The Post Office

The Michigan Argus has an article on the Post Office, contending that the system is a perfect nu isance. It maintains that the letter postage is entirely too high. A barrel of flour is transported from Ann Arbor to New York for one dollar. If a letter weighs one ounce, the postage is also one dollar. Al this rate, the transportation of a barrel of flour would come to $3,392. ít operates as a tax to support the franking privilege of post masters and members of Congress. The compensation is too high, The Argus proposes that the distribution of letters sliould be disposed of in the same way that the transportation of mail ia contracted for - to the lowest bidder. Another crying evil is the inequality of the postage on Newspapers. The smallest sized sheet that may be prir.tcdin Monroe, and sent into Ohio, a distance of 30 mile?, pays more postage than a mammoth sheet sent from N. York 500 miles into the interior of that State. The postage of a paper from this village to Toledo is the same as it would be if sent to New York or Boston. We concur with the Argus in the opmion tfiat a reformation in that deparlment is much needed. The rate of letter postage is akogether too high. It was established when roads were new, and travelling tedious nnd expensive. It is the opinión of a large portion of our best business men, that a reduclion of the present rates one half would not diminish the revenue materially, f at all, because the number of letters would be so much augmented, while the ad ditional expense of trunsportntion would betrifling. But there is one reason why the Post Office lax presses so hcavily upon our citizens to which the Argus has not referred. It is obvious that the revenue mus! come chiefly from those par's of the nation where the intelligonce and business are fiaund. It wc make somo investigalion upon this principie, we shall find that slavert takes something throujjh this department from the pockets of every noihern freeman. For instance, compare the Post Office revenue in Aiassachusetts and North Carolina, the population of which uro about equol. According lo the statements of the P. M. General, in 1833. The receipts in Massachusetts were $134,444 45 wti n jvf, Carolina were, 35,722 53 Dead loss on account of slavery, $1 18,721 92 j North Cnrolin is the largerst State, and has j 16,000 more people. But a third part of her, poope are elixvcs, and do not usc tbo Poet]Office, while a Jarge proportion of tho adult wlútea cannot read. What but slavery h;n3ers them from being as much of a reading people as thoso of Massachusetts? But the tnailsmust be carried n both States: let us look at the expense of transportation. In 18S3, The tronsportation of the mail in N. Carolina cost $100,129 80 " M Maas. 84,426 36 Dverpaid on account of slavery, $J 0,703 4-1 In 1833, tho mail was carried n Massa:husetts 1,837,4?5 miles for O146,160. In N. Carolina, 1,508,635 miles cost $163,595.- Thatistosay: 318,920 less miles cost 17,435 more dollars! For the yenr ending Jone 30, 1841, the excess of expenditure over revenue in North Carolina was (Lr one hindred and $even honsand and thirly nine dollars and sevenly four cents, Jjfi all of which was footed up n the Post Office bilis. The exeís of reverme over al! expenditures in New York alone for the same year was $334,824,4! Or, if you please, compare the aggregate cvcnue of rhe Slave and Free States. In 333, The revenue of the Free States was $1,092,061 00 " ■ " „ Slave States 603,270 42 Deficiency of the Slave States $488,784 58 Thus the receipts ofthe south fall offnearly one half. "But hovv was the whole sum expended?' asks the reader. We will teil you. The free States received $1,987,670 58 The Slave " 1,005,518 75 Difference, $82,151 83 Do you understand it! fíj" The Southern revenue feil short of their expenditures 484,393,58, all of which the North paid. LQ If the North had had a Post Office establishment of their own, their postage in 1333 i would have been only about one half as high as it was. There is a similar defici ency every year, sometimes more, semeíimes less. In 1841, this deficiency of the Slave States nmounted to no less than $576,627 10, and the Department had become so involved in debt, that at an Extra Session of Congress, half a million of dollars were appropriated by Congress to cancel its liabilities. About four fiflhs of tliis,be it remembered, was contributeü by the Free States! 'But are not the south able to pay their own postage bilis, without saddling them on to us?' you will ask.In one sense, they are able; in other rea pects, fhey are not. The mail must be dragged over their miserable roods by somebody; and horse-racing, garnbhng, cock-fijhting, hunting, fishing, dueJing-, women whipping and laziness vviJJ carry iheir mails but a very litlle ways. They have but three sou rees on which they can rely, viz: 1. They must whip the requisite amount out of their slaves. This they have not been able to do. 2. Gousfe it ont of the free States, by takfrom the Post Office treasury nearly twice as much as they put into it. This they do e very year. 3. When all other resources fail, they coax it out of the General Government, es they did in 1841, when a bonus of half a miliion was given them. We say given thein, because the deficiency wasentirely theirs; the Northern Post Office having more than supported itself. We hope the Northern Press will discuss the subject of Post-office reform in all its length and breadth; and let every voter who pays a postaee remember, thateven under the present system, were it not for slavert, hia bill would be but about half as high as it now is.