Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1886-11-26
THE FOREIGN MAILS.

| to foreign countries during the year was
! SAP, $3.50. OF the trouble with the
| Pacific Mail Steamship company the
| postmaster general has this 10 say:
The disagreement between some Am
erican steamship companies and the
| department III respect to their compen-
sation and the method of engaging the
vessels in the service occasioned much
! healthy discussion. The carriage of our
foreign mails was, however, but very
| slightly interrupted or Inconvenience.
| The principal elimination from the best
service attaruable or existing lines was
due to the refusal of the Pacific Mail
/ Steamship company and the Red d. com
| pany of the use of their vessels to the
! government, and occurred chiefly on two
routes From San Franc isco to Japan
and China the service was performed by
the Oriental and Occidental Steamship
/ line alone, whose steamers sail from our
port at intervals of about twenty days,
alternating with like sailings by the yes
! sells of the Pacific Mail company, and
tina refusal of the latter, reduced the FREE
| quency of outward dispatches by one
half, though not otherwise diminishing
or impairing the service, which was
well performed by the other company.
THE FINANCIAL EXHIBIT.
The financial condition of the postal
service for the past year has improved
beyond expectation. The previous year
closed with a deficiency of revenue to
meet postal expenditures of almost seven
millions of dollars, exclusive of the cost
of trans portation on the Pacific railroad.
Both the reduction in the rate of postage
on second-class matter and the increase
! in the unit of weight of first-class matter
| from half ounce to an ounce, came into
! effect on the 1,t day of July, 1885, and
thus affected the revenues for the entire
year, restricting by the probable amount
! of two millions of dollars the increase
| otherwise to have been fairly anticipated.
! Counting every reasonable promise, no
! expectation of a revenue exceeding ST.
| 600 900 could be justitiably iDdulged. On
the other hand, the estimates of the -ex
penditures of the year which had been
! submitted by the department. for the &C
! ton of congress were S56,099, 1880 the
| the az preparations made by that body
amounted to S54. 1S3,642.14; and upon
! review at the time of the last report it
! appeared necessary to fix the probable
total cost as high as S53,000,0o0, and the
! resulting cash deficiency at 100000,
| exclusive of the service performed by the
| fore, be rlghtfully regarded as crafty
! ing. For, although the revenue falls
/ short of the expected total by $4,000,
/ the expenditures have been limited to
/ less than S5l 900, 900, aud the deficiency
| is diminished within that of the year be-
! before, being below 100000 exclusive
! of Pacific railroad service"
| Under the head of projectiles, Conmo-
| dore Sicard comments upon the insult
! able character OF cast iron as a material
| for projectiles intended to be used in
/ high-power guns, and the failure of steel
| makers to supply unhanmered cast-steel
/ shells of good quality. Under the head
/ of machine guns and cannon the report
notes the tendency abroad to increase the
/ caliber of such cannon, and the opinion
| is expressed that pieces THROWN. projec-
| tiles of twenty and thirty pound. will
| soon be perfected. Cartridges for Hotch-
! kiss guns have been produced in this
| country which perform better than those
| abroad. Touching the
! ARMAMENT OF THE NEW VESSELS
| Commodore Sicard says:
| For the new ships approaching com
! pletion we have eighteen six-inch and
three eight-inch and two fve-inch guns
| finished, and three six-inch and five
| eight-inch well advanced, together with
/ all the carriages for the Atlanta and Bos
| ton, and all for the Chicago except the
! eight-inch.
'-All the guns of the secondary batter
| les. and nearly all the small arms have
/ been provided, and all the electric search
1 lights and appendages- The mounts for
4 the secondary batteries are being pressed:
most of the powder for the Atlanta and
| Boston Is delivered, and that for the Chi
| cage viii be ordered speedily
The equipments of the unfinished ships
are now in a forward state. As the third
rate wooden ships last built are good eI
| amples of the best class of wooden yes
. sells, and must be depended upon to do