The Sun.
London, England, 1856-12-25 00:00:00

UNITED STADES DEPARTMENTAL

1f E?OIiT. S.

As is usual at the opening of the United States
Congress the several heads of departments have
presented their annual reports. Those of the
Postmaster-General, Secretary 'of the Interior, and
Secretary of the Navy have been published. We
give below a digest of as much of their contents as
is interesting to the English reader :
POSTMASTER GENERAL'S REPORT.
Since the last annul report, the post-offices
have been increased 1,155, and numbered on 39th
of June last 25,565. On the 30th of June last
there were in operation 7,972 Mail routes. The
length of these routes is estimated at 239,642 miles,
divided as follows, viz. :-20,323 miles of railroad;
14,951 miles of steam-boat; 50,453 miles of coach;
153,915 miles of inferior grades. The total annual
trausportation of mails was 71,307,897 miles, cost-
ing
6,035,474 dols., reed divided as follows
21,809,296 miles by railroad at 2,316,389 dols.—
about ten cents and six mills a mile. 4,240,170
miles by steam-boat, at 860,755 dols.—about
twenty cents. and three mills a mile. 19,114,991
miles by coach at 1,329,356 dols.—about seven
cents a mile. 26,143,440 miles by modes not spe-
cified at 1,534,974 dols.-5i cents per mile. Com-
pared with the service of June 31,1855; there is an
addition of 11,734 miles to the length of mail routes;
3,906,731 miles to the total annual tra,nsporte-
tion—heing about 5 8-10 per cent., and of 690,236
dols. tti the cost, or 12 4-10 per cent. The aggre-
gate length of railroad routes has been increased
1,990 miles, and the annual transportation thereon
2,606,827 miles—about 131 per cent., at a cost of
237,300 dols., or 11 4-10 per cent.
The Postmaster-General renews his complaint
of the large amount paid to the Panama lasi/road,
amounting for the last fiscal year to 141,303 dols ,
and for the first quarter of the current fiscal year
to 44,308 dollars. He recommends an act limit-
ing the amount to be paid for that service to
50,000 dols., and an appropriatiqn of 200,000 dole.
towards a semi-monthly mail, via Nicaragua and
Tehuarrepec, giving, with the Panama route, a
weekly mail to California.
The total expense of the department for the last
fiscal dear was 10,405,286 dols. The entire re-
venue, including the annual amount of 700,000
dols. for mail service rendered the government, was
7,620,821 dols., showing a deficit of 2,787,046 dols.,
which considerably exceeds the average • of the pre•
ceding three years.
The exesiuditure for the current year is estimated
at 10,653,678 dols. ; the revenue at 9,991,794 duls.
The abolition of the franking privilege'is urged,
or else that the department be allowed to charge
the government the ordinary rates on franked
matter ; also the abolition of the 50 per cent.
deduction .on the postage of periodicals paid_ in
advance. With these changes, and the relief of
the department from the burden of the ocean mail
service,. • the Postmaster-General thinks that his
department would support itself.
In reference to postal communication with Great
Britain and Canada the Postmaster-General says :
—" A proposition has been received from tLe
British Pest-office for a reduction of the ptsaegc
between the United States and Great Britain, from
24 to 12 cents the single letter. In answer, this
department has indicated a willingness to accede
to this proposal, provided the transit charge on
mails passing through England from and to the
United States is reduced to 121 cents an ounce,
the price paid by that Government for the con-
veyance of the British and Canada mails through
the United States. This department has been for
years endeavouring to have an abatement made in
this transit charge, which is considered excessive,
and in the present instance the condition was rea-
dered Inecessary, inasmuch as a reduction on the
United States and British correspondence will in-
volve also a feduction of the sea postage on the
United States and continental closed mails, the
effect of which would be greatly to reduce the
receipts from the United States mail steamship line-e
unless there is a corresponding reduction in the Bri-
tish transit tax; so that by fewer rates correspon-
dence would be increased sufficiently to prevent bas,
So far as Great Britain is concerned, in the event of
reduction simply in the Atlantic postage, it is not
likely that sho would suffer any serious diminution
ef her postal revenues, since she would doubtless
be compensated for any loss on that account by the
increased amount of transit postage she would rea-
lise under such an arrangement. This condition
was, however, coupled with an offer on the part of '
this department to have the transit price for all
closed mails in both countries fixed at the uniform
rate of 12i cents an ounce—a concession which
would secure to the British and California and West
ludia closed mails the right of transit in some cases
at one half, and in others at only one quarter the
price now charged under the treaty. I was the
more ready to mate this concession, firs', because
I regard it of the highest importance that the cor-
respondence between this coimtry and Europe
should be relieved from the onerous tax to which
it is now subjected, in order that the people on
both sides of the Atlantic, in their social and busi-
ness intercourse, may be as little trammelled as
possible ; and, second, because it is likewise very
desirable, as well in foreigraas in domestic postal
arrangements, that simplicity and uniformity should
be observed.

" Arrangements have been made between this
department mud the postal authorities of Great
Britain and C.lnada,, providing for the registration
of valuable letters transmitted between those coun-
tries and the United S ates. The United States
registration fee is five cents, the same •as on re
gistkred letters destined to any place in this
country."
The aggregate amount of postage, foreign and
domestic, on mails transported by the United Statcs
mail steam ship lines was $1,035,740 33c., which is
a decrease of $24,890 40c. from the previous year.
The decrease of postages by the Collins line was
$43,117 86c. ; by the B.avre line, $503 41c. ; and
by the Charleston and Ilavannah line, $545 61c.
By the Bremen line the postages were increased
$12,593 77c. ; by the New York and California
lines, $5,370 92c. ; and by the New Orleans and
Vera Cruz line, $3ll 89c.
The total amount of letter postages on British
mails during the year was $897,643 70c., King a
decrease from last year of $92,048 74c. Of this
amount, $601,031 40c. were collected in the United
States and $296,617 30c. in Great Britain, showing
an excess of $304,41410c. collected in this country.
The unpaid received from• Great Britain exceeded
the paid received $154,454 94c. and the paid sent
from the United States exceeded the unpaid sent
$148,959 16c.
The amount of foreign correspondence bas not
only fallen off very considerably, but the revenue
derived therefrom to the United States Post-office
has likewise been materially lessened by the largely
increased collections made in this country, as com-
pared with any previous year. During the year
ending 30th June, 1855, the excise of British pos-
tages collected by the United States over the total
amount of the United States postages collected by
Great Britain, was 64,820 dols. 64c. This excess
during the last fiscal year was increased to 84,530
dols. 83c., notwithstanding the diminished amount
of correspondence.

SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR'S REPORT.
The Secretary of the Interior states that, not-.
withstanding the Indian difficulties and other dis-
turbances in several of the territories, the surveys
of the public lands have progressed rapidly. The
quantity of land surveyed, exclusive of school
sections, since last report, and up to the 30th of
September last, was 16,873,699 acres, much of
which is now ready for market. The grants made
by Congress, at its last session, for railroad pur-
poses, have had the effect of withdrawing from
market a large body of the public lands, which,
notwithstanding every exertion that can be made,
cannot be restored in less than nine months, and
perhaps not then, as it depends in a great degree
upon the action of the states to which the grants
were made, and in many cases the legislation of
those states.
The quantity of land sold for cub, during Acres.
the last fiscal year was 9,227,818.98
Received therefor §8,821,414 53c.
Located with military scrip and land war.

• 8,382,480.00
• 6,066,874.39

rants
Swamp lands approved to the states
Selected under:donations for railroads, &0.,
and granted for railroad purposes (esti-
mated)

....... 15,680,875 00

Making a total of .... ...
3
The land system, under the legislative enact-
mentsCB,loB.3l
32
of the last four years,
and by the active
measures taken to meet demands for settlement,
has been extended, with entire success and unpre-
cedented rapidity, along the whole pacific slope,
embracing the State of California, the Territories
of Oregon and Washington, and. into the Terri-
tories of Kansas, Nebraska, New
and the Mexico, and
Utah. This immense geographical surface has been
organised into six new surveying departments, and
the public surveys are in rapid extension over
Surveying operations in the new old it.
dis-
tricts have, in the same period, been extended over
an area of nearly 60,000,000 acres, in which the
lines have been run and established. _
Duting this period, also, there have been

Acres.
Sold for cash ~, . ..... - 30,935,174
(For which the.r.e.l;;;,e been received
27,940,151 dole.)
Located for military bounties 15,806,260
Approved under swamp land grants 30,199,056
Granted for railroads

the aggregate
The
etters received at the office
nmuamkibnegr
during the past year is 107,800, and the number