The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1862-01-16

,,,,rr our abstract Of the report of
n..,r,ss,er. General, we find that the
-. - an. Finance Bureau exhibit the fact
rostmssters, who are required by
nsr,nent 10 deposit quarterly, or OF.
Wv ,ns revenues Of their Offices, have de-
-, IA the Treasury and Its branches.
the LIST Of June, 1861, the sum Of t73,.
80, The amount of grants from the
rrss.ury in aid Of the revenues OF the DE-
.ar,neut was $500 GOO Ss making total OF
Scrostss and grants OF ssa5 .c6o.o6. Since the
e-th July, S37 warrants have been issued upon
che Treasury, In payment of the postal ser
xice. amounting to S22a 43l SO; leaving an
6rswn and subject 10 warrants, in payment
NJ postal service, s67o, 2Sl 10. There nave
ION ,s.ued mon class OF post offices styled
..draf, Offices" in payment OF the postal ser
vice. s75 drafts. amounting to sio,2ss 80.
THE number of dead letters received and
named i. IS, 6s2. The number OF drop let
ISM. The mum Der OF letters held Tor
,nostage. ISIS. 9e7 dead letters contained In
,nousy. $3.50 50, and ISL contained drafts,
xu,. ~ exchange, notes and other valuable
rapers, am oun ting to 81 ,2ss. ei3 81.
large amount Of the foregoing belongs to
-
.s,s,es. and Will be placed in the hands OF
the proper judicial officers, TO be disposed OF
updar the Sequestration Act.
sixhundred aud ninety four dead letters,
containing money to the amount OF 81 ,59S 80,
have been retur ned 10 the writer's thereof
Fifty seven letters, containing $S52.oJ have
hen sent to the offices at which they were
mailed. TO be delivered to the proper persons
By the pos tmasters, and have been again re-
iurned TO the Department unclaimed. One
hundred aud fty-tw letters are not Jet
sent out for delivery to their writer's. They
contain $i3It5 Sixty-tour letters, con tain.
irg $500 belong TO non-residen1s OF the Cen
Tolerate States.
Tha first delivery Of postage stamps by the
contractors was made on the 10Th October
lsst and since that date only j, 430, 700 stamps
have been recei we'd, oil of which have been
issued to post offices near which large bodies
of troops b rave been situated, with a view to
their special accommodation.
The supply Of stamps furnished by the
u,hographic establish ent in this city being
altogether inadequate to the demand, nego-
,iat;ons are pending with engravers In
CHARLESTON and Savannah though 1t does
potappear from the report that they can fur
pish the estimated mum Der required for daily
uss 1850. 00O,l on terms which would justify
the Depar trnent In making q permanent con-
tract, one engraver proposes to furnish the
stamps gunmed, but not perforated, at a
COST of one dollar per thousand, the paper
70 be furnished by the Department; whore
as the United States Government paid
bat eighteen cents per thousand stamps
gummed, perforated, and put up in tin and
paper boxes and envelopes, without extra
charge for paper, boxes or envelopes. Mean
time a confidential agent, provided with
ample means, has been dispatched to Europe
to procure the manufacture OF steel dies and
plates for printing stamps of the several de.
nominations required by law, and for pro.
curing for use. soon as practicable, fifteen
millions of stamps, and to forward the dies
plates, and. stamps to this city. 4he small
supplies now being received from the con
tractors in this city issys the rsport only
serve 10 increase the public discomfort, as
they are in sufficient to meet the demands OF
even the principal cities.
The Postmaster General makes an elabo.
rate argument to justify the law which for.
bids pu blishers to send newspapers and peri.
odicals as freight, by expressmen and others
bat 1t strikes us that he makes q signal fail
ure in this respect. He is mistaken in sup
posing that the com plants Of Injustice com,
exclusively from pu publishers and expressmen
The newspapers are of course m ade the m Q.
dunn of these com plants; but inasmuch as the
additional tax and the Inconvenience falls
upon the great reading public, we do not see
how the old law upon this subject can be de.
nominated "class legislation"