and other persons, the supervision of the accounts of officers under order to deposit their quarterly balances at designated points, and the superintendence of the rendition by postmasters of their quarterly returns of postage. It has charge of the dead-letter office, of the issuing of postage stamps and stamped envelopes for the prepayment of postage, and of the accounts connected therewith.

To the Third Assistant Postmaster General, all postmasters should direct their quarterly returns of postage; those at draft offices, their letters reporting quarterly the net proceeds of their offices; and those at depositing offices, their certificates of deposit. To him should also be directed the weekly and monthly returns of the depositaries of the department, as well as all applications and receipts for postage stamps and stamped envelopes, and for dead letters.

REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES OF POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT. The ordinary postal revenue for the year ending June 30, 1868, was $16,292,600.80; the expenditures for the same time, including service for which special appropriations were made, $22,730,592.65; excess of expenditures, $6,437,991.85. The receipts were: From postages, $16,292,600; amounts drawn from the treasury under acts making appropriations for "carrying free matter," $3,800,000; under acts making special appropriations for "overland mail and marine service between New York and California," $1,125,000; "steamship service between San Francisco, Japan and China," $125,000; between the "United States and Brazil," $150,000; for "carrying the mail on routes established by acts passed during the first session of the Thirty-ninth Congress," $186,525; "for preparing and publishing post route maps," $10,000, making the receipts from all sources, $21,989,125. The expenditures of all kinds were $22,730,592, as above stated; excess over receipts, $741,466.

.

The ordinary expenses of the department, not including mail transportation provided for by special appropriations, were $21,555,592.65; and the ordinary receipts, including the amount drawn under appropriation for carrying free mail matter, were $20,092,600.80, showing an excess of expenditures of $1,462,991.85, for $741,466.85, of which, a special appropriation will be required. The receipts for postages, as compared with the

previous year, show an increase of 6 per cent., and the expenditures an increase of 18.1 per cent.

POSTAL CONVENTIONS.

Postal Conventions with Great Britain and Countries on the Continent of Europe. Liberal postal conventions, with general uniformity of principles and details, have been concluded with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the North German Union, and Italy, securing important reductions of postage, and introducing other valuable improvements in our postal intercourse with those countries. The new postal convention concluded with the United Kingdom, which goes into operation January 1, 1869, establishes the following rates of international postage, viz:

1. Letters Twelve cents per single rate of 15 grammes (half ounce) in the 'United States, and sixpence (12 cents) in the United Kingdom, prepayment optional. A fine of five cents in the United States, and twopence (4 cents) in the United Kingdom will, however, be levied and collected in addition to the deficient postage on each unpaid or insufficiently prepaid letter received by one country from the other.

2. Newspapers-Two cents each in the United States, and one penny each in the United Kingdom, if not exceeding four ounces in weight.

3. Book-packets (including printed papers of all kinds, &c.), and patterns or samples of merchandise (including seeds and grain): When not exceeding one ounce in weight, two cents in the United States, and one penny in the United Kingdom. When exceeding one ounce and not exceeding two ounces in weight four cents in the United States, and twopence in the United Kingdom. When exceeding two ounces and not exceeding four ounces in weight six cents in the United States, and threepence in the United Kingdom. When exceeding four ounces in weight, an additional rate of six cents in the United States, and threepence in the United Kingdom will be charged for every additional four ounces or fraction thereof. The postage chargeable as above, upon all articles of printed matter, including patterns or samples of merchandise, must be fully prepaid at the mailing office in either country, and is in full to destination-the receiving country delivering the same without charge.

4. Each country to make its own arrangements for the dispatch of mails to the other by well appointed ships, and to pay for the transportation of the mails which it dispatches.

5. The free transfer of extra territorial mails in the seaports of the two countries is provided for.

The conventions concluded with Belgium, the Netherlands, the North German Union, Italy, and Switzerland, respectively, contain substantially the same principles and provisions as the convention with the United Kingdom, with such slight modifications as were necessary to meet the peculiarities of the postal system of each country.

The single rate for letters between the United States and Belgium, by closed mails through England, is reduced from 27 to 15 cents; between the

United States and Prussia embracing all the States now included within the North German Union, the single letter rate is reduced from 30 to 15 cents; and the same rate of fifteen cents has been established to the Netherlands, Italy, and to Switzerland, respectively, by closed mails through England, thus securing a uniform rate of letter postage to each of these countries.

The conventions with Belgium and the North German Union also establish a reduced international rate of ten cents for letters transmitted by regular lines of mail steamships plying directly between any port of the United States and any port of the north of Europe.

The principle of free transit for correspondence transmitted in closed mails is adopted in the conventions with the Netherlands and Italy, and in each of the other conventions very low transit charges are established.

Postal Convention with Hong Kong, China. A postal convention, with simple provisions avoiding postage accounts, has also been concluded with the colonial government of Hong Kong, China. The arrangements made with the Hong Kong office embrace correspondence originating in the United States and addressed to Hong Kong or to the dependent Chinese ports with which Hong Kong maintains postal relations, including Canton, Amoy, Swatow, and Foo Chow; and vice versa of correspondence originating in Hong Kong or the dependent Chinese ports, and addressed to the United States. Prepayment is compulsory.

Each office retains the postage which it collects at the established rates on the correspondence which it forwards to the other, and the receiving office delivers free of charge.

Mail Steamship service to Japan and China. The mail steamship service between the United States and China authorized by the act of Congress, approved February 17, 1865, was commenced on the 1st of January, 1867, by the departure of the steamship Colorado from San Francisco with the mails for Japan and China. The average duration of the first three voyages of the Colorado was as follows, viz.:

From San Francisco to Hong Kong including detention at Yokohama.30..
From Yokohama to Hong Kong.

6.

22...... 7

From Hong Kong to San Francisco including detention at Yokohama.30. A supplemental contract was executed on the 20th of March, 1867, for the conveyance of the United States mails without additional charge, in lieu of the Honolulu service released, by a branch line of steamers between Yokohama, or other port in Japan used by the main line, and the port of Shanghai, in China, making continuous regular monthly trips between said ports in connection with the main line, both on the outward and homeward Voyages.

POSTAL SERVICE.

Post Offices and Delivery of Letters. A large majority of offices discontinued are in the southern states, the service at which was suspended by

order of the Postmaster General, in May, 1861, and were not in operation thereafter, but not regularly discontinued. These offices were reported by the Auditor to the appointment office as having failed to make returns for five years, and their discontinuance recommended as necessary to enable that officer to close the accounts of the late postmasters on the books of his office, and for that reason it was deemed advisable to formally discontinue them. The free delivery of letters by carriers has been in operation during the past year in forty-eight of the principal cities. The number of carriers employed was 1,198, at an aggregate compensation of $995,934.34. This mode of delivery continues to grow in public favor, and experience justifies the belief that it will supersede the system of box delivery, increase correspondence, and not only pay its expenses, but yield a revenue to the department. STATISTICS FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1867.

Appointments. The number of post offices established during the year was........ 1,885

Number discontinued.

6,111

Decrease of offices..

4,226

Number of post offices in operation on the 30th of June, 1866, including suspended offices in the Southern States...

29,389

Appointments made to fill vacancies by resignation of postmasters..

4,065

Postage Stamps and Stamped Envelopes. There were issued during the year, 371,599,605 postage stamps of the value of $11,578,607; 44,566,150 plain stamped envelopes, representing $1,290,588.50; 16,662,150 stamped envelopes bearing printed cards and requests, representing $494,712.50; and 1,857,750 newspaper wrappers, valued at $37,155. The aggregate value was $13,401,063. The issue of postage stamps compared with the previous year shows an increase of about 6.5 per cent., whilst the issue of stamped envelopes increased almost 61 per cent. The sales of postage stamps and stamped envelopes during the year amounted to $12,988,134.32, leaving unsold in the hands of postmasters, $412,928.78.

Contracts and Mail Routes. There were in the service of the department on the 30th June, 1867, 6,376 contractors for the transportation of mails. Of mail routes in operation there were 7.743; aggregate length. 203,245 miles; aggregate annual transportation, 78,982,789 miles; aggregate annual cost, $9.336.286; including the compensation of postal railway clerks, ronte agents, local agents, mail messengers, mail route messengers, and baggage masters in charge of mails, $1,020,871, the aggregate annual cost was $10,357,157. This service was divided as follows, viz:

Railroad Routes: Length. 34.015 miles; annual transportation, 32,437,900 miles; annual cost, $3,812,600; about 11.75 cents per mile.

Steamboat Routes: Length, 15,094 miles; annual transportation, 3,210,740 miles; annual cost $472,200; about 14.7 cents per mile.

Celerity, Certainty, and Security Routes: Length, 153,136 miles; annual transportation, 43,331,149 miles; annual cost, $3,051,480; about 11.63 cents per mile.

The length of routes was increased over the preceding year 22,324 miles; the annual transportation, 7,144,875; and cost, $1,705,812; to which add increased cost for railway postal clerks, route, local, and other agents, $241,161, makes an aggregate of $1,946,973.

Fines and Deductions. The amount of fines imposed and deductions made from the pay of contractors, for failures and other delinquencies during the year, was $198,839.46, and the amount remitted for the same period was $42,931.79, leaving the net amount of fines and deductions $145,907.97.

Mail Bags. The amount expended for mail bags was $80,440, an excess of $26,812.50 over the expenditure of the previous year, but less by £11,275.86 than that of the year next preceding. Railway Postal Service. There are now in operation in the United States eighteen railway postal routes, extending in the aggregate over 4,425 miles, upon 879 miles of which twice daily service is performed, making a total equal to 5,314 miles of railway postal service daily each way. There are employed in this service 160 men, as head clerks, and clerks, at a cost of $187,900 per annum.

Foreign Mail Service. The aggregate amount of postage upon the correspondence exchanged with foreign countries was $2,441,242.52, an increase of $152,023.22 over the previous year. Of this amount, $1,969,605.55 accrued on the correspondence exchanged in the mails with Great Britain, France, Prussia, Bremen, Hamburg and Belgium, $348,303.88 on correspondence exchanged with the British North American provinces, and $123,333.09 on mails transmitted to and from the West Indies, Mexico, Central and South America, the Sandwich Islands, Japan and China. The United States portion of the postage on correspondence exchanged with Great Britain and the continent of Europe, amounted to $871,223.45; with the British North American provinces, $196,848.13; and with the West Indies, &c., $123,333.59, making the total United States postages on foreign mails, $1,191,404.67. The number of letters exchanged with foreign countries (exclusive of the British North American provinces) was 10,298,234, of which 5,312,401 were sent from, and 4,985,833 received in the United States. Of this number 9.442,111 were exchanged with European countries, an increase of 877,264 as compared with the previous year. The estimated number exchanged with the British provinces was 2,806,000, making a total of over 13,100,000 letters exchanged in the mails with foreign countries. The number of newspapers sent to foreign countries, exclusive of the British North American provinces, was 2,956,599, and the number received, 1,871,710, making a total of 4,828,482. Of this number, 4,418,482 were exchanged with European countries.

The cost of the trans-Atlantic mail steamship service under the provisions of the law allowing sea and inland postages to American, and sea postages only to foreign steamships was $51,338.01. The amount paid for the transportation of mails to and from the West Indies, was $60.711.77, and the amount paid for sea and Isthmus conveyance of mails to and from Central and South America via Panama, was $22,956.79; making a total expenditure for ocean transportation of $635,006.57, exclusive of the payments made to the Brazil and China lines, receiv ing subsidies for mail service under special acts of Congress.

Balance due Foreign Post Departments: The excess of postage collections in the United States on the correspondence exchanged with Great Britain and countries on the continent of Europe was $564,757.13, and the balance against the United States on adjustment of the international postage accounts with those countries amounted to $357,223.77.

Dead Letters. The number of letters consigned to the dead letter office during the past fiscal year, was 3,619,062 dead domestic letters, partly estimated; 443,786 unmailable letters, chiefly held for non-payment of postage; 179,466 dead letters mailed in foreign countries, and 64,194 letters mailed in the United States, and returned as “dead” from the foreign countries to which they were originally addressed; making a total from all sources of 4,306,508, a decrease of 892.097 letters from the same total as estimated for the previous year. The whole number of dead letters, of domestic and foreign origin, and returned from the local offices of the United States, was 3,798,528; a decrease of 789,514 as compared with the returns of the previous year. The whole number of unmailable letters was 443,786, a decrease since last report of 94,337. Of the number received, 7,961 letters were directed to places having no mail service. The number of money letters containing sums of one dollar and upwards was 21,365, enclosing $138,365, of which 668, containing $8,564.56, were registered. There were restored to owners 18.577 letters, containing $127,135.43.

The number of money letters containing sums of less than one dollar was 13,770, enclosing $3,369.24; of these, 10,372 containing $3,485.09, were restored to owners.