tween the principal cities, and seriously
affect the revenues of the department, from the want of adequate powers
for their suppression." The complaint is continually, of a want of
adequate powers to suppress the practice. The law of 1845 has gone as far
as could be desired in the severity of penalties and the extent of their
application, involving in heavy fines every person who shall send or
receive letters; and every stage-coach, railroad car, steamboat, or other
vehicle or vessel--its owners, conductors and agents, which may knowingly
be employed in the conveyance of letters, or in the conveyance of any
person employed in such conveyance, under penalty of $50 for each letter
transported. What the post-office department would deem "adequate powers"
for the suppression of illicit letter-carrying, may be seen in the
following extract of a bill, which was actually reported by the
post-office committee of the House of Representatives, and "printed by
order of the House:"

"And it shall be lawful for the agents of the post-office, or
other officers of the United States government, upon reasonable
cause shown, to arrest such person or persons, and seize his or
their boxes, bags, or trunks, supposed to contain such mailable
matter, and cause the same to be opened and examined before any
officer of the United States; and if found to contain such
mailable matter, transported in violation of the laws of the
United States, shall be held to bail in the sum of five thousand
dollars, to appear and answer said charge before the next United
States Court to be held in said State, or district of said State;
and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined as aforesaid, one
hundred dollars for each letter, newspaper, or printed sheet so
transported as aforesaid, and shall be held in the custody of the
marshal until the fine and costs are paid, or until otherwise
discharged by due course of law."

The report of 1845 thinks there is "no just reason why individuals engaged
in smuggling letters and robbing the department of its legitimate revenues
should not be punished, in the same way and to the same extent, as persons
guilty of smuggling goods; nor why the same means of detection should not
be given to the Post-office Department which are now given to the
Treasury." That is, the power of detention and search in all cases of
suspicion by the agent, that a person is carrying lett