ORIGIN OF THE MAIL COACH SERVICE.
Thegreatest improvement in the English mail service, during the eighteenth century, was the introduction of mail coaches. This was brought about by the energy and perseverance ofJohn Palmer, Esq.Like most of those who introduce great improvements, he was an "outsider," one unacquainted by business habits and associations, with the postal service.
At that time (about 1783) stage coaches, with passengers, traversed the country over all the principal roads, and ran from five to seven miles an hour. The mails, however, hadneverhad any better conveyance than that of a horse or a gig, managed by a man or boy. The whole mail service was on a most irregular footing; mail robberies were frequent, and the speed did not average over three and a half miles an hour.
Mr. Palmer's plan was, to have the mails transferred to the stage coaches, that the swiftest conveyance which the country afforded should carry the mails. For so obvious an improvement, we would suppose that there would be little or no opposition. Parliamentary Committees were appointed, Post Masters General reported, and all the officials were against it! Statesmen took it up; the proposition was debated in Parliament; and, after many years of persevering labor, Mr. Palmer saw his plan adopted.
But opposition did not end here. There were more reportsagainst it, and those who opposed at first from ignorance, and a belief that no improvement would result, now kept up their opposition from a dread of being thought false prophets. But there were those who appreciated the improvement, and Mr. Palmer got a pension from Government of three thousand pounds a year for life, and afterwards a grant of fifty thousand pounds, for the benefit his improvement in the mail service had been to the revenue of the country.
We have, from a well known post-office reformer,[2]a nice piece of sarcasm for the special benefit of those whoopposegreat improvements, and then deny their value after they have been adopted and proved.
A report from the English Post Master General says: "From a comparison of the gross produce of inland postage: for four months, and from every other comparison they have been able to make, they were perfectly satisfied that the revenue has been very considerably decreased by the plan of mail coaches."
This report gives the opinions of the Lords of the Treasury, and enlarges on the innumerable inconveniences which the change had occasioned. The great post-office reformer, forty years after this, makes the following comment:—
"Heavy must be the responsibility on those who thus persisted in folly and mischief; and wonderful is it that Mr. Palmer should have been able to beguile the Government and the legislature into sanctioning his mad career! Who was the statesman, unworthy of the name, that thus gave the rein to audacity; that thus became, in his besotted ignorance, the tool of presumption? Who stood god-father to the vile abortion, and insisted on the admission of the hideous and deformed monster into the sacred precincts of Lombard Street, the seat of perfection? His name—alas! that the lynx should be guided by the mole! that Samson should be seduced by Delilah! Palimirus allured by a dream!—his name wasWilliam Pitt."
EVASION OF THE POST-OFFICE LAWS.
Beforethe adoption of the present rates of postage, much ingenuity was displayed in making newspapers the vehicles of such information as should legitimately have been conveyed by letters. Various devices were employed to effect this object.
As the law strictly prohibited writing upon papers, requiring that such newspapers should be charged with letter postage, the problem was, to convey information by their means without infringing the letter of the law.
Sometimes a sentence or a paragraph was selected, some of the letters of which were crossed out in such a manner that the letters left legible conveyed the meaning which the operator intended. By such transmuting process, pugnacious editorials were converted into epistles of the mildest and most affectionate description, and public news of an important character not unfrequently contracted into a channel for the conveyance of domestic intelligence.
As the constructions of the law on this subject, by the officers of the Department, became more and more stringent, the most amusing and ingenious inventions to get beyond their reach were resorted to.
For instance, marking an advertisement or other notice, with a pen or pencil, having been declared a violation of law, attention was sometimes called to such notices, by cutting round them on three sides, thus making a sort of flap, and doublingit back on the side left uncut. In one case, which now occurs to the author, a notice served in that way, thus producing a hole in the paper, had the strikingly appropriate caption of "A good Opening!"
The vacancy produced in the paper, in such a case, of course attracted the attention of the person who received it, andthatadvertisement was sure to be read, if no other.
Hieroglyphics were sometimes employed for conveying contraband ideas. The following will answer as a specimen of this class of attempted evasions. It was neatly drawn on the margin of a newspaper which came to a Western post-office, from a town in New England.
cover picture
The meaning will of course he readily understood by the reader—"Children all well!"
Such specimens of the fine arts are seldom attempted under the present low rates of postage, as the saving of two cents would hardly pay for the required time or labor. But there are those even now-a-days, who, for that paltry consideration, are found willing to compromise their consciences, if indeed they have any, by resorting to some of the less laborious methods, in attempting to carry out their prudential designs.
POST OFFICE PAUL PRYS.
Legislativeenactments have been found no less necessary, to defend the sacredness of private correspondence from the prying eye of curiosity, than from the plundering hand of dishonesty.
There are many who would recoil from the thought of robbing a letter of its pecuniary contents, but feel no compunction at violating its secrecy for the sake of indulging an idle or a malicious inquisitiveness, if the commission of the deed can be concealed. This may not be called a common evil, and yet it exists; and it is one against which Acts of Congress have been levelled almost in vain, for there is perhaps hardly any portion of the laws of that body relative to the protection of correspondence, through the mails, about which there is felt so great a degree of security.
This violation of the first principles of decency and propriety, not unfrequently leads to results more disastrous than those which are caused even by robbery itself. The person, too, who indulges himself in this disgraceful practice, cannot be sure that he will always keep clear of more serious misdemeanors. He who pries into letters for one purpose, may be led to pry into them for another. When one has become accustomed to tampering with letter seals, he has broken through a powerful restraint to crime, and has laid himself yet more open to the assaults of temptation.
Sometimes a state of things exists in a neighborhood which clearly shows that some unauthorized person is acquainted with the contents of many of the letters passing-through the post-office, before the rightful owners have received them. Secrets of the utmost importance are suddenly blazed abroad, and those of less consequence are used to inflict much annoyance upon the persons whom they concern. Those in charge of the post-office become the objects of suspicion, and the inhabitants of the infected district, if they are unable to obtain positive proof of unlawful meddling with their correspondence, at least show, by their endeavors to prevent their letters from going through the dangerous channel, that they have lost their confidence in the integrity of the post master, or of his assistants.
For instance,—Farmer Haycroft's daughter had settled the preliminaries of a treaty of the most tender description with a young gentleman of a neighboring city, though without the knowledge and contrary to the wishes of the parental potentates on both sides. Their happiness, it is clear, depended on preserving their secret inviolate. Should it come to the ears of their "potent, grave, and reverendSeniors," a storm of wrath might be expected like that which is seen when two clouds, heavily charged, unite in pouring out their burden of lightning, wind, and rain.
Therefore, in order to avoid such a consummation, interviews were not risked, as being too hazardous, but a correspondence was carried on under fictitious names.
Much solicitude was felt by the inquisitive matron who presided over thePryingtonPost-Office, to know who "Elizabeth Greene" (thenom de guerreof the Haycroftian damsel) could be. So she cross-questioned the boy who inquired for letters for the aforesaid Elizabeth, but he was decidedly non-committal. And, as a last resort, she sent her servant-maid to follow the unwary messenger, and see where he went. She returned with the exciting intelligence that JaneHaycroft met him and received from his hands the letter which the boy had just taken from the office.
This information but aggravated the thirst for knowledge which raged in the breast of the post mistress, and she inwardly resolved that she would in some way unravel the mystery that lurked under the name of "Elizabeth Greene."
The town was shortly after astonished with the news of the proposed "match," and as the post-office dame was not supposed to deal inclairvoyance, the inference was natural that some less creditable but more certain method had been adopted to bring the important fact to light.
The detection of supposed guilt in cases of this kind was formerly very difficult, and heretofore the Special Agents had rather undertake the investigation of a dozen cases of mail robbery than to attempt to unearth one of these moles, working under ground, and gnawing at the roots of their neighbor's reputation and happiness. For these Paul Prys generally leave but few traces behind them by which they may be ferreted out, however strong the grounds of suspicion may be.
Tests have been devised, however, by which these dealers in contraband knowledge may be unerringly pointed out and detected in their contemptible occupation. A letter may be opened, read, and resealed never so carefully, yet by means of these tests the opening can be satisfactorily proved, and the opener brought to justice, at least so far as a removal from office can answer the ends of punishment.
A knowledge of this secret plan rests solely with the Post Master General and his Special Agents, and it can only be communicated to the latter under the most positive injunctions of secrecy. It will be applied in all cases where there is reasonable ground for believing that correspondence has been tampered with.
The legal penalty for this offence is five hundred dollars fine, and imprisonment for twelve months.
SPECIAL AGENTS.
Theinstitution of Special Agents did not originate in this country. At a comparatively early period it constituted a part of the British postal system, and these Agents are termed "Post-Office Surveyors." This corps of officials has ever been considered by the English Government one of the most important adjuncts of the Post-Office Department.
In the early history of the Department in our own country persons were occasionally employed, in cases of emergency, to act as its representatives, and to exercise temporary supervision over some of the various branches of the mail service; but the Special Agent system, as it now exists, was first organized in the year 1840, while the Hon. Amos Kendall was at the head of the Department.
The number of Special Agents in the United States has been gradually increased since their first establishment, and is now eighteen, suitably distributed throughout the country, each one having a district assigned him as the particular field of his operations, but to act elsewhere if so ordered.
It is not the intention to enter into an argument for the purpose of proving the usefulness of this branch of the Department. If this has not been shown by the facts recorded in the former part of this volume, as well as by the many prominent and familiar cases all over the country, which have been so successfully conducted by other members of the corps,it would be in vain to attempt it now. I would only say a few words respecting the power of this system, topreventcrime.
There are some persons in the world of firm principles and unbending rectitude, who need not the aid of outward circumstances for the maintenance of an upright character. But perhaps the majority of mankind require some external helps in the way of restraints, from public opinion, and even the threatenings of the law. On such the fear of detection frequently acts in a most salutary manner, deterring from the commission of crime, and sometimes leading to a higher motive for right conduct than apprehension of punishment.
In more than one instance, after the conclusion of some important case of depredation, I have been informed that money-letters, passing upon other routes than the ones under suspicion, and even at a considerable distance, have been regarded with a reverence never felt for them before. A portly envelope was considered a sort of Trojan horse, filled with the elements of destruction, ready to overwhelm the explorer of its treacherous recesses. This extraordinary caution was owing, of course, to the knowledge (which often gets out in spite of the utmost endeavors to prevent it) that the Special Agent was abroad; and when once a person has been thoroughly impressed with the danger of tampering with the forbidden thing, he does not soon nor easily yield to the whisperings of the tempter.
The duties of a Special Agent of the Post-Office Department involve a constant and vigilant supervision of all its interests. This embraces a much wider range of action, and requires much higher qualifications on the part of those who undertake it, than any simply "detective" service. It is believed that neither Congress nor the public generally attach such a degree of importance to the office in question as it really possesses, both in itself and in the estimation of the Department. This is perhaps owing to the fact that so great a proportion of its duties have of late been connected with the investigation of cases of depredation upon the mails. Thishas given the corps of Special Agents the apparent character of mere "detective officers," while in truth they are much more than this.
The qualifications which a Special Agent should possess are numerous and diverse; some, indeed, not often found in connection with one another. A high degree of shrewdness and tact is required, in order to estimate probabilities rightly, and to pursue investigations in such a way as to avoid attracting attention or exciting alarm. And an essential pre-requisite to success is a good knowledge of human nature. To calculate beforehand with correctness what a given person will do under certain circumstances, and thus to anticipate his movements, and make him subservient to the execution of your plans; to vary the mode of approach to suspected persons, according to the combinations of circumstances and the shades of character existing in the case in hand; to do all this, and much more of a like description, demands no small knowledge of the workings of the human mind.
It is comparatively an easy matter to follow up a mail robber when once upon his track, (though there is often nicety even in this,) but to collect the scattered rays of suspicion and conjecture, and to bring them together into one focus, throwing its revealing glare upon the criminal, requires a higher order of intellect than any after operations. And the caution which is always necessary in the conducting of these cases, in order to secure a successful result, is called for not only for the sake of detecting the guilty, but in order that the innocent may not suffer blame.
It often happens that circumstances of the strongest kind indicate the guilt of some person, who, notwithstanding, is entirely free from all connection with the crime. Never, perhaps, is a stronger temptation to hasty and indiscreet procedures offered than by such a state of things. Yet he who is guided by discretion, is not led away by the dazzling hope of immediate success in his investigation, but, aware how fallacious are sometimes the strongest appearances, he considersthe question before him with coolness and deliberation, fully conscious of the priceless value of character, and reluctant to make any movement that might unjustly throw a shadow upon it.
From the nature of their employment, Special Agents are constantly brought in contact with the most intelligent and prominent men in the community, who justly expect to find the Post-Office Department represented by men of gentlemanly bearing, fair education, correct deportment, and sound discretion. The absence of any of these qualities, especially of all of them, would lower the standing of the Department with those whose good opinion is most valuable, and would naturally cause speculations on the reasons why persons so deficient in the qualities necessary to make them acceptable to people of discernment, should have been appointed to such a responsible post.
It would hardly be just to hold the Department responsible for the existence of all such evils, as there is always danger that the influence and diplomacy of politicians may be used for the purpose of securing appointments to persons who are unfit for them. If the time ever comes when politicians shall act upon truly patriotic principles, then we may reasonably expect that the appointing of subordinate officers of this Department will be left to those in whose power the law has placed it, undisturbed by pressure from without.
The duties of a Special Agent are often made more difficult by the thoughtlessness or curiosity of those whom he meets in the course of his official business. The maintenance of secrecy is absolutely necessary to much success in his plans. It is perfectly obvious that the measures taken to detect a rogue should be concealed from him, and it is generally no less important that he should not know that any one is on his track. The public at large, however, seem to think themselves at liberty to inquire of an Agent all about his plans; where he is going, whom he is in pursuit of, and any other matters that curiosity may suggest. Often have I been saluted, on entering an omnibus or a railroad car, with the question, "Well. H——, who has been robbing the mails now?" thus making the person of the Agent known to all within hearing, and perhaps to some from whom it were very desirable to keep such knowledge. I received a similar salutation once from a thoughtless acquaintance, in the presence of a delinquent post-office clerk whom I was watching, and to whom I was before unknown.
In country places, also, Agents are often brought to their wit's end for answers to the questions proposed, which shall be satisfactory to the querist, and keep within the bounds of truth. Sometimes they find themselves compelled, in anticipation of this annoying curiosity, to take refuge in a mercantile character, inquiring the price of butter, and other "produce." At other times, with parental solicitude, they inform themselves of the comparative merits of different boarding-schools; or they, in pursuance of their own policy, discuss policies of "Life Insurance." I was once indebted to the system alluded to for my escape from the fangs of an inquisitive landlord. In the investigations of the case then in hand, it was of the utmost importance that the presence of an Agent of the Department, on that route, should not be known. So when mine host commenced his inquiries, I informed him that I had thought of delivering a lecture on Life Insurance, and asked him whether he supposed that an audience could be got together in the village. He appeared very much interested in the matter, and offered to guarantee at least five hundred hearers for the proposed lecture. One evening, while I was in my room employed in preparing decoy letters, he called upon some errand, and, observing me at work among some papers, he said:
"Ah, at work on your lecture, are you? Well, I won't disturb you."
We went so far as to make some arrangements for the printing of hand-bills, &c., but the mental illumination which the inhabitants of the village had in prospect, was extinguishedby my disappearance, accompanied by a culprit, whom it was more important to secure than even an "audience of five hundred." During the examination of the criminal, my worthy host inquired of me, with a sagacious wink, how the "Life Insurance" business flourished?
It may not be out of place here to allude to an erroneous idea respecting the powers of Special Agents, which prevails to some extent, namely, that the Agents are permitted by the Department to open letters addressed to other persons, where the interests of justice seem to require it. This is contrary to the truth. An Agent has no more power or right than any other person to open letters not belonging to him, for whatever purpose he may wish to do so. Should he see fit to break a seal, he does it at his own responsibility. The law makes no exceptions in his favor. And the Department cannot confer this power of opening letters, because no such power has been given it. The Post Master General is as accountable to the laws as any private citizen.
ROUTE AGENTS.
Thisis the designation of a very useful and indispensable class of officials, who were hardly known to the service in this country previous to the year 1839. Their introduction appears to have been contemporaneous with the employment of railroads for the transportation of the U. S. mails, and a necessary consequence of the adoption of this mode of conveyance.
The number of these Agents has been progressively increased in proportion with the extension of railroads, and they are now employed upon nearly all these roads in this country, as well as upon many of the steamboats which carry the mails.
Since 1847, they have increased as follows:—
By the terms of contract with each railroad company, it is required to furnish a suitable car for the use of the mail or Route Agent when so requested by the Department. TheAgent occupies this traveling post-office, or mail car, receives and delivers mails along the route; assorts, and gives the proper direction to all mail matter passing through his hands; mails such letters, pre-paidby stamps, as are handed him, and accompanies the mails in their transit between the post-office and the railroad station or steamboat, at the terminus of the route.
It is too often the case that persons of influence, in proposing a candidate for this responsible post, greatly undervalue the nature and importance of the duties to be performed, supposing that they involve merely the mechanical labor of delivering mail bags at the different post-office stations upon the route. The fact is, that the successful working of our postal machinery depends in no small degree upon the active, faithful, and intelligent discharge of the Route Agents' duties. In New England especially, and perhaps in some other sections of the country, a very large proportion of the correspondence passes through the hands of these officials, at some stage in its progress.
Much care, and a thorough knowledge of the topography of the sections of the country through which the route lies, as well as that of more distant portions, are therefore required for giving letter and other packages a direction by which they will reach their destination in the shortest possible time. And that essential preliminary, the ascertaining where a given package is to go, is a matter not always easy of accomplishment. For the most skilful interpreters of the species of chirography known as "quail tracks," are often taxed to their utmost capacity of learning and experience, in the endeavor to decipher the outside addresses of packages which they are required to "distribute" without loss of time.
Furthermore, in consequence of the improvements constantly progressing in many parts of the country, and the frequent changes in railroad, steamboat, and stage connections, resulting from that and other causes, what would be correct "distribution" one day, might not be so the next. The oldadage, "The longest way round is the shortest way home," is often literally true in the sending of mail matter, for steam occupies less time in accomplishing a circuitous route of a hundred miles, than horses in passing over a direct one of twenty.
On the other hand, it sometimes happens that a long route by stage should be adopted, instead of a short one by railroad, owing to a want of the proper railroad connections.
When all these demands upon the vigilance and ability of the Route Agent are exercised, it will be obvious that it would be difficult to estimate the amount of injury that the public might receive from the employment of a careless, inefficient, or illiterate person in this position.
Among the Post Master General's instructions to Route Agents is one requiring them to receive and mail all letters written after the closing of the mail at the places where the writers reside, and before its departure. This privilege—intended solely for the accommodation of those who are prevented by unavoidable circumstances from depositing their letters in the post-office—has of late been used, or rather abused, to a degree never dreamed of by the Department. This abuse, in many cases, has proceeded to an extent which would seem to warrant the withholding of the privilege.
Tardy and indolent correspondents, who can save a few steps by taking their letters to a mail car or steamboat, instead of to the proper place of deposit, a post-office, find the hard-worked Route Agent an invention admirably calculated to facilitate the indulgence of their lazy habits, and do not scruple to avail themselves of the opportunity to the utmost extent.
There is also a numerous class who entertain feelings of hostility toward their post master for various reasons; not unfrequently from the failure of their own attempts or those of their friends to obtain the office which he holds. These persons show their resentment by withholding their mail matter from the post-office, and thus cheating the incumbent out ofhis lawful commissions. In carrying out this plan, they make the Route Agent an innocent accessory, by placing all their correspondence in his car just before the departure of the train, thus unnecessarily increasing his labor for the sake of gratifying their own malice.
Another class, fully persuaded of the truth of the principle that "seeing is believing," and unwilling to trust in anything less reliable than their own eyes, deposit their letters with the Agent rather than in the post-office, in order to avoid the innumerable perils which might beset them in their passage from the custody of the post master to that of the Agent! These cautious persons are not satisfied without ocular demonstration of the departure of their letters, so that if the letters should fail to reach their destination, they would still have the pleasing consciousness that they had done all intheirpower to avoid such a catastrophe.
Still another class confide their letters to the Route Agent, from a belief that letters, especially valuable ones, will thus go forward more safely and expeditiously. But this is an incorrect idea, for in the first place the pressure of other indispensable duties, such as receiving, assorting, and delivering mails, may occupy so much of the Agent's time that he will find it impossible to mail all the letters handed him, in which case they would often suffer at least a day's delay. And as to the supposed additional safety of money-letters, when sent in this way, it may be remarked that in case of a serious collision happening to the train while the letters were still loose, the chances of their loss from destruction or theft, would be much greater than if they were properly secured in a locked mail-pouch. Important losses have occurred in this way, and of course they may happen at any time.
In behalf of the Route Agents, whose duties, at best, are sufficiently arduous, the public are earnestly requested to exercise the privilege referred to only in accordance with its original intention, namely, in reference to letters whichcannotwith due diligence be mailed in the ordinary way.
Another important regulation contained in the Route Agents' instructions, is that which forbids the admission within the mail car of any one except those officially connected with the Department. The strict enforcement of this rule is well for all concerned, and should be cheerfully acquiesced in by the railroad companies and the public at large.
Nor should its application in individual cases be construed, as has sometimes been done, into a distrust of the honor or honesty of the person refused admittance. It is done simply in pursuance of a wholesome and reasonable requirement, and with the view to confine responsibility to those upon whom it is placed by the Department, and to guard against hindrances to the faithful and accurate discharge of their duty.
The faithfulness of one of the Route Agents, in respect to a compliance with Instructions, was a few years since tested by the Post Master General in person, who happened to be travellingincog., so far as those on that train were concerned.
Just as the cars were about to leave one of the stations. JudgeHall, then Post Master General, presented himself at the door of the mail apartment, when the following conversation occurred:—
Post Master General.—Good morning, sir; I would like a seat in your car to avoid the dust.
Agent.—Well, I would like to accommodate you, but you see what my Instructions say, (at the same time pointing to the printed Circular posted up in the car, with the signature of "N. K. Hall" attached.)
P. M. General.—Yes, that is all well enough, but Mr. Hall probably did not mean to exclude honorable gentlemen who would not interfere with the mails, or annoy you with conversation.
Agent.—(Scanning the person of his unknown visitor pretty closely)—Suppose he didn't, what evidence have I that you are an honorable gentleman? Besides, I am a strict constructionist, and the order says no person is allowed here except those connected with the Department.
Judge Hall insisted upon staying, however, and deliberately took a seat in the only chair on the premises. Whereupon the Agent proceeded to call the baggage-master to assist in forcibly ejecting this persevering customer; and he certainly would havegone out, had he not without loss of time presented his card to the incensed Agent, just in time to prevent so ludicrous a denouement.
He was warmly commended for his faithfulness, and highly enjoyed the visit of his distinguished guest during the remainder of his stay.
DECOY LETTERS.
Thosewho may have perused the preceding pages of this work, will require no further comment on the nature and utility of decoy letters. But as some persons are met with who, without much reflection, condemn their use under all circumstances, it may be well to offer a few remarks in defence of this practice.
It is very clear that decoy letters can never injure honest men. These missives trouble no one who does not unlawfully meddle with them, and it can hardly be claimed that they offer any greater temptations to the dishonestly inclined than any other class of money-letters. It is of course impossible for any one to distinguish between a decoy letter and a genuine one, and he who faithfully discharges his duties in reference to other letters, will never find out by his own personal experience, that there are such things as decoys.
It should not be forgotten that these devices are employed for the public good, and that the security of a vast amount of property, as well as the removal of unjust suspicion, often depends upon the detection of some delinquent post-office employé. In such a case, it would surely be foolishly fastidious to object to the adoption of a method of effecting the desired end, which accurately distinguishes between the innocent and the guilty, and which does injustice to no one.
In the defence of criminals tried in the United StatesCourts, for mail robbery, whose detection has been effected by means of decoy letters, especially in cases where there seems to be no other ground of defence, it is frequently insisted on very eloquently, that as the law of Congress on this subject provides against the embezzlement of letters "intended to be conveyed by post," no offence is committed by the purloining of decoys, inasmuch as this class of epistles are notbonâ fideletters, and are not intended to be conveyed in the mail, within the true intent and meaning of the statute.
This position has been overthrown, however, as often as it has been assumed, and it is believed that the decisions on this point, of all the United States Judges before whom the question has been raised, have been uniform throughout the country.
In a recent important trial in the city of New York, before his Honor JudgeBetts, the decoy system received a severe hetchelling from the learned counsel for the prisoner, and after the evidence had been laid before the jury, the Court was asked to dismiss the case and the culprit, on the ground that the offence provided against in the twenty-first section of the Act of 1825, had not been committed.
But his Honor took a very different view of the matter, as will appear by the following extract from his decision:—
Judge Betts remarked to the jury that the facts upon which the indictment is found being uncontroverted, the question of the prisoner's guilt depends solely upon points of law.When facts are ascertained, it is the province of the Court to determine whether they come within the provisions of the law sought to be applied to them; and, although in criminal cases the jury gives a general answer, covering both the law and fact, to the inquiry whether the accused is guilty or not guilty, it is not to be supposed they will, in a case resting wholly upon a question of law, render a verdict in opposition to the instructions of the Court. The defence of the accused assumes that the twenty-first section above recited, in order to a conviction under it, demands affirmative proof from the prosecution that the letters wereintended to be conveyed by post, according to their address: And it is urged that such proof not being made, but on the contrary, the evidence being that the writer of the letters didnot intend they should be so delivered, but meant to take them out of the mail himself, to prevent their delivery, if they were not embezzled in the office in this city, the acts done by the accused are no offence under the statute.I think that construction of the statute cannot be maintained in respect to letters actually in the mail, and especially in this case, where the letters had been conveyed by post and came into this office by the mail from other offices.It is a presumption of law, and not a matter of proof, that letters so circumstanced, were intended to be conveyed by post. The question of intention is no longer referable to the private purpose of the writer, whatever might be the fact when letters are given to persons employed in the Post-Office Department, out of the office, for the purpose of being put into it or conveyed by mail.When, however, a letter already in the mail is purloined, (1 McLean R. 504; 2 Id. 434,) or is embezzled by a carrier on the route, (1 Curtis R. 367,) it is, in judgment of law, intended to be conveyed by post, within the meaning of the statute, and the private purpose and intention of the person who put it in the mail, is in no way material, and need not be proved.Nor indeed, if the accused can prove, or it is made to appear upon the evidence of the prosecution, that the letter was placed in the mail or came into a post-office, prepared and intended as a decoy, and was not intrusted to the mail in the way of bonâ fide correspondence, is the criminality of taking it thereby absolved: even if the evidence advances another stage, and shows that the decoy was aimed at and intended for the particular person caught by it, (The United Statesv.Laurence, 2 McLean R. 441;The United Statesv.Foye, 1 Curtis R. 307-8.)These decisions enforce the manifest policy of the statute. The post-office establishment, and the enactments maintaining the security of its action and the fidelity of persons employed in it, compose a great national measure, and the laws governing and protecting it are to be construed so as to subserve the public good, and not with a view to what might be a reasonable rule in transactions between individuals. But I apprehend that even in individual transactions, the agents of a bank, a merchant's clerk, or a domestic servant could not protect themselves against a criminal or civil charge of appropriating the effects of their employers, by proof that the property had been placed within their reach by its owner, in distrust of their honesty, and for the purpose of testing it.The method adopted by the Department to detect offenders under this law, does not appear to me objectionable in the point of view pressed by the counsel for the accused. No further temptation or facility to the commission of the offence is thereby placed before such offenders than must necessarily be presented in the daily business of their trusts. These packages were in every respect the same in appearance, and with only the same indications of enclosing money, as ordinary letters by which remittances are made. And it seems to me when it comes to be understood by persons handling such packages in the mail or destined for it, that a watchful eye may be following each package from office to office, and noticing everything done to it, that the apprehension of such supervision may act almost with the force of a religious consciousness of accountability, in awing wicked purposes and preventing criminal actions.I am persuaded that letters would rarely be intercepted in their transmission by post, if every person concerned in mailing or carrying them, could be impressed with the idea that each package enclosing valuables, may be but a bait seeking to detect whoever may be dishonest enough to molest it, and to become a swift witness for his conviction and punishment.The jury convicted the prisoner, and on the 29th day of December, 1854, he was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment.
Judge Betts remarked to the jury that the facts upon which the indictment is found being uncontroverted, the question of the prisoner's guilt depends solely upon points of law.
When facts are ascertained, it is the province of the Court to determine whether they come within the provisions of the law sought to be applied to them; and, although in criminal cases the jury gives a general answer, covering both the law and fact, to the inquiry whether the accused is guilty or not guilty, it is not to be supposed they will, in a case resting wholly upon a question of law, render a verdict in opposition to the instructions of the Court. The defence of the accused assumes that the twenty-first section above recited, in order to a conviction under it, demands affirmative proof from the prosecution that the letters wereintended to be conveyed by post, according to their address: And it is urged that such proof not being made, but on the contrary, the evidence being that the writer of the letters didnot intend they should be so delivered, but meant to take them out of the mail himself, to prevent their delivery, if they were not embezzled in the office in this city, the acts done by the accused are no offence under the statute.
I think that construction of the statute cannot be maintained in respect to letters actually in the mail, and especially in this case, where the letters had been conveyed by post and came into this office by the mail from other offices.
It is a presumption of law, and not a matter of proof, that letters so circumstanced, were intended to be conveyed by post. The question of intention is no longer referable to the private purpose of the writer, whatever might be the fact when letters are given to persons employed in the Post-Office Department, out of the office, for the purpose of being put into it or conveyed by mail.
When, however, a letter already in the mail is purloined, (1 McLean R. 504; 2 Id. 434,) or is embezzled by a carrier on the route, (1 Curtis R. 367,) it is, in judgment of law, intended to be conveyed by post, within the meaning of the statute, and the private purpose and intention of the person who put it in the mail, is in no way material, and need not be proved.
Nor indeed, if the accused can prove, or it is made to appear upon the evidence of the prosecution, that the letter was placed in the mail or came into a post-office, prepared and intended as a decoy, and was not intrusted to the mail in the way of bonâ fide correspondence, is the criminality of taking it thereby absolved: even if the evidence advances another stage, and shows that the decoy was aimed at and intended for the particular person caught by it, (The United Statesv.Laurence, 2 McLean R. 441;The United Statesv.Foye, 1 Curtis R. 307-8.)
These decisions enforce the manifest policy of the statute. The post-office establishment, and the enactments maintaining the security of its action and the fidelity of persons employed in it, compose a great national measure, and the laws governing and protecting it are to be construed so as to subserve the public good, and not with a view to what might be a reasonable rule in transactions between individuals. But I apprehend that even in individual transactions, the agents of a bank, a merchant's clerk, or a domestic servant could not protect themselves against a criminal or civil charge of appropriating the effects of their employers, by proof that the property had been placed within their reach by its owner, in distrust of their honesty, and for the purpose of testing it.
The method adopted by the Department to detect offenders under this law, does not appear to me objectionable in the point of view pressed by the counsel for the accused. No further temptation or facility to the commission of the offence is thereby placed before such offenders than must necessarily be presented in the daily business of their trusts. These packages were in every respect the same in appearance, and with only the same indications of enclosing money, as ordinary letters by which remittances are made. And it seems to me when it comes to be understood by persons handling such packages in the mail or destined for it, that a watchful eye may be following each package from office to office, and noticing everything done to it, that the apprehension of such supervision may act almost with the force of a religious consciousness of accountability, in awing wicked purposes and preventing criminal actions.
I am persuaded that letters would rarely be intercepted in their transmission by post, if every person concerned in mailing or carrying them, could be impressed with the idea that each package enclosing valuables, may be but a bait seeking to detect whoever may be dishonest enough to molest it, and to become a swift witness for his conviction and punishment.
The jury convicted the prisoner, and on the 29th day of December, 1854, he was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION.
Thedesign of the author, in the preparation of the present volume, would be but imperfectly answered, were he to fail to communicate that practical information which it is very desirable that the public at large should possess, both for their own sake and that of those connected with the mail service. For, an accurate knowledge of the requirements of the law upon leading points, would obviate much of the disappointment and unpleasant feeling to which mistaken views on the subject give rise. There are popular errors on many matters connected with post-office regulations which are every day causing trouble and vexation, and which can only be corrected by presenting the facts as they are.
This information is not accessible to the public in general; at least, it is out of the way, and is not kept before the people. The Department publishes, at irregular intervals, an edition of its laws and regulations for the use of post masters, each of whom is supplied with a copy; and this, with the exception of the ordinary newspaper record of the laws as they are passed, is the only source of information upon this subject open to people in general. The detail of regulations established by the Department, seldom finds its way into the papers, and correspondents are left to acquire their knowledge respecting it by (sometimes sad) experience.
It is the intention of the author to supply these deficiencies in part at least, avoiding, however, all laws and regulations likely to be changed by legislation, or the constructions put upon them by the chief officers appointed from time to time to administer those laws.
Post masters being already provided with the official instructions pertaining to their duties, a repetition here is deemed unnecessary farther than a knowledge of the laws and regulations may be essential to the public.
For the items of information presented below, the author relies in part on the suggestions of his own experience, but they are mainly compiled from the established regulations of the Post-Office Department, and such of the decisions of its chief officers as are likely to remain permanently in force:—