The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1856-01-04

the terms agreed upon and to In two weeks
would BE- nv daty to advertise the route for
reetting and hold the company responsible fo- tho
difference any bets cen the sum conra;ted for oy it
and that which Shout lave to pay under the advertise
ment.
Unaer date of Oct. he company replied to my letter
of tie 20 but expressed no intention OF sing SER
vice. ard after waiting until the goth October, adyer
tsed the route roposals until the Soth Of No.
vemher to be decided oy the Sd of December and
vice to ence LIST January 1855.
In maEng this statement it Is but proper should ada
that my opionon the directors Of the Illinois Centras
comply with their engagements but failed to do wing
to the very high price demanded Of them by The owners
of the BE- ats. comparison OF the prices paid for
boat service ny the Dpar In every Of The Unon
shows that the highest price given mile is $lal 30
subject extraordinary outlay in the payment
Of toll at Grants but that the average price il
see GO per nit Al the of 1850 000 the price agreed
to be given Illinois Ces trail Railroad Company, the
per mile would be SG9 60 but $780, 600 the price
oemanaeo IRON the aFo' company wee pa.d me cost
price which could not have been contemplated by Cop
ere.s when the act OF 1850 Was passed. !,
The mails across the Isthnus of Panama are conveyed
by the Panama Railroad Company, bu. without rssu
lar contract The service been atisfe'orily per-
formed For the year ing Dece nber 1881, at which
time This service transferred from the contractors
under the New Granadan government TO the Pananl
ported the lsthmls IFS pounds a, cost
including the Is hmu Of the route, agents in
cha ge OF about s5 600 being fraction over seven cen
pound Tue WEIGHT for this year, euded 3lst of
March, 1855, COZ ga pounds, which paid for at
the rae al twenty, 40 cents pound u4kiag the o'al
cost tf the ansportai.n amount to $685. SS 49,. By
the act OF March 3 1881 the Postmaster General was
thorized 80 enter into contracts or make suitable
gements for transporting the mails between Ch4gres
and Panama with regularity and despatch; provided
the rates Of compensation should not exceed twenty-five
cents pOune. Under his authority the Panama Rail
Company has been paid the full maximum compen
fat,on Of twenty-five cents pound from 1st December
1851, to Let April 1856 since which have gnized
their service and payment to be made ~ ghtsen
cents pound. Tue railroad was completed la January
1875; the locomotive for the first Time passed over the
entire route the 18Th, and the mail tor the drst
time carried hr ugh by the train the goth OF that
month. The road being completed ADD this compasy
having made cor side rabe ceducon in their freight
charges, the reduced price for drst class freight 10
instance exceeding fifteen cents pound, considered
mail.
In fixing this took into consideration the great
cost Of he oad, DE sacrifice OF both life and property
in its construction, the magnitude Of the PRISE aud
its importance in ntions point CT view The npaay
Rave declined to acquesce in this decson and claim to
receive the full maximum price of twenty-five cents,
until pe1mal ent contract shall be made fixed
The dis, ributipn schemes referpei TO in
my las annual report been completed and 10
tile several ootpg Post offices. This work Involved
minute examination of all he mail angaments Of
the country, with view definite allotment for each
distributing office, SO az 10 insure tie Transmission Of
mails, IN all cases, by the most direct and expeoi
against the too fiequent distributions which nave
heretofore prevailed Each distributing office has
alpl abecl lists of all the in all the States lex
eept Can nis) vii the proper distribution ooint an
rexed to each conn'y Then the Posmasters have the
planet TO proper dlstbutton
matter for every portion OF each 3a There are in
all Gas counties, formed into 757 different groups to
suit the several distributing Offices and shew the
OF the mail from each office TO county in the Union,
and the whole number Of noins thus for the
fifty distributing offices, is $3.50. In my hast annual
port Recommended the adopt of system Of regstra
ti0n tor giving greater security to valuable letters
trusted the mails. By The Sd section Of act ap-
proved March 1856 Congress authorized the Postma
ter General PROVIDE by which any person desr
ing to post valuable letter. to be by mail might at
his pcn have registe ed payment of fee Of five
cents to the rat" of pos age charge able thereon
it having been estimated that this additional payment
would the expense inc'dens to registration.
To into effect the aut loity thus granted by Con-
gress, 1t became to prepare and distribute
among the several post Offices blanks for system
only the receiving and sending of each mall formerly
but the receiving sending aud delivery OF each partcu
lar letter These oaGks with panng instr uctons
prepared and distributed early possible after
session Of each Postmaster before the commencement Of
the fiscal year. (lst july 1885, when il into ope
ration To guard mach as possible against the mis-
takes and likely i-e from innovation upon the
long established 10 in which postmasters' had
been kept and adapted these forms TO the
requI Of he law and hav. thus end favored by
the smi lest possible to secure un>rmty and
curacy in the keeping and rendering accounts jee
estimate CT the value ultimate of the plan OF
registration adopted cannot be formed from thu short
peIence hal OF it It's operati brings to the immediate
knowledge of the Department not only every failure but
every delay in the transportation ana delivery of regis
tered letters: and in carefully observing its operation
with view to such notifications may be required
have in each IS report fuId abundant proofs of is
usefulness ard also OF the necessity OF perectog 1t by
fuch means experience may suggest By arrangements
with Fruss ia ard Bremen the registry system has been
extended IN letters conveyed between the United States
and Germany. (see articles If agreement annexed)
Tie expenditures of the Department for the fiscal
year are reported BY the Auditor amounted to
npgor frIla 0haada IN vit