"Contracts to carry the ocean mail should, like all other contracts made by the Government, be the subjects of a fair competition, and granted with reference to the public good, due regard being had to the excellence of the proposals made, under all the circumstances of the cases which may present themselves. Your committee are aware that it has been too much the practice to regard the _lowest_ as the _cheapest_ bid; but experience has taught them that _lowness of price_ and _cheapness in the end_, are not convertible terms, as the daily applications, from _low bidders_, to Congress for indemnity against losses incurred in the public service, will amply demonstrate. For examples of the kind the committee would respectfully refer to the numerous applications for remuneration, in connection with the public printing, which have for years past occupied the time and attention of Congress, and threaten to continue to do so to a most alarming extent, involving, in the end, an accumulation of expense infinitely beyond the cost that would have attended the performance of the work, at a fair and liberal compensation. This may be, by some, called economy, but it is the very worst sort of economy. It excludes the honest workman, who knows the real value of the service to be performed, and is unwilling to undertake to do his duty well, at the expense of himself and family; while it lets in the needy and greedy speculator who, having nothing to lose in point of character or money, will readily undertake what he can not perform, and become dependent upon the magnanimity of Congress for remuneration for his losses, real or fictitious. An honest and fair liberality should characterize the dealings between the Government and individuals, just as much as those between private citizens; and, when contracts are made, they should be entered into in the spirit of good faith, and with a full knowledge of the risks to be run, and the expenses to be incurred."