In pressing his project first on the British nation, both because he happened to be then commorant in England, and because that government and not ours had already adopted cheap postage as the rule for its home correspondence, he is not chargeable with any lack of a becoming respect for his own country. I confess, however, that I feel strongly, what he has not expressed, the desire that my own country should have both the honor and the advantage of being the first to carry out this glorious idea.

Mr. Burritt states the number of letters to and from places beyond sea in 1846, through six of the principal seaports of England, at

8,640,458
Number of newspapers2,698,376
Gross revenue from letters and papers,£301,640
Letters sent to and from the United States,744,108
Newspapers317,468
Postage on letters and papers,£46,548
Whole expense of packet service,£761,900

In addition, he has been so fortunate as to enlist the cöoperation of a distinguished member of parliament, of whom he says:

“At my solicitation he readily moved for a return of all the letters, newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, &c., transmitted from the United States in 1846, and which have been refused on account of the rates of postage, and are consequently lying dead in the English post-office; also for a return of the amount of postage charged upon this dead mail matter. I am pretty confident that this return will startle the people and government with some remarkable disclosures with regard to the amount of mail matter conveyed across the ocean, for which John Bull does not get a farthing, because he asks too much for the job.”

By the arrangement of the British Post-office, the postage on letters by the mail steamers to the United States is now 1s. per half ounce; and on newspapers 2d. each paper. On all letters and papers sent from Great Britain the postage must be prepaid. If not prepaid, they are not sent; but in the case of letters, it is the practice of the post-office to notify persons in this country to whom letters are addressed, that cannot be forwarded for the want of prepayment, that they can have [pg 050] their letters on procuring the prepayment of the required shilling. I have more than once received a printed notice of this kind, designating the number by which my letter could be called for. No additional charge is made for this piece of attention. This fact is significant of the spirit of the cheap postage system. No provision is made by which postage can be prepaid in this country, and consequently, the whole expense of correspondence falls upon the parties in England.

Mr. Burritt enumerates some of the inconveniences of the present system, in addition to the positive evil of a burdensome tax upon the letter correspondence between the two countries—a tax which amounts to a suppression of intercourse by letter, to a sad extent.

1. The present shilling rate of postage, being exacted on the English side, too, in all cases, and thus throwing the whole cost of correspondence upon the English or European correspondents, greatly diminishes the number of letters which would otherwise be transmitted to and from America, through the English mail.

2. In consequence of the present high rate of postage on letters, newspapers, pamphlets, magazines, &c., a large amount of mail matter conveyed across the ocean, lies dead in the English post-office—a dead loss to the department—the persons to whom it is addressed, refusing to take it out on account of the postal charges upon it.

3. Under the present shilling rate, it is both legal and common for passengers to carry a large number of unsealed letters, which are allowed as letters of introduction, and which, at the end of the voyage, are sealed and mailed in England or America, to persons who thus evade the ocean postage entirely.