nterest which this subject has already acquired
in the British nation, and the apparent disposition of that government to
yield to the well-expressed wishes of the people, there can be no doubt
that this would lead to an immediate adjustment of the pending
controversy.

The only remaining question respecting Ocean Penny Postage is the
statesmanlike and proper one, _How is the expense to be paid?_ In the
first place, the government would not be required to pay any more money
for the transportation of its mails than they pay now. This great boon can
be given to the people without a dollar's additional cost. Our own
experience under the postage act of 1845, proves this. While the number of
letters is doubled, the whole expense of the post-office is
diminished--especially that part which might most naturally be expected to
increase, that is, the transportation of the mails. The freight of a
barrel of flour, weighing 200 pounds, is about fifty cents. Of course, the
equitable price of ten thousand letters added to any given mail, which
would not weigh so much as a barrel of flour, would make no assignable
difference in the cost upon a single letter. As both sailing ships and
steam packets are becoming multiplied, individual competition may now be
relied on to keep the price of transportation of mails from ever rising
above its present standard. The increase of the number of letters makes
but very little addition to the aggregate expense of the post-office. In
the first year of the penny postage in England, there were ninety-three
millions of letters added to the mails, and only L70,231 to the whole
expenditure of the department, including the cost of introducing the new
system, with all its apparatus. This amounts to 0.181_d._; less than
two-tenths of a penny each for the added letters. In 1844, there were
21,000,000 letters added to the circulation, and not a farthing added to
the cost. These letters yielded about L90,000 in postage, every penny of
which went as net gain into the treasury. I have no means of stating how
much of the L450,000 added to the yearly expenditure of the British
Post-office, is chargeable to the great increase of facilities and
accommodations, both of the public and of the department; but have
understood that by far the greater part of it arises from this, and not
properly from the mere increase of letters. It may be safely assumed that,
for any number of letters now added to the mails in Great Britai