virtually granted in the postal convention between the United States. and Mexico of December 11, 1861, and June 20, 1862. It is to be hoped that the ideas so ably set forth at the Lisbon Congress by the Portuguese delegates will ultimately prevail, and that the next postal congress will bring about this much-desired result, viz, absolute freedom of territorial and maritime transit rates. Not until this is accomplished, and all transit accounts between the various administrations of the Union are done away with, will the first article of the Postal Union Convention become true, viz, that the Universal Postal Union forms & "single postal territory." Such a step could not fail to exercise an influence on the postage rates by abolishing or reducing all surtaxes which more or less are caused by the present transit rates. In virtue of the seventh clause of article 5 of the revised Convention of the Universal Postal Union, there may be levied, in addition to the usual Postal-Union rates (5 cents per half ounce of letters and 1 cent per 2 ounces of other articles), an additional charge for every article subject to the sea-transit rates of 15 francs (83) per kilogram of letters and post cards and 1 franc (20 cents) per kilogram of other articles; said additional charge not to exceed 5 cents per half ounce for letters, 1 cent for each post card, and 1 cent per 2 ounces or fraction of 2 ounces for other articles. Quite a number of the administrations of the Union at present make use of this privilege. Great Britain, for instance, charges 5 cents postage per half ounce of letters to all the countries of Europe, Canada, and the United States, but 8 cents per half ounce of letters to all the countries and colonies of America, and 10 cents for letters to India, Siam, Japan, &c., via Brindisi. Whilst, therefore, it only costs 5 cents to send a half-ounce letter from New York to Bombay, a distance of about 8,000 miles, it costs double the amount (10 cents) to send a letter of the same weight from London to Bombay, a distance of about only 5,000 miles. There is consequently no uniformity of international postage rates, which should form one of the essential characteristics of a "single postal territory." Nor is there at present any uniformity of domestic postage rates, as will be seen from the following statement showing the domestic postage rates for letters in the principal countries of the Universal Postal Union: Great Britain charges for a letter not exceeding 1 ounce 1 penny, equal to 2 cents. France charges for a letter not exceeding ounce 15 centimes, equal to 3 cents. Germany charges for a letter not exceeding ounce 10 pfennig, equal to 2 cents. Russia charges for a letter not exceeding 1 ounce 7 kopecks, equal to 5 cents. Austria charges for a letter not exceeding ounce 5 kreutzers, equal to 2 cents. Italy charges for a letter not exceeding ounce 20 centesimi, equal to 4 cents. United States charges for a letter not exceeding 1 ounce 2 cents. THE UNIVERSAL POSTAL UNION DURING 1886. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 1886, the following countries whose prospective adherence to the Universal Postal Union was mentioned in my last report have actually entered the same. The Independent State of Congo on the 1st of January, 1886, and the Republic of Bolivia on the 1st of April, 1886. It was hoped that the British colonies in Australia, viz, Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, West Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania, and the British colony of the Cape of Good Hope would enter the Postal Union at an early date, special provision for their adhesion having been made by the Lisbon Postal Congress; but unfortunately these hopes have not been realized, and there is no m mediate prospect of seeing the benefits of the Union extended to these important colonies. A number of new provisions were added to the Universal Postal Union Convention of Paris by the additional act of Lisbon of March 21, 1885. Among the more important are the following: Article 5 bis of the Convention provides that The sender of an article of correspondence may cause it to be withdrawn from the service, or cause the address to be changed, as long as this article has not been delivered to the addressee. The following countries have declared that this provision applies in their service: Argentine Republic, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Chili, Costa Rica, Denmark, Danish Antilles, Egypt, France, French colonies, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Italy, Luxemburg, Netherlands Antilles, Netherlands East Indies, Netherlands Guiana, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Portuguese colonies, Roumania, Rússia, Salvador, Siam, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and Uruguay. The following countries and colonies have declared that they cannot allow senders to withdraw correspondence or have the address changed: Canada, Republic of Colombia, Great Britain, all of the British colonies, Hayti, India, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Article 9 bis of the Convention provides that Articles of correspondence of every kind are, at the request of the senders, delivered at the residences of the addressees by a special carrier immediately after their arrival in countries of the Union which consent to undertake this service in their reciprocal relations. The following countries have, up to date, declared that they will undertake this special-delivery service: Argentine Republic (as regards correspondence for Buenos Aryes, Rosario, and La Plata), Austria, Belgium, Chili, Denmark (exclusive of Iceland and the Faroe Islands), Germany, Hungary, Japan, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Paraguay (as regards correspondence for Asuncion), Salvador (as regards correspondence for the city of San Salvador), Servia, Siam, and Switzerland. The third paragraph of article 11 of the Postal Convention of Paris, as amended by the additional act of Lisbon, prohibits to send by mail "gold or silver bullion, precious stones, jewelry, or other precious articles, but only in case the legislation of the countries concerned prohibits their being placed in the mails, or their being forwarded." Whilst the original provision absolutely prohibited the transmission of these articles, the additional clause virtually allowed their transmission on certain conditions, that is to say, unless specially prohibited by the legislation of the countries concerned. Most of the administrations of the Union were, therefore, not slow in declaring through the intermediary of the International Bureau that their legislation contained the prohibitory clause alluded to. The following countries and colonies prohibit the transmission in the mails of gold or silver bullion, precious stones, jewelry, and other precious articles: Argentine Republic, Aus tria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chili, Republic of Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Danish Antilles, Egypt, France, French colonies, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hayti, Hawaii, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, Netherlands East Indies, Netherlands Guiana, Nicaragua, Norway, Paraguay, Persia, Prue, Por tugal, Roumania, Russia, San Domingo, Salvador, Siam, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad, Turkey, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Gold and silver coins, however, may be sent in the mails to Belgium (in insured or registered letters), Hawaii, Netherlands East Indies, and Siam. RECOMMENDATIONS. The time occupied by different steamers in the voyage from this country to Great Britain varies from six and a half to ten and a half days, and as the celerity of the service should enter largely into the consideration of the compensation to be allowed for the conveyance of mails to transatlantic ports, I recommend that the allowance of 5 fraucs per kilogram of letters and post-cards for the sea conveyance of mails to Great Britain be limited to those steamers making the trip in eight days, and that steamers requiring a greater length of time for the trip be compensated at the rate of 3 francs per kilogram of the letters and post-cards conveyed, the rate of 50 centimes per kilogram of articles. other than letters and post-cards to be allowed to all vessels conveying mails without regard to the time occupied in their trips. The foundering off Fire Island in March last of the steamer Oregon, with nearly six hundred sacks of mail from Great Britain on board, brought to notice the fact that there is no provision of law under which any expense can be incurred by this Department in the recovery of mails dispatched from the United States for foreign countries in case of disaster to the conveying steamer. I recommend that Congress be asked to authorize the expenditure of such sums as may be necessary to defray the expense of the recovery of mails for foreign countries dispatched from the United States in steamers which are wrecked in transit. I renew the recommendation made in my last report, that Congress be asked to re-enact the law requiring all vessels of United States regis ter, as a condition of their clearance, to receive and convey all United States mails tendered to them, upon such terms as are now or may be hereafter allowed by Congress for such service. Several Governments of the world by statute compel vessels to conrey mails tendered to them. In 1837 Great Britain enacted a law compelling the master of any British vessel bound to certain of her colonies to receive and safely convey and deliver to the postmaster at the port of destination all mails tendered by the postmaster-general of Great Britain, failure to receive mails so tendered subjecting the master of the vessel to a fine of £200 (about $1,000); and in 1840 this statute was extended to include the masters of all vessels bound from Great Britain to foreign ports. In 1837, only seven years after the first railroad was opened in England, a statute was enacted compelling all railroads to receive and convey all mails tendered to them by the postmaster-general of Great Britain at any hour of the day or night, and upon such schedules as he might direct. The provisions of the British statutes above referred to are still in force, and are contained in 1st Victoria, cap. 33, section 6; 3d and 4th Victoria, cap. 96, section 37; and 1st and 2d Victoria, cap. 98. Hon. WILLIAM F. VILAS, Postmaster-General. NICHOLAS M. BELL, Superintendent Foreign Mails. REPORT OF THE AUDITOR OF THE TREASURY FOR THE POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT. OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR OF THE TREASURY FOR THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT, Washington, D. C., November 9, 1886. SIR: I have the honor to submit herewith the annual report of the receipts and expenditures of the Post-Office Department, as shown by the accounts of this office, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1886. All expenditures on account of service of last and prior fiscal years are stated to September 30 of current year, as in former reports. REVENUE ACCOUNT OF THE POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT. Service of the fiscal year 1886. Postal revenues of the year ended June 30, 1886 Excess of expenditures over all revenues... Amounts placed with the Treasurer to the credit of the Department, being grants from the General Treasury in aid of the postal revenues under section 2 of the act approved March 3, 1885 (Statutes, vol. 24, page 92)...... Excess of expenditures over all receipts ................. Amount of balances due late postmasters on accounts closed by "suspense' Amount of balances due from late postmasters charged to "bad debt" and "compromise" accounts Net loss by "bad debts" and "compromise". $43,948, 422 95 50,627,553 37 6,679, 130 42 6, 225, 000 00 454,130 42 $481 77 12,656 02 12, 174 25 Amount to be placed with the Treasurer of the United States ... Service of the fiscal year 1885. Amount placed with the Treasurer to the credit of the Department, being grants from the General Treasury in aid of the revenues under section 2 of the act approved July 5, 1884 (Statutes, vol. 23, page 157) Expended from October 1, 1885, to September 30, 1836.. Service of the fiscal year 1881. Amount placed with the Treasurer to the credit of the Department, being grants from the General Treasury in aid of the revenues under section 2 of the act approved March 3, 1883 (Statutes, vol. 22, page 455).. Public act 17, approved August 4, 1886 (Statutes, vol. 24, page 272). $528,098 81 466, 304 67 1,500,000 00 189, 149 15 110,274 88 Expended from October 1, 1885, to September 30, 1856. 638,373 69 178, 171 61 Service of the fiscal year 1883, and prior years (claims). Amount placed with the Treasurer under the act approved August 4, Expended for the service of the fiscal year 1881 and prior years 7,487 58 8,974 59 770.40 Compensation of late postmasters readjusted and allowed under act of March Amount placed with the Treasurer to the credit of the Department, $380, 209 46 $987 08 Expenditures for the service of 1883, and prior years (claims) ... Expenditures for the service of 1881, and prior years (claims) reappropriated for act approved July 7, 1884 Expenditures for salaries of postmasters readjusted under act of March 3, 1883..... Total expenditures to September 30, 1886 .... Excess of expenditures over revenues.. Amount of balances due from late postmasters and Net loss by "bad debts" and "compromise" accounts.... Excess of expenditures..... Grants from the General Treasury: Under act of March 3, 1885, for 1886... Under act of July 5, 184, for 18-5 Under act of March 3, 1883, for 1884. Under act of August 4, 1886, for 1884 Under act of August 4, 1886, for 1883 and prior years (claims) Under act of August 4, 1886, for readjustment of salaries of postmasters under act of March 3, 1883............. Total grants.... Excess of grants over expenditures..... $6,225,000 00 528,098 81 110,274 88 7,487 58 380,209 46 8,751,070 73 1,682,575 63 Less amount of grant to the General Treasury, to repay of the postal deficiency appropriation for 1883 the sum drawn in excess of actual deficiency (paid to Treasurer by warrant No. 21, Washington, dated August 11, 1886) .......... 467,366 32 Excesss of grants over expenditures . 1,215,209 11 The balance standing to the credit of the general revenue account 2,261,798 -5 The balance standing to the credit of the general revenue account POSTMASTERS' QUARTERLY ACCOUNTS CURRENT. 3,477,007 96% The net revenues of the Department from postages, being aggregate revenues at post-offices for the fiscal year, less the compensation of postmasters and clerks and the contingent office expenses, were: For the quarter ended September 30, 1-85 Total $5, -5,876 37 7,465, 423 (R 7.113, 7-9 6,623, 122 73 26, 661, 722-23 |