Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1866-12-06

SGQ Sot0lrr tne %Pll-ParnPd reward OF his
failhfulness and gailantry. More than six
Thousand manned soldiers have received ar
titic al limbs or other surgical apparatus !;
and Iorty-one national cemeteries, contain.
ing the remains of I04 ,526 Union soldiers,
have already been established The total
estimate of military appropriations is $25,
205, 500
1t Is stated in the report of the Secretary
of the Navy that the naval force at this time
consists of 27S vessels, armed with 2,35l
guns. OF these, ll5 vessels, carrying ,029
guns, are in commission, distributed chiefly
among seven squadrons The number OF
men i'll the service is l3,600. Great aciiv-
i'y and vigilance have been displayed by all
the rquadrons, and their movements have
been jgd:cinusly and efficiently arranged
in such maun as would best promote Anne
re, commerce, and protect the rights and
inter, 81 4 our c0uhtrymen abroad. The
vessel, unemployed are undergoing repairs,
or ar laid up until their services may be
required. Most of the iron-cad fleet is at
League Island, in the vicinity of Philadel-
phia, "a place which, until decisive action
should be taken by Congress, was selected
by the Secretary OF the Navy as the most
eligible location for that class of vessels.
1t is Important that suitable public sta,
ton should be provided for the iron-clad
feet 1t is intended that these vessels
should be IN proper condition for any emer-
gency, and it is desirable that the bill ac-
cepting League Island for naval purposes,
which passed the House of Representatives,
at its last session, should receive final ac-
tion at an early period, ia order that there
may be IA suitable public station for this
class Of vessels, as we'll as q navy yard Of
area sufficient for the wants Of the service,
on the Delaware river The Naval Pension
fund amounts to $l1,750,000, having been
increased S2,760,00O during the year. The
expenditures Of the Department for the fish
cal year ending 30th June last were $43,
328, ,526, and the estimates for the coming
year amount to $23, sos, ,436. Attention is
invited to the condition of our seamen, and
the Importance Of Legislative measures for
their relief and Improvement. The sugges-
tjons in behalf of this deserving class OF our
fellow citizens are earnestly recommended
to the favorable attention of Congress.
The report of the Postmaster General
presents most satisfactory condition of
the postal service, and submits recommeN-
dations which deserve the consideration OF
Congress- Tue revenues for the Depart
ment for the year ending June 80, 1866,
were S14, ,3S6,0SG, and the expenditures SIS,
351 ,079, showing an excess Of the latter OF
1865, ,063. In anticipation OF this deticlen-
cy, however, special appropriation was
made by Congress in the act approved July
%, 1866 Including the standing appro-
priation Of $700,000 for free mail matter, as
I legitimate portion Of the revenues yet
remaining unexpended, the actual deficien-
cy for the past year is only $500, ,O93-a
sum within $5l 14l OF the amount estima-
Ted i'll the annual report Of 1864. The de-
crease Of revenue, compared with the pre-
vious year, was one-ffth per cent, and the
increase of expenditures, owing principally
to the enlargement Of the mail service in
the South, as twelve per cent On the
Both of June last there were in operation
SIX thousand nine hundred and thirty mali
routes, with an aggregate length OF @ne
hundred and eighty thousand nine hundred
and tWeDty-one miles, an aggregate annual
transportation of seventy-One million eight
hundred and thirty-seven thousand nine
hundred aud fourteen miles, and an aggre-
gate annual cost including all expenditures,
of s., ,4l0, l84. The length of railroad routes
is thirty two thousand and ninety-two miles,
and the annual transportation thirty million
six hundred and nine thousand foEr hun
! dred and sixty-seven miles. The length of
steamboat routes is fourteen thousand three
hundred and forty-six miles, and the annual
transportation three million four hundred
and elev, II Thousand nine hundred and six
ty-two miles The mail service is rapidly
increasing throughout the whole country,
and its steady extension in the Southern
States indicates their constantly improving
condition. The growing Importance Of the
foreign service also merits attention. The
Post Office Department Of Great Britain and
onr own nave agreed upon a preliminary
basis for Il new Postal Convention, which it
is believed will prove eminentIy beneficial
to the commercial interests Of the United
States, iuasmuch aS it COntemplates a re-
dnction of the international letter posta ge
to One-haif the existing rates reduction
Of postage with all other countries to and
from which correspondence is transmitted
in the British mail or in closed mails through
the United Kingdom the establishment Of
uniform and reasonable charges for the sea
and territorial transit of cores spondence in
closed mails and an allowance in each
PostOffice Department Of the right to use
all mail communications established under
the authority Of the other for the dispatch
Of correspondent, either in open or closed
mails, on the terms as those applicable to
the inhabitants Of the country providing
the means OF transmission.
The report of the Secretary of the Inte-
rior exhibits the condition of those branch
es of the public service which are commit
ted to his supervision, During the last iis-
Cal year, 4,G29,3l2 acres of public land
were disposed of, l,892,5l6 acres Of which
were entered under the Homestead act
The policy originally adopted relative to
the public lands has undergone essential
notifications. Immediate revenue. and not
their rapid settlement, was the cardinal fea-
ture Of our land system. Long experience
and earnest discussion have resulted in the
conviction that the early development of
our agricultural resources, and the diffusion
of energetic population over our vast ter
ritory, are objects of far greater Importance
to the national growth and prosperity than
the proceeds of the sale Of the land to the
highest bidder in open market. The pre-