The Sun.
London, England, 1859-04-22 00:00:00

EXPENDITURE.

The following table shows the expenditure of
the Post office during the year 1858
Salaries, pensions, &c. D 83,830
Buildings, repairs, &c
Conveyance of mails—
By railways
441 000
- ._ 7
- -

By teaches, carts, &c., and wages of mail
guards
By mail packets and private ships (when paid
for by the Post-office)
Manufacture of postage stamps
Miscellaneous, including the conveyance of mails
in colonies, under the postal direction of the
Postmaster-General; the conveyance of the
mails through Egypt ; clothing of letter-car-
riers and guards ; official postage, rents, taxes,
law expenses, &c 124,647

165,703

Total _ £1,770,554

The increase of expenditure properly appertain-
ing to the year was rather more than 3 per cent.,
as compared with 21 per cent. in 1857, and with
31 per cent., the average of the last three years.
The increase of £35,000 in salaries, pensions, &c.,
is partly for an increased force of 641 officers, partly
for poundage on money orders and postage stamps
(which increases with increasing business), and
partly for annual increments of salaries and wages.
The decrease under the head conveyance of mails
by packet boats and private ships is owing to the
cessation of the payment by the Post-office for cer-
tain temporary Australian packets.
The packet service is for the most part under the
superintendence of the Admiralty, and is borne on
the expenditure of that department, many of the
contracts for this service having been entered into
with other objects, besides those of postal commu-
nication. Indeed, as postal enterprises, few of
them could be maintained, the expense, in the large
majority of cases, far exceeding the earnings.
The omission in the expenditure of the Post-
office of such portion of the cost of these packets as
may be fairly chargeable to this department is in
part counterbalanced by the omission (under the
head of revenue) of the charge for transmission
(inland) of stamped newspapers, amounting last
year to upwards of £154,000.
The net revenue, taken as the difference between
the gross revenue and expenditure properly apper-
taming to the year was as follows
1857. 1858. Increase.
£1,301,671 4330,385 L 25,714

This increase is at the rate of nearly 2 per cent.,
as compared with 83 per cent. in 1857, and 511 per
cent. in the last years.

STAFF OF OFFICERS.

At the end of 1858 the staff of officers was as
follows :

Officers in British Isles—
Postmaster-General .. .. ..

Secretary, Assistant-Secretaries, and Secretaries for
Ireland and Scotland .. 5
Surveyors .. 15
Other superior officers ; viz., heads of departments,
chiel clerks in the metropolitan offices, &c.. 18
Postmasters • • • • • • • • • • •• • • • • • • • 11,235
Clerks, &c. .. 1,632
Guarls, • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • . 197
Letter-carriers, messengers, &c. 11,076
Marine mail officers .. 7
Postmasters, clerks, letter-carriers, &c., in the
Colonies, the posts of which are under the direc-
tion of the Postmaster-General .. 125
Agents in foreign countries for collection of post-
-61

24,372

The portion of the above staff attached to the
chief office in London, which is less than it was,
owing to the removal of many men to the district
offices, now consists of about 1,700 officers. Includ-
ing this number, about 3,300 belong to the London
district. _ _

The health of the large body of officers attached
to the General Post-office in London has been good ;
showing improvement even on the satisfactory
state in the previous year.
The general conduct of the officers of the depart-
ment during the last year has also been good,
indeed that of many has been excellent ; and, under
the system of promotion according to merit, which
has now for some years been in operation, I have
had the pleasure of advancing many zealous and
efficient men. _ _ _ .

During part of the year, indeed, there was some
misconduct among the London letter-carriers, but it,
was confined to comparatively few. The wrong-
doing of these few did not deter me from entering
into a full examination of the complaints ; and
being satisfied that while the alterations in the
scales of wages made some time since on the recom-
mendation of the committee appointed by your
lordships' predecessors had, on the whole, been
beneficial, they had in some instances pressed
rather hard, or at any rate had left some grievances
unremoved, I advised those modifications which you
were pleased to sanction. These alterations have
considerably improved the condition of a large
body of letter-carriers, and have, I trust, rendered
every industrious and well, conducted letter-carrier
fully contented.