland and in limits ; and, as it 'would take a nine- this country oy tne unousyuciea circu- iom wcigm oi n icucr io raasc uw ex lation of letter. 'and'ihe manv cheap twnse of transit amount to one farthing, " ' . .t . . . i .... . . .. . .v and excellent nun-political publications ! he laid down the next leading principle M - than. tii selected from gether with IntelliiencQ frmaJI parts pln. vizt art, the charge e same for eve- weekly sheet, the Brother Jonathah, con- " That, taxation apt taitiini! as it docs more reading matter i ought to be precisely th oroinary , auooecimo; tvoiumc, '.ry pacunge ui mtHitTBie woigru wiinoui rom thj verv best sources, to-i reference to the number of enclosures." Mr. Hill next examined into the ma .r thA unriii wnai universal insiruc- "phj principles oi arnnmei rroveo , , 7 . .. . : . . Wnstrations by calcolalUs imJt.orf and pleasure would .1 not ; impart, .iHto be thakn. called universal could it he circulated through the Urn "nYinn p, aroposaf that at the first ted Slates at one-fifth its presenFraTe of mill t have been ridiculed as the ferov tf a visionary t and soon, as a ttural conseouoncc, created such con 'ece in its details, as to make it rev. 1 tionim the whole of the existing, sys "''of government ' postage, and to cn and utterly abolish not merely postage I The following is a forcible view of tho present unjust and extortionate sys tem. Suppose tho Post Office were not a monopoly by law,' suppose pri vate capitalists were, free to compete with it. the business of transmitttng let- UKe preexisting machinery of post icrs would then bo carried on on the or w management and revenue, but all : dinary principles, with all that ccono- ' pre-existing idcasj and the immcmo- pra-nce on the sub cct," mvMttention to the wants of customers, and skillui aaapuon oi means in ino u- I 'nwBritish lysiem of postage socms tired end, w hich are usually practiced f hivc been itai.i;hid and rarrictr-on bv thosl whose interests are involved .'fymuciriike ourown, lhatis with a in their success. But ihe conductors " Waster General, and the requisite of the Post Office, being trCuro of their pwwr iT subordinates, appointed jn places', have no stimulanta tQ enterprise Yarustownsthrooehout the king- and good managomem, ano trie peopio ' .Tko Puri Office Department was must submiL They cannot set-up an MNca asiust as indespcnsablo q the opposition, ine legislature is aiso it the1 Army, or the Navy or the, responsible fur any mUchief resulting chinery of his departtocnl, and he found that tho present mode of conducting the office required a great number of checks. A number of departments existed which Under his plan would be totally unneces sary. As letters and papers were for warded, there were, great temptations 6 robbery and iraud, and cheating the revenue, in consequence of the necessi ty of examining letters, of fhe , varpng rates of postage and the intermixture of paid and unpaid totters. The reme dv. therefore, was to bo found in aim ptitication. If all the letters were franked the trouble would be abridged six-fold, and if any means could be devised by which: all the postage could be collect. ted before the passace of the letters through the central office the same re suit would bo obtained. ' From considerations like these,' (with otWrs : which do not enter so much in to Qur system.) Mr, Hill was led to a dt'Dt another great principle, as essca- town, to which it is addressed, k : The difficulties that might arise With regard tp foreign letters, Mr. Hillobvt ated by a suggestion, equally cbarac-. erisedby its simplicity, efficiency and liberal philanthrophy. As it s would. be obviously imposible to provide for the English postage on foreign' letters being aid in Advance, he proposes that til breign letters on leaving the country should be charged a double rate of English postage, and that all foreign Jet ters coming into the ciiuntry should bar delivered; free. The postage claimed by the foreign government being in each case paid by the foreign resident, this arrangement would be practically the sanaejn its results the only difference being that the English resident would ha ve to pay his share of the postage at once instead of twice, and all necessity for any negotiation with ' foreign gov erpments would be obviated, ? . j -"The plausible obiectionjhat under hi . system ihe mails and the Post Office would be loaded with an amount of bu- say that the Post Office wdfold: in 'lhe event of the proposed reduction, have three times the hmquqt of carrying to perform that it now has. To. add force to this argument, w need but remind our readers,4vh& are in the habit of travelling from citjr to city, of tho re peated applicatiotuv" which they have, to jakchatgVof letters, even from per lect strangers. V There is, probably, not a single steamboat , a nd rail-road-car, passing between Boston and Philadel phia, which does not carry more letters in the pockets of the passengers, than in the mail-bags or letter-boxes. Reduce the rate of postage and you have, of course, all the letters which are now sent by 'private hand. No man would trouble his friend, "much less a stranger, to carry a small parcel, when he could scndlt by mail for a penny.'. Let it not be supposed, however, lhaf it is the in tent jon to carry any single package for a penny. Far from it; the proposition is that the charge for postage should not exceed one penny per half ounce,' with- out regard to distance, and that heavier packets to any convenient limit, for in stance, quarter of a: pound, should be charged at the same rate, in order to preserve the simplicity of the system, and to prevent the Post Office from be ing encumbered with heavy parcels. The following s- the mode by which it is proposed to collect the postage in advance ; stamped covers td be issued by the Posf Office for all the requisite wctgms oi packages, and to be sold ; al such a price as to include the postaze ! each of these covers to have tlie weight wnicn ii would oe entitled, td carry legi bly printed oa the stamp, and to 20 thro' the mails in all respects like a frank. Economy and public ponvenience would require that sheets of letter paper of eve ry description should be stamped in the part used for the address ; that wrappers sucn as are useo mr, newspapers, as welt as covers made of cheap paperr should also be stamped : and that every deoutv postmaster, should be required to keep them for sale j and to make it . their in terest as well as that of stationers to do so, a discount should be allowed to them. For the fogery of these stamps, their low price would afford but little temtation, and the stamp"oC the receiving-house should be struck on the frank; stamp to prevent their, being used a second time. as we nave no siamp onicers iq tnis country, of course the stamps would have to be made at and pui chased from the Post Ulhces. Some difficulties might occur for 9 length of time with those people, who brought unstamped letters and threw them into the, boxes; but it would be, an easy matter to advertise over such box, M All letters must be paid for in advance,1" or, in a large es tablishment, have a clerk ftationed at the box, till people bceamc accustomed to the new arrangement . - On taking the letters from the box, each must be stamped ' with the date, and the address of the receiving house, the marks bting given by V machine, called a tell-tale ment, with a slight increase,, would suf 1 j fice for & four-fold amount of bust' nesg, of the accuracy of - which ihert . , could not he a reasonable doubt, and which would be sufficient not merely to s defray all expenses, but to place tho gov- : - ' ernment in nearly the same position as at present with regard to. revenue v be-" sides Uie other, and scarcely 'compara ble advantago of securing to the country the priceless benefits that would result from the system.. . 4- 1. f ... . The following are some of the con-, elusions which Mr. Hill believed he; es', " tablished by his calculations and rea- , soiling : '.- , ( v.?i w --J, i That the present cost of prima-- ' ry distributions is, for the most part! the result of .complex arrangements at the .'' t PostOffice. - v. vt 1 -;: -: ,-' . V :.. " 2. : That these complex arrange mcnta vould bo avoided, if postago, ' were charged without, regard to;dis- tance, at a uniform rate, (which is shown -to be the only fair ratfi with reference to ' the expenses incurred) and were col lected in advance. v, -M y " ; 3. That the postage mightj be col lected in advance, if reduced to the rata proposed ; lizt one penny for each packet not exceeding halt an ounce in weight, with an additional pennyf for each additional half ounce. , ; ' " 4; .. That owing to-the great sira- f plicity of the arragements which miirht I be adopted under-ihese r conditions, tha - -, -1 - present establishment of the Post Office, with a slight addition, would suffice for a four-fold increase ofhusincss. j- -V , ; 5. That this increase of business would lead to greatly increased , faciU ' ' ties of communication. j . ! i f , 6 That these . increased facilities, together with the greatly reduced char- ges, would have the effect of increasing ' the number of chargeable letters, io all probability, ai least five and a quarter- - WdrTwhichTlhcrease (thTmbeFoT 1 : -i iMMiuwyt m franks and newspapers continuing as at present; . wouio produce 5 the ;fouNolc increase of busincs, for which it - has been shown, the present establishment of the Post Office, with a slight addition, would sutuce. 7. That the necessary cost of prima-, ry distribution is hot the present actual cost, viz : eighty tour hundredths of a V penny, but only thirty-two hundredths of a penny ; tne dinerence, ; vixt fifty-two -hundredths of a penny, arising from the employment of tne Post Office in le vy- ing an excessive iax, ana irom ine con sequent expensiveness of arrangement! and restrictionof correspondence'"! , It is Very evident that lh6 feasibility of Mr, Hill's proposition depended alto- ' gether on .the correctness of his facts and calculationsV The. Parliameriiary Committee, appofi for the! purpose, entereTfatojj. laborious and patient in vestigation of tiie whole matter, and found his ktatemehts, rigidly -correct-! They publisheiseveral ;volumnious ports, which poured a flood of light on the subject. VJn that report, examined U stamp, which, by ' a 1 by tho writer in the Democratic Re- X1' H H
Southern Citizen (Asheboro, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Sept. 13, 1839, edition 1
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