Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1864-12-09

The following Is 8 summary o. the points |
Of general interest in the report Of the |
Postmaster General
FINANCIAL CONDITION.
The postal revenues for the fiscal year
ending June so, 1864, we're 81. .43s, 25378 ; |
and the expenditures during the same pc
riod, sl2, GA, 1890; showing an excess Of
the latter Of S20G, ,55242. The excess Of
receipts in 1854 over lsGl-the first year
Of the rebel!ion-Was : i,05S 95T35. As an
exhibit Of the excellent financial condition
Of the department the revenues Of 1864
were estimated at an increase Of 5 per
centum on those of l9e2, whilo they nc
tually reached an increase of 425 per cent
UNI; and the expenditures, which had been
estimated at sI3OOO,OO0, fell short Of that
sum $355,21sse.
ESTIMATES FOR 1856.
! The estimates for tho year 1865 are as
follows Expenditures, $I4,09a 500; gross
revenues, 3,l84,547 79; giving 3 def
3 ciancv Of soi o 0so 81 Ess.ss 9pL5ssi. 4s-,s-.
be deducted the amount Of the permanent
appropriations to compensate the depart
ment for carrying free mail mattec,
! 100000, by which the estimated deficiency
is reduced to 52l5, 552.2l.
ISSUE OF STAMPS AND ENVELOPES.
During the fiscal year, 634,O5i,GI0 post
age stamps, - the value oil $40, 1913 /;
1854, 800 stamped envelopes, amounting
to S765 5l2 so, and 1914 500 newspaper
wrappers, amounting to SO, 400 were Issued;
total value, Sl0,974, 329 60-an increase OF
6l per centum over 1863. Notwithstsnd-
ing this enormous Issue, the losses Of stamps
Il the mails amounted only to Sl,206, and
Of envelopes, $3.50.
sUPPLY OF STAMPS To THE ARMIES.
Postage stamps are regularly supplied
to the armies Of the Potomac and Cum
berlsnd through special agents Of the do
partment, located at or near the headqusr-
ters of each. Since the inaugurati Of
this practice-abOut the first Of July LAST
the agent st City Point, Va, has sold
stamps amounting 10 $27, ia 90, and tine
agent Of the army at Chattanooga, SIS, 2lO.
TRANSFORMATION STATISTICS.
; On the s0th of June last, there were in
the loyal States and Territories 6,0so mail
routes in operation with length Of lg9,-
l73 miles as follows, viz: RIilroad 226lG
miles: steamboat, 1878 miles; "celerity,
certainty and security" l09,275 miles /;
costing $5,8l8,469. The aggregate com
peusalion Of route sg5nts, local agents,
mail messengers, baggage masters and
agents on steamers WIS $548, I53 4S, which
added TO the cost Of Service in operation
on the 30th of June, 1854, 5,6l8,469)
makes the oal cost Of transportation at
that date, 50, 365, ,222.49.
OVERLAND NAILS.
Tho contract for the service from Atch.
ison or ST. Joseph TO Salt Lake Cisy, ls il
the hands of Ben. Holiday, of New York,
at $685., 600; and from Salt Lake City to
Folsom City, Cal, in the hands Of Vim.
B. Dinsmore, Of New York, at $355 coo.
The contracts are from October /, 1854 to
September 80, 1868. Paper and document
mails for the Pacific coast are to be carried
by sea via New York ard Panama, at
SIco,oco pcT aInuni. Ilio contract for
the California and Oregon route tormina-
ting September l8,l6d5, pTOposs!s were
invited ior the continuance OF the SERVED
to 1868 and 1868. But one bid was 70.
eeived, that Of the California stsge conf
psny, at $500 per snnum, which was
deem ed ex ravagant, and accepted only tC
June 30, lS65, only, with view to sga;n
invite competition, which has been done
The contract for service on the route from
st. Cloud, Minnesota, 10 Pembins in Da
kotah Territory, was extended 10 June 20
1865, and the tIips increased from one (
two per week, at an increase of Of compen.
sRtion Of SS7 ,l67 per annum.
ARMY MAILS.
Inquiry has been made by Lieutenant
General Grant relative to the existing ar.
. rangement for supplying our amies with The
{ mails. He replies that the system of re
Ceiying and forwarding mails now in ope.
ration is entirely satisfactory and that our
soldiers "receive their mail mattor with as
much regularity md promptuess as is pos.
sible for armies in the field, and with per.
haps as much celebrity as the most favored
, parts of the country" He slso announces
that the policy originally adopted Of ex,
T Guiding civilians from the mail service
within The lines cf the army, and detailing
for that duty enlisted men of intelligence
and reliability will be continued.
COST OF DISTRIBUTION.
The expense ate ding the work of TWEEN.
ty-lwo distributing post offices amounted
during tbs fourth quarter of 1864 to nearly
100000; being at the rate of $500, 900
or about g. per centum of the whole ex
pense of clerk hire in all Offices.
RAILWAY POST OFFICES.
The mailing of all letters direct from one
Office to another being objectionable, rail-
way or travelling post offices have besn es-
tablished. The requisite cars for the pur-
pose are prepared for one daily line be-
tween New York and Washington, and by
means of clerks taken temporarily from
the post otflc3 at Washington, BalLimere,
Philadelphia snd New York, letters inten-
ded for distribution at either of these
points are distributed in the cars, and SO
arranged thSt they can be dispatched
without delay on connecting routes By
this means the transmission of letters IS
expedited from twelve 10 twenty-four
hours, Similar experiments have been
made on the routes from Chicago TO Clinton,
Davenp, IT and Dubuque, Iowa, with equal
ly satisfactory results. II is hoped that
the final effect will be to reduce the expen
ses connected with the present plan o.
distribution.
! STATISTICS OF FOREIGN SERVICE.
The aggregate postage upon the coz
I respondence exchanged with Great Britain,
/ Prissia, France, Hamburg Bremen and
/ Belgium amounted TO $780, ,6o569, being
an excess of Sl7Z, ,930.4s over last year.
I The collections in this country amounted
| to 1881, $50 68, aud in Europe to $5l7,s75.
Ol ;excess of collections in the United
/ States, 1858, ,s55.67.
| EXPENSES OF TRANSPORTATION.
By the foreign steamships of New York
and Liverpool, Canadian, Begmen and
contract mail packets of the Cuoard and
Galway lines $62s, 240.6e. Amount paid
/ for mail steamship service TO and from
Europe, S371 74O.44.
BRITISH NORTH AMERICAN PROVINCES.