The Sun.
London, England, 1869-02-03 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 3, 1869

TIM AMERICAN POSTAL SYS7E.II.

REPORT OF THE POSTMASTER-GENERAL.
The ordinary postal revenue for the year ending
the 30th day of June last was $16,292,600, and the
expenditures during the same period, including
service for which special appropriations were made,
$22,730,592, showing an excess of expenditures of
$6,437,991. The receipts from postages, as com-
pared with the previous year, show an increase of
six per centum and the expenditures an increase of
eighteen per centum. The ordinary expenses,
not including mail transportation, for which
special appropriations were made, were 521,555,592
dollars, and the receipts, including the amount
drawn under the Acts making appropriations
for carrying " free mail matter," were $20,092,600,
showing an excess of expenditures of $1,462,991.
The receipts of the department were From
post:lees, $16,292,600 ; the amounts drawn from
the Treasury under Acts making appropriations for
" carrying free matter," $3,800,000 ; and under the
Acts making special appropriations for " overland
mail and marine service between New York and
California," $1,125,000 ; " steamship service be-
tween San Francisco, Japan, and China," $125,000 ;
" between the United States and Brazil," $150,000;
for " carrying the mail on routes established by Acts
passed during the first session of the Thirty-ninth
Congress," $486,525 ; and " for preparing and
publishing post route maps," $lO,OOO, making the
receipts from all sources, $21,989,125. The expen-
ditures of all kinds were, as stated,s22,73o,s92,being
an excess of expenditure over receipts of $741,466,
for which a special appropriation will be required.
During the year 383,470,500 postage stamps, of
the value of $11,751,014 (including 160,000 perio-
dical stamps, valued at $14,750) ; 44,552,300 plain
stamped envelopes, representing $1,285,218 ;
25,469,750 stamped evelopes, bearing printed
cards and requests for return to writers, repre-
senting $759,520, and 3,372,600 newspaper wrap-
pers, valued at $67,372, were issued. The aggre-
gate value of these issues was $13,863,124-being
an increase of 3 45-100 per centum over the issues
of the previous year. The sale of postage stamps
and stamped envelopes during the year, as
reported by the Auditor, was $14,066,130,
or $203,015 more than the issue ; thus absorb-
ing to that amount the stock remaining un-
sold in the hands of the Postmasters June 30, 1867.
There were in the service of the Department on the
30th of June, 1868, 6,891 contractors for the
transportation of the mails. Of mail routes in opera-
tion there were 8,226 ; aggregate length, 216,928
miles; aggregate annual transportation, 84,224,325
miles ; aggregate annual cost $10,266,056 ; includ-
ing the compensation of postal railway clerks, route
agents, local agents, mail messengers, mail route
messengers, and baggage masters in charge of
mails—viz., $1,114,633, the aggregate annual cost
was $11,380,689. This service was divided as
follows—viz., Railroad routes—Length, 36,018
miles ; annual transportation, 34,886,178 miles ; an-
nual c05t,51,177,126, about 12 cents per mile. Steam-
boat routes—Length, 19,647 miles; annual trans-
portation, 3,797,560 miles; annual cost, $650,631,
about 17.13 cents per mile. Celerity, certainty,
and security—Length, 161,263 miles ; annual
transportation, 45,540,587 miles ; annual cost
$5,438,999 ; about 12 cents per mile. The length
of routes was increased over the preceding year
13,683 miles ; the annual transportation, 5,241,536,
and cost $929,770 ; to which add increased cost
for railway postal clerks, route, local, and other
agents, $93,762, making an aggregate of $1,023,562.
A large portion of the report is devoted to the de-
scription of the troubles of the Overland Mail Ser-
vice, and a proposed readjustment of pay for ser-
vice on railroad routes. There are now in opera-
tion in the United States 26 railway postal lines,
subdivided into 34 routes, extending in the ag-
gregate over 7,019 miles of railway and steam-
boat lines, upon 1,571 miles of which twice daily
service is being performed, making a total
equal to 8,090 miles of railway postal service
daily each way, and an increase of 3,276 miles
over the service in operation in 1867. There
are employed in this service 279 men, as head
clerks, clerks and assistant clerks, at salaries
ranging from $9OO to $1,400 per annutr, an
aggregate cost of $329,700 per annum, an in-
crease of 119 men, at a cost of $141,800 over the
previous year. The aggregate a ;noun tof postage
(inland, sea, and foreign) upon the letter corres-
oadence exchanged with foreign countries was
$2,153,690. The number of letters exchanged
with foreign countries (exclusive of the British
North American provinces) was 11,128,532, of
which 5,900,307 were sent from and 5,228,225
received in the United States. Increase over num-
ber of previous year, 830,298. Of this number
10,068,659 were exchanged withEuropeam coun tries,
an increase of 626,548 compared with the previous
year. Estimating the number exchanged with
the British provinces at 2,746,000, the total
number of letters exchanged in the mails with
foreign countries was 13,600,000. The follow-
ing is an abstract of the part of the Re-
port relating to the new postal conventions with fo-
reign countries : —New postal conventions with
Great Britain, the North German Union, Belgium
and the Netherlands, respectively, the leading pro-
visions of which were briefly stated in my last Re-
port, were carried into effect on the Ist of January,
1868, and those concluded with Switzerland and
Italy went into operation on the Ist of April, 1868.
On the 13th of December, 1867, before the new
convention with the United Kingdom of the 18th
of June, 1867, went into operation, notice was given
by the British Post-office to terminate the same on
31st of December, 1868, in accordance with the
power reserved in the 21st Article thereof ; which
notice was accompanied by the announcement
that Mr. Anthony Trollope would be despatched
to Washington in the spring of 1868 invested with
full power to negotiate a new convention better
calculated to afford satisfaction to the people of the
two countries. The provisions of a new convention
to supersede the present one on the Ist of January,
1869, were accordingly arranged with Mr. Trol-
lope at Washington in July last ; and after adjust-
ing by direct correspondence between the two post
departments certain modifications on which Mr.
Trollope did not consider himself authorized to treat,
the modified convention was formally executed on
the 94th of Nov..last.. Its general provisions are
substantially those of the present convention. At

the invitation of the French Government Mr. Kas-
son was sent to France, but failed to effect, a revi-
sion of the postal convention with that country.
There has been a modification of the postal conven-
tion with Canada; one made establishing an exchange
of mail with British East Indies. The mail steam-
ship service to Japan is referred to as being regu-
lar and energetic. In reference to the coaling
of the steamers on this route, the Report says :—lt
was hoped that the discovery by American citizens of
a small group of islands midway between California
and China, and conveniently situated with respect
to this steamship route, would have resulted in in-
creasing the efficiency of the service, by relieving
the steamships of the necessity of carrying thegreat
weight of coal required for consumption upon their
long voyage of five thousand miles, and the efforts
. .

of. the contractors to effect this desirable improve-
ment were regarded with great interest. But
unfortunately the surveys made by officers of the
navy, as well as those of the steamship com-
pany, demonstrated that the project was imprac-
ticable of execution at present, owing to shoal-
ness of water at the entrance to the harbour. If
it should prove feasible, however, as I am
informed is the opinion of competent naval offi-
cers whose attention has been\ given, to the sub-
ject, to obtain the necessary increased' depth of
water on the bar, by a reasonable e.lpenditure, the
propriety and expediency of undertalCipg‘ the Work
would be a question worthy the attention of our
Government, as well for the attainment of this ob-•
ject as for other public advantages of tt: national
•and commercial character that will readily,.suggest
themselves. An increase and extension of the ser-
vice on the Japan and China line is recommenchd to.
the consideration of Congress. The. mails have'

been satisfactorily carried to Brazil and the Ha-

waiian Islands. W ith regard to the proposed con-
tract with the Commercial Navigation•• Company of.
New York, authorized by Act of Cougtgss, Mr Ran-