Farmers' gazette, and Cheraw advertiser. (Cheraw, S.C.) 1839-1843, June 30, 1841, Image 1
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VOLUME VI. CHERAW. SOUTH-CAROLINA, WEDNESDAY, JUNE $0, 1841. NUMBER 3* 1
. # 7*
?i i t -
By 18. MAC LEAH. I
Tuucs:?Published weekly at three dollars a
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. Twe new subscribers inay take the paper at
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in town, may pay a year's subscription with ten
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A year's subscription always due in advance.
Papers not discontinued to solvent subscribers
in arrears.
Advertisements net exceeding 16 lines inserted
r one dollar the first time, and fifty cents each
ubeequent time. For insertions at interval* of
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of insertions is not marked on the copy, the
advertisement will be inserted, and charged til
trdered out.
< KjT The postage must be paid on letters to the
editor on the business of the office.
A &&? GiPitm
From the Western Farmer.
SILK.
Mount Pleasant. March. 16,1841.
To 3f*. : Dear Sir,?Mr. Gill
has just handed me yours of the 10th, and
I feel unspeakable pleasure in answering
you. I am always willing and ready to
give that information necessary to the
advancement and final prosperity of the
silk business in this country. After be.
* ing engaged in the silk business for the
last 40 years, in London, Economy, Pa.,
and Mt. Pleasant, in all its various branch.
es( standings and bearings, I flatter my.
elf my remarks may be taken as facts,
founded on a long and chequered experi.
once. After the pertinent and judicious
remarks made, by G. W. Gill upon silk
raising, and published in the Western
Farmer and Gardener, I should betray
weakness were I to add any thing relative
to that department. Still, as a pioneer
in the silk business, I have many oppon.
ents to combat with, and much prejudice
to remove, that stand as barriers to its
more extended operations. Many good
but mistaken gentleman have said to me.
" What is the use of raising silk in this
country ? we can never get it wove as in
France and England." I would invite
those gentlemen to come to Mt. Pleasant
and see six looms in operation on plain
ilk, flowering silks, silk velvet, dec., &c.
From this place I would entreat them to
take a trip to George Rapp's establish,
rnent, Economy, Pa., where my son su.
perintends, and behold what an eminence
they have arrived at. Neither France
nor England can surpass their machinery
01 silk fabrics. About four years back 1
put in action for them 2looms, silk velvet,
and hat plush: now they have 6 ; and 18
months back there *vas not a loom in Mt.
Pleasant, and now 6. Surely this must
convince the most perverse and obstinate
mind, of the practicability of weaving up
our own raising. What has been done
here and at Economy, can be done almost
anywhere in the Union. We have lately
purchased a considerable quantity of reeled
silk from G-.G. Stockly, Esq., Cleaveland,
Ohio; his production speaks volumes
*. /vf nr?i?? imnn his ?vprtinn<i. We have
ft ? t -
purchased considerable quantities from
various parts, but his exceeds all. For
90 years in England, I have had pass
through my hands 200 to 250 lbs of silk
weekly. (I appeal for the truth of this to
Wm. Orange, Esq. Cincinnatti) from a
Bengal single, to a Piedmont; and I do |
uot hesitate in giving the preference to |
the Cleveland produce. Upon the whole, |
from what we have raised ourselves and
bought of others, I am constrained to give
the decided preference to the American
silk; and when the worms are fed upon
the Italian or Multicauiis mulberries, the
silk excels all I have seen from France,
China, Italy or Piedmont, in scent and
brilliancy. I am aware the loss of scent
or fragrance in England, may be accoun
ted for by the length of voyage and tne
?i!k oftentimes exposed to the saline air :
but the brilliancy I believe is peculiar to
American alone. This ought to be a
great encouragement to those who have
commenced, to persevere, and an inducement
to others to begin, knowing ultim
ately it will he a source of wealth to this
country ; and if our state legislatures will
give the silk raisers their smiles ana encouragement,
and Congress will afford its
parental protection, we have nought to
fear from any foreign competitor, or competitors.
Let them try their worst, or do
their best, they never can compete with
us. I ain happy to find you are about
commeucing this season ; I wish you, sir,
success and prosperity, and have no doubt
of it ; for success is sure if conducted in
oronor mnnnpr.
I""!""
We purahase cocoons to any amount,
provided the crysalis is killed by
suffocation, either by camphor, carbonated
gas from charcoal, orsulphur; the latter
I prefer, as sulphur is congenial to silk,
and it is done much quicker and cheaper,
?great injury has been done to good
cocoons by baking them and steaming ;
the former draws out the staple from the
silk?the latter causes it to flake off* when
reeling. This ought to be universally
known. Cocoons perforated by the miller,
and doubled and indented, are useless
- - j i
to us,?reeled siik we also buy; but me >
article we want for satins, velvet, &c.,
A- must have exceed from 8 to 10 fibi.a.
All our own silk we reel, we never
suffer more than 6 to 8, for one thread ;
for this kind of silk we give the Phila.
price?from $5,50 to 86. 00 per lb? 16
?z.?Cocoons, as before named, $4. 00
per bushel; if flossed, the measure struck
off; if not, piled up in the form of a cone.
Wo have not (yet concluded aa Tespects
having an agent in Cincinnati, but as we
thing of increasing the number of looms
shortly, we shall establish something of
the kind you name. But this need not
be any hindrance, as we are constantly
receiving from all parts, cocoons packed
in flour barrels, directed to John Bayne,
Esq., Portland, near, Warren, Jefferson
>Co., 0., for G. W. Gill. Portland is on
the river bank, 7 miles from Mt. Pleasant.
Mr. Gill's wagons go to that place every
day, and bring home what's there. When
you first start probably you may not be
able to reel so finea9 I have described.
Should the silk be fuller, we will purchase
it, say $4. 50 to $5. 50 as the silk may
turn out,?we have no eggs to spare, as
we intend this season to raise 2 millions
of worms?the single crop worm, will only
produce 1 crop, but the two crop worms,
2 crops prebabiy 3; but the latter cjop is
not of mnch account.?I strongly recom*
mend Dennis's Silk Manual to your notice
; it is the mo9t coincise and judici*
! ous treaties I have seen ; the price is 25
! cts. We expect some on for sale shortly.
The space for worms is entirely discretionI
al, as some worms are much larger than
others ; but there is nothing lost by giving
plenty of room : keep them clean, well
ventilated, and never touch them with
the hand if possible. I recommend the
Burlington feeding frame above all others.
Thus, sir, I have endeavored to answer
your inquiries ; any further information
you need; dont be backward to write. I
have upon the average 8 letters to answer
every week, from Nashville to Maryland.
Every state almost, seems alive to the silk
business. Any remarks you may see cal*
culated to encourage and stimulate, or the
whole if you please, is at your disposal to
publish in the Western Farmer; my respects
to those gentleman the Editors.
Yours, JOHN FOX.
From the Western Farmer & Gardener.
CATALPA POSTS.
Mt. Carmel, 111., March 8,1841. i
General Harrison some years 8go, from
his residence on the Wabash, had enter*
tained a high opinion of the vast importance
to the farmers of Ohio and Kentucky,
and of the great West generally,
growing the Catalpa or Catawba tree for
post and rail fences: his remarks were
published in a Cincinnatti paper. Mr.
Jefferson, in his notes on Virginia, or in
some other, published forty or fifty years
ago, states that this tree was a native of
the Wabash valley. In 1816, *17, I
found them here; but no one, not apprized
of the fact, would take them at first
to be the Catalpa or Catawba tree, as
growing wild they look like the Linn.?
That the high recommendation given by
Gen. Harrison of the timber, is correct,
I shall now state, that on yesterday passing
the farm of Mr. Samuel Rigg, living
three miles west of this, I was shown a
post fixed for a barn, and a roof formed
and covered ever; yet the post had shot
out limbs; ail hut one was cut away,
which formed a shade for the stock, as
well as a post to sustain the barn ! An.
other man, about three miles from Mr.
Rigg, had fixed a similar post for a gate,
which has grown into a tree, and no trace
of the post is left! A tree, fallen across
a creok near Vincinnes, has formed a
bridge for the French for 70 years!?Mr.
Rigg informed me that his barn post had
lain exposed to the weather for several
weeks before it was planted.
Discovering that the mere posts of the
c
Catalpa, Catawba, or Warhoo, as it is
as it is called, talres root, I do most seriously
recommend to the farmers of Ohio
and Kentucky, to secure a sufficient
number of them to plant a grove ; when
planted close they grow well; and as the
eccrentric old man, Joe Craig of Kentucky,
said of the black Locust, that will
?*last forever," fsr he had tried it "three
times our Wabash Warhoo will out go
his Locusts as to durability ; for we have
fouud u^s, which from appearance had
reposed for ages, yet sound, and good
timber, lasting much longer than my
worthy vet eccentric old friend lived on
---J J
earth. But I have no doubt but he has
reached a better region than Kentucky,
however highly that was extolled by him
while Jiving!
IMPORTANT DISCOVERY?HOW TO RENDER
WOOD IMPERISHABLE AND INCOMBUSTIBLE.
From theGennesee Farmer.
Messrs. Editors :?A discovery of the
highest importance appears to have beeu
made in France, by wh'ch the long-sought
prerervation of wood from ordinary decay,
combustion, &c., is finally achieved.
This has been done by introducing into
the wood itself, through the agency of
,.u. in-. .L 1.-*
VCgCiaUlt* IIIC, IIIU MIIIMitllucs w it 11*it wii*
tribute to those important ends.
It has, indeed, been iong known to
amateur botanists, that the flowers of
house plants, &c., may be colored by the
introduction of coloring matter into the
organization of the plants; and that the
flavors of fruits may sometimes be injured
or destroyed by liquids poured upon the
ground, at the root of the tree, at the season
of their ripening, which are subse
quently imbibed into tie vegetable circu- i
lation. But theso i tela ted facts bare I
hitherto remained with their possessors,
without any useful suggestions baring
been djawn from them, like a multitude ,
of other scientific t;uths, which only require
to be aplied to the arts, to produce
the most important results of usefelness to
mankind. ' r
The announcement of this discovery
comes to us under circumstances Which
leave little doubt of its truth. The discoverer
having submitte d his results to the
Academy of Sciences, of Paris, a commit- '
sion was named from that highly scientific
body, to investigai e the subject, and
make a report thereon. In the hope of
usefulness, I have made a translation of
this report, (omitting sqiqe portions, as irrelvent
to my purpose,) for your paper,
which I subjoin; deeming it highly important
that experiments should be extensively
made, thleensuing summer, in conformity
with the discoverers' process, an
shown in the report ]t would be no trifling
result to secure tinber, in all situations,
from decay, and our buildings from
conflagration, at a cost so trifling as to be
within the reach of all.
A physician of Bordeaux, Mons. Bon .
cherie, has arrived at the all-important result
of rendering the tiseue of wood almost
entirely unattackahle by those causes of
destruction to which it is ordinarily sub.
subject; and at the same time his processes
render it much it ore suitable to the
various purposes to which it is applicable
in the arts.
A commission to the Academy of Sciences,
at Paris, having been named, to
examine the subject, Mons. Dumas, in the
name of the commissior, made in Decernher
last the folio tving report, as the resul t
of its investigations:
"The Academy has charged Messrs,
Arago, de Mibrsl, Poncelet, Gambey,
Audoin, Boussaingault, and myself, with
the examination of the Memoir of Mons.
Boucherie, relative to the preservation
of wood, the following in the result of our
labors:
"The Academy has jilready examined,
with the most lively interest, the preparations
of the aut hor; and it has before
it, at this moment, pieces of these so re.
markable that the task of its commission
is thereby greatly abr idgod. Mons. Bou
oherie proposes to render wood much
more durable, to preserve its elasticity, to
prevent the voriafions in volume which it
experiences through the agencies of dry
and humid atmospheres, to diminish its
combustibleness, to augment its tenacity
and its hardiness; and, Anally, to communicate
to it various and durable colors
and odors.
"To assume that all these exigencies
have been satisfied, a;nd that this has been
accomplished by methods, cheap, simple
and new; and consummated through the
agency of substances that are common,
and which bear but a low price, is to fix
the attention of the Academy, in a few
words, upon the important features of the
subject we are charged to examine.
"For the purpose of penetrating an entire
tree with oreservati*e. coloring, or
r ,
other matter, the author has recourse to
no mechanical, costly or complicated
means; he finds all the force of which he
has need, in that process, within the
tree itself,?the same force by which its
own sap is elevated and distributed
through its various parts. This, alone,
suffices to convey from of the trunk to the
very leaves all the liquids which he
wishes to iutroduce, provided that these
are maintained within certain limits of
chemical concentration. If a tree be
felled, while in full sap and leaf, and the
base of the trunk be at once plunged into
a vat or reservoir containing the liquid
which it is desired the timber shall im.
bibe, that liquid in the space of a few
days, will ascend to the very leaves, and
penetrate every part of the tissue, except
the heart of the tree, which in some
instances of great age and hardness, or
imperfect vitality, resists the absorption,
and is not penetrated,
"It is not entirely necessary that the
tree shall retain all its branches and leaves
during this process, although it is important
that those of the extreme top should
remain uninjured.
"It is not important that the tree shall
remain standing during the ODeration,
O o 1
which would not always be convenient :
it may be felled, and i ts but submurged
in the liquid it* is destined to absorb,
when this will find its way to every part.
"On the other hand, the tree may be
treated standing, if this be preferred; for
it is only necessary that cavities be cut
near the bottom, or the trunk be partially
severed bv a saw, and i:hai the parts thus
prepared be put in contact with the liquid
to ensure the desired result.
"This species of penetration, or ab? |
sorption, which is effected in a few days.!
.I ? *.i w 11 ' I
wunoiu enner aimcuiiy or iaoor, is,
well be readily seen, wholly different
from any means hitherto employed.?
Previous methods are well known to consist
of forcing the ingredients into the
pores of the wood, by powerful pressure
or of introducing them by the prolonged
and imperfect action of liquids prepared
at much cost, in huge vats, in which the ii
timber is kepi: suomerged. *
The* new and ingenious process of
Mens. Boucherie has placed at the com' r
mand of industry an immense natural b
force, which enables it, without cost, to a
conduct into the most delicate vegetable d
tissues al 1 sol uble suhstances wh ich it may t
be desirable to deposite there. 1
"if the author has received, in a simple
and ready manner, the great problem i
which he at first proposed, he has not t
manifested less sagacity in his choice of t
the substances which he has adopted for j
fulfilling all the indications announced t
above. 1
"To augment the duration and hardness
Wood, and to oppose its decay, either j
i f J iL- j i ?-e i
dry or numia, me cruue pyrougnite ot
iron is to be introduced into its tissue. 1
This substance is wisely chosen, because *
crude pyroHgoeouj acid is produced in all j
the forests, in the process of mariufactur- j
ing charcoal; and it is easy to convert (
this into the pyrolignite of iron, by sim- j
ply putting it, even when cold, in contact ,
with scraps of cold iron; and because, ]
also, that the liquid, thus prepared, con*
tains much creosote, which, independently
of the salt of iron, itself possesses the
property of hardening, and of guarding
against the attacks of decomposition, as
well as the destruction caused by insects,
wood and timber employed in constructions
and for other purposes.
? Authentic experiments tried in the
cellars of Bordeaux, upon hoops, prepared |
by the author, have proved in the most ,
conclusive manner, the prolonged dura*
tion of wood, after subjection to his process.
The ordinary hoops fell to powder,
upon the least application of force to
them, while these of the same age, which
had been subjected to his preparation,
were as solid as upon the first day they
were placed there.
"If he wishes to preserve the elasticity
of wood, and to render it less combustible,
the author has found in the employment
of chlorine with an earthy base, the means
of accomplishing these ends. Ever preoccupied
with the thought that hts discoveries,
to be most serviceable, must receive
universal practical application, the
author has net contented himself with
the employment of the chlorate of calcium,
notwithstanding its great cheapness
but he has ann tlyzed the sea water from
the pits of the salt works, which is without
value, and by so doing has obtained
therefrom all the qualities necessary to
his purpose. The different woods prepared
by his saline solutions preserve their
flexibility, even after several years' exposure
to the air; and thin sheets of this
wood were twisted into spirals, fi.st in ,
one direction then in the contrary one, ^
without their suffering the slightest frac- j
turc or injury of any kfad. Exposed to
the air these thin pieces were neither split i
or otherwise injured, however dry they <
became; and, finally, they were so far in. i
combustihly as to be incapable of sustain,
ing or propagating conflagration.
"To those highly useful properties, 1
which the constructions of ships, bridges,
dwellings, &c., will readily appreciate,
and turn to profit, the author has joined
others, less important certainly, put still
new, and not without interest, in the arts.
He colors woods in clouds so varied and
casual as to promise much utility, by the
employment of his metnod in ornament. |
ing the most ordinary woods, so as to fit 1
them for the fabrication of furniture, and |
for other purposes of ornamental use. . i
"The specimens of this kind, now be. i
fore the Academy, relieve us from all de. 1
tails upon this head; and it therefore 1
suffices for us to say :
"That the pyrolignite of iron, alone,
gives a very beautiful brown tint;
"That by causing tannin to be absorb,
ed by the tree, after the pyrolignite of ,
iron, the mass of the tree is rendered ,
black, while some portion* exhibit tints j
of blue, black and gray; i
That by introducing, first, the pyrol. \
ignite of iron, and afterwards the prus. j
siate of potassa? a fine Prussian blue is
produced;
"That by introducing, successively,
the acetate of lead and the chromate of
potassa, a lemon, or chromate of lead color
is produced ; !
"That by introducing into the same |
trunk, the pyrolignite of iron, prussiate, ,
and acetate of lead, and chromate of potassa,
the wood assumes a series of clouds
of blue, green, yellow and brown, which
collectively produce the most varied and 5
pleasing effect. 5
"The colors and shades may be varied 1
almost to infinity, according to taste or <
fn n/*v . a? rhpmistrr is sufficiently rich* <
. ? J ^
in agents of this nature, to satisfy the 1
wants, and even the caprices of the most
fastidious,
"We have said nothing here, of the
communication of odors to woods, by
impregnations of this kind, because this
is an application easily comprehended
without explanation; and also because
it is too strictly limited to the demands of
luxury to be placccf in the same strafe of
mportance with the valuable results <
vhich we have above enumerated. t
"It is evident, from the bare announce. <
f 9
nent of these results, that they have not i
?een, and could not be, the result of (
iccidental discovery. The author has t
leduced them from simple ideas; and I
hey are the fruit of long continued, and i
aborious studies and experiments. I
The commission closed their labors '<
vith a recommendation that a copy of
heir report be transmitted to the minis. <
ers of agriculture and commerce, of the i
>ublic works and the marine, of finances
ind of war, which recommendation was ,
idopted by the Academy.
At a subsequent sitting of the Academy*
hat body received notice from the minsters
of war and finance, that they had
? - e rv n l_
ecommended the metnoa or ur. douchsrie
to the special attention of the commissioners
of engineers,, the artillery, and
the woods and forests. This shows the
Importance that is attached to the discovery,
by public functionaries, and by the
first scientific men of this, or any age,
residing upon the spot where its results
aave been witnessed and investigated.
R. W. HASKINS.
Buffalo, March 22,1841.
To the President of the Agricultural
Sosiety of South Carolina.?
Gentlemen?I ask your attention to
the following resolution, adopted by the
State Agricultural Society, at its last
meeting, held at Columbia:
That the District and Parish Societies
be invited to present to this Society, at its
annual meeting, an essay or memoir on
the subject to which their notice may respectively
be drawn by the President, whose
business it shall be to designate the topics
on which information is needed."
There is, perhaps, no member of the
confederacy more dependent on agriculture
than South-Carolina, and none
where that important branch of industry
is more neglected. Of the States composing
the Union, twenty have deemed it
necessary to aid the cause of the husbanman
by legislative enactments. SouthCarolina
Ha9 so far steadily refused to
lend even the influence of her name to
the upholding of that pursuit on which
her wealth and prosperity so intimately
depend. On this exigency, .when, too,
the moral and political elements have assumed
a sombre hue, it becomes the southern
tiller of the soil to arouse from his
lethargy, and to direct his efforts to tha
devising of means best calculated to promote
the true interest of his vacation.?
Accurata knowledge concerning the defects
of our agricultural practices, and
the remedies that are accessable and certain,
is what is now mainly wanted.?
In furtherance of this object, and the bet.
ter to attain the end substantially aimed
at by the Society I now respectfully submit
theselection of the topics for the essays
to your better judgement, in the confident
hope that subjects may be chosen, adapted
to localities, as will afford light
enough to guide us to the goal of useful
and profitable labour.
It is conceded that there exist ruinous
errors in management, and great neglect
of means and facilities for agricultural imii
- - a..
provement. i'tie tauu is 100 coiumuu
for the planter to look exclusively to the
annual income from his crops, without
taking into the estimate at the year's end
whether his plantation, regarded as a
permanent investment of capital, has been
improved or deteriorated.
Learned or obstuse dessertations on
husbandry, although they would assist in
bringing about correct opinions on many
points perhaps assential to our calling,
are not, at this time, the surest means far
accomplishing our purpose. Plain practi.
cal essays alone, the necessity of the occasoin,
imperatively requires. Iftheservice
designated in the above resolation be
faithfully performed, I scarcely need say
to you, that an impulse will be given to
agriculture, in this State, of vast and permanent
utility. May I add, that this is
a cause in which all can embark. Here
there are no collission of interestor of opinion
to overcome, and no motives at variance
with private feelings, or public innentives
to action.
[ have the honnor to be, very respeatfully,
Your obedient servant,
WHFTRMARSH b. seabrook.
President S. A. S. of So. Cft.
Edisto Island; June 14, 1841.
Editors of papers, friendly to the objects
3f this circular, are requested to give it an
insertionReport
of the Postmaster General.
Post Office Department, 3fay 29,1841.
Sir: The arrangement of business at,
md the manner of returns to, the Generil
Post Office, forbid a detailed report of
its operations at the approaching session
)fCongress! I have, however, felt it my
July, at this time, to call public attention
;o the present state of its finances, so far
is I have yet been able to learn their con
lition.
When first entering upon my official
iuties, my attention was forced to the
constant demands for payment beyond
he ability of the Depurtment to dis.
charge; and with a view to ascertain, as
iearly as might be, its undisputed liabili;iea
and probable means, on the 27th day
9 . * '1
>f March last a letter was addressed to
he Auditor of the Treasury for the Post
Jffice Department, requesting from him
n formation on those subjects. A copJ
)f which letter, marked A, is herewith
jubmiited. Such statements hare not
^en furnished, for reasons clearly set
forth in a letter from the Auditor, dated
the 26th day*5of May instant; of which a
copy is hereto appended, Marked B.
* It was also important to learn, without
delay, what were the pressing liabilities
and what the active funds of the Department.
For this purpose, directions were
given to the chief clerk to state the
amount due to contractors anterior,to and ,
for the quarter ending the 31st December^ ,
1840, so far as they haobeen reported by
the Auditor, and also the amount in doposite,
subject to draft, for the discharge
of such arrearages. His report is here,
with submitted, marked C.
By an examinatioa of that statement,
it will be seen that there was due and unpaid
to contractors, of ascertained balances,
on the first day of January last,
the sum oifour hundred and forty-seven
thousand and seventy-nine dollars, ($447,.
079,) a considerable portion of which has
been paid from the revenues of the quarter
ending on the 3lst March. A report
from the Auditor upon all the outstanding
contracts will undoubtedly increase
this amount of indebtedness to a total
exceeding half a million of dollars. In
fn ivhi/?K_ Kpbuv lUmiBfli are
aUVIIIIUU IV VT J MVW J -mm?? ? y ?
frequently made on the Department
upon unliquidated claims. Of such demands,
no notice can be taken at this
time, nor is it proper that an opinion as to
their justice should be now expressed.
Under these circumstances, two questions
naturally present themselves; How
is the Department to be sustained under
its present embarrassments? and, What
are its financial hopes for the future?
As no estimates, upon which can be
based an answer to the first inquiry, can
be presented until a full statement of
the balances due from postmasters shall
have been reported by the Auditor, it is
passed, with the single remark, that, although
it can hardly be doubted that a
large aggregate sum will be found due,
it is to be feared that, from the small
amount of most of such separate balances,
scattered throughout this wide-spread
nation, the want of responsibility in many
of these offcers and many of their securi1
ties, and the lapse of time since these
balances accrued, but an inconsiderable
part of the amount actually due will ever
be received. It therefore remains for
Congress to determine whether the
amount now due to contractors shall be
paid. from the National Treasury, or
whether this Department shall struggle
on with its present embarrassmenfs, consuming
its daily accruing revenues in
the partial payment of old debts, and still
leaving large balances which it has not
the ability to discharge.
Notwithstanding the heavy incrsased
expenditure consequent upon the act of
7th July, 1838, and although, instead of
tbe supposed gadtial increase of revenue,
the receipts for the quarter ending 31st
March last present, as compared with the
corresponding quarter of the year before,
a diminution of more than 6 per cent,
still the Department would probably find
sufficient relief in its future operations
from the decrease of prices which, it may
be calculated, will be hereafter demanded
upon mast of the routes, were it not for
the continually increasing exactions in
other branches of the service.
To present this subject in its most intelligible
form, the First Assistant Postmaster
General has prepared a tabular
view of recent proposals, that comparison
may be made between the amount ot
present bids and the sums now paid for
mail service upon the same routes.?
This table is hereto annexed) marked D.
On examination of this statement, it
will be seen that, in some cases, the
amount demanded by railroad companies
for transportation of the mails is more
than two hundred per cent, higher than
is paid for coach service, upon roads
forming connecting links between different
railroad companies, upon the same
main route, and that too where the night
service upon the railroads is less than that
performed in coaches. Such demands
deserve more consideration from the fact
that, whilst at the recent lettings in
New York and in the six Eastern Statfes
the accepted service by coaches and other
modes of conveyance has been secured
at an average saving of twenty-two per
cent, upon the contracts of 1837, there
are but few instances where the demands
of incorporated companies have not been
increased in such manner as imposed
upon me the necessity of suspending the
contracts. Nor is the extravagant price
demanded for mail transportation upon,
railroads the only manner in which these
incorporations affect the revenue of this
Department. The facilities secured by
this mode of conveyance for sending let.
ters by private hands very seriously di*.
minishthe reccidts of the offices upoo