must be accepted as an apology. The great political doctrine, that all men have a natural right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their consciences, is now denied. It is said that religion requires compulsory laws for its security, and the extension of its influence over the conduct and characters of men. The truth of this position is denied in the most unqualified manner by those who now address you. They are clearly of opinion that there is no just cause for complaint on the part of the petitioners, and that their intolerant zeal has evidently destroyed their judgment. Your memorialists feel no disposition to submit to compulsion in matters which rest exclusively between themselves and the God who made them. Besides the attempt now made on Congress, numerous other arbitrary measures have been adopted, with the intention of holding up to public odium those who cannot think in conformity with the doctrines avowed by your petitioners. Whatever fanaticism may have anticipated in former days, or zealous bigots in the present may predict, no great danger is to be feared of the stability of our Government, except from the combinations of a corrupt clergy. More than half a century has elapsed since the day when a large and fruitful nation was given to the world. The prosperity of our country is unparalleled in the annals of history; peace and plenty have united to bless her inhabitants. Every description of creeds and endless varieties of faith have their votaries, and flourish under the protection of a generous system of laws. Learned institutions are encouraged and thrive among us; and there is reason to believe that the hour is rapidly advancing in which every individual in our extensive territory will be properly qualified to exercise the great functions to which he is eligible. From Maine to Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the western wilds, the same smiling scene is displayed. Your memorialists would inquire if, in this general prosperity, the friends of religion and morality have any wellfounded cause of discouragement? The countless evils that must flow from the least interference of the General Government with the view of favoring a religious party are such as, in their consummation, would prove destructive to our national existence. It is impossible, on an occasion like the present, not to advert to the misery which has flowed from the assumption of ecclesiastical dominion in other countries. There are regions where persecution even now erects her blood-stained banner, and demands unnumbered victims for her unholy service. The past history of the church furnishes a melancholy demonstration of the danger to be anticipated from an alliance of the ministers of religion with the civil magistracy. There is no language which can adequately describe the abuses which have been practised, the diabolical cruelty which has been perpetrated, and the immense amount of suffering which has been inflicted, under the plea of defending the cause of religion. The beauty of youth, the venerable decrepitude of old age, and the power of rank, were equally incompetent to relax the iron grasp of the church. Your memorialists would also suggest that the liberal provision made by our constitution for the exercise of individual rights, and the encouragement given to enterprise and talent, have invited to our shores multitudes of honest and ingenious artists. Fleeing from persecution in the land of their nativity, they have sought a home in the only country under heaven where liberty can be said to dwell. Here they calculated to be delivered from those galling restrictions which had rendered existence wretched; and here they have not, as yet, been disappointed. We owe it to them, as well as to ourselves, to employ every energy to perpetuate our excellent Government, and to defend it from the attacks of insidious enemies. Your memorialists repose, with the fullest confidence, in the wisdom and integrity of their representatives in Congress. They cannot, however, leave the subject without the expression of their sincere approbation of the manner in which the question now under consideration was disposed of in the last session of your body. They would, therefore, respectfully ask that, not only should the prayer of the petitioners be rejected, but that such order shall be taken on the question as will forever preclude its revival. SIR: EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, INDIANA, INDIANAPOLIS, February 15, 1830. In obedience to sundry resolutions of the Legislature, I have the honor of herewith enclosing to you "a memorial of the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, on the subject of the Indians within her limits, and of certain Indian lands;" and "a memorial of the General Assembly of the State of Indiana on the subject of the stoppage of the United States mail on the first day of the week, commonly called Sunday," which were passed at the late General Assembly of the State, and which you are respectfully requested to lay before the Senate of the United States. I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, your most obedient servant, WILLIAM HENDRICKS, United States Senator from Indiana. The memorial of the General Assembly of the State of Indiana respectfully represents: J. BROWN RAY. That we view all attempts to introduce sectarian influence into the councils of the nation as a violation of both the letter and the spirit of the constitution of the United States and of this State, and at the same time dangerous to our civil and religious liberties, inasmuch as those charters secure to every man the free exercise of his religion and the right to worship the Almighty God according to the dictates of his own conscience, and inasmuch as any legislative interference in matters of religion would be an infraction of those rights; we, therefore, most respectfully remonstrate against any attempt, by a combination of one or more sects, to alter the laws providing for the transportation of the mail, and against the passage of a law to regulate or enforce the observance of religious duties, or which may interfere with what belongs to the conscience of each individual: that all legislative interference in matters of religion is contrary to the genius of Christianity; and that there are no doctrines or observances inculcated by the Christian religion which require the arm of civil power either to enforce or sustain them: that we consider every connexion between church and state at all times dangerous to civil and religious liberty: and further, that we cordially agree to and approve of the able report of the honorable R. M. Johnson, adopted by the Senate of the United States at its last session, upon the petitions for prohibiting the transportation of the mail on Sunday; and while we protest in the most solemn manner against every attempt to enforce, by legislative interference, the observance of any particular day, yet believe that both the spiritual and temporal interest of mankind is promoted by setting apart one day in the week for the purpose of rest, religious instruction, and the worship of God. Resolved, That his excellency the Governor be requested to transmit a copy of the foregoing memorial to each of our Senators and Representatives in Congress, and to the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives. To the honorable the Senate and House of Representatives in Congress assembled: The subscribers, inhabitants of the county of Salem, in the State of New Jersey, respectfully represent: That your memorialists belong to various religious denominations of Christians, and some of them are conscientious in the belief that the seventh day of the week, commonly called Saturday, is the true Sabbath; that they have learned with regret that attempts are simultaneously making in different sections of the country to get up petitions and memorials to Congress to pass a law for stopping the United States mail on Sunday. While your memorialists acknowledge, with the most devout reverence, that the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof," and do most solemnly disclaim all idea of " robbing Jehovah of the worship which is his due," as Christians and republicans they are constrained to remonstrate against the passage of such a law, which they believe would be pregnant with serious evils to our country. We are of opinion that the report of the committee of the United States Senate of the last year, on this subject, is conclusive, and that the first article of amendments to the constitution which declares that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press," has virtually prohibited Congress from legislating on this subject. In the opinion of your memorialists, errors of opinion, whether of religion or politics, may be safely tolerated in our country, and no surveillance is required to control them other than that of "reason, a free press," and "the free course of the Gospel." From the judicious arrangement of the Post Office Department, there is no reason to dread any disturbance of religious societies in their devout worship on that day; and the passage of such a law would, in the opinion of your memorialists, by occasioning numerous expresses and other modes of conveyance, defeat the ostensible object of the law itself. Such a measure would be the result of a "zeal not according to knowledge," and is not warranted by the benevolent spirit of our holy religion, which is “gentle" and not coercive; which is without partiality and without hypocrisy;" which inculcates an active benevolence; which discovers to us a Deity who delights not in sacrifices and vain oblations," but in the offering of an humble and a contrite heart, and whose goodness is over all his works. The proposed measure would tend to circumscribe and restrict the benefits of a free press, which is the palladium of our liberties, and to check or retard the diffusion of knowledge, which, in the order of Providence, is the surest means of spreading the Gospel, and would obscure or render less refulgent "the light of Bethlehem star." Works of mercy and of private and public necessity are always excluded from the general prohibition. The Divine Author of our religion has shown us, by his own example, that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day. The proposed measure would lessen the good man's opportunities of doing good. Many religious tracts, pamphlets, and newspapers devoted to the interest of Zion and the prosperity of the Redeemer's kingdom," are transmitted by mail; and why may not mail carriers," equally with "illiterate fishermen," become the heralds of salvation? Why attempt to restrict or limit the Almighty in the methods of his grace? To stop the mail would, in the opinion of your memorialists, be repugnant to a wise maxim, which applies to morals and religion as well as to economics," not to put off till to-morrow that which can be done to-day," and would resemble the conduct of the slothful servant who hid his talent in a napkin." 66 It is an invaluable privilege, for which, as Christians and republicans, we cannot be too thankful, that the constitution of the United States guaranties to every one the rights of conscience and religion; and, in the opinion of your memorialists, the proposed measure would operate as a violation of these rights; would be made a precedent for others of the same kind, and more alarming; would pave the way to a union of "church and state." against which our horrors are excited by the awful admonitions of history; which would be the deathblow to our civil and religious liberties, purchased with the virtue and valor, and sealed with the blood, of our fathers; and end in the worst of all tyranny an ecclesiastical hierarchy." JANUARY 20, 1830. 21st CONGRESS.] No. 88. [1st SESSION. IMPROVEMENT OF THE POST ROAD FROM ZANESVILLE, IN OHIO, TO FLORENCE, SIR: IN ALABAMA. COMMUNICATED to the house of representTATIVES, MARCH 9, 1830. General Post Office Department, March 9, 1830. In obedience to the resolution of the House of Representatives of the 24th ultimo, directing" that the Postmaster General inform the House over how much and what part of the route between Zanesville, Ohio, and Florence, Alabama, via Maysville, Lexington, and Nashville, the United States mail is transported in stage coaches; and what period of time is taken up in the passage of the mail between those points at different seasons of the year; and report what information he may have as to the saving on the part of the United States; and to what extent the advantage of a regular mail may be increased by having said route improved by a Macadamized turnpike," I have the honor to report: The distance from Zanesville, via Maysville, Lexington, and Nashville, to Florence, is 536 miles. The mail is transported over the whole of the route in stages, except that during a great part of the winter season the miry state of the roads is such as to render it impracticable, especially between Maysville and Lexington, in Kentucky, where a stage carriage can seldom be used during three months of the year. In other parts, the interruption is frequent, but not so permanent, during the whole winter. From Zanesville to Lexington, the mail is carried daily; thence to Nashville and Florence, it is carried three times in each week. The time occupied in running the mail over the whole distance, 536 miles, is ten days during the winter season, and nine days during the remainder of the year. The present sums which are paid for transporting the mails on the whole of that route, including the additional distance of five miles from Florence to Tuscumbia, (being a part of one of the contracts,) amount to $30,808 92. The Department has no certain means of ascertaining what reduction could be made from this expense. if the whole route were improved by a Macadamized turnpike. This would depend much upon the rates of toll. If free of toll for the United States mail, it may be safely estimated to effect a saving of $5,000 a year in the expense. The increased advantage of regular mail accommodation would unquestionably be very great. The mail might be transported over the whole route, and at all seasons of the year, in six days, even if the distance should not be shortened by straightening the roads. The communications would be more certain during that part of the year when intelligence from the seat of Government is most interesting. The intercourse could be made daily each way, with increased expedition, and probably at about the same expense which is now incurred. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Hon. ANDREW STEVENSON, Speaker of the House of Representatives. W. T. BARRY. 21st CONGRESS.] No. 39. [1st SESSION. IMPROVEMENT OF THE POST ROAD BETWEEN MEMPHIS AND TUSCUMBIA. COMMUNICATED TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, MARCH 15, 1830. Mr. JOHNSON, of Kentucky, from the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads, to whom was referred a resolution directing them to inquire into the expediency of improving the road passing through the lands of the Chickasaw nation, in the State of Alabama, in the direction between Tuscumbia and Memphis, reported: That the present path or road through the lands of the Chickasaw nation, in the direction from Tuscumbia towards Memphis, is daily increasing in importance to the States of Alabama and Tennessee; that, from the circumstance, however, that about sixty-five miles of the road lie exclusively in the Indian country, it is in such a condition as to make it unfit for extensive use. Your committee are informed, by a letter from the postmaster at Tuscum bia, that the chiefs of the Chickasaw nation have given their consent for said road to be opened through their territory; they are also informed, by the petitions and report heretofore made on this subject by the Committee on Roads and Canals, that the sum of eight thousand dollars will be sufficient to put this road in excellent repair, and to constitute it a part of the line of communication with the Territory and seat of Government of Arkansas. They therefore report the bill heretofore reported, appropriating said sum of eight thousand dollars. In obedience to a resolution of the Senate of the United States, passed March 22, 1830, directing me "to inform the Senate of the number of deputy postmasters who have been removed since the 4th day of March last, designating the number in each State and Territory," I have the honor to report that the whole number of deputy postmasters removed between the 4th day of March, 1829, and the 22d day of March, 1830, inclusive, is four hundred and ninety-one; and that the number thereof in each State and Territory is as follows: In Maine, fifteen; New Hampshire, fifty-five; Vermont, twenty-two; Massachusetts, twenty-eight; Rhode Island, three; Connecticut, twenty; New York, one hundred and thirty-one; New Jersey, fourteen; Pennsylvania, thirty-five; Delaware, six. teen; Maryland, fourteen; District of Columbia, one; Virginia, eight; North Carolina, four; Georgia, two; Alabama, two; Mississippi, five; Louisiana. four; Tennessee, twelve; Kentucky, sixteen; Ohio, fitty-one; Indiana, nineteen; Illinois, three; Missouri, seven; Florida, one; Arkansas, two; and Michigan, one. I have the honor to be, with great respect, your obedient servant, To the Hon. JOHN C. CALHOUN. W. T. BARRY. 21st CONGRESS.] No. 91. [1st SESSION. CONDITION OF THE GENERAL POST OFFICE. COMMUNICATED TO THE HOUse of represeNTATIVES, APRIL 14, 1830. Mr. CONNER, from the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads, made the following report: That, from the numerous applications made annually to Congress for the establishment of new routes, and the frequent and increasing demands made on the Department for additional accommodations, your committee have been induced to extend their inquiries, and to examine particularly into the past and present condition of the General Post Office, with a view to a farther extension of accommodation, should it appear to them prudent and practicable; and although in its operation now extensive, and perhaps as perfect as could be anticipated, its ramifications reaching most neighborhoods in the north and the south, in the east and the west, still there remain unsupplied many routes of great importance and interest to various growing sections of the country; many of those cross and connecting routes, with important lines already in operation, required and loudly called for by those rising settlements to make them participants in the benefits and blessings of this Department: an establishment so entirely national in its character, and intended by the Government, in its creation, for the general benefit of the people, bearing to them directly the proceedings of their Government; placing within the reach of all political as well as other domestic and foreign information, thereby enabling them to judge of and properly appreciate their Government and its acts; whilst, also, it enables the commercial and mercantile interests to hold frequent communion, and affording to friends, residing in different portions of the Union, the sweets of frequent friendly interchanges of sentiment and good feeling so desirable; and thus, by free and familiar intercourse, drawing still closer the bonds of union. The proceeds of the Department have enabled it heretofore to keep pace with the growing wants and wishes of the people. The aggregate amount of postage has not diminished; on the contrary, from 1824 to the present time, it has been increasing, and there is every reason to believe it will continue to increase. But the demands on the Department for the last few years have been such as could not be resisted. For additional accommodation, the Postmaster General yielded, (as your committee believe, prudently,) by the more frequent running of the stages, and the increase of speed, the changing of horse transportation into stage, wherever and whenever it could be done with propriety; this additional and necessary expenditure, with the establishment by Congress, in 1828, of many new routes, exhibits at once the true cause of the expenditures exceeding the receipts of the last year. It is not apprehended but that the Department will be perfectly able to sustain and continue the existing accommodation, without being obliged to make any material changes; nor is additional aid asked for by the Department. But your committee. are aware, if the bill now before Congress for the establishment of new routes, involving an estimated expenditure of about $86,000, should pass, (and of which there can be but little doubt,) it will not only subject the Department to inconvenience, but to serious embarrassment. To avoid embarrassment, it seems necessary, to enable the Department still to keep pace with the wants of the country, that an appropriation by Congress should be made equal to those wants. Without it, the additional burden of the bill now before Congress will, necessarily, compel the Department to resort to the unpleasant and disagreeable exercise of the powers vested in it, with the view of making the receipts equal the expenditures, of lessening the frequency of the running of the stages, and changing again the stage transportation into horse. The confusion and discontent of which such a state of things would be productive must be obvious and apparent to all. This result your committee are desirous of avoiding. Viewing, as they do, the establishment of the General Post Office by the Goverument,not as intended for revenue purposes, but aloue for the benefit of the people, hoping it would be able to sustain itself; it has done so, and the hopes and expectations of the Government have been more than realized. It supplies now 8.004 post offices, paying to those deputy postmasters near $600,000, and paying about $1,100,000 for the transportation of the mail, travelling 115,000 miles; and has deposited in the treasury, at different times, the aggregate sum of $1,103,063. This amount your committee view as belonging properly to the Department, and applicable to its wants when it may be needed and called for. Asking of Congress an appropriation is nothing more than a request that the Department be permitted to withdraw from the treasury a portion of those deposites made by itself. Could the appropriation asked for be considered as a charge on the treasury derived from other sources, they would be disposed to stop short, and rather recommend a curtailment of the expenses and accommodations. The committee have it in their power to lay before Congress a fair and full exhibit of the Post Office Department from the year 1789 to April, 1829, being a communication from the Postmaster General in reply to certain interrogatories addressed to him, and which is hereto annexed as a part of this report; showing the aggregate amount of expenditures and receipts during the administration of each Postmaster General; under whose administration moneys were paid into the treasury; by whom moneys have been drawn from the treasury; the condition of the Departinent at this time, and its ability to put into operation the many new routes in a bill reported. The committee, having maturely considered the present and past condition of the Department, the numerous calls for additional accommodation, and the many sections of the country as yet badly supplied, and others not at all, do not doubt the propriety of recommending to Congress the appropriation of $86,000, to enable the Department to put into operation the many new routes in the bill now before Congress. With that sum it is confidently believed, hereafter, that the proceeds of the General Post Office will be amply sufficient to meet the expenditures. SIR: GENERAL POST OFFICE Department, March, 1830. To the several interrogatories contained in your letter of the 3d instant, I have the honor to reply: Interrogatory 1.-" Since the establishment of the Post Office Department, what has been the aggregate amount of the expenditures and receipts, under and during the administration of each Postmaster General, the balance for or against?" The Post Office Department was established in 1775, at the commencement of the revolutionary struggle; but there are no documents in its archives that show the statement of its receipts or disbursements prior to the establishment of the present Government, in 1789. Since that period, the aggregate amount of its revenues and disbursements, during the administration of each Postmaster General, has been as follows: SAMUEL OSGOOD, Postmaster General from October, 1789, to August, 1791. Amount of revenue during this period, was Amount of expenditure, Balance in favor of the Department, $84,229 $15,392 TIMOTHY PICKERING, Postmaster General from August, 1791, to January, 1795. Amount of revenue, Amount of expenditure, 301,138 Balance in favor of the Department, 84,594 JOSEPH HABERSHAM, Postmaster General from February, 1795, to November, 1801. Amount of revenue, Amount of expenditure, 1,668,755 Balance in favor of the Department, 432,909 GIDEON GRANGER, Postmaster General from November, 1801, to February, 1814. Making the total amount of revenue, from 1789 to April 1, 1829, Total amount of balances in favor of the Department, $26,001,792 $1.693,958 Of this amount of balances in favor of the Department, there has been paid into the treasury at sundry times, $1,103,063 The total amount of losses, during the above period of forty years. from bad debts, counterfeit money, 310,830 280,065 Interrogatory 2.-"How much, and under whose administration, have moneys been paid into the treasury?" There have been paid into the treasury the following sums, viz: Interrogatory 3. Have there been, at any time, drawn by the Department any moneys deposited in the treasury; if so, by whom? There have not, at any time, been drawn by the Department any moneys from the treasury which it has deposited there. All the expenses of transportation, and others incident to the Department, have been defrayed by its own resources, without any appropriation at any time to meet them from the treasury. Interrogatory 4.- Is the condition of the Department such, at this time, that it could meet and put into operation the many new routes proposed, without inconvenience and embarrassment?" The expenses of the Department for the first half of the last year were $50,000 more than the whole amount of the revenue; and, as the responsibilities of the Department were incurred by contracts entered into before the close of 1828, it was not in the power of the Department, in that good faith which it ought to observe, to prevent a continuation of the depression; so that the expenses of the Department for the year 1829 were not less than $100,000 greater than its current revenue for the same period. Under these circumstances, it must be obvious that the greatest possible frugality is necessary in the management of the concerns of the Department, and without any considerable improvement in mail facilities for, it is believed, at least three years to come, to make the Department sustain itself in its present operations, without any increase of the number of mail routes. The new routes proposed amount to upwards of two hundred in number, varying greatly in their length, and in the expense which they would occasion. It is difficult to estimate the expense with accuracy; but, from a comparison of them with others of similar magnitude which have been formerly established, it is believed the amount would not greatly vary from $86,000 a year. During the first year of their operation, they would add very little to the revenue; probably not much beyond the expenses incident to the establishing of the post offices which they would require, and the procuring of the necessary mail bags, locks, keys, &c., which would be necessary for their operation. Many of the proposed routes are highly important, and most of them would be found convenient to the districts of country immediately interested in them; but, if the law shall pass for their establishment, the only means by which the Department can avoid the highest degree of embarrassment, will be to curtail the facilities which are now given upon existing routes, by dimin ishing the frequency of trips, and by substituting horse for stage transportation. It is not, however, apprehended that the existing state of the Department, and a continuation of the accommodations already in operation, though its expenses for the present greatly exceed its current income, will require any assistance beyond what will arise from its progressive increase of revenue; but, as before stated, with adequate vigilance, the resources of the Department are believed to be equal to its present exigencies. Interrogatory 5.-"Are there not numerous applications to the Department for additional accommodations which it would be proper to grant; if so, to what extent? and what amount, in addition to the receipts of the Department, would, in your opinion, be necessary to effect those objects?" There are numerous additional accommodations loudly called for, which, under other circumstances, it would be highly proper to grant. Among the most important are the following: A more frequent and speedy communication between the seat of Government of Vermont, and those of the other New England States. A daily stage communication between the seat of Government in Pennsylvania and the seat of the General Gov ernment. More direct and frequent communications between the western parts of Pennsylvania and the western parts of Virginia. A daily communication by stages between Lake Erie, through the State of Ohio, and Wheeling, on the Ohio river, in Virginia; and also an increased facility of intercourse between Chilicothe and the mouth of the Scioto river, in the State of Ohio. A speedy and frequent communication by stage of the seat of Government of Indiana with Columbus and Cincinnati, in Ohio, Frankfort, in Kentucky, and Vandalia, the seat of Government of Illinois, extending thence to St. Louis, in Missouri. A regular and frequent stage communication from Lexington, in Kentucky, and from Knoxville, in Tennessee, uniting at Newport, in Tennessee, and continuing to Ashville, in North Carolina; thence branching to the seats of Government of the States of North Carolina and South Carolina, thus connecting the southern and western States by an easy and certain intercourse. A stage communication between places of business in the eastern parts of North Carolina, especially between Newbern and Wilmington, and thence to Georgetown, in South Carolina. A communication by stage through the gold region, between Salem, Statesville, Morganton, and Rutherfordton, in North Carolina, and Greenville, in South Carolina. More frequent and expeditious communications by stage between Charleston, in South Carolina, and the northwestern parts of that State. A communication by stages between Athens, in Tennessee, and Athens, in Georgia, to render the connexion more complete between Georgia and the western States. An extension of the regular stage communication between the seats of Government of Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, through Huntsville, to the seat of Government of Alabama; and through Florence, to the seat of Gov ernment of Mississippi, and to Natchez, on the Mississippi river. A communication by stages from the seat of Government in Alabama, to Montgomery, and, by way of Cahawba, to Mobile. The establishment of a steamboat mail between Memphis, in Tennessee, and New Orleans, in Louisiana, to supply all the intermediate post offices on both sides of the Mississippi. |