I have examined the petition which you handed me from the citizens of Adams C^o P^a requesting a repeal of so much of the 13 Sec. of the act of the 3^rd of March 1847, as requires prepayment of 3 cents upon transient News papers, hand bills & circulars, and in compliance with [your?] request state my opinion.

^*^The circulation of transient News papers, those not sent from the offices of publication to subscribers, as well as circulars and advertisements, were used for the evasion of the law & to supercede correspondence to an extent which can be scarcely c[?]rted. These News papers were taken & by certain signs & marks on them, by [d?]olling the letters or pricking them with a pin & other marks agreed upon by parties & used to supersede correspondence—they were often crowded in the mails addressed to persons who would refuse to take them out of the offices—thousands upon thousands of circulars, hand bills and advertisments, as many as Ten thousand in one day in the N.Y. office, addressed to every section of the country when the name of any citizen could be learned, to the Post Masters & other public officers

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which were refused to be taken from the office or if taken returned as an imposition practiced upon the citizen and a return of the postage claimed—but the purposes of those resorting to the mails for the transmission of their circulars or advertisement were as well answered, whether they were taken out & paid for or not, because they would get into the hands of the citizens, by being used at the offices as wrapping paper or thrown aside as useless—such strong representations were made to the last Congress which I presume can yet be found on your files, that they did not hesitate to require pre-payment & in my opinion prepayment should be required on all printed matter transported in the mails & pre-payment or double postage on all letters. I think however the revenues of the department would be nationally benefitted by more clearly defining news papers more certainly what is meant by News papers from the office of publication, circulars, hand bills & advertisement, & reducing the rate to two cents & requiring pre payment. The present rate is so high as to materially interfere with the legitimate business of the country