and conservatories, but in the ears of those who OCEAN POSTAGE A BURDENSOME TAX ON THE "daily crop their odors ;" like bees bringing back BUSINESS AND SOCIAL RELATIONS OF THE PEOPLE. under their wings the contributions of a thousand-A morning paper relates that on Wednesday and homes. The penny post, in the corporiety of Brit- Thursday last, there were dispatched from the New ish philanthropy, is what the system of veins and York Post-office the following number of letters: arteries is to the heart in the human body. It has By the Canada, on the 12th, to Europe, 32,000 given existence and vigorous activity to benevolent societies, which would faint and die were it withBy the Ohio, on the 15th, to California, 14,500 By the Crescent City, drawn. By the Cherokee,

And who can estimate its value as an educational agency? Who can say how the whole heart, mind, and soul of the nation have been permeated by benevolent and elevating ideas by its instrumentality, and thus prepared for every good word and work of philanthropy? Who can number the millions of printed leaves, tracts, and other missiles, which it has disseminated among the inhabitants of Great Britain, from all the religious, philanthropic, literary, and scientific societies in London, and the great centres of the kingdom? How many thousands of reams of paper are annually made into publications for the express purpose of being sent under a penny stamp to persons in town, city, village, and hamlet, from Land's End to Johno'-Groat's?

do.

do.

By the Great Western, for Bermuda,

Total,

1,000

200

700

48,400

Let us look at the postage on these letters sent by the Canada. We will suppose that these were all single letters, (which was not the case, many of them were double, triple, and quadruple,) weighing half an ounce each; their weight would be about one thousand pounds. The postage charged on them is seven thousand six hundred and eighty dollars! The Canada charges one hundred and twenty dollars for first cabin passengers, and seventy dollars for second cabin. The postage paid on these letters is equal to the passage money of sixty-four cabin, or one hundred and nine second cabin passengers. The freight But estimate the lowest, or the commercial, ad- of a barrel of flour to Liverpool is now one and sixvantages of the system. Who could reveal or con- pence sterling, or thirty-seven cents our money, jecture what business transactions are accomplished consequently, these letters pay the freight of twenty through its agency, even to the transportation of thousand seven hundred and fifty-seven barrels of articles bargained for, over the largest distances in flour! It should be remembered that these passenthe kingdom? What ingenious feats of postal gers must all be provided with good berths, bed, and conveyance would be disclosed, if the letters daily bedding, and well fed and waited upon; but the bags sent and received by the tradesmen and other in- of letters may be stowed away in any dark corner of habitants of London were opened to the public eye! the ship, and there remain until her arrival in LiverIn the motley mass would be found specimens of pool. No further care is required than to keep then drapery, from the finest gauze to the coarsest in a secure place. But to carry 20,757 barrels of dreadnought, with every variety of human handi- flour, great care must be used in keeping an account, craft, from diamond pins to opera-glasses; speci- and stowing them properly, which is attended with mens of things on the earth, and in the waters considerable expense; none is incurred in carrying under the earth; tufts of wool from Australian the mails. All the labor is done at the Post-office, sheep; of cotton from the banks of the Ganges, Nile, and Mississippi; spices, teas, precious stones, fire-flies, bees' wings, cucumber seeds, breathing flowers, dried herbs, grasses, and other illustrations of entomology, geology, mineralogy, anatomy, and all other sciences.

and the steamer has merely to receive and stow away the bags and deliver them on its arrival at Liverpool.

The first question that arises is, Is it right, is it reasonable, is it expedient, that such a burdensome tax should be levied upon letters? Is there any justice in taxing the correspondence of the people But the penny post not only procures for the at this enormous rate? One thousand pounds of home population of Great Britain the cheapest and letters are charged at a rate that would pay the most expeditious medium of communication and passage of sixty-three cabin passengers, or one conveyance, but puts into their hands a paper cur- hundred and nine second cabin, in the Cunard rency for the smallest transactions. The penny steamers, or the freight of twenty thousand seven postage stamp, which will convey anything under hundred and fifty-seven barrels of flour, in any of half an ounce from one end of the kingdom to the our splendid packet ships. Let the people ponder other, is a value which is as permanent as the best on these facts, and if they do not immediately call gold in the Bank of England. Sums of considera- upon Congress to reduce the rates of ocean postage. ble amount are remitted in these penny bank notes I am much mistaken. of the crown; and they have become acceptable tender of payment of dues, subscriptions to journals, &c. Every one thus remitted and accepted, is a mutual testimony of the two parties to the value of the system which it represents.

OCEAN POSTAGE.

E. B.

WE copy the following very important article from the New York Evening Post, where it bears the well known signature of Barnabas Bates, Esq., a gentleman of great experience in Post-office affairs. The Postmaster-General is ready to agree to any reduction which Congress may make.

In the above calculation, I have confined myself to the letters sent from the New York Post-office, exclusive of the closed mails from Canada and Boston. These probably contained ten thousand letters, which would pay an additional sum of two thousand four hundred dollars, amounting in all to upwards of ten thousand dollars, paid to the British government! Let us now look at another portion of letters sent on this occasion from the New York Post-office. The three steamers carried fifteen thousand and seven hundred letters, and sixteen thousand newspapers to California. The postage on letters, at forty cents, admitting they were all single, amounts to six thousand two hundred and eighty dollars, and on papers, at three cents, to four hundred and eighty dollars, making the sum of six thousand seven hundred and sixty dollars!

This is a pretty heavy tax upon the business, the intelligence, and the affections of the Californians. Only conceive of forty cents for the postage of half an ounce; twelve dollars and eighty cents for a pound, one thousand two hundred and eighty dollars for a hundred pounds, and two thousand five hundred and sixty dollars for two hundred pounds, or the weight of a barrel of flour.

stitutions, the policy, the legislation of the country. and the duties of its citizens-should not often occur. Dr. Bethune's political philosophy is liberal and enlightened; it is the uncompromising application of Christian morality to public life, and there is no nobler and truer political philosophy than this. One of the most remarkable discourses in this volume is that entitled "The Claims of our Country on its Literary Men." We could wish that it might be read attentively by all those in our country who devote themselves to letters, whether in the retirement of our academic institutions, or in the hours snatched from other pursuits. Its wise counsels are expressed in a manly style, and sometimes with eloquence.-N. Y. Eve. Post.

The question then occurs, who pays this burdensome tax? My answer is, the labor of the people; for whether the correspondence relates to business, to literary subjects, or to keep alive the social relations, still the postage must be derived from the industry of the people. Can any one conceive of a more enormous and obnoxious tax on business, on knowledge, on intercourse with our absent friends? It falls peculiarly heavy upon the poor laboring man, and especially the millions of emigrants from Poems. Europe, who have left their kindred and friends behind them. And now, as our friends and relations are emigrating by thousands to California, we begin to feel that this high rate of postage is a serious impediment to our intercourse with them.

England set us a glorious example in reducing inland postage; let us now give her an example in reducing ocean postage. If we desire to raise revenue from ocean letters, our true policy is to reduce the postage. Where one is now sent, there will be ten in five years from this, as it will hold out inducements to the hundreds of thousands of emigrants that have come, or are coming, from all parts of Europe, to maintain a constant correspondence with their friends.

Will not Congress take this subject into serious consideration, and relieve the people from this enormous burden? Let the secretary of state instruct our minister at the Court of St. James, to bring the matter before the British government, and as Mr. Lawrence is a practical and benevolent gentleman, always ready and willing to do good, he is eminently qualified to be the agent in this

business.

BETA.

QUESTION ON CHEAP POSTAGE.-Does any sensible man, who is acquainted with the working of cheap postage in England, doubt for a moment that we are to have the benefits of the same system here? If it must be, and is to be, and cannot but be, then the sooner the better. Why waste time in trials you know will not give satisfaction?

There can be no question as to the utility of cheap postage-none as to its practicability, none as to the ability of the country to sustain it. Why, then, delay?

No intermediate or half-way steps will make its introduction easier or cheaper. There is no reason to delay but the cowardice of statesmen. Let them act like men, and they will be honored as men. -Independent.

NEW BOOKS.

From the National Era.

By ALICE and PHOEBE CAREY. Moss & Brother, Philadelphia. Pp. 264.

We opened this elegant little book not without some degree of pride in the reflection that we had been one of the first to recognize the rare and delicate gifts of its young authors, and that they had been introduced to the public mainly through the columns of the Era. We miss in this collection some of our favorite pieces, and regret that their places have been filled by others, not so worthy of preservation, whose occasional beauty and felicity of expression are marred by signs of haste and carelessness. Alice Carey occupies the first and largest portion of the book. Her poems evince the imaginative power of the true poet-the divine creative faculty. Her musical instinct is seldom at fault, and there is something peculiarly delicate and graceful in the sweet, half-pensive flow of her verse. Phoebe Carey is a stronger and more vigorous writer-she has less of wild fancy than her sister, but her pieces are on the whole more perfect-she less often sacrifices reason to rhyme, and meaning to melody. "Love at the Grave" is a poem intense with passion. We should be inclined to copy "Our Homestead," "Chalmers," and the sweet little poem entitled "Morning," were it not that the readers of the Era are already familiar with them.

Some of the minor pieces and songs in this collection are remarkable for their harmony and lyrical beauty. We give two stanzas from "The Mill

Maid."

Each Sabbath time along the aisle

Her step more faintly sounded;
The light grew paler in her smile,
Her cheek less softly rounded;
But never sank we in despair

Till with that fearful crying,
"The mill maid of the golden hair
And lily hand is dying!"

The mill wheel for a day is still,
The spindle ceased its plying,
The little homestead on the hill
Looks sadder for her dying;
But, ere the third time in the spire
The Sabbath bell is ringing,
Not one of all the village choir
Will miss the mill maid's singing.

Dr. Bethune's Orations and Occasional Discourses have been published by George P. Putnam, of this city, in a duodecimo volume. We wish we had on our hands less of the lumber called news, that we might give some extracts, by way of showing how good a book it is. Dr. Bethune is a man of The moral tone of these poems is unexceptionlarge and generous views, uniting to the attainments able, and in the freest play of their fancy and of the scholar a knowledge of mankind. In dis-imagination the writers never lose sight of Chriscourses prepared for public occasions, it is almost tian reverence and humility. We cheerfully impossible that allusions, more or less direct, and commend them and their volume to the public favor. more or less connected with the occasion-to the inJ. G. W.

SHORT ARTICLES.-Grand Banquet to the Potato, 225.-The Harem Opened, 229.-Penny Post of England, 237.-Ocean Postage, 238.-Cheap Postage, 239.-New Books, 239.

Or all the Periodical Journals devoted to literature and science which abound in Europe and in this country, this has appeared to me to be the most useful. It contains indeed the exposition only of the current literature of the English language, but this by its immense extent and comprehension includes a portraiture of the human mind in the utmost expansion of the present age. J. Q. ADAMS.

LITTELL'S LIVING AGE.-No. 299.-9 FEBRUARY, 1850.

From Tait's Magazine.

THE POSITION OF THE COLONIES.

sea opposite to our own eastern shores. They have also sent out to western lands one band of emigrants after another, in an unceasing stream, for two centuries. The British people have, undoubtedly, taken the greatest part of this work. The emigrants went forth more advanced in science and civilization than their ancestors when they came from the East. They carried out with them the knowledge of Christianity; therefore, they have made rapid progress, and they may be destined to progress more rapidly hereafter than they have done before. They may rise on our fall. It is a course in keeping with the teachings of history and of nature; and yet one against which we are called upon to rebel, and are in duty while resisting. We have no right to commit imperial suicide, even if we believe that our hour is come. The edifice erected by the incessant labor and the painful sacrifices of our fathers, should not be

dream that it will not last much longer. We should guard it with that religious care bestowed upon a friend, beside whose bed we watch for parting breath, feeling that it cannot be long delayed; and still we guard the feeble remnant with a reverence not conceded to strength and youth.

NOVEMBER has nearly passed without brightening the prospects of our colonial empire in any corner of its wide horizon. Previous complications have become more tangled than on the anniversary of the Anglo-Saxon empire, dating, as we are disposed to do, from the birth of Alfred. Without pleading guilty to any superstitious feeling, we do not deny the coincidences that may be sometimes traced in history between time and fate. The denial would imply discredence of the faith in the intervention of a Supreme Intelligence with the business of the earth. We know that an abstract Deity is acknowledged by a great number of intelligent men; but is not worshipped, because a being of that character, with closed eyes and folded arms, deserves no adoration, and can neither inspire fear nor love. We cannot wilfully thrown down by us, although we may believe in a Deity wearied and fatigued, indolent and slothful, or even careless and negligent of the works he has created and the effects that they may produce. Therefore we are constrained to admit that times and seasons of individual and national greatness and prosperity are measured and marked. We may have reached the climax, may have climbed the peak, and may be rapidly moving These gloomy forebodings are the worst that downwards on our decline to our fall as a great we could cherish, and we will have nothing to do empire. Gigantic and new combinations are with them. The wisdom of the West has not yet forming elsewhere; and, true to the ordinary reached its years of discretion; and the oracular types in nature, the parent tree may have com- announcements in the United States press, regardmenced its season of decay. Even our national ing the early demise of the British empire, may oak dies at last, as Methuselah perished, ere it not be true, although many influential men in this reaches the millennium. Our race have under-country act as if they wished to fulfil them. The gone similar vicissitudes before. Emigration has condition of the concern is not yet entirely desbeen always the cause of their prosperity and perate, if we take means now. to supply its defects. their doom. They sent down, from the Persian The ship is not absolutely embayed in the storm, mountains, from the springs of the Assyrian and might keep the sea, with clear heads and rivers, over from the shores of the Euxine and strong hands at the helm. Difficulties should the Mediterranean to the bleak coasts of the Baltic neither be despised nor exaggerated; and we are and the North Sea, bodies of savage adventurers in difficulties, but not in despair. Our circumwho were doomed to rule a large portion of the stances should be fully searched, for no greater world, and to labor in the high places of the field calamity can occur in a struggle than ignorance for human civilization. These men everywhere of our weak points; and a struggle must come. made rapid progress. The history of their career | Fortunately, our danger is not from without, but is strangely interspersed with vice and virtue; but within. No foreign state can, in the present more has been done by them than by any other aspect of politics, endanger the stability and the people to establish freedom, to advance science, to permanence of the British union. A repetition promote literature, to cherish pure faith, to spread of our reasons for desiring its permanence is blessings over the earth, to raise themselves and unnecessary. They have been stated already, all their brethren nearer to happiness-further and it is of more importance now to describe the from misery. They might have done more with measures by which that object may be accomtheir gigantic opportunities-for we do not refer alone to the people of the British isles, but also to those kindred nations who inhabit the Baltic coasts, and those who won a kingdom from the VOL. XXIV. 16

CCXCIX.

LIVING AGE.

plished. Our colonial empire has never been fully united. Its different parts never have been run into each other, but merely chained together. The wisdom of past statesmen, who left matters

in that position, was certainly not admirable. In care of immovable and irresponsible agents.

this, and in many other respects, they pursued a This arrangement is not without advantages, but policy of which we now reap fruits that they it is also liable to many objections, and has not might have foreseen. The fashion of holding them worked beneficially for colonial interests. Many up as examples to us has no foundation in fact, parties, who have maturely and temperately confor they did little that we should now imitate.sidered the position of our colonies, hold that their They labored zealously for the extension of this direction should be under the management of a empire, while they planted within it the germs of death and decomposition. They talked, like their followers now, of making the colonies "integral portions" of the empire, while they adopted measures to alienate the colonists gradually from their fathers' land. They have gone, and accounted for their works, and we charge not their memory with infidelity to the trust they held; but of those who have succeeded them-of some who even now occupy their places, in right or wrong, many less charitable words are spoken and writ

ten.

board or commission-not affected by the party changes and combinations in home politics—not dependent on or removable with the cabinet; but forming, de facto, a separate and colonial cabinet. If it were possible to elevate this projected body above party strife to the judicial position, it would become irresponsible to a considerable extent, and in important matters. If, on the other hand, it continued to be responsible to Parliament, it would necessarily fall with the companion cabinet which held in charge our home affairs and foreign transactions. Nothing can be more difficult than From the commencement of our colonization, so to reconcile conflicting interests that we shall the colonists were disconnected from the empire. have a responsible colonial cabinet, yet indepenThey were denied representation. They were dent of the agitations solely connected with home managed like babes. They were not our part-affairs-with, for example, the movements against ners, but our wards-treated as if they were yet the Irish church, or for the Irish municipal franof nonage. chises, or the Scotch sanatory act. Two suns in The colonists were not merely deprived of anyone sky would not agree. The whigs in possesshare in the imperial government, but they were sion of the home, and the tories paramount in the denuded of the powers of self-government. They colonial cabinet, would carry on perpetual war, to were compelled to resign the privileges which the great damage and discredit of the public they had enjoyed as British subjects, and were service. Therefore, we are bound to dismiss this placed under the guidance of that spectral power suggestion as good, if practicable; but not to be -the colonial office. They wanted local govern-thought of by reason of its impracticability. ment. All their officials were appointed by the The revenue system was equally deleterious. ministry. Even at home no steady scheme of We paid for the formation of colonies, and protyranny was pursued. The colonial secretary tected our agriculturists against their produce. was a member of the cabinet, dependent for offi-Colonial corn was heavily taxed. To increase cial existence upon the success of his party, the consumption of barley in whiskey, a heavy whose power existed only along with their ma-duty was laid on rum. The landed proprietors jority, and lapsed when that was converted into a believed that the admission of colonial corn and minority. provisions free of duty would ruin them, and The colonial secretary never acquired that resisted the proposal until they brought all the intimate acquaintance with colonial details essen-world upon their heads. Instead of fostering tial to success in his business. He understood mutual and reciprocal relations with the colonies, the general scope of the policy pursued by his we endeavored to buy as little from, and sell as party towards the colonies. He was acquainted much to them, as possibly could be done. The with their intentions and purposes; but he never gentlemen who contrived that plan of imperial acquired a suitable knowledge of details. He was, commerce forgot that those who do not sell profitfor all these affairs, dependent on his subordinates. ably will not be long good buyers. They adopted They became the real pests of the colonies, the an error of the present day, and applied it to the real directors of the colonial administration. The colonies instead of the home counties. They public know not how closely the subordinates of seemed to think that so long as people bought the public offices cling to their places and their extensively, they must sell largely. It may appear salaries. A change of ministry affects them not. improbable, but it is true, that the principles of The hostile vote of Parliament may take ven- the political economy clubs of 1847 were those on geance on a bad minister; while the men who have which William Pitt, and other statesmen, conmade him bad sit secure in their high places, far sidered heaven-born in their time, and by their above parliamentary censure or control. It is followers, had long acted towards the colonies. notorious that the real, but the irresponsible, man- "Take care of the purchases, and the sales will agers of public offices are not affected by the mind themselves," say all the enlightened dabdefeat of parties and the overthrow of cabinets. blers in modern political economy. It is only the Thus, while the leading features of our colonial echo of an old maxim. We once told the colopolicy change perpetually with party movements, nists the same figment, whereby now we are selfthe details, which often become the source of great cheated and injured. Trade must have two sides. irritancy and vexation to the colonists, are in the A merchant may buy most advantageously, and