The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1860-01-05

has been given to Cornelius Vanderbilt, ana
will be carried, Uid Nicaragua, at $4,000 Tor
those from New York, and $4,000 for those
from New Orleans. With this route IN opera
ton. the Tehuantepec service ought TO De as
nensed with. The Postmaster General also rec
ommends the discontinuanee of the overland
mail from San Antonio to San Diego, as totally
unnecessary under any circumstances. Inc
great overland mail he attempted to reduce
from semi-weekly to a weekly mail, but found
that he had no power 10 do so. de considers
the route unnecessary, and MAINTAINS that, with
ont a railroad, it is impossible to convey the
whole of the Pacific mail overland, as those
carried semi-monthly by the steamers weigh
ten tons, and would require ten coaches instead
of one, and cost, at the present rate, SIX MIL
lions of dollars per annum.
The Kansas and Stockton mail was dead
failure. But four through mails arrived at
Kansas, and only two at Stockton. The hide
peudenee and Placerville mails he also recon-
mends to be stopped. 1t has already been re-
duced from a weekly to a semi-monthly mail,
at a reduction of $4,000 cost.
The mail service between Havana and
Charleston and Savannah, by the steamship
Isabel, has been discontinued, as it cost S6O,OOO
Der annum, and the revenue from 1t was but
$l0.O57.66 The mails are taken now from
Charleston and Savannah to Fernandlna, thence
by the Florida railroad to Cedar Keys, and
thence taken by the New Orleans steamers to
Havana. at saving of Sl9 ,942.34 per annum.
The report urges further legislation, to enable
the Department to build new post office at
Philadelphia. An act passed in 1888 estab-
ished 695 new post routes, but made no pro-
vision for their support. One OF these, from
St. Paul to Puget Sound, would cost $500, 900
annually. They would all be unproductive,
and have not been put in operation. During
the year, 30,837 mail bags were purchased,
being 9,93T more than in the previous year.
Contracts for four years have been made, for
the delivery of bags at higher prices than those
of the last contracts.
On the subject of retrenchment, the report
has much to say. The Department has saved,
the past year, 81 ,926,47l, chiefly in the curtail
ment Transportation, discontinuance of routes,
aud in the California service. The heaviest re
duction has been in Missouri, where there had
been an annual loss of S499, pa, and the next
IN Texas where the loss had been 1922, 1873.
In Louisiana, the annual loss has reached
$5Sl.3l5. The report again urges the abolition
of the franking privilege, as well as OF the Pa
ci6c overland service. 1t opposes an increase
of the rates of postage.
As regards the foreign mails, thereport says
The aggregate amount of postage, (sea, inland,
and foreign on mails conveyed to and from
Europe By the several lines of mail steamers
employed by this Department, was $484, 668.5l !;
aud by the British packets of the Cunard
line, performing an equal number of trips,
sos, 1864. The North German Lloyd and
Hamburg lines Of mail packets also conveyed
mails to and from Bremen and Hamburg, re-
spectively, the hostages on which amounted to
$4e, l5l.7l, making the total hostages on Uni
ted States and European mails, conveyed by all
lines during the year, 1888, 449.89.
The cost of transatlantic service performed
by steamships employed by this Department,
under the provisions of the act of the 18th
June, 1853, (which limits the compensation to
the United States postage, sea and land, when
the conveyance is by American steamers, and
10 the sea postage when by foreign steamers
was S3246lO.62; twenty-six round trips being
performed by American steamships for the sum
of $780, 6l.O9, averaging $7,66388 per round
trin, and twenty-six and half trips by foreign
steamships, at $l25, 349.53, averaging $4,73Ol7
per round trip.