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which will diminish, to say the least, the preeminence of Great Britain as a commercial and manufacturing people among the nations of the earth. Into the consideration of these causes we may be disposed to enter at a future time.

It may be well in concluding our remarks on the financial crisis of Great Britain, to speak of its effects upon our own country. Owing to the season of the year in which the principal bankruptcies took place, and to some other causes, the direct loss experienced by our fellow citi. zens has been much less than we should have anticipated, when we consider the intimate and very extensive commercial relations between the two nations. The depression of business in England however, has occasioned a great decline in the value of our staple productions, particularly of cotton, which will be severely felt in this country, particularly at the south. We have also had as the direct result of this state of things in Great Britain, a serious pressure for money and increase in its market value, in some of our large cities. But as we regard this pressure as artificial and transitory, and as it has not occasioned prostration of private credit, we trust its effect upon our merchants will on the whole, be fa vorable, particularly as it will dimin. ish the importation of foreign goods, and induce caution in forming new engagements.

If we have judged correctly re

specting the causes of these troubles of our transatlantic friends, we may derive one lesson from our review of them,-a lesson which the events that transpired among us ten years since, taught even more im. pressively; to avoid overtrading and extravagance. During the five years past the people of the United States have, with hardly an exception or an interruption, been prosperous in all the various branches of industry, and have accumulated wealth and developed the national resources to an extent which our most intelligent citizens can hardly appreciate or realize. Much of the wealth acquired has been employed in the payment of debts previously incurred, or has been expended for valuable and productive property, such as manufactories and rail. roads. Probably at no previous time was the great mass of the people more free from embarrassing debt than at this moment. Whether this state of things shall continue, depends in part upon many things connected with the action of government, and of foreign nations; but the cause most influential and potent is within our own control; we shall determine for ourselves, and our determination will decide the future prosperity of our country, whether we will shun or imitate the example of speculative folly, extended and baseless commerce, and extravagance in the habits of life, which we have been considering.

SHORT NOTICES.

Traill's New Translation of Jose phus.-Mr. George Virtue, 26 John street, New York, has in course of publication, "The Works of FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS, an entirely new translation, by the Rev. ROBERT TRAILL, D.D., M.R.I.A., &c. &c., with notes and explanatory essays, by ISAAC TAYLOR, of Ongar; accompanied by numerous steel engravings, illus trating the scenes of the history;

with Medallion Heads of the person. ages mentioned by Josephus, from the only authentic sources." The illustrations are from an eminent artist, who spent nearly a year in Palestine for the sole purpose of obtaining them; and the engravings are among the finest specimens of the art. But that in which our readers will justly feel the deepest interest, is the character of the transla

tion. In this there is manifestly a very great improvement upon Whis ton's version, both in point of style, and fidelity to the original. Mr. Virtue publishes this edition, agreeably to an arrangement with the representatives of the translator, who lost his life by his indefatigable exertions to relieve the sufferings of his parishioners, during the late distressing famine in Ireland; and a portion of the profits go to the benefit of his family. Those who can overlook this consideration, and the superior style of this splendid edition, may supply themselves, we understand, with an inferior article, with which the enterprise of Mr. Virtue is forced to contend.

Williston on the Sabbath.-Mr. William G. Hooker, of New Haven, Conn., has just published a new edition of the Five Discourses on the Sabbath, preached at Durham, N. Y., by the Rev. Seth Williston, D.D., and first given to the public in 1813." This he has done with the consent of the author, who has given it a careful revision; and he now offers to furnish it in quantities of not less than one hundred copies, at cost, to those who may wish to circulate it gratuitously, and for a small profit, to those who purchase for sale. With this view, he has caused the work to be stereotyped. His object is, "to promote the better observance of the Lord's day, rather than pecuniary advantage." We need not commend this laudable design to the attention of the friends of the Sabbath, by speaking of the merits of Dr. Williston's work, which has long been before the public, and justly esteemed as a popular, yet able argument for the Christian Sabbath.

Todd's Shorter Catechism.-J. H. Butler, Northampton, Mass., has published the first volume, 18mo, of a series, entitled, "The Shorter Cat echism illustrated, by John Todd, D.D." This work is designed to aid parents and teachers in the diffi

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NOTE.-The Common School Controversy in Massachusetts.-The author of a pamphlet, containing four letters to the Rev. Heman Humphrey, D.D., to whom unfavorable allusion was made in an article with the above titie, contained in our last Number, has sent us an extended vindication of himself, which he desires us to publish. It would be so entirely inconsistent with the plan of the New Englander, to admit a personal controversy between writers, that we must shun every thing which can possibly be construed into a precedent for such a course. Had we known at first the name of the respondent, we should have been unwilling to suspect that he could be guilty of any measures, in the slightest degree dishonorable, for promoting an object, however dear and important. And now with his explanation of the facts before us, we think he has successfully exonerated himself from such an imputation. This expression of opinion, we hope will have the effect of doing him full justice, with those few persons, to whom an anonymous writer's name can be known. At the same time, he will pardon us for saying, in justice to the author of the article, that the facts, as understood and stated by him, fully justify the view which was taken of his course.

THE

NEW ENGLANDER.

No. XXII.

APRIL, 1848.

THE BRITISH SYSTEM OF POSTAGE.

THE people of the United States are very poorly informed as to the nature and bearings of the British system of postage, first devised by Mr. Rowland Hill. They look at it only through the medium of preconceived notions, and compare it with the present system as if it were only an amendment of the latter. Whereas in fact it is an entirely new system. Its adoption was, so far, a revolution. It introduces a new set of principles, and a new current of ideas. Mr. Hill himself was not entirely divested of old notions, and therefore, in commending his system to public favor, he endeavored to show that it would produce as much revenue, in five years' time, as the old system. But the practical statesmen who took up the scheme as a measure of the government, Lord Melbourne and Mr. Francis Baring, better understood its radical character, and boldly avowed that they were constrained to adopt it because the people demanded it, and the public good would be promoted by it, and be cause it was demonstrated that the old system was incapable of meet ing the wants of the country, and had fallen utterly behind the spirit of the age. They were therefore satisfied that a radical change of VOL. VI.

20

feeling was the only change that afforded a rational prospect of success. They would therefore reduce the rate of postage at once to the lowest rate proposed, and would have the post-office henceforth conducted as a public convenience and not as a means of making money for the government. Hence the inquiry is continually before the department-How can the public convenience be better promoted than it is? Never is the question raisedBy what vexatious interference with the free use of the mail can a little more money be made for the gov. ernment? A letter is never scrutinized by prying clerks to see if it does not contain another letter to somebody else. The infallible scales determine at once how much the government is entitled to, and as they render no more service, they ask no more pay on account of the nature and objects of the contents. And when a letter is once put into the mail, and the postage paid, the department is then bound for its delivery, although it may go to a dozen offices before finding its owner, without additional charge. And so indefatigable are the subordinates of the department, that they rarely miss of finding a man if he is in the kingdom. We know

the case of a gentleman from the West, who went to London, but neglected to give his family any directions as to the sending of letters. His wife addressed him in London, and the letter had not been three days in town before the carrier found him out, a stranger among two millions of people. That is very unlike an American post-office. In like manner a newspaper that is once put into the mail, may be remailed until it is worn out, without ever being charged with postage.

Being satisfied that nothing but information is wanting to arouse the people of this country to secure for themselves the same precious boon of cheap postage, which has proved so great a blessing in England, we have looked about for new sources of information to spread before our readers. The debates in Parlia ment on this subject have probably never been read in this country by any eye except our own. In them the whole subject was discussed in all its bearings, by the ablest statesmen of England. The debates fill nearly one hundred and fifty pages, double-columned and closer than the pages of the New Englander. We have examined them carefully, pen in hand, and have transcribed from these volumes what we now present to our readers, which will afford the means of understanding the views with which the new system was adopted, and the rule by which the success is to be tested.

The subject was alluded to from time to time, during the session of 1839, in both Houses of Parliament, in connection with the presentation of some of the numerous petitions that poured in from the people.

The Duke of Richmond, June 3, 1839, in presenting petitions from a great many places in favor of a uniform rate of penny postage, expressed his dissent from the measure proposed by the committee, of 2d. as the uniform rate of postage. He

said that unless they adopted Mr. Hill's plan of 1d. they would not be able to prevent the illegal conveyance of letters. The only way they could hope to prevent that would be by taking the postage at the lowest rate, namely, a penny. He thought the principle should be adopted to encourage letter writing, and therefore they should allow every man to write, and send a letter without a stamp, if he pleased, but that all such letters should be charged, on delivery, at a higher rate. He saw no reason why the treasury should not purchase the stamps as well as other persons, and then it would be known what the amount of the money would come to in this way, and thereby the whole of the abuse of official franks would be got rid of. He would also throw out the propriety of allowing persons who purchased stamps, to send their letters by any coach, carrier, or steamboat that might choose to take them, because, so long as the revenue was secured, parties ought to have their own option as to the mode of conveyance.-Parl. Deb., xlvii, pp. 1231, 2.

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But the regular debate was opened on the 5th of July, 1839, by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Francis Baring, in connection with the opening of the Budget," or exhibition of the financial condition and plans of the government. The Chancellor of the Exchequer showed that there was a deficiency in the revenue to meet the wants of the year, of no less than one million, and then explains his plan of postage reduction, which contained in it a pledge of Parliament to make good the deficiency which it was expected would be caused in the rev

enue.

"Sir," said he, "if my proposition were one to reduce the postage on letters to one uniform rate of a penny, without making good the deficiency of revenue which might ensue, I should expose myself not only to the censure of the House and of the public, but to the ridicule and

scorn of men of sense."-Vol. xlviii, p.

1358.

“The purport of the resolution is this: That it is expedient to reduce the postage on letters to one uniform rate of one penny, chargeable on every letter of a weight to be hereafter fixed by law, the parliamentary privilege of franking being abolished, and the official franking being placed under strict regulations: this House pledging itself, at the same time, to make good any deficiency of revenue which may be occasioned by such alteration in the rate of postage.'

"If the committee will not pledge itself to make good the deficiency, I shall abandon the bill altogether. And should any honorable gentleman on either side of the House, undertake the management of the question under such circumstances, he will find me as steadfastly opposed to the measure, without this pledge, as the House will find me a steadfast, earnest and eager friend of the measure, if I am given the means of carrying it into effect in the only way in which it can be honestly carried out."-p. 1359.

"It would be clearly impossible for any person who reasons justly, or who properly considers his political duties, to say that we are entitled to put at risk a million and a half of the revenue of the country, without at the same time binding ourselves to make good any deficiency which may arise."-p. 1360.

"The Committee may expect me to state what amount of loss may be likely to arise from this change. I shall not go into much detail on this point, because it must be at the best mere matter of conjecture, and not at all open to demonstration. Gentlemen may assume that this or that amount of correspondence will be created, but I believe the ingenuity of no man can predict with any degree of closeness, what the future increase of letters will be. I am bound to say, that my own anticipation is, that at the outset the loss will be very considerable indeed. I am of course anxious that this resolution shall be carried, but I can not disguise from the House or the public, the fact, that in my opinion, the loss will be very great. I am the more bound to disclose this opinion, because, if I did not now avow it, and if hereafter the loss does turn out to be considerable, and the House and the public should therefore be called upon to pay an equivalent to supply this deficiency, the House might say that I had given them no warning, that I had deluded them into a vote, and had paltered with the truth."-p. 1364.

He then proceeded to call attention to the considerations by which the measure itself was urged upon their adoption, the report of the

Committee, and the petitions of the people, and showed the grounds on which he had departed from the recommendations of the Committee, in adopting a penny instead of a two penny rate. He said :

"In the course of last year, a committee was moved for, and acquiesced in by me on the part of the government, to consider the subject of postage. Of that committee I may justly observe, that there are points on which I differ from their report, and on which indeed, let me add, they differ from themselves-but yet I must admit, that a committee which took more pains to inform itself, whose collection of evidence is more valuable, as giving the opinions of many of the most intelligent persons of all classes in the country, I never remember in my parliamentary experience. They sat for many days, they examined a great variety of persons, and though the proposition I have to make differs from that which they have suggested, I fully believe they would have sanctioned it. They made a recommendation to the House, not for the adoption of a uniform penny postage, but for a general two-penny postage, to be collected under certain regulations, and they considered that this two pence postage could be introduced without any loss to the revenue. Now, sir, from the best consideration which I have been able to give to the subject, comparing one proposition with the other, and, above all, considering the evidence taken before the committee, I find the whole of the evidence, the whole of the authorities conclusively bearing in favor of a penny postage in preference to a two penny postage. And, sir, I am quite sure that in making an experiment of this nature, it behoves this House to set to work, not only fairly and frankly, but largely, in order to come to a satisfactory result. And further, I conscientiously believe that THE PUBLIC RUN LESS RISK

OF LOSS IN ADOPTING THE PROPOSITION FOR A PENNY POSTAGE, THAN IT WOULD IF WE INTRODUCED A TWO-PENNY POST

AGE."-p. 1360.

The judgment and will of the public at large is then adverted to, as evinced by the infinite number of petitions presented on this subject, from all classes and from all parts of the country. He says:

"I find that the mass of them present the most extraordinary combination I ever saw, of representations to one purpose from all classes, unswayed by any political motives whatever; from persons of all shades of opinion, political and reli

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