New Orleans daily crescent., 1857-12-18

hey sailed last August MI. Reed, our Envoy to |
,hina, went IS passenger 10 the Minnesota Capt. |
Eattnal, In the steam frgate Powhatan. has been |
ent to relieve Capt. Armstrong. The Powhatan will
top at Madeira to land ex-President Pierce and his
amily.
The sloop Preble, the practice ship Of the Naval
Academy. has been on her usual summer cruise with
he first and third class Of acting midshipmen. The
ngs Of sugar cane is noticed and also the return to
England Of the Arctic discovery ship Resolute, as
well as the telegraphic expedition Of the Niagara,
but nothing is said about the future movements q
that ship.
The successful expedition Of the sloop Of war Ply
mouth for the purpose Of experimenting With lhe
Dahlgren gun is approvingy noticed, and the Secre
tary says !" The result OF the operations on board
the Plymouth dspel oil doubt whether ), the e. heavy @
cannon she carried would be manageable, and he re-
commends their adoption, and another appropriation
to test their efficacy.
In relation 70 the act Of March s. 1851, directing
the Secretary TO report to Congress code o regoa
tions for the Navy 1t is stated that Board consisting
Of officers Of each department Of the service is now
engaged at Washington in performing this duty. An
expedition has been sent to verify the survey OF the
Atrato and Tuardo rivers, with view to canal be-
tween the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and another
expedition Is on the point Of departure for the La
Plata under the command Of Captain Page, to survey
the Paraguay. The work of publishing the survey
to the North Pacific and Behring's Straits is rapidly
advancing. An increase of the Marine Corps to the
number OF 900 is recommended Further appropri-
ations are recommended for the purpose of making
Key West coal depot for cur naval ships The war
steamer building at Hoboken by the Stevens family,
which was not to exceed in cost 1886 000 has already
consumed $500 900, and commission appointed TO
examine into her condition report that IT will require
1872 O33 6S to complete her. This stupendous affair
was commenced in the year la42. The executors OF
= Stevens say tha o2 ooo be- s been expended
pay over to them $50 IN 81 the balance Of the un-
appropriated money for this purpose. s IN
The Naval Academy at Annapolis under the COM
nand of Captain Blake y in 4 foorishing condition ;
there are now attached to the institution l6 acting
midshipmen during the past year Is have graduated
and SO have been admitted s8
The joint resolution Of Congress, directing that
medals be struck and presented to Doctor Kane and
his men, has not been complied with for the reason
that appropriation was made for defraying the ez
penses.
In respect to the action Of the three Naval Courts
Of Inquiry ether Information is offered than re-
ference to the report furnished to the President of the
action of the Courts, and which, it is stated, he has
approved. It also appears that certain officers have
been restored to the active list and from the furlough
to .leave-payn Who they are is not intimated. The
and generous feelings toward the officers who were
the victims Of the Retiring Board" but he has no
power interfere with the decisions Of the Board let
his opinions of their justice be as they may.
The policy of changing the old system OF three
years cruises to cruises Of two years has been adopted
as one of the means of increasing the efficiency Of the
service. The five new steam sloopsof-war authorized
by the last Congress are to be Immediately construct
ed, and with watertight compartments. The con-
struction of ten new steamships OF light draught of
water is recommended, such as will be capable of en-
terng the small harbors at the South, where none OF
our ships.0fwar can now enter, and which might be
made OF great service In the Chinese waters at the
present time. The cost of the ten would be s23000 000
Larger appropriations are recommended for special ex
perimental purposes.
The expenditures Of the Department for the last
year were sl2 6o6 8l the appropriation demanded
for the coming year is s14,6l6,29s %, Of which
rne Corps, and "a 1888 ~ for special purposes
Report Of the Postmaster General.
Postmaster Brown sets out by stating that he has
adopted no new theories, made innovations upon
an already weltried system. During the last fiscal
year. 1,725 offices have been established, and 704 dis
continued, being net increase Of l,02l. The NUM-
ber of Postmasters appointed during the year was
$3.50; of which 4,767 were to fill vacancies occa
stoned BY designations The total number ct post:
Offices in the United States at this time is n u.s. of
which 36S are Of the class denomnated Presidential,
the ncumbents being subject to appointment by the
President and Senate. On the 30th of June last,
1888 mailroutes were in operation, with an aggre
gate length Of 24260l miles, of which %, $50 miles
were by railroad, l5,245 by steamboats,, and 4s329
by COACH The total annual transportation of mails
was IA 906 OCT miles, costing se622046 The cost Of
transportation was relatively as follows BY railroad,
ten cents and Ave mills per mile by steamboat,
twenty-five cents mile; by coach, seven cents and
four mills mile. The length of railroad routes has
been increased 2207 miles, and the length of steam
boat routes is increased by 294 miles, The number of
mail contractors is 6,576 The stagecoaches are
going more and more out of fashion; during the
year, the length OF coach routes has been reduced
i ,l24 miles, and the annual transportation 24,06l
miles. The cost Of the Utah routes was increased
SIT 500, by the allowance Of additional pay without
increased service, on the route between Salt Lake
and San Pedro. The extension Of railroad service,
(amounting to 64S miles, is set forth in tabn-
lar form in the report, with an exhibit Of the ad-
ditiona expense thereby incurred, amounting to
$24945S during the year. Compared with the SER
vice last year, there appears decrease of 79l miles
in the length of r0utes and of 623,0 ,034 miles in the
annual transportation, while the cost is increased
$l20,044.
The receipts OF the department for the year were
81, 1853 ,95l, and the expenditures $ll5Os057. AL
lowing for certain special provisions on the account
Of revenue and expenditure, the deficit is stated at
49, The increase of expenses this year is
per cent in the amount OF annual transportation, and
The estimates for 1858 are as follows: EXpend
tures sl2 053, ,247 revenue $40 leaving the
sum Of 81 469l7S to be appropriated by Congress to
defray the expenditures Of the coming year.
The mail contracts with the New York and Havre
and Bremen lines Of steamships, have been continued
for another year, and the adoption Of q permanent
contract with these lines is recommended. The Pan
| anna Railroad Company receives an annual eompensa
tion Of 100000 for mail transportation the contract
to continue till October, 1859. The temporary con
tract with @. K Garrison, for mail transportation
between New Orleans and Vera Cruz, expires Junt
80, 1858. The contract on the Pacific side must bt
extended one year. The postage on mails Transported
by the Collins line during the year. were $40 463 03
previous year, $461 ,575. The amount OF letter post
ages upon mails exchanged during the year will
/ Great Britain was $S74,l94 of which $574 l94 wer
collected in the United States An elaborate tabular
statement is furnished Of the number Of letters an,
papers conveyed between the United States and Grea
Britain during the last four years showing excess
British postage collected in this country Of Sl932S
| last year (; result dsadvantageous to the depar,
ment. The balance is every year largely against Us
The cause lies in the fact that nearly two-lhirds
the trans Atlantic mails have been conveyed by th
| Cunard line, the British government thereby receiving
nearly fonr fths of the postage. Negotiations for
radical change are pending.
The subject of the adoption of plan of moneyol
ders drawn by postmasters, is urged upon the after
tion Of Congress, with an ausou to former proceed
| ings.
In regard to delays and failures on the great mai
route from New Orleans to New York, the report ]
very full. This line is composed Of sixteen links
each under separate contract. The causes OF della
are reported upon-conssting of railroad disasters
broken bridges, ice and snow, etc.-and as a remedy
the closing OF contract with the Florida Railroa
Company is recommended, whereby one party, in
stead OF sixteen, becomes the contractor-the mail
to be conveyed from New Orleans to New York b.
sea IN hye days-an arrangement which, the Post
master General thinks, will obvate not only the de
lays that attend andcarriage, but will tend also t
prevent robberes and losses Of the mails as well a
to effect the preservation of mail matter from til
damage it now frequently incurs The Company II
ferred to offer to perform daily service during tn
year for $456 250 An extension of this great Soutl
ern route may be made to include the conveyance {