Jeffersonian Republican. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1840-1853, 1841-12-29

E~OSLNhASteF UemGfaHS Report
The In,elligencer contains the Report OF
| Hon, c. A. Wickliffe, Postmaster General. il
is quite brief, filling only two columns of that
paper. In excuse for a lack of details, the
Postmaster General urges the short time he has
been in Office
The financial condition of the Department is
not as prosperous as the demands upon il re-
quire. The fluctuations of business, the in
creased facilities for the transmission of letters
by private conveyance, the great extension and
abuse of the franking privilege, the recent es-
lablishment of private expresses upon the mail
roads, and the frauds practised upon the De-
partment are mentioned as the prominent caus-
es of the embarrassments under which il la
bors lis financial condition is thus stated:
"'rhe total gross revenue of the Post Office
for the fiscal year con..hencing on the lst OF
July, lS40, and terminating on the 30lh June,
lS4l, was $4,379,2l7 7s; the total expendi-
Iure for the same time was 81 ,567,23S SO. In
this year the expenditures exceeded the reve-
nue. by the sum of $lS7,920 81. A statement
Of the expenditures more in detail, will in due
time, as required by law, be reported 10 Con-
gress.
"The precise income and expenditure of the
General Post Office cannot be known in any
year, until the close of the fiscal year, and the
settlements Of all accounts have been compile
ted. Consequently, any statement OF expendl-
ture and income, for the present year, is liable
10 the fluctuations and changes always incl
dent TO the peculiar character of the service.
"The expenditures and income Of the De-
partment for the current year may, upon estl-
mate, be stated in round numbers as follows:
To+o1 ou,o,,,,t Of ravon,,a Jer;vod from
postages, fines, and all other resour-
ces, S4.SsO.0o0
Expense of mail transpor-
tation, S3,I45,OOO
Commission to postmas-
tiers, If the rates OF per
centage remain un-
changed I,OI5,OO0
Ship, steamboat, and way
letters, 10000
Incidental expenses, in
cluding blanks, station
ary. printing, &c. 10000
4,49O,0O
Total estimated income, 1880, 900
Total deficiency, $4,000
The Postmaster states that he has essayed
The most rigid economy in the administration
of the service, and YET he is satisfied the ex
pendiiure cannot be reduced within The income.
Under the circumstances, he has thought it
necessary to re-adjust the commissions allowed
10 Deputy Postmasters, by which about $780,
900 will be added to the revenue of the Depart
ment. Should Congress not approve Of this
step, it can be prevented by reducing the
amount of mail service before it goes into ef
feet. Rigid inquiries have been Instituted, not
only into the capacity ofthe Deputy Postmas
ters, but also into the solvency of their securi-
ties.
Mr.. Wicklife does not recommend reduc-
tion OF postage on letters, but a modification of
IFS rates, so that it shall conform to the smaller
U. States coin, and revision Of the laws regu-
lating newspaper postage. He especially
urges attention 10 the mammoth periodicals,
which increase the weight of The mails and the
expenses Of transportation, without adding 10
the revenue.
He invites the Legislation of Congress 10
regulate the establishment OF private expresses.
The exclusive right TO pos.-roads for post pur-
poses he thinks should be held by the Govern
ment
The United States Mail was transported on
railroads and steamboats, 3,946,45O miles at
the cost of 1856, ,843; on horse and in sulkeys,
l2,0SS, ,S62 miles at a cost of $751; ,S07; in
stages aud coaches, lS,96l,2l3 miles, at the
cost of Sll, ,79, ,635-making total aggregate of
annual transportation of 34,996, ,525 miles, at
the rate of cost of $3,l59,375. The part of
the Report relating 10 the transportation ofthe
Mails upon railroads we have already published.
Embarrassmenis in the free transit of the
mail over the Cumberland road IN Virginia
have been experienced, incident TO right as
sumed by the State to impose tax on each
coach Transporting the mail.-N Y Tribune
The Woman and the Serpent.
The New Orleans Crescent CITY gives us an