Jasper Banner, Volume 2, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 April 1855 — The New Postage Law. [ARTICLE]

The New Postage Law.

i About a fortnight since.. the l’ostmasferqSl !Njbu* York brought to the notice of tho Post Master General, the obvious omissions in the new postage law which is now in force^— tiie same In substance (judging from the reply) with those alluded to in ! our Editorial of the 22nd ult. And the following answer was received a fid pub fished. .The Post Master General has foun<Oo(!ft*f»ary to iill*the gaps in the imperfect and indigested law, as it passed Congress, by making fewr himself to cover the cases cited by the New York officer. For, as all know who read the law, its absolute requirement of pre-pay-ment made no exception in favor of letters on which the whole’postage had not been paid, for forwarding letters from one post office to another to which a man had removed, or of unpaid letters deposited in the office. The exigencies of the case, and the fact that Congress is not in session, to remedy these omissions, seems to t’ustify the Circular of the Post blaster General, which is as follows: S. B. Register. Post Office Department, ; f Appointment-Office Mar. 22,1855. \ !Bir: Your letter of the 20th inst. is received. In ans wer, lam direct€sd..by the Post" Master General to inform you—1. The Act of the 3rd of March, TBs&r-making no provision for unpaid letters to places within the United States, on the snrtie day or day following any such unpaid letter or letters being put into a Post Office, tire-F’-ostMaster thereof will post up conspicuously inhis office adistof the that they are held forpostatpw If not attended to, such Te be rtfiurncd to the Dead Letter Office.- ~ - shooW ! patched, charged with the additional j postage due at the prepaid rate, ac-; ! cording to established by \ said Act, except where the omission to pay the correct amount is.known to have been intentional when they should be treated the same as letters wholly unpaid. 3. It is proper to fin-ward a letter when requested in vvriting. When forwarded, no additional postage should be charged, if the letter, contrary to its address ha,s been missent. l lf it has been sent according to its iaddrss, and then forwarded.it must !be charged with additional postage at the prepaid rate, according to distance, established by the Act of March 3, 1855, aforesaid. 4. Ship letters, as they cannot be prepaid, and are not supposed to be embraced in the new Act, will continue to be dispatched; agreeably to the provisions of the 15th section of the Act of March 6, 1852. HORATIO KING,

Isaac V. Fowlee P! M. New York. We find another letter from the Post Master General (through his flrst Assistant, as above) in the Lansing (Mich.) State Journal, showing: that the Congressmen, whose term j expired on the 4th of March last, j have the right to frank till December next, of which Post Masters should tak£ notice: Post Office Department, ) Appointment Olfice.March 1, ’55 ) Sir: In reply to your letter of the 27th ult., relative to the .franking privilege, I have the honor to refer you to the fifth section of the Act of March Ist, 1647, “That members of Congress shall have the power to receive as well as to sand all letters and packages, not weighing over two ounces, free of postage, up to the Ist Monday in December following the expiration of their term of office.” HOR ATIO KING. F. A P. M O. Hon. H. T. Stn i:ns. Hnu?e ofßep.

‘ From Lieut. Gibbon's Report of tbs Kcplon Dos of Amazon. *