ment, including the amount for which said drafts had been drawn, and recovered a judgment therefor; that he made no defence to the action, by reason of being misinformed as to the time of the sitting of the court in which the suit was pending; and prays relief from the judgment. The petition was presented to the House of Representatives on the 10th of February, 1818; was not acted upon, and has been presented several times since. The petitioner produced to the committee evidence that he paid to the attorney of the Government for the Kentucky district, on the 30th May, 1818, the full amount of the judgment recovered against him, amounting to the sum of $336 04, including costs. He has also produced several affidavits to the committee tending to prove the following facts, to wit: That James Westerfield was the mail carrier in the district of country in which the petitioner was postmaster; that he had drafts drawn by the Postmaster General in his favor on McBride in the year of 1811 or 1812: that McBride was a merchant, and one Hard was his partner, in 1809 and 1810, and had a store account on book against Westerfield, amounting to £14 16s. 8d.; that McBride and Hard dissolved their partnership; that McBride continued the business alone; that Westerfield continued to trade, and opened an account with McBride; that, in the fall of 1810, McBride sold Westerfield a horse at the price of $30 or $35, and also a saddle: that it was the understanding between them that Westerfield should have a credit at McBride's store, to be settled and paid by drafts, to be obtained by him from the Postmaster General, on McBride; that, from the books of McBride, there appears to be a balance against Westerfield of £54 08. 14d., and an entry in McBride's book, and in his handwriting. without date, opposite the account, "to be credited by drafts in the hands of Westerfield;" that the balance of McBride and Hard's account against Westerfield, as appears by their book, is £14 168. 8d.; that Westerfield was dissatisfied with the accounts of McBride; that, after the judgment was obtained and collected, the Postmaster General paid Westerfield his demand out of that money. The facts alleged in the petition, and attempted to be proved, admitting them to be fully proved, present two subjects for the consideration of the committee: ist. In regard to the sum of $108 45, claimed to have been recovered and received by the Postmaster General, by means of an erroneous statement of the account between the petitioner and the Post Office Department, the committee are of opinion that the petitioner has failed to furnish evidence that such error ever existed. 2d. In regard to the propriety of the conduct of the Postmaster General in suing and recovering from McBride, and paying to Westerfield, the amount of the two drafts, amounting to $145. The main reason urged by the petitioner against the conduct of the Postmaster General is, that the Government, by reason of the great delay which Westerfield had suffered in not returning the drafts protested, was legally discharged from all liability to Westerfield for the amount of the drafts; and that, therefore, the Postmaster General, representing the Government in this matter, was a volunteer in the unjust collection of that amount from the petitioner, to put into Westerfield's pocket, when he (Westerfield) was indebted to him in a sum equal, if not greater, than the amount of the drafts; and that justice required that Westerfield should have consented to the application of the drafts in the payment of so much of the demands of the petitioner against Westerfield. The committee do not deem it important either to affirm or deny the equity claimed as between the petitioner and Westerfield; but they do deny that it was the business of the Postmaster General to settle and adjust the private dealings and disputes between the petitioner and Westerfield. It was the duty of the Postmaster General as well to compel payment of the balance due from the petitioner at the close of his office, as also to pay Westerfield any balance that was due to him as the carrier of the mail; and that the returning of the drafts by Westerfield to the Department furnished sufficient evidence of their protest and non-payment to authorize the Postmaster General to consider them unpaid, and to institute legal proceedings against McBride for the collection of the amount; and that it did not become the Postmaster General, at his peril, to ascertain whether any, and what, equitable claims McBride might have had against Westerfield, arising in consequence of his having had such drafts: that if the petitioner has, or shall finally suffer a loss of the amount of his account against Westerfield, it is properly chargeable to his careless manner of transacting his own business, and not to the Government, and for which the Government is in no way responsible. The committee, therefore, report against granting the prayer of the petitioner. 22d CONGRESS.] No. 115. [1st SESSION. A DEPUTY POSTMASTER, WHO WAS PROSECUTED AND CONVICTED OF A LIBEL, ASKS REIMBURSEMENT OF DAMAGES AND COSTS. COMMUNICATED TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, JANUARY 25, 1832. Mr. CHARLES C. JOHNSTON made the following report: The Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads, to whom was referred the petition of John Trafton, have examined the same, and report thereon: That the petitioner states in his petition that he now is, and has been for ten years last past, postmaster at Emery's Mills, in the county of York, in the State of Maine; that, in the summer of 1828, a certain Samuel Batchelder contracted with the Post Office Department to transport the mail on route No. 563, including the post office of which the petitioner was postmaster. That the petitioner, knowing the said Samuel Batchelder to be subject to fits and intemperate in his habits, and not fit to be trusted with the conveyance of the mail; and believing himself required by his duty as postmaster, under the twenty-first section of the eighteenth instruction from the Post Office Department, dated March 11, 1828, to make a representation of the character and habits of the said contractor Batchelder, he, with others, made such a representation of the character and habits of the said Batchelder as induced the Postmaster General to deprive the said Batchelder of his contract for transporting the mail. That the said Batchelder afterwards brought an action against the petitioner for a false and scandalous libel for his making the said communication to the Post Office Department; and that, after various proceedings in the court of common pleas for the county of York aforesaid, in which court the action had been brought, the cause was taken up by appeal to the supreme judicial court of the State of Maine, where, after a full examination and argument, a verdict and judgment was rendered against the petitioner for the sum of $125 damages and $170 41 costs. The petitioner states that his costs, expended by him in his defence, amounted to $382 72. The petitioner prays that an act may pass, refunding to him the amount of the damages and costs of the said action, averring that he has paid up the full amount thereof, and that he has incurred this heavy loss by a discharge of his duty as postmaster. Your committee deem it altogether unnecessary to examine the question how far the Government is bound to reimburse a public officer for damages recovered against him by individuals, for acts done by him under the authority of the Government, or in the discharge of his ordinary duties. This case involves no such inquiry, for it sufficiently appears here that the judgment was recovered by the said Batchelder against the petitioner for a false and scandalous libel. It appears, from the record, that the only and proper issue made up between the parties was, whether the representation made by the petitioner to the Post Office Department was true or libellous. The cause was fairly investigated, and decided on the production and examination of a great number of witnesses on each side. The testimony of the witnesses was contradictory, and the jury was the only proper tribunal to weigh the credit of the witnesses on each side. The jury, with the whole case before them, decided that the petitioner had made a false and libellous communication to the Post Office Department against the plaintiff. The judge who tried the cause, in effect, certifies to these facts: he does not say that he disapproved of the verdict; he only states that he expected a different one. It was competent to the court to have awarded a new trial if the verdict was against evidence, but no motion for a new trial was submitted by the defendant's counsel, who seemed to acquiesce in the correctness of the verdict. It appears, therefore, to your committee, that the petitioner has incurred the penalty of the violation of private rights, without even a pretence to the protection of the Government; they, therefore, report the following resolution: Resolved, That the said petition of the said John Trafton is unreasonable, and that the same be rejected. All which is respectfully submitted. POSTAGE ON NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS. 1 [1st SESSION. To the honorable the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled: The memorial of a number of citizens of Boston, engaged or interested in the publication of newspapers and other periodical works, respectfully shows: That your memorialists being informed that the subject of the reduction of postage is now under discussion before the Congress of the United States; and being engaged or interested in the publication and circulation of various periodical works, both in the newspaper and pamphlet form, which are usually conveyed by mail; and being also persuaded that this question is one of vital importance to the progress of the knowledge of our country, would respectfully submit the following considerations: While your memorialists cannot unite with those who desire the entire abolition of postage, and believe that the security of transmission and delivery would be increased by giving to each postmaster a direct interest in the safety of every package, they would respectfully offer some reasons which appear to them decisive in favor of a reduction of postage on newspapers and other periodical publications. It appears from the late report of the Postmaster General that, during the past year, the Post Office Department has produced a nett revenue of $47,000. It appears also that, in former years, there has been a surplus revenue, which has been applied to the establishment of new routes. It is also stated that there are profits derived from the transmission of letters and periodicals on the great routes, which are constantly applied to pay the expenses of unproductive routes. In addition to this, it is well known that a large mass of public documents, both written and printed, are continually conveyed by mail, free of postage, to the Government, and to its officers in every part of our country. All these, your memorialists conceive, are objects of universal interest, which ought to be accomplished at the public expense. In contradiction to this simple principle of a republican government, your memorialists find, on examining the facts above stated, that those who transmit and receive letters or newspapers and other periodicals by mail, on the great and productive routes, not only pay for the transportation of their own packages, but for those of the Govern ment; not merely for the entire transportation on these routes, but for the deficiencies of others which are unproductive; and, in addition to this, they have paid during the past year a direct tax of $47,000, over and above these expenses; and in former years a sum sufficient to defray the expenses of establishing new routes. Your memorialists would respectfully present this as an unequal distribution of the public burdens. They appeal to your honorable body whether it be just that that portion of the community who receive and transmit communications by mail should be taxed exclusively for the transmission of public documents, more than for any other expense of the Government. They would also respectfully inquire whether it be just that the charge for establishing new routes, or sustaining those on which there is too little intercourse to support them, should fall entirely on those who employ the mail on the great routes, rather than upon the Government and the country at large, for whose benefit they are equally designed. Your memorialists would, therefore, respectfully request that your honorable body would consider whether, by charging to the country at large, through the treasury, the expense of transmitting the public documents, of establishing new post routes, and of maintaining those on which the communication is not sufficient for their support, there would not be more exact justice done; and whether there would not remain a considerable balance to be deducted from the charge on periodical publications, both in the newspaper and pamphlet forms, which now operates as an onerous tax on knowledge. But, in addition to the claims of public justice, your memorialists conceive they may appeal to your honorable body for a reduction of postage on newspapers and pamphlet periodicals on grounds which involve our national interests. Without the means of transmitting knowledge with ease, and rapidity, and cheapness, a nation, however free in name, must become the blind followers of the wealthy and the well-informed, or the tools of the designing. Every means, therefore, which renders the access to knowledge more difficult or more expensive, directly increases the power of the few, and diminishes the influence of the many, and thus tends to weaken the foundations of our Gov ernment. Your memorialists would, therefore, respectfully petition that, at a moment when the prosperous state of our finances allows the duties on some of the luxuries of life to be diminished, this virtual tax on the knowledge which gives life and breath to a republic may also be reduced. Upon those cheap periodicals which are especially designed for the mass of the community, this tax is nearly equal to the original cost of the work. But, while your memorialists consider the reduction proposed as of high importance to the improvement and character of our country, they do not desire to see it accomplished at the expense of retarding the progress of the mail; and they have found the apprehension entertained by some, that the number of periodicals would be so much increased by a reduction of the postage as to render their transportation, at the present rate of travelling, imprac ticable. After a deliberate consideration of this question, they are persuaded that, if the evil should at first appear great, it would rapidly diminish, from the fact that publications of an inferior and unworthy character would give place to those which should be found most valuable, as soon as the rate of postage should be equalized. Your memorialists would also respectfully suggest that, in their view, means may be adopted to prevent all danger of overburdening the mails on the great routes, where alone it exists. Among these are the diminution of the number of passengers carried by the mail on these routes, where the public are already supplied with ample accomnodations of this kind, and substituting, in the place of passengers and baggage, an equal weight of newspapers and other periodicals, to be conveyed by the contractors at the same rate as passengers, as is now done in the mails on the continent of Europe. That your memorialists might not be misled by general statements, they have collected accounts of the number of sheets of pamphlet periodicals, and estimates of the number of newspapers, sent abroad from this city in the mail and by stage conveyance, with the comparative expense of each method of transportation, estimating the stage conveyance at the same rate for an equal weight as is paid for a passenger and his baggage in the mail stage. From the estimates made in regard to newspapers, it appears that 1,275,000 sheets of newspapers pay a postage of $16,500, or $10,277 79 more than would be paid for their transportation in the same carriage which conveys the mail. It appears from precise statements that 177,501 sheets of pamphlet periodicals are sent by mail under 100 miles, and pay a postage of $2.662 51; while the transportation of the same, at the same rate as mail passengers, would only amount to $266 25. or one-tenth of the postage actually paid: that 254,992 sheets are sent over 100 miles, at a postage of $6,374 80, which, if sent in the mail stage 300 miles, on the average, would cost $1,147 50. On the whole, it appears that on 1,200,000 sheets of newspapers sent from this city, $10,200 is paid more than the transportation by mail stage; and that on 432,000 sheets of pamphlet periodicals, $7,500 excess is paid. In this way a tax is levied on the newspapers and periodicals of this city of $17,700 per annum. In the case of one publisher, your memorialists find that while he issues 114,570 sheets, on which a postage of $2,231 25 is charged, he would actually pay only $372 91 for the transportation of this number of sheets to the same distances by stage conveyance; showing the operation of this system on individual enterprise, which is thus compelled to pay a tax to the Post Office Department of $1,838 34 annually. Should the same number of sheets be issued in the newspaper form, the postage paid would only amount to $1,402 50, or one-third less than the price now paid, while the weight to be carried would be increased one-half. In this way a virtual penalty of $827 73 is annually imposed on the periodical publications of a single house for publishing in the pamphlet form; and a premium to this amount, equivalent nearly to the whole average profit of pamphlet periodicals, is presented to encourage publishing in the newspaper form, and burdening the mail with additional weight. In making these statements, your memorialists do not forget that considerable expense will be necessary for distributing periodicals, the amount of which, however, they are not able to estimate to their own satisfaction. Your memorialists would also respectfully propose, as a means of relieving the mail from all those documents of considerable weight, whether written or printed, public or private, for which rapidity is not important, but which are forwarded by mail because no other secure conveyance is offered, the establishment of a subordinate mail chest, travelling perhaps at half the present rate of our mails, and conveying packages of books, manuscripts, and periodicals, of a limited weight, at a fair rate of carriage. They would also represent that serious inconvenience is often experienced by publishers, editors, and authors, as well as other individuals, from the fact that, owing to the neces sary division of the mail contracts, no proprietor can engage to transmit a package beyond a certain point; and that important packages have been delayed for weeks, or entirely lost, and the circulation of knowledge greatly obstructed. Your memorialists would therefore pray that, in this or some other mode, those facilities may be afforded for the easy and secure transmission of such articles which are enjoyed by all countries in central Europe, and by which the interests of truth and the cause of justice may often be materially promoted. Your memorialists deem it superfluous to attempt to show that the knowledge conveyed by larger publications is not less valuable to the people of the United States, in enlarging and elevating those minds which are to form or direct our Government, than that contained in our newspapers, in applying those principles and rousing the people to action. On the same grounds, they cannot but consider the great distinction made in the rates of postage between newspapers and other periodicals as not well founded. The less frequent publication cannot be deemed a sufficient reason; nor yet the difference of form, or the issuing of several sheets in a single day, instead of several successive days. The discussion of the same topics in a newspaper and a periodical work cannot be supposed to render their value essentially different: the one being more direct and immediate, but more transient, in its effects; the other less rapid, but more permanent, in its influence. Nor is it maintained that those subjects of science and art, of literature and education, which newspapers cannot fully discuss, are not essential to our national character and prosperity. Both classes of periodicals your memorialists regard as indispensable to our national welfare, to prevent our falling behind the rest of the world in knowledge and improvement. It is believed to be capable of proof, that so long as a periodical has not existed on any particular subject, we have continued to be in arrear of other nations on that subject. Your memorialists cannot do justice to the pamphlet periodicals, without stating that, in consequence of the small size and dryness of the paper, each sheet weighs less than the average of newspapers; and that it might on this ground be claimed that, as they are less burdensome to the mail, they should not be charged with a higher rate. They ought also to state that pamphlet periodicals are not allowed the same reduction of postage when printed on an enlarged sheet which is conceded to newspapers. It will appear from the document herewith submitted, that while 432,493 sheets of pamphlet periodicals, weighing 21,625 pounds, pay a postage of $9,037 31, an equal number of newspapers would pay only $5,593 42, leaving an excess of charge on the pamphlet periodicals issued from this city alone of $3,437 89; and that an equal weight of newspapers, from the best estimates which can be made, are only charged $3,698 72, leaving an excess of $5,338 59 postage on the pamphlet periodicals. In addition to this, editors of newspapers receive all other papers free of postage, while those of other periodicals are refused this privilege. Your memorialists trust that at this period of the world, and in this country, it will be felt that it is the duty of the Government to emulate some of the enlightened Governments of Europe in rendering every species of knowledge accessible to every citizen of the United States, in facilitating the operations of those on whom it devolves to circulate information, and in removing every unnecessary obstacle in the way of those who are anxious to render themselves wiser men and better citizens. BOSTON, January 17, 1832. The Committee on the Post Offices and Post Roads, to whom was referred the petition of George Bowen, report: That the petitioner sets forth that, in making and filling a bond for contract, by mistake, the Post Office Department had inserted a sum fifty dollars less than his bid; and, without particularly examining the bond as to the correctness of the sum inserted, he had signed it, not doubting its correctness. The Department not feeling that they were authorized to correct the mistake, he has received fifty dollars per year less than in justice he should, for four years, the term of his engagement with the Department. The committee, having ascertained at the Post Office Department that the true bid given by Mr. Bowen was for fifty dollars more than was inserted in his bond and paid to him, have therefore resolved that he is entitled to relief, and accordingly report a bill. GENERAL POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, SIR: OFFICE OF MAIL CONTRACTS, March 6, 1832. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 24th ultimo, requesting information relative to the amount paid Mr. George Bowen for carrying the mail on route No. 218, Edgefield, S. C.. to Greenville; and, in reply, am instructed to inform you that Mr. Bowen's bid for that route is now on file at the United States Treasury Department; that the original amount of his bid was $600, but was afterwards altered to $550, and was so accepted by the Department. In filling his contract for this and other routes, $500 appears to have been embraced for the route in question, and Mr. Bowen was paid for his services $500 per annum from January 1, 1827, to December 31, 1830, being four years. Very respectfully, Hon. H. W. CONNOR, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. O. B. BROWN, Superintendent. 22d CONGRESS.] No. 118. [1st SESSION. FURTHER CREDITS CLAIMED BY A DEFAULTING DEPUTY POSTMASTER. COMMUNICATED TO THE HOUse of represeNTATIVES, APRIL 11, 1832. Mr. CHARLES C. JOHNSTON, from the Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads, to whom was referred the petition of William Newsom, late postmaster at Norfolk, in Virginia, reported thereon: That the petitioner states that he was appointed postmaster at Norfolk, Virginia, in December, 1803, and entered on the duties of his office on the 1st day of January, 1804; that he continued to discharge the duties of his office from that time until the 13th of June, 1819, when he resigned his appointment; and that, during all the period of his acting as postmaster, he was subjected to large expenses, in the employment of clerks, the rent of office, fuel, candles, &c.; for none of which he ever received any compensation from the General Post Office. The petitioner asks now compensation for these necessary expenses, which, he alleges, he has never received; he also asks that an error in the settlement of his accounts with the Post Office Department, arising, as he alleges, from his being furnished with improper blanks, by which he was subjected to loss, be corrected, and the amount of the error refunded to him. On applying to the Post Office Department for information on this subject, your committee have received two letters from the Postmaster General, dated, respectively, the 21st of March and the 4th of April instant, together with a copy of the account of the petitioner on the books of the Post Office Department, which accompany this report; from which it appears that the petitioner, during the whole time of his continuance in office, received the whole amount of the commissions accruing on postage received at his office, as well when they exceeded as when they fell short of the sum of $2,000 per annum. He cannot possibly receive more, under any color of law. The petitioner has offered neither explanation nor proof in relation to the alleged mistake in the settlement of his accounts, nor can your committee find any reason to suppose that such mistake was ever, in fact, made; your committee, therefore, beg leave to conclude this report with the following resolution: SIR: Resolved, That the prayer of the petitioner is unreasonable, and that the same be rejected. POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, March 21, 1832. In reply to your inquiry in reference to the memorial of William Newsom, late postmaster at Norfolk, Virginia, I have the honor to state, that his annual commissions or emoluments, from 1803 to 1819, varied from $1,470 to $2,352; a detailed statement of which will be furnished, if desirable. The whole amount of these commissions has been allowed to him, as well when they exceeded as when they fell short of $2,000 per annum. As the commissions of postmasters are fixed by law, and as Mr. Newsom has received the whole amount which accrued at his office during his whole period of service, he could not possibly receive more, under any color of law. His papers are herewith returned. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, Hon. CHARLES C. JOHNSTON, At Mrs. Arguelles's. W. T. BARRY. SIR: POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, April 4, 1832. I have the honor to enclose an abstract of the returns from the post office at Norfolk, Virginia, agreeably to your request, exhibiting a complete synopsis of every account rendered by William Newsom, from January 1, 1804, to April 1, 1819. The column headed "balances due by postmaster" exhibits the amount due from, and charged to, Mr. Newsom at the end of every quarter, after deducting his commissions and all allowances. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, sir, your obedient servant, Hon. CHARLES C. JOHNSTON, House of Representatives. W. T. BARRY. Abstract of quarterly returns rendered by William Newsom, Esq., late postmaster at Norfolk, Virginia, from January 1, 1804, to April 1, 1819, inclusive. |