Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

THIRTIETH CONGRESS—FIRST SESSION.
S. 177.
(Report No. 608.)
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
May 4, 1848.
Referred to the Committee on the Post Office and Post Roads.
May 16, 1848.
Reported from the said Committee by Mr. Goggin, with amendments, and
committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the
Union.
AN ACT
To declare the true intent and meaning, so far as respects the
franking privilege of members of Congress, of the act
approved the first of March, one thousand eight hundred
and forty-seven, and entitled “An act to amend the act
entitled ‘An act to reduce the rates of postage, to limit the
use and correct the abuse of the franking privilege, and
for the prevention of frauds on the Post Office Department,’
passed third of March, eighteen hundred and forty-five,”
and for other purposes.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repre-
sentatives of the United States of America in Congress
assembled, That according to the true intent and meaning
of the act approved the first of March, one thousand eight
hundred and forty-seven, and entitled “An act to amend
the act entitled ‘An act to reduce the rates of postage, to
limit the use and correct the abuse of the franking privi

<Page 2>

8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
29
21
22
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 lege, and for the prevention of frauds on the revenues of
the Post Office Department,’ passed third of March, eigh-
teen hundred and forty-five,” members of Congress, dele-
gates from Territories, the Vice President of the United
States, the Secretary of the Senate, and the Clerk of the
House of Representatives, have, respectively, power to
send, as well as receive, free of postage, during the times
in the said act specified, all public documents, and all letters
and packages whatsoever, whether directed or addressed
by the person franking the same or not, and whether
mailed or delivered to be mailed at the place at which the
person franking the same may at the time be, or at any
other place: Provided, always and only, That such letters
and packages shall not exceed the weight in the said act
specified.
Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That if any post-
master or his deputy, or other officer of the United States,
shall ask, take, demand, or receive, or shall cause or pro-
cure, authorize or permit, and person to ask, take, de-
mand, or receive any sum of money for, or by way of
postage, upon, or for the transmission by mail, of any such
document, letter or package which shall be sent to or
franked by any member of Congress, delegate from a Ter-
ritory, the said Vice President, Secretary or Clerk, or shall
disallow or erase, or cause, or procure to be disallowed or

<Page 3>

11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
1
2 erased, any such frank, or shall, upon any pretence what-
ever, detain or refuse to deliver upon request any such
document, letter, or package to the person to whom the
same may be directed or addressed, or his or her agent,
authorized to receive the same, the postmaster, deputy, or
other officer, so offending, shall forfeit to the party grieved
the sum of one hundred dollars, to be recovered, with
costs of suit, in the district or circuit court of the United
States for the district in which the offence may be com-
mitted.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That this act
shall be in force from and immediately after its passage.

Passed the Senate: April 12, 1848.
Attest: ASBURY DICKINS, Secretary.

<Page 4>

AMENDMENTS
Proposed by the Committee on the Post Office and Post
Roads.
Strike out the whole Senate bill, and insert this as a substitute:
AN ACT
Declaring to whom the franking privilege shall be take to extend;
the terms of such privilege, and further to correct
the abuse thereof, and for other purposes.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repre-
sentatives of the United States of America in Congress
assembled, That the franking privilege shall hereafter be
taken and held to extend to the persons herein named, and
upon the conditions provided for in this act. That is to
say, the President and Vice President of the United States,
to the Secretary of the Senate and Clerk of the House of
Representatives, during their continuance in the respec-
tive offices; to the Ex-Presidents and widows of deceased
Presidents of the United States during life; to the mem-
bers of the Senate and House of Representatives, and to
the delegates from the Territories of the United States, for
thirty days before the commencement of the first session

<Page 5>

14
15
16
17
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 of that branch of the Congress to which they shall have
been elected, or appointed, or of which they shall be mem-
bers, to continue during such Congress, and until the
meeting of the first session of the succeeding Congress.
Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the per-
sons and officers hereinbefore named may frank and send
through the mails, free of charge, only such letters as are
written by themselves, and such newspapers and packets
as properly belong to them, such letters, newspapers and
packets not exceeding two ounces in weight; and may re
ceive also, for the time specified in the preceding section,
free of charge, through the mails, such letters, newspapers
and packets, not exceeding the weight aforesaid, for their
own use or benefit, and none other.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the officers
mentioned in the first section of this act, during their con-
tinuance in office, and the Senators, members, and dele-
gates therein named, during the time within which they
are thereby allowed the benefit of the franking privilege
upon letters, packets, and newspapers, shall also have the
power to send and receive public documents, not exceed-
ing three pounds in weight, through the mails, which may
have been printed by the order of either House of Con-
gress.

<Page 6>

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26 Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That no letter,
newspaper, packet, or document, shall be conveyed by
mail free of postage, unless the same shall be superscribed
by the person having a right to frank the same, or writing
his or her name on the outside of such letter, newspaper,
packet, or document: Provided, however, if any person
entitled to the franking privilege shall be disabled by dis-
ease, old age, or any bodily infirmity, from writing his or
her name or letter on his or her business, then, and in
such cases only, such person may employ another to write
letters on his or her business, and to frank such letters, and
all newspapers, packets, or documents, as such person is au-
thorized to frank under the provisions of this act: Pro-
vided, further: That no person shall be entitled to the
benefit of the franking privilege, under the provisions of
this act, until he or she shall have furnished the postmaster
nearest his or her residence, as well as the postmaster
of the city of Washington, with his or her name, written
in his or her own proper handwriting, or the handwriting of
the person intended to be employed in cases of disability, as
provided for, of which notice shall be given to the post-
masters at said offices; and said name and hand-
writing, in all cases, shall be preserved by such postmasters
for comparison, if need be, with the name and hand-
writing of the person, the genuineness of whose frank may
be questioned.

<Page 7>

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8 Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That if any person,
having the franking privilege, shall use any stamp or fac
simile of his own hand writing, or the handwriting of an-
other having the franking privilege; or if any person, not
having such privilege, shall use the stamp or name of an-
other, who has, on any letter, newspaper, packet, or docu-
ment, for the purpose of passing the same as a frank; or
if any person shall frank any letter or letters, other than
such as are written by himself or herself, or as herein pro-
vided for, or shall frank any newspaper, packet or docu-
ment, other than those allowed by this act; such person
shall, on conviction, pay a fine of not less than fifty dollars
for every such; and if entitled to the franking privilege,
he or she shall forfeit all right to the same for a period of
thirty days, of which the nearest postmaster shall notify
the Postmaster General, who shall cause such notification,
and the record of such conviction, to be duly registered in
his department.
Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, If any person shall
counterfeit or imitate the handwriting, frank, or name, of
another, entitled to the franking privilege, or shall cause
the same to be done, in order to evade the payment of
postage, such person shall, for every such offence, forfeit
and pay the sum of fifty dollars on conviction; one half to
be given to the prosecutor, the other to go to the United
States, in all cases of prosecutions under this law.

<Page 8>

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
1
2
3
4
5 Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That if any per-
son, having the right to receive letters free of postage,
shall receive, enclosed to him or her, any letter or packet
from a person not having that right, it shall be his or her
duty to return the same to the post office from whence he
received it, marking thereon from whence it came, that it
may be charged with the proper postage.
Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That when a
letter, newspaper, packet, or document, is above the weight
authorized by this act, and which the person entitled to
frank might send through the mail free of postage, if of
proper weight, it shall not be competent for two or more
persons, entitled to the privilege, to their franks upon
the same, with the view of transmitting the same free;
but, in such case, it shall be the duty of the postmaster to
return such letter, newspaper, packet, or document, to one
of the persons whose frank is on the same; and if, after
that, it is again brought or sent to the office to be mailed,
the postmaster shall, thereupon, charge the same with
letter postage.
Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That if any
postmaster shall improperly refuse, or fail to deliver any
franked letter, newspaper, packet, or document, when
demanded, to the person entitled to receive the same, he
shall forfeit the sum of fifty dollars on conviction for

<Page 9>

6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
1
2
3 each offence, to be recovered as aforesaid. And if a
reasonable doubt shall arise as to the genuineness of a
frank on any letter, newspaper, packet, or document, it
shall be the duty of the postmaster, nevertheless, to deliver
it to the person to whom it is addressed, or to those au-
thorized to receive it, for that time; but if a doubt shall
still exist on the mind of the postmaster, on the arrival of
any other letter, newspaper, packet, or document, franked
as aforesaid, with the same name to the same individual,
then it shall be the duty of the postmaster to withhold the
same, and immediately to notify the person by whom it
purports to have been franked; and if, thereupon, such
person shall give a satisfactory assurance to the postmaster
that he or she franked the same, then the postmaster shall
deliver it to the person to whom it is addressed, or to those
authorized to receive it: Provided, That nothing in this
act contained, shall be so construed as to authorize a post-
master to detain any letter, newspaper, packet, or docu-
ment, when a frank on the same appears to be genuine,
though the direction or address is in a handwriting dif-
ferent from the frank.
Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That no per-
son entitled to the franking privilege shall, by anything in
this act contained, be authorized to have distributed, sent,

<Page 10>

4
5
6
7
8
9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12 or in any way disposed of, envelopes with his or her frank
thereon, to be used by others; and if any person shall so
offend, he, she, or they, shall forfeit and pay the sum of
ten dollars; and the person using them also the sum of
ten dollars, in each case on conviction, to be recovered as
aforesaid.
Sec. 11. And be it further enacted, That the frank-
ing privilege, or the right to receive or send free any letters,
newspapers, packets, or documents, as given to other
persons not enumerated in this act, shall remain as it is
under existing laws and regulations: Provided, however,
also, That letters, newspapers, and packets, not exceeding
one ounce in weight, addressed to any officer, seaman, or
marine, in the navy of the United States, off the coasts
of Mexico, or engaged in the seas adjacent thereto, may
pass free through the mails, under such regulations as now
exist in regard to such letters, newspaper, or packets, as
are authorized to be sent free to the army in Mexico.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repre- sentatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That according to the true intent and meaning of the act approved the first of March, one thousand eight hundred and forty-seven, and entitled “An act to amend the act entitled ‘An act to reduce the rates of postage, to limit the use and correct the abuse of the franking privi
<Page 2>
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 29 21 22 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10	lege, and for the prevention of frauds on the revenues of the Post Office Department,’ passed third of March, eigh- teen hundred and forty-five,” members of Congress, dele- gates from Territories, the Vice President of the United States, the Secretary of the Senate, and the Clerk of the House of Representatives, have, respectively, power to send, as well as receive, free of postage, during the times in the said act specified, all public documents, and all letters and packages whatsoever, whether directed or addressed by the person franking the same or not, and whether mailed or delivered to be mailed at the place at which the person franking the same may at the time be, or at any other place: Provided, always and only, That such letters and packages shall not exceed the weight in the said act specified. Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That if any post- master or his deputy, or other officer of the United States, shall ask, take, demand, or receive, or shall cause or pro- cure, authorize or permit, and person to ask, take, de- mand, or receive any sum of money for, or by way of postage, upon, or for the transmission by mail, of any such document, letter or package which shall be sent to or franked by any member of Congress, delegate from a Ter- ritory, the said Vice President, Secretary or Clerk, or shall disallow or erase, or cause, or procure to be disallowed or
<Page 3>
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 1 2	erased, any such frank, or shall, upon any pretence what- ever, detain or refuse to deliver upon request any such document, letter, or package to the person to whom the same may be directed or addressed, or his or her agent, authorized to receive the same, the postmaster, deputy, or other officer, so offending, shall forfeit to the party grieved the sum of one hundred dollars, to be recovered, with costs of suit, in the district or circuit court of the United States for the district in which the offence may be com- mitted. Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That this act shall be in force from and immediately after its passage.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repre- sentatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the franking privilege shall hereafter be taken and held to extend to the persons herein named, and upon the conditions provided for in this act. That is to say, the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Secretary of the Senate and Clerk of the House of Representatives, during their continuance in the respec- tive offices; to the Ex-Presidents and widows of deceased Presidents of the United States during life; to the mem- bers of the Senate and House of Representatives, and to the delegates from the Territories of the United States, for thirty days before the commencement of the first session
<Page 5>
14 15 16 17 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10	of that branch of the Congress to which they shall have been elected, or appointed, or of which they shall be mem- bers, to continue during such Congress, and until the meeting of the first session of the succeeding Congress. Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That the per- sons and officers hereinbefore named may frank and send through the mails, free of charge, only such letters as are written by themselves, and such newspapers and packets as properly belong to them, such letters, newspapers and packets not exceeding two ounces in weight; and may re ceive also, for the time specified in the preceding section, free of charge, through the mails, such letters, newspapers and packets, not exceeding the weight aforesaid, for their own use or benefit, and none other. Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the officers mentioned in the first section of this act, during their con- tinuance in office, and the Senators, members, and dele- gates therein named, during the time within which they are thereby allowed the benefit of the franking privilege upon letters, packets, and newspapers, shall also have the power to send and receive public documents, not exceed- ing three pounds in weight, through the mails, which may have been printed by the order of either House of Con- gress.
<Page 6>
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26	Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That no letter, newspaper, packet, or document, shall be conveyed by mail free of postage, unless the same shall be superscribed by the person having a right to frank the same, or writing his or her name on the outside of such letter, newspaper, packet, or document: Provided, however, if any person entitled to the franking privilege shall be disabled by dis- ease, old age, or any bodily infirmity, from writing his or her name or letter on his or her business, then, and in such cases only, such person may employ another to write letters on his or her business, and to frank such letters, and all newspapers, packets, or documents, as such person is au- thorized to frank under the provisions of this act: Pro- vided, further: That no person shall be entitled to the benefit of the franking privilege, under the provisions of this act, until he or she shall have furnished the postmaster nearest his or her residence, as well as the postmaster of the city of Washington, with his or her name, written in his or her own proper handwriting, or the handwriting of the person intended to be employed in cases of disability, as provided for, of which notice shall be given to the post- masters at said offices; and said name and hand- writing, in all cases, shall be preserved by such postmasters for comparison, if need be, with the name and hand- writing of the person, the genuineness of whose frank may be questioned.
<Page 7>
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8	Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That if any person, having the franking privilege, shall use any stamp or fac simile of his own hand writing, or the handwriting of an- other having the franking privilege; or if any person, not having such privilege, shall use the stamp or name of an- other, who has, on any letter, newspaper, packet, or docu- ment, for the purpose of passing the same as a frank; or if any person shall frank any letter or letters, other than such as are written by himself or herself, or as herein pro- vided for, or shall frank any newspaper, packet or docu- ment, other than those allowed by this act; such person shall, on conviction, pay a fine of not less than fifty dollars for every such; and if entitled to the franking privilege, he or she shall forfeit all right to the same for a period of thirty days, of which the nearest postmaster shall notify the Postmaster General, who shall cause such notification, and the record of such conviction, to be duly registered in his department. Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, If any person shall counterfeit or imitate the handwriting, frank, or name, of another, entitled to the franking privilege, or shall cause the same to be done, in order to evade the payment of postage, such person shall, for every such offence, forfeit and pay the sum of fifty dollars on conviction; one half to be given to the prosecutor, the other to go to the United States, in all cases of prosecutions under this law.
<Page 8>
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1 2 3 4 5	Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That if any per- son, having the right to receive letters free of postage, shall receive, enclosed to him or her, any letter or packet from a person not having that right, it shall be his or her duty to return the same to the post office from whence he received it, marking thereon from whence it came, that it may be charged with the proper postage. Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That when a letter, newspaper, packet, or document, is above the weight authorized by this act, and which the person entitled to frank might send through the mail free of postage, if of proper weight, it shall not be competent for two or more persons, entitled to the privilege, to their franks upon the same, with the view of transmitting the same free; but, in such case, it shall be the duty of the postmaster to return such letter, newspaper, packet, or document, to one of the persons whose frank is on the same; and if, after that, it is again brought or sent to the office to be mailed, the postmaster shall, thereupon, charge the same with letter postage. Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That if any postmaster shall improperly refuse, or fail to deliver any franked letter, newspaper, packet, or document, when demanded, to the person entitled to receive the same, he shall forfeit the sum of fifty dollars on conviction for
<Page 9>
6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 1 2 3	each offence, to be recovered as aforesaid. And if a reasonable doubt shall arise as to the genuineness of a frank on any letter, newspaper, packet, or document, it shall be the duty of the postmaster, nevertheless, to deliver it to the person to whom it is addressed, or to those au- thorized to receive it, for that time; but if a doubt shall still exist on the mind of the postmaster, on the arrival of any other letter, newspaper, packet, or document, franked as aforesaid, with the same name to the same individual, then it shall be the duty of the postmaster to withhold the same, and immediately to notify the person by whom it purports to have been franked; and if, thereupon, such person shall give a satisfactory assurance to the postmaster that he or she franked the same, then the postmaster shall deliver it to the person to whom it is addressed, or to those authorized to receive it: Provided, That nothing in this act contained, shall be so construed as to authorize a post- master to detain any letter, newspaper, packet, or docu- ment, when a frank on the same appears to be genuine, though the direction or address is in a handwriting dif- ferent from the frank. Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That no per- son entitled to the franking privilege shall, by anything in this act contained, be authorized to have distributed, sent,
<Page 10>
4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12	or in any way disposed of, envelopes with his or her frank thereon, to be used by others; and if any person shall so offend, he, she, or they, shall forfeit and pay the sum of ten dollars; and the person using them also the sum of ten dollars, in each case on conviction, to be recovered as aforesaid. Sec. 11. And be it further enacted, That the frank- ing privilege, or the right to receive or send free any letters, newspapers, packets, or documents, as given to other persons not enumerated in this act, shall remain as it is under existing laws and regulations: Provided, however, also, That letters, newspapers, and packets, not exceeding one ounce in weight, addressed to any officer, seaman, or marine, in the navy of the United States, off the coasts of Mexico, or engaged in the seas adjacent thereto, may pass free through the mails, under such regulations as now exist in regard to such letters, newspaper, or packets, as are authorized to be sent free to the army in Mexico.