574 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 9 



his own. Why this exclusive privilege to private in- 

 dividuals, (which is so costly to the government, and so 

 profitless to publishers of newspapers themselves,) 

 should have been granted, it would be as difficult to an- 

 swer satisfactorily, as to justify. No other periodicals 

 enjoy any of these privileges of free carriage, in any 

 case ; and yet if governmental favor is to be thus given, 

 and the pretext be, to spread useiul knowledge and in- 

 struction, surely the contents of some other journals 

 deserve favor on that score, at least as much as politi- 

 cal newspapers. If the number of newspapers pub- 

 lished be 1200, and each, on the average, exchanges 

 for only fifty others, (and some exchange for several 

 hundreds,) and those, exchanged for, average a tri- 

 weekly issue — then the whole number sent free of post- 

 ao-e to editors, and as a discriminating bounty to the 

 trade of publishing newspapers, will amount in 

 number to 180,000 exchange papers sent by mail, 

 mail, weekly, through the United States ; and tlie ave- 

 rage (wet) weight of this weekly freight would 

 not be less than 16,000 lbs. Now, as the whole ex- 

 pense of the post-office department is borne by its in- 

 come, or, in other words, is paid by the whole amount of 

 postages received, (and does not, and ought not to re- 

 ceive any thing more than is necessary to pay the ex- 

 penses — ) then the gratuitous carriage given to ex- 

 change and other newspapers, is afforded by the gov- 

 ernment, at the expense, and to the disadvantage, of 

 all others paying postage— and the heaviest, as we 

 .shall more fully show, is imposed on magazines— the 

 rpublishers of which, therefore, are not only debarred 

 from equal favor with their brethren, but'are made to 

 pay a large proportion (in the tax on their publications,) 

 of the bounty given to newspaper publishers. 



For the purpose of ascertaining more precisely the 

 inequality of the burdens of postage, we compared, by 

 carefully weighing, a newspaper of the largest size, 

 taken at hazard, (it was a copy of the 'Journal of 

 Commerce,' of New York, for the country,) a copy of 

 the ' Cultivator,' and a number of the ' Farmers' Re- 

 gister.' 



Largest sized newspaper, weight of sheet, 



diy, - - - 33 dtvt. 



Same, made as wet as usual, when mailed, 46 " 



■ Cultivator,' weight of sheet, dry, 

 ditto wet, 



19 

 26 



'Farmers' Register,' four sheets and cover, 

 72| did. or one-fourth of that amount to 

 the sheet, - - - 18| " 



Then, comparing the rate of postage of each with 



its weight, as mailed: 



The newspaper, sent to any place in the state 

 of New York, or without the state, if not 

 farther than 100 miles from the city, pays, 

 on every weight of 46 dwt., - 1 cent. 



The ' Cultivator,' pays in like manner, for an 



equal weight, 46 (Zwf., - - 1| cents. 



The 'Farmers' Register,' over 100 miles, and 

 whether in or out of Virginia, on the 

 same weight, 46 dwt., - - 6 cents, 



within a very small fraction. 



Thus, for the distance that nearly all the copies of 

 the ' Farmers' Register' are mailed, and for those 

 which it is supposed the other named publications are 

 also mostly sent by mail, the proportion of payments 

 stand thus. The 'Farmers' Register' pays, in proportion 

 to their respective weights, more than thrice the post- 

 age of the 'Cultivator,' (charged as a newspaper) and 

 six times as much as the largest sized newspapers. 



After these experiments, and to bring the matter to 

 the test of practice and usage, we weighed 32 news- 

 papers, at the nearest office, taken together, and while 

 they were in the course of being directed, and put up 

 for the mail. They were believed to be then fully as 

 dry, if not more so, than those of all large establish- 

 ments usually are, when mailed. These 32 papers, 

 (imperial size) weighed, wet, 45| oz. avoirdupois, and 

 when dried, only 34 oz., or less by 11| oz. This dif- 

 ference of weight, (or proportion of water) is a very 

 little less than in the two preceding experiments. 



Again. The average annual postage paid by the 

 subscribers for the ' Farmprs' Register,' amounts to 

 fully $1700, and the total cost of paper used to print 

 the same number of copies, is only $800, or less than 

 half that sum — an amount less than half the tax paid 

 to government afterwards, for the carriage alone, by 

 the subscribers. The slightest consideration of these 

 facts will show, that this tax, discriminating and pro- 

 hibitory in its operation, is enormous, both in its 

 amount, and in its injustice — and that on every score, of 

 policy no less than justice, the grievance calls loudly 

 for legislative reform. 



There are but few agricultural publications in the 

 United States, in the magazine form, and therefore 

 subject to this very unjust rate of postage. The greater 

 number have assumed the much cheaper sheet form, 

 so as to come under the newspaper indirect bounty. 



If no other consideration should operate to prompt a 

 change, there would be enough inducement in the ad- 

 vantage, in prospect, to the revenue of the post office 

 department. The changes called for, are these : 



1. To compel the execution of the existing law, as 

 to drying all papers before their beiiig mailed. 



2. To charge the postage on all publications convey- 

 ed by mail, according to their average weight, instead 

 of by the sheet — and to permit no difference in charge, 

 in favor of newspapers. 



3. To put down the system of exchange newspapers 

 being sent free of postage. 



4. To have, on all important routes, a slow mail, to 

 convey whatever may be committed to it in prefer- 

 ence, at a lower rate, than where the usual expedition 

 of conveyance is given. 



This last plan would be a far greater benefit to the 

 people, and to the government, than the express mail, 

 made faster than the ordinary mail. The existing 

 rates of postage are not too high on the present sys- 

 tem ; as it seems no surplus is left after defraying the 

 expenses ; the greatest objection to them, is their ine- 

 quality. If equalized, as justice requires, there might 

 be no general or considerable reduction, nor can that 

 be, while the expenses remain the same. But if the 

 greater part of the weight of the mails were carried as 



