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office service from New York to Tampa, Fla., covering a distance of 1,326.62 miles. While the extension of "fast-mail" facilities to Tampa, Fla., became necessary in connection with the recently improved service between the United States and Cuba, it has, also, become of great importance to the business interests of the whole State of Florida, and the service has proven very satisfactory and beneficial to the patrons of the Department in that rapidly growing section of the country.

I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

JOHN JAMESON,
General Superintendent.

Hon. A. LEO KNOTT,

Second Assistant Postmaster-General.

REPORT OF THE THIRD ASSISTANT POSTMASTER

GENERAL.

POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT,

OFFICE OF THIRD ASSISTANT POSTMASTER-GENERAL,

Washington, D. C., November 6, 1886.

SIR: I have the honor to submit the following report of the operations pertaining to this office for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1886, premising with a reference to the tabular statements and other papers hereto annexed and forming a part of the same, viz:

No. 1. Explanation of estimates of appropriations for the office of the Third Assistant Postmaster-General for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1888.

No. 2. Statement showing itemized appropriations for the service of the Post-Office Department for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1886, and the expenditures made out of the same.

No. 3. Statement exhibiting the receipts and expenditures, under appropriate heads, by quarters, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1886, compared with the receipts and expenditures of the fiscal years ended June 30, 1884, and June 30, 1885.

No. 4. Statement showing receipts and disbursements at Treasury depositories during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1886.

No. 5. Statement showing the issue in detail of all the several kinds of adhesive postage-stamps, stamped envelopes, newspaper wrappers, and postal cards, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1836.

No. 6. Statement showing the issues of postage-stamps, stamped-envelopes, newspaper wrappers, and postal cards, by denominations, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1886.

No. 7. Statement showing the increase in the issues of postage-stamps, stamped envelopes, newspaper wrappers, and postal cards for the year ended June 30, 1886, as compared to those of the previous year.

No. 8. Statement showing the number of registered letters and parcels transmitted through the mails from each of the several States and Territories in the United States .during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1886.

No.9. Statement showing the increase of registered letters and parcels upon which fees were collected at twenty-five of the leading cities during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1886, over the number registered during the preceding year.

No. 10. Statement showing the operations of the registry system at the cities of New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Saint Louis, and Washington during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1886.

No. 11. Statement showing the number of pieces of dead mail matter treated in the Division of Dead Letters during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1886.

No. 12. Statement showing the disposition of mail matter opened in the Division of Dead Letters during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1886,

No. 13. Statement showing the number of pieces, classification, and disposition of unmailable matter received at the Dead-Letter Office during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1886.

No. 14. Statement showing the number of pieces of dead matter of foreign origin received and disposed of during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1886.

No. 15. Statement showing the number of letters originating in the United States and returned by foreign countries as undeliverable during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1886.

No. 16. Statement showing the number of pieces of dead mail matter returned to and received from foreign countries during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1886.

No. 17. Statement showing the number, classification, and disposition of dead registered letters during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1886.

No. 18. Record of the number and weight of letters, parcels, and circulars mailed during the six days from June 21 to June 26, 1886, inclusive, at twenty of the leading post-offices.

No. 19. Record of the number and weight of letters, parcels, and circulars mailed during the six days from September 20 to September 25, 1886, inclusive, at twenty of the leading post-offices.

No. 20. Statement showing the operations of the special-delivery system during the year ended September 30, 1886.

No. 21. Copy of contract for stamped envelopes and newspaper wrappers for the four years beginning October 1, 1886.

FINANCIAL EXHIBITS OF POSTAL SERVICE.

The financial exhibits of the last fiscal year, so far as they relate to the expenditures, are in small part necessarily subject to estimation, it being impracticable to discharge all the obligations of the year so soon after its close. The liabilities are, however, closely approximated upon the best information available at this time, and as compared to the expenditures they are small in amount. By law all balances of appro priations remaining unexpended at the close of the fiscal year for which the appropriations are made are available, in the discharge of the ob ligations of the year, for two years from the date of the last appropria tion made by law. Disbursements were accordingly made during the last fiscal year not only on account of that year, but of the two prior years. The appropriations for the year ended June 30, 1884, being no longer available, it may be well to make a final statement of the account for that year before proceeding to give the exhibits for the year just closed. For the purposes of comparison it may be well, also, to restate the account for the year ended June 30, 1885, as modified by the disbursements made since the report for that year was rendered. The exhibits are as follows:

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The net receipts were $3,942,422.06, or 8.3 per cent., less than the expenditures and outstanding liabilities, and $5,292,038.93, or 10.8 per cent., less than the total cost of the postal service, inclusive of the amount certified to the Secretary of the Treasury for mail transportation on the Pacific railroads. As compared to the previous year, there was a decrease of $2,152,386.81, or 4.7 per cent., in the net revenue (excluding amounts charged to bad debts in both years), and an increase of $3,700,175.82, or 8.4 per cent., in the expenditures and liabilities, and of $4,172,885.29, or 9.3 per cent., in the total cost of the service.

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Excess of total cost of the postal service over revenue......

247,830 44

$19,756, 132 53

1,096, 377 00

50,852, 509 53

8,291, 665 70

The receipts were $7,195,288.70, or 14.4 per cent., less than the expenditures and outstanding liabilities, and $8,291,665.70, or 16.3 per cent., less than the total cost of the postal service, inclusive of the amount certified to the Secretary of the Treasury for mail transportation on the Pacific railroads. As compared to the previous fiscal year, there was a decrease of $756,659.15, or 1.7 per cent., in the net receipts, and an increase of $2,496,207.49, or 5.2 per cent., in the expenditures and liabilities, and an increase also of $2,242,967.62, or 4.6 per cent., in the esti mated total cost of the service.

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Amount expended to September 30, 1886, on account of the year ended June 30, 1886....

Liabilities:

Amount of indebtedness for various objects certified to Auditor and not yet reported for pay

$50, 627, 553 37

ment

$24,612 84

Estimated amount of indebtedness not yet reported to Auditor...

175,000 00

Amount due for transportation on Pacific railroads, for which no appropriation was made..

251, 101 61

450,714 43

Total actual and estimated expenditures for the service of the year......

Deficiency of revenue:

Estimated amount of deficiency of revenue to be supplied out of the general Treasury on account of the service of the year....

7,142, 019 12

51,078, 267-2

COST OF POSTAL SERVICE.

Total of actual and estimated expenditures, as shown above... Amount certified to Secretary of the Treasury by the Auditor for transportation of the mails on the Pacific railroads, and by law not charged to the appropriations for the postal service...

Total estimated cost of the postal service for the year...... Deduct amount of net revenue, as shown above

Leaves excess of estimated cost of service over amount of net revenue.

$51,078, 267 82

i, 112, 138 40

52, 190, 406 22 43,936, 248 70

8, 254, 157 52

In addition to the $50,627,553.37 expended as above, the sum of $377,190.43 was paid on account of the service of previous years, making the total amount disbursed during the year $51,004,743.80. Of the disbursements on account of previous years $189,149.15 was for 1885; $178,171.61 was for 1884; $8,974.59 was for 1883 and for prior years; $770.40 was for 1881 and for prior years; and $124.68 was for compensation of postmasters readjusted under the act of March 3, 1883.

The receipts of the last fiscal year were $6,679,130.42, or 13.1 per cent., less than the disbursements on account of the year; $7,129,844.67, or 13.9 per cent., less than the disbursements and estimated outstanding liabilities; and $8,241,983.27, or 15.7 per cent., less than the total estimated cost of the postal service, inclusive of transportation on the Pacific railroads.

The total amount of expenditure authorized by the original postalservice appropriation act was $53,700,990, covering thirty-six specified objects. An additional appropriation of $415,000 was subsequently made for inland mail transportation by railroad.

No specific amount was appropriated for the compensation of messengers under the special-delivery system, the act of Congress authorizing the system providing in general terms for the allowance of fees on the letters received and recorded for special delivery.

The amount allowed under this head from October 1 to June 30 was $67,652.14, and this sum should be included in the total of authorized expenditures, which thus amounted to $54,183,642.14.

In one item only did the expenditure exceed the appropriation, and that was for ship, steamboat, and way letters. The appropriation was $2,000 and the expenditure was $2,050.83, leaving a deficiency of $50.83 to be provided for. In this case the expenditure is regulated by law, and is not subject to the control of the Department. In thirty-five items of appropriation there were unexpended balances amounting to $3,556,139.60, which are still available for the service of the year. The net excess of the appropriations over the expenditures was, therefore, $3,556,088.77. Deducting from this amount that of the estimated outstanding liabilities ($450,714.45) would leave the appropriations $3,105,374.32, or 5.7 per cent., in excess of the total expenditures, actual and estimated.

The actual and estimated expenditures of the last fiscal year are $1,322,135.29, or 2.5 per cent., over those of the previous fiscal year. The total estimated cost of the postal service, inclusive of the amount certified on account of mail transportation on the Pacific railroads, is $1,337,896.69, or 2.6 per cent., over the total cost of the previous year. The net revenue of the last fiscal year was $1,375,404.87, or 3.2 per cent., more than that of the previous year. The increase of revenue was, therefore, $37,508.18 more than the estimated increase in the cost of the service. The revenue will be shown more in detail hereafter.

As compared to the year ended June 30, 1884, the year ended June 30, 1886, exhibited an increase of $622,464.14, or 1.4 per cent., in the

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