The Daily Cincinnati Republican, And Commercial Register

THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT

The resolution unanimously adopted by the Senate, declaring that "as congress alone possess the power to borrow money on the credit of the U. States," the sums borrowed by the Postmaster General "to make up a deficiency in the means of carrying on the business of the post office department," were so borrowed without authority of congress, and therefore illegal and void, is represented by the opposition press, in nearly every conceivable shape, as a signal rebuke to Maj. Barry and "a marked and merited condemnation of his official behavior."

Now it has never been pretended that Maj. Barry borrowed the money in question on the authority of Congress, or on "the credit of the United States." The question arose whether he should borrow sufficient to "carry on the department,"—to keep up the present extended facilities for the transportation of the mail, which were so loudly demanded by the public voice, if not required by the public convenience, and which have resulted so advantageously to the business men and to the community generally:" or refuse to borrow, and thus prevent not only the business of the department from being "carried on," but interrupt, to an injurious extent, the transmission of the mails. The Postmaster General did not hesitate, under the circumstances, to adopt the alternative which enabled the department to continue the existing mail arrangements, except so far as they could be retrenched without detriment to the public. He did not hesitate to borrow the money. But he did not borrow a farthing "on the credit of the United States." The government nor the national treasury was made in any degree responsible for the money thus borrowed. It was borrowed on the faith of the Post-office department, to be paid by it, and by none other. The loan certainly was not authorised by act of congress, and so far as it could be said to have been made "on the credit of the U. States," "the contracts for loans were illegal and void;" i. e. not obligatory upon the treasury of the U. States. But that they are valid contracts, and will be paid by the Postmaster General, and that the funds of the Department will enable him to discharge them fully in a less period than stated by that officer to the committee, we have no doubt.