New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1856-01-05

he deducted.
The soun. Of balances due England On the fiscal year is3
ess about. % ' 20 e
The balance. due Br-mel ioF the yea''..'' o9O u
.... @766AB ,
r.,,o ,gp t,-c.oirc dcuc, tue basrces the
United states by Prussia foE the yeaT'..''''.'' ost II
p..,,..................................s6,9 $3.50 /!
Il hon IN. abov, balance of 5000 70 BE- deducted
6,n The agregate of s7342 l35 - the actual gross
revenue Of the Department, Tor the fiscal year eGdn;
2h Jq 7a.. 5sr Sii IF 1854 after Jeda; for
balances, amounted ooO,,, ~
Difference IN favor Of @jls}9 10
B.iue an increase Of 81 per cent. 49,.
Tie expenditures Of Tie Department for the yesI ls5S
The gross revenue, as reported by The AudoT 1 m
rris,oT Of 800 200 ior mail services rendered
io Government, Has...,''''''''''''''''' '''-'' -
Yxeess Of expenditure in s2f!j26 Is
Ifto the foregoing excess of expenditure be added
The balance accounts closed by bad debts, "com-
" rro1niscd debts and suspense account, amount
inc bv the Auditors statement to s649 90, then the
entire excess for the year will be S2t@t's05 10. In
nv last annual report stated that the expenditures oi
ls,j would owing to causes not within the contro OF
The Denartmen greatly exceed those of the previous
wear and then briefly adveted TO some OF tho;e
causes. subsequently. other items OF increase, 10
which shal presently alludc, were added by acts OF
Congress. The commission allowed 10 fostlnasters
uude the act of Sd March, 1888 had prov cd insufficient
AT few Office, 10 deay the expenses OF their admn-
i-traton, aud an authority wa asked to make gddl
tona allowances in such special cases when cond not
in all according to the estimate Of the Auditor have
involved an increase of expense exceeding $4,000
year. but with the authority To grant -pec0l rehet the
act of Congress, approved January % l.94 gay a
General increase Of commissions the effect OF which
mon the expenditures for compensation to Posmasters
and Clerks for the POst-Otces IN the past year, as
compared with 1884, i LOwn by the following state
ment Ga -. - n -.
Revenue from letter.stamps sold,
foreign postage newspapers and
PAMPHLETS. and from emouIneD's
psdi lIltS7 &c $6r12t9G o.
over expenditures compeuss-
tim to pOstmastcTs and clerks for $1,000. o., o-o., .,
Or ms ~ c6 per- cent or Is 81 per cent
The proportion of the revenue from pOsages expend-
ed for 4" compensation for postmasters and clerks
for Offices in 1854, was 80 26'lOO per cent. Allow
inc the same rate upon the revenues OF 1902 TINS ex-
pendture for those objects would be $50 i3i 2b-IOU
instead of So $50 9J2 62-lOO and after deductng the
sum of $40 00O estimated for the relief OF special cases
there il still an increase of expenditure over 1854 OF
s3l64 95 31lOO resulting from the operation OF the
act of June %. 1854. The expenditures tor transpora
ton have very much increased during the last year,
and the principal of this increase IL owing to the
IN he pa YEAR He OF rT aTe been miles of new
railroad added TO the mail service in the various parts
the country, at rate of annual cost as it stood on
the 30th June last, of s2e6,G3
While the increase of in 1854 that Of
the wear preceding i s5-l00h per cent, the in
crease of the year ending June 3d. lejJ, over that of
the year ending June 80, 1854, was but 3-6th per
cent caused no doubt in some degree by the CONNER
cia inactivity of the last year. There has been paid
out of the PostOfce revenue, by authority of special
acts Of Congress- S56,G06 %. The payment for bal
ances due on our postal accounts with foreign countries
were greater in 1855 than in the previous year.
Such il the condition of the revenue of the Depart
ment for the year 1855 which goes further to show that
the rates fixed by the act of March 3ls5l, will not
able the Department 10 sustain itself from its own rev
enues. This must be the case for some years, and
large annual appropriations must continue 10 be drawn
from the treasury Although this in my opinion, is
deeply to be regretted il has been and will continue
to be- my effort to connc its expenditures nearly
as practicable within its income In no department
of the Government fater care required in the ex-
penditure Of money; and once the doctrine be
tablished that it IL charge upon the treasury less
and vigilance will be exercised moneys will be
uselessy expended in supplying imaginary wants, and
abuses of every description will be generated. When
regarding the deficiency in the Post-Ohicc revenue,
there TWO matters which stand PROMINENTLY out and
demand our consideration, and the rst Is the ranking
privilege When the subject of the reduction of post
age was before the British Parliament, il was discov-
cred that out of the number of 90 900 600
of Letters which passed annually through the Cen
er0l POst-Office of that country, 100000 or
about q ninth part of the whole were ranked;
and this under Thanking privilege which limited
members Of Parliament to ten letters packets TO be
sent, and fifteen to be received, each day. When the
act of Parliament of 1870 was passed reducing the
rate of postage TO the uniform rate of penny
Of it, provisions abolished the franking privilege petit
tons 10 Parliament and Parliamentary documents
only being allowed TO 60 free. The high rates of post
age in that country previous TO the passage of the oct
OF s40 caused the Thanking privilege To be very much
abused, aud vigilance could guard against its being
most extensively used vehicle for private
pondence. II j., think to be deeply regretted that
ON the passage Of the Act of ls5l, similar provisions
not Incorporated into that Act. In a country
wide and extended a. ours il would be almost impos-
sble 10 ascertain with any degree OF certainty how
many millions Of letters passed through mails, or
what number were franked. Ia an account kept al
the Washington City Post-Ofiice during the month Of
January, 1854, il was found there were ranked by
Members Of Congress during that month H. 727 letters
and public documents, which weighed CO.,, sos pounds
The weight Of letters and documents franked at the
Departments amount to OG2 pounds. During this
month the weight of newspapers from this
Office amounts To III, 90! pounds.
The amount for this month can be sai, " taken a.
showing less than fa average estimate fur the whole
year but the postage if collected al the prepaid rates
on that amount Of mail matter would Be- ~ ,iGs sed.
The letter. and documents ranked bv Members OF
Congress when absent from the scat Of government
hav. not been estimated but the number must be very
considerable. Two hundred and nncty-si, Seua,or,
and Member, aud seven Delegate, enjoy Lis priyi.
lege; aud by the construction given 10 ,he various
acts on tL- subject the franklin privilege of a Mem
her and Senator elect commences from the ith Of
March previous 10 the fr-t Monday of December
when the Congress 20 which he las been elected hnl
assemble. The Senators aud Members Whose terms
have expired continue To eHcrci-c this privilege until
the next Congress assemble; 20 that between March
and December of the present year four hundred and
nine Senators aud Mcnhcr- and Delegate. were using
the Thanking ynvcgr IN every part of the country ii
the letters aud documents thu, frnnkcd were limited
10 the public service the evil woud not be- n gr-ai NJ
u nov ~, but low a. are the present rates of postage
th" frank colcn private correspondence of every de.
scriltion, and Ab-ffacis LARGELY from tho Trra,urv
III" department not only caFrirt all tn. matter free of
'u"ig', bui hkrwsc pays 10 every Postmaster shu-c