Wednesday, February 25.
Post Roads.
On motion of Mr. Thomas, the House proceeded to consider the Post Office bill.
Mr. J. Randolph observed that this was an extraordinary bill, and was passing in an extraordinary manner. It gave New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, and some other Northern States, a large number of post roads, and not one to Virginia. It was not wonderful that this subject was pressed on by certain gentlemen. If it would not be considered as too alarming a proof of Virginia influence on this floor, he would propose a new road from Prince Edward County, in the district which he represented, to Petersburg. Mr. R. spoke at considerable length.
Mr. Blount observed that many large counties in the Southern States had no post roads, while scarcely a town in the Northern States was without one.
Mr. Quincy repelled the suggestion of partiality by recurring to former laws and showing that the Southern States had been previously accommodated better than the Northern States.
Mr. J. Randolph said this was a new sort of political arithmetic. The gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Fisk) had said that three roads were discontinued in that State, and four only established, so that the gain was only one. In Virginia you discontinue four established roads, and give us no new one, though we have claimed several. We must work negative quantities; we are minus four. He wished to know how the equation was to be adjusted and managed. Mr. R. concluded a long speech by proposing a new section which went to forbid the carriers of the mail deviating from the old established routes, under penalty of twenty dollars for each offence.
This motion was intended to coerce the mail carriers to go through Colchester, and not through Occoquan, Virginia.