I will not dwell long on this subject. I must remark, however, that since the days of Mr. Adams’s administration, the number of foreign ministers, of the first grade, has nearly doubled, and that of ministers of the second grade has nearly tripled. Why, we have ministers abroad, who are seeking for the governments to which they are accredited, and the governments are not to be found! We have ministers at Constantinople and Vienna, and for what? We have an unreciprocated mission to Naples, and for what? There was, at the last session, an attempt to abolish this appointment, but it unfortunately failed. One would think, that, in such a one-sided, unreciprocated diplomacy, if a regard to economy did not prompt us to discontinue the relation, national pride would. In like manner, we might look round the coasts of Europe, and of this continent, and find mission after mission which there seems to be no earthly utility in retaining. But I forbear.
On the subject of mileage, I hope there may be an effort to equalize it justly, and render it uniform, and that the same allowance will be made for the same distance travelled, whether by land, by water, or by steam route, or whether the distance be ascertained by horizontal or surface measurement. I think the former the best mode, because it limits us to a single and simple inquiry, and leaves no open door for abuses. I hope, therefore, that we shall adopt it.
The next resolution of the series reads thus:
‘Resolved, that the franking privilege ought to be further restricted, the abusive uses of it restrained and punished, the postage on letters reduced, the mode of estimating distances more clearly defined and prescribed, and a small addition to postagemade on books, pamphlets, and packages transmitted by the mail, to be graduated and increased according to their respective weights.’
The franking privilege has been most direfully abused. We have already reached a point of abuse, not to say corruption, though the government has been in operation but about fifty years, which it has taken Great Britain centuries to attain. Blank envelopes, I have heard it said, ready franked, have been enclosed to individuals at a distance, who openly boasted that their correspondence is free of charge. The limitation as to the weight is now extended, I believe, to two ounces. But what of that, if a man may send under his frank a thousand of these two-ounce packages? The limitation should be to the total weight included in any single mail, whether the packages be few or many. The report of the post-master general, at a former session, states the astounding fact, that, of the whole amount transported in the mails, ninety-five per centum goes free of all duty, and letters of business and private correspondence have to defray the expense of the whole. It is monstrous, and calls loudly for some provision to equalize the charge. The present postage on letters is enormously high, in proportion to the other business of the country. If you will refuse to carry those packages, which are now transmitted by mail simply because in that mode they can travel free of cost, you will greatly relieve the business interests of the country, which now bear nearly the whole burden for all the rest. This it is your duty to do. Let us throw, at least, a fair portion of the burden on those who receive, at present, the whole of the benefit. Again. The law is very loose and uncertain as to the estimation of distances. Since the introduction of steam-travel, the distance travelled has, in many cases, been increased, while the time consumed has been shortened. Take, as an illustration, a case near at hand. The nearest distance from here to Frederick city, in Maryland, is forty-four miles; but, if you go hence to the depot on the Baltimore road, and thence take the train to Frederick, you arrive sooner, but the distance is increased to one hundred miles. Now, as letters are charged according to the miles travelled, I hold it very wrong to subject a letter to this more than double charge, in consequence of adopting a longer route in distance, though a shorter in time. Such cases ought to be provided against by specific rules.
I come now to the last resolution offered, which is as follows.
‘Resolved, that the secretaries of state, of the treasury, of war, and of the navy departments, and the postmaster general, be severally directed, as soon as practicable to report what offices can be abolished, and what retrenchments of public expenditure can be made, without public detriment, in the respective branches of the public service under their charge.’
We all know that, if the heads of departments will not go to work with us honestly and faithfully, in truth and sincerity, congress,thus unaided, can effect comparatively but little. I hope they will enter with us on this good work of retrenchment and reform. I shall be the last to express in advance any distrust of their upright intentions in this respect. The only thing that alarms me is, that two of these departments have come to us asking for appropriations far beyond any that have heretofore been demanded in time of peace, and that with the full knowledge of the fact of an empty treasury. But I still hope, when they shall see congress heartily, in earnest, engaged in retrenching useless expenditure, and reducing estimates that cannot be complied with, that they will boldly bring out to view all abuses which exist in their several spheres of action, and let us apply the pruning-knife, so as to reduce the national expenditure within some proper and reasonable amount. At all events, they are, of course, most familiar with the details of the subject, as it relates to their several branches of the administration. Among other items, there are several useless mints, which only operate to waste the public money. A friend, occupied in investigating this subject, has told me that the mint in New Orleans has already cost the country half a million of dollars, for getting ready to coin bullion not yet dug out of the mine!
[Mr. Berrien here spoke across something not heard by the reporter, in relation to the mint at Dahlonega, which excited much mirth in the neighboring part of the chamber.]
While every piece of coin made by these useless establishments could just as well be coined by the central mint, at Philadelphia.