James Moore Wayne

“ It must be obvious too, that frauds of that kind cannot be prevented in the transmission of newspapers, without legislation by Congress, subjecting newspapers conveyed by mail to letter-postage, whenever there shall be, either upon the newspaper or the wrapper of it, any letter, sign, or mark, besides the address of the person to whom it is sent . A single letter or initial upon the wrapper of a newspaper, is neither a memorandum nor a writing in the sense in which either or those terms are ordinarily used, or as we think they were intended to be used in the 30th section of the act. ”

“ The United States undertakes, at fixed rates of postage, to convey letters and newspapers for those to whom they are directed, and the postage may be prepaid by the sender, or be paid when either reach their destination, by the person to whom they are addressed. ”

“ If then they be wrongfully withheld for a charge of unlawful postage, it is a conversion for which suit may be brought. His right to sue existing, he may sue in any court having civil jurisdiction of such a case, unless for some cause the suit brought is an exception to the general jurisdiction of the court. Now the courts in New York having jurisdiction in trover, the case in hand can only be excepted from it by such a case as this having been made one of exclusive jurisdiction in the courts of the United States, by the Consitution of the United States. ”