charged with one-fourth the foregoing rates and on all such newspapers published semi-monthly shall be charged with one-half the foregoing rates; and papers published semi-weekly shall be charged double those rates; tri-weekly, treble those rates; and oftener than tri-weekly, five times those rates. And there shall be charged upon every other newspaper, and each circular not sealed, handbill, engraving, pamphlet, periodical, magazine, book, and every other description of printed matter, which shall be unconnected with any manuscript, or written matter, and which it may be lawful to transmit through the mail, of no greater weight than one ounce, for any distance not exceeding five hundred miles, one cent; and for each additional ounce, or fraction of an ounce, one cent; for any distance exceeding five hundred miles and not exceeding one thousand five hundred miles, double those rates; for any distance exceeding one thousand five hundred miles and not exceeding two thousand five hundred miles, treble those rates; for any distance exceeding two thousand five hundred miles and not exceeding three thousand five hundred miles, four times those rates; for any distance exceeding three thousand five hundred miles, five times those rates. Subscribers to all periodicals shall be required to pay one quarter's postage in advance; in all such cases the postage shall be one-half the foregoing rates. Bound books, and parcels of printed matter not weighing over thirty-two ounces, shall be deemed mailable matter, under the provisions of this section. And the postage on all printed matter other than newspapers and periodicals published at intervals, not exceeding three months, and sent from the office of publication to actual and bona fide subscribers, to be prepaid; and in ascertaining the weight of newspapers for the purpose of determining the amount of postage chargeable thereon, they shall be weighed when in a dry state. And whenever any printed matter on which the postage is required by this section to be prepaid shall, through the inattention of Postmasters, or otherwise, be sent without prepayment, the same shall be charged with double the amount of postage which would have been chargeable thereon if the postage had been prepaid: but nothing in this act contained shall subject to postage any matter which is exempted from the payment of postage by any existing law. And the Postmaster General, by and with the advice and consent of the President of the United States, shall be and he is hereby authorized to reduce or enlarge, from time to time, the rates of postage upon all letters and other mailable matter conveyed between the United States and any foreign country, for the purpose of making better postal arrangements with other governments, or counteracting any adverse measures affecting our postal intercourse with foreign countries; and postmasters at the office of delivery are hereby authorized, and it shall be their duty, to remove wrappers and envelopes from all printed matter and pamphlets not charged with letter postage, for the purposes of ascertaining whether there is upon or connected with any such printed matter, or in any such package, any matter or thing which would authorize or require the charge of a higher rate of postage thereon. And all publishers of pamphlets, periodicals, magazines, and newspapers which shall not exceed sixteen ounces in weight, shall be allowed

to interchange their publications reciprocally free of postage: Provided, That such interchange shall be confined to a single copy of each publication: And provided, also, That said publishers may enclose in their publications the bills for subscriptions thereto without any additional charge for postage: And provided, further, That in all cases where newspapers shall not contain over three hundred square inches they may be transmitted through the mails by the publishers to bona fide subscribers at one-fourth the rates fixed by this act.

SEC. 3. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the Postmaster-General to provide and furnish to all deputy postmasters, and to all other persons applying and paying therefor, suitable postage. stamps of the denomination of three cents, and of such other denominations as he may think expedient to facilitate the pre-payment of the postages provided for in this act; and any person who shall forge or counterfeit any postage-stamp provided or furnished under the provisions of this or any former act, whether the same are impressed or printed on or attached to envelopes or not, or any die, plate, or engraving therefor, or shall make or print, or knowingly use or sell, or have in his possession with intent to use or sell, any such false, forged, or counterfeited die, plate, engraving, or postage-stamp, or who shall make or print, or authorize or procure to be made or printed, any postage-stamps of the kind provided and furnished by the Postmaster-General as aforesaid, without the special authority and direction of the Post-Office Department, or who, after such postage-stamps have been printed, shall, with intent to defraud the revenues of the Post-Office Department, deliver any postage-stamps to any person or persons other than such as shall be authorized to receive the same by an instrument of writing duly executed under the hand of the Postmaster-General, and the seal of the Post-Office Department, shall, on conviction thereof, be deemed guilty of felony, and be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding five years, or by both such fine and imprisonment; and the expenses of procuring and providing all such postage-stamps and letter envelopes, as are provided for or authorized by this act, shall be paid, after being adjusted by the Auditor of the Post-Office Department, on the certificate of the Postmaster-General, out of any money in the Treasury arising from the Post-Office Department.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of every Postmaster to cause to be defaced, in such manner as the PostmasterGeneral shall direct, all postage-stamps attached to letters deposited in his office for delivery, or to be sent by mail; and if any Postmaster, sending letters in the mail with postage-stamps attached, shall omit to deface the same, it shall be the duty of the Postmaster to whose offices such letters shall be sent for delivery to deface the stamps and report the delinquent Postmaster to the Postmaster-General. And if any person shall use, or attempt to use, in pre-payment of postage, any postagestamp which shall have been before used for like purposes, such persons shall be subject to a penalty of fifty dollars for every such offence, to be recovered in the name of the United States, in any court of competent jurisdiction.

SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That lists of letters remaining uncalled for in any Post-office in any city, town, or village, where a newspaper shall be printed, shall hereafter be published once only in the newspaper which, being issued weekly or oftener, shall have the largest circulation within the range of delivery of said office, to be decided by the Postmaster-General, under such regulations as shall be prescribed by him, at a charge not exceeding one [three] at such office, at such time, and under such regulations as the Postmaster-General shall prescribe; and at a charge of one cent for each letter advertised. And the Postmaster at such office is hereby directed to post in a conspicuous place in his office a copy of such list, on the day or day after the publication thereof; and if the publisher of any such paper shall refuse to publish the list of letters as provided in this section, the Postmaster may designate some other paper for such purpose. Such lists of letters shall be published once in every six weeks, and as much oftener, not exceeding once a week, as the Postmaster-General may specially direct: Provided, That the Postmaster-General may, in his discretion, direct the publication of German and other foreign letters in any newspaper printed in the German or any other foreign language, which publication shall be in lieu of or in addition to the publication of the list of such letters in the manner first in this section provided, as the Postmaster-General shall direct.

SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That to any Postmaster whose commissions may be reduced before the amount allowed at his office for the year ending the thirtieth day of June, eighteen hundred and fifty-one, and whose labors may be increased, the Postmaster-General shall be authorized, in his discretion, to allow such additional commissions as he may deem just and proper; Provided, That the whole amount of commissions allowed such Postmaster during the fiscal year shall not exceed by more than twenty per cent. the amount of commissions at such office for the year ending the thirtieth day of June, eighteen hundred and fifty-one.

SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That no Post-Office now in existence shall be discontinued, nor shall the mail service on any mail route in any of the States or Territories be discontinued or diminished, in consequence of any diminution of the revenues that may result from this act; and it shall be the duty of the Postmaster-General to establish new Post-Offices, and place the mail service on any new mail routes established, or that may hereafter be established, in the same manner as though this act had not passed: And provided, further, [That the compensation of no Postmaster shall be diminished in consequence of the passage of this act.]

SEC. 8. And be it further enacted, That there shall be paid to the Post-Office Department, in further payment and compensation for the Inail service performed for the two Houses of Congress and the other Departments and offices of the Government in the transportation of free matter, the sum of five hundred thousand dollars per year, which shall be paid quarterly, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated; and the moneys appropriated to the Post-Office Department by the twelfth section of the act "to establish certain post-routes

and for other purposes," approved March third, eighteen hundred and forty-seven, and remaining undrawn in the Treasury, shall continue subject to the requisition of the Postmaster-General, for the service of the Post-Office Department, notwithstanding the same may have so remained so undrawn for more than two years after it became subject to such requisition.

SEC. 9. And be it further enacted, That there is hereby appropriated, out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of five hundred thousand dollars, to supply any deficiency that may arise in the Post-Office Department.

SEC. 10. And be it further enacted, That it shall be in the power of the Postmaster-General, at all Post-Offices where the Postmasters are appointed by the President of the United States, to establish post routes within the cities or towns, to provide for conveying letters to the PostOffice, by establishing suitable and convenient places of deposit, and by employing carriers to receive and deposit them in the Post-Office; and at all such offices it shall be in his power to cause letters to be delivered by suitable carriers, to be appointed by him for that purpose, for which not exceeding one or two cents shall be charged, to be paid by the person receiving or sending the same; and all sums so received shall be paid into the Post-Office Department: Provided, The amount of compensation allowed by the Postmaster General to carriers shall in no case exceed the amount paid into the Treasury, by each town or city, under the provisions of this section.

SEC. 11. And be it further enacted, That from and after the passage of this act it shall be lawful to coin, at the mint of the United States and its branches, a piece of the denomination and legal value of three cents, or three hundreths of a dollar, to be composed of three-fourths of silver and one-fourth copper, and to weigh twelve grains and three-eighths of a grain; that the said coin shall bear such devices as shall be conspicuously different from those of the other silver coins, and of the gold dollar, but having the inscription United States of America, and its denomi nation and date; and that it shall be a legal tender in payment of debts for all sums of thirty cents and under; and that no ingots shall be used for the coinage of the three-cent pieces herein authorized, of which the quality differs more than five thousandths from the legal standard; and that, in adjusting the weight of the said coin, the following deviations from the standard weight shall not be exceeded, namely-one-half of a grain in a single piece, and one pennyweight in a thousand pieces. Approved, March 3, 1851.

DECLARATIONS OF THE UNIONISTS OF THE SOUTH ON THE SUBJECT OF SLAVERY.

THE GEORGIA STATE CONVENTION.

This body met in pursuance of a call from the governor. We insert extracts from the report of the committee, with the resolutions that were adopted by a vote of 237 to 19.

The practical questions presented for consideration are these: May Georgia, consistently with her honor, abide by the general scheme of pacification? If she may, then does her interest lie in adherence to it, or in resistance? A brief reference to a few facts of recent occurrence will furnish an affirmative answer to the first and most interesting inquiry. The people of Georgia were fully apprised that these great issues were pending before the national legislature. Their general assembly being in session, and assuming to represent their opinions, took them into consideration, and gave a distinct expression of their own views, and virtu ally required of the Congress of the United States conformity to those views. Numerous primary assemblies of the people passed upon the same questions, still in advance of the action of Congress, and whilst in many of these the requisitions of the general assembly were qualified, in none, it is believed, were they enlarged. These movements belong to the history of the controversy, and were intended to exert an influence at the capitol. Whether attributable in any degree to that influence or not, the result has been strict conformity to the line of policy thus indicated, save in one instance. That one is the admission of California into the Union. Upon the expediency of this measure, separately considered, the people of Georgia are in some measure divided in opinion; upon the graver question of its constitutionality, still more so. Surely, then, respect for the opinions of the other party to the controversy, who have so largely conformed to our views, and a proper allowance for disagreement among ourselves on the latter branch of this question, will enable even those who hold the act inexpedient and unconstitional to abide by it honorably and gracefully.

The proposition that, weighed in the scale of interest, the preponderance is vastly on the side of non-resistance, is too plain for argument. This act being in its nature unsusceptible of repeal, the only competent measure of resistance is secession. This would not repair the loss sustained, viz., deprivation of the right to introduce slavery into California. But it would subject Georgia, first, to the additional loss of all she has gained by the scheme of adjustment, e. g. the provision made for the reclamation of fugitive slaves; and secondly, it would annihilate forever all the advantages, foreign and domestic, derivable from her adherence to the confederacy. It may not be overlooked that, aside from the new 38

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