Duke University Libraries 
 
 Message of the 
 Conf Pam #300 
 
'^^v^'r 
 
 SENATE, January 26, 18G5.— Made special order for Saturday 
 next, and ordered to be printed. 
 
 JVIESSAGE OF THE PRESIDENT, 
 
 Returning the bill (S. 130) to authorize newspapers to be mailed to 
 Boldiers free of postage, with hie objections. 
 
 To the Senate of the Confederate States of America : 
 
 I return to your honorable body, without my approval, an act 
 which originated in the Senate, entitled "An act to authorise news- 
 papers to be mailed to soldiers free of postage."' 
 
 The act provides "that all newspapers mailed to any officer, mu- 
 sician or private, engaged in the actual service of the Confederate 
 States, may be transmitted through the mails free of postage." 
 
 The Constitution, art. 1, sec. 8, clause 7, gives power to Congress 
 ♦'to establish post offices and post routes : but the expenses of the 
 Post Office Department after the first day of March, in the year of 
 our Lord, eighteen huidred and sixty three, shall be paid out of its 
 own revenues." 
 
 This provision that the Post Office Department shall be self-sus- 
 taining, was n©t contained in the Constitution of our former govern- 
 ment. It is important that its spirit and object should be correctly 
 determined now, because many members of the present Congress 
 were also members of the Provisiomal Congress which adopted this 
 new clause, and legislation by them will be deemed hereafter to 
 possess peculiar value as a precedent and as a coteraporaneous in- 
 terpretation of the Constitution by thosje best acquainted with its 
 meaning. 
 
 It was generally understood that the clause under consideration 
 was intended by its framers to correct what was deemed to be two 
 great vices that had been developed in the postal system of the 
 United States. The first was, the injustice of taxing the whole peo- 
 ple for the expense of the mail facilities afforded to individuals, 
 and the remedy devised was to limit the government to the furnisk- 
 ing of the machinery for carrying the mails, and compelling those 
 who might use the facilities thus furnished to pay the. expense 
 thereof. 
 
 The second evil against which this clause was intended as a safe- 
 guard, was the wasteful extravagance which grew out of its franking. 5^; 
 privilege, with its attendant abuses of large contracts for stationery, ■^;^ 
 printing, binding, (fee., and increase. I goverument patronage with its ■^''X 
 train of corrupting influences. 
 
With this kcowledge' of t^e purpose of the framers of the*Cf jh^ . 
 stitution, and of ihe evils a^iainst which they intended to'provide nr* , 
 the clause under coDsideratiiu. I cannot escape the conclusion that to 
 authorise the tianrjmission of any mailmatter f • ce of postage, is to 
 violate the true intent and moanini? of the (Jor.stitution. 
 
 If the act now before me nhould become a law, the Post Master 
 Gtneral would l)e bound to pav lailroads and other carriers for con- 
 vening newppHpers to the armies without reimbursement from any 
 -source wliatever. He rould not be paid out of the general Treas- 
 ury without a violation of the letter of the Constitution ; nor out of 
 the other revenues of his Department, without, in effect, imposing 
 on those who pay for carrying their own correspondence, an addi- 
 tional ch!.rge to'defray the cost of carrying newspapers for others. 
 If it be competent for Congress, under this clause, to order new*?- 
 papers to be carried free of postage, the power exists to order the 
 free transmission of any other mail-matter. But we must ever re- 
 member that Congress can exercise no implied powers— certainly 
 none not necessary to carry into effect the powers expressly granted: 
 and where shall we find in the Constitution, any power in the Con- 
 federate government, express or implied, for dividing either the 
 people or'^the public servants into classes unequally burthened with 
 postal charges ? 
 
 In that part of the CoDPtitution which specially treats of the bur- 
 then of taxation, every precaution has been taken to secure uniform- 
 itv and to o-uard against bounties or preferences of any kind, and 
 aUbough not directly applicable to the subject of postage, the spirit of 
 the whole provision is so opposed to inequality in legislation, that 
 the passage may well serve for illustration. The first clause of art. 
 1 sec. 8, gives to Congress the power "to lay and collect duties, im- 
 posts and excises for^revenue necessary to pay ihe debts, provide 
 for the common defence, and carry on the government of the Con- 
 federate States : but no bounties shall be granted from the Treasu- 
 ry • nor phall any duties or taxes on importations from foreign na- 
 tiOLS be laid to promote or foster any branch of industry ; and all 
 duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the Con- 
 federate States." . 
 
 It is true that the payment of postage is not properly a tax, but 
 compensation for service rendered ; yet it would scarcely be ingen- 
 uous to deny that so to regulate the rates of postage as to produce 
 an excess of receipts over expenses of carrying mail- matter for one 
 class and to use this excess in order to carry free of cost the mail- 
 matter for another class, would strongly conflict with the just equal- 
 ity of privileges and burthens which the above cited clauses were 
 desio"ned to secure. 
 
 I regret to be compelled to object to a measure devised by Con- 
 gress for the benefit or relief of the army, but with my convictions 
 ^Ti flip ^ubiect. it is not possible to approve the act now before me. 
 ^^ ^ JEFFERSON DAVIS. 
 
 Richmond, Va., January 25, 1865. 
 
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