Of the sum directed to be paid to him in the bill under consideration,
$850 is allowed him on account of this service, he having been paid
for the period stated at the rate of $1,200 per annum. The contractor
claims that this full service was performed after the reduction by the
Post-Office Department because he had received an intimation from the
Postmaster-General that if the full service was continued after such
reduction there was no doubt that the Congress would at its next session
make provision for the payment of the sum deducted.
Of course no legal claim in favor of the contractor can be predicated
upon the facts which he alleges; and if he did continue full service
under the circumstances stated, it must be conceded that his conduct was
hardly in accordance with the rules which regulate transactions of this
kind.
But a thorough search of the correspondence and records in the
Post-Office Department fails to disclose any letter, document, or record
giving the least support to the allegation that any such intimation or
assurance as is claimed was given; nor is there the least evidence in
the Department that the full service was actually performed. There is,
however, on the files of the Department a letter from the claimant,
dated August 25, 1860, containing the following statement:
When I received official information of the curtailing service, the
reasons why, I wrote to the Department that I would, if allowed,
continue service three times a week and take certificates, if I could
be allowed to connect with La Crosse at _pro rata_ rates.
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