PRINCE'S CHANNEL-ENTRANCE TO THE THAMES. TRINITY HOUSE, LONDON, August 9th, 1855. Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to the intentions expressed in an advertisement from this house, dated 30th May, 1855, the following changes have taken place in the Prince's Channel, viz. : The Tongue Light Vessel has been moved about three-fourths of a mile to the north-westward, into ten fathoms, with the following marks and bearings:Minster East Mill, on with the center of the Coast Guard Station in Westgate Bay..... ......S. by W. W. Margate Old Church, the apparent width of its Tower, opened to the eastward of the Pier Light-house.. Shingles Beacon North-east Spit..... .South. .S. E. S. Mariners are cautioned always to pass to the northward of this light vessel. The North-east Tongue Buoy has been moved about half a mile to the westward into 4 fathoms, with St. Peter's Church in line with Margate New Church.... Monckton Beacon, twice its apparent length, on the east end of Lower Hale Grove.. North Tongue Buoy. Shingles Beacon... .S. by E. 1 E. .S. by W. & W. W. by N. 4 W. ....N. E. by N. The North Tongue Buoy has been moved about a quarter of a mile to the westward into 6 fathoms, with The west end of Cleve Wood, just open to the westward of Birchington Sarr Mill, twice its apparent length, open to the eastward of Margate North east Pan Sand Buoy.. .South. S. by W. W W. by N. N .N. by W. & W Girdler Spit..... The Girdler Light Vessel has been moved about an eighth of a mile to the southward into 34 fathoms, with Ash Church spire, midway between George's Farm and Reculvers....S. E. .S. by E. & E. Redding street Beacon, its apparent length, open to the eastward of Shivering Sand Buoy.. West Pan Sand Buoy. .S. E. 1 S. .S. by E. E. The following new buoys have also been placed in this vicinity, viz. :A chequered black and white buoy, marked "East Tongue," has been placed in 4 fathoms, with the following marks and bearings, viz. :— The first house, next east of St. Nicholas Church, in line with St. Nich olas Western Coast Guard Station..... Minster West Mill, in line with the west end of the east cliff of Westgate Bay A red buoy, marked " West Girdler," in 24 fathoms, with Ash Church spire, just open to westward of Reculvers Village... con, the apparent length of the beacon Shivering Sand Buoy... Girdler Beacon and South Girdler Buoy in line The foregoing bearings are all magnetic, and the depths those of low water spring tides. NORTH PAN SAND BUOY. It is intended that on or about the 1st October next, the black and white chequered buoy at this station shall be taken away and replaced by a buoy painted black." By order, VOL. XXXIII.-NO. V. 40 J. HERBERT, Secretary. COAST OF SPAIN. STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR-ALTERATION OF TARIFA LIGHT. The Spanish government has given notice that on and after the 1st of next September, the present Revolving Light on the south point of Tarifa Island will be changed to a Fixed Light of the natural color. The position of the light remains unaltered, in 36° 0′ 0′′ N., and long. 5° 36′ 37′′ west of Greenwich. The new illuminating apparatus is catadioptric and of the first order, and the light, being 132 feet above the sea, is visible at the distance of 20 miles. JOHN WASHINGTON, Hydrographer. HYDROGRAPHIC OFFICE, ADMIRALTY, LONDON, 21st August, 1855. This notice affects the following Admiralty Charts and Directions: South Coast of Spain from Gibraltar to Alicante, No. 1,186; Gibraltar Strait, plan, No. 142; also the General Charts Atlantic and Mediterranean, with the plan in Tofino's Directions, and No. 2 in the Lighthouse List. POSTAL DEPARTMENT. STATISTICS OF THE UNITED STATES POST-OFFICE. In the Merchants' Magazine for September, 1854, (volume xxxi., pages 805-320.) we published a statistical, historical, and descriptive account of the "General PostOffice of the United States," prepared by D. T. LEECH, Esq., of the Department, with additional statistics which we compiled from official sources. We have received from PLINY MILES, Esq, some proof sheets of a work now in press, entitled "Postal Reform: its urgent necessity and practicability," which will shortly be published by Stringer & Townsend. We are permitted by the author to extract the most interesting statistics. Mr. Miles has given much time and attention to postal matters. He was attached to the Post Office Department in 1853 and 1854, and went to Europe last year for the purpose of obtaining information on the postal affairs of the various continental States. The statistics given below are more full and complete than any before published: ...... ...... 86,453,415 135,090,314 133,381,650 1,393,930,814 It appears by the preceding table that the expense of transportation from 1790 to 1854, inclusive, amounted to $86,453,415; the total expenses, $185,090,314; the total revenue, $133,381,650; the whole number of letters transported, 1,393,930,814. PROGRESS OF THE IRISH POST-OFFICE. The following table will show the reader at a glance what an immense increase has taken place in the number of letters carried by the post-office: COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF LETTERS DELIVERED IN IRELAND FOR THE WEEKS ENDING, September 20, 1840...... 350,318 September 21, 1848 642,077 STATISTICS OF THE BRITISH POST-OFFICE. REVENUE, EXPENSES, NUMBER OF LETTERS, AND NUMBER AND AMOUNT OF MONEY ORDERS, FROM 1839 TO 1854, INCLUSIVE:— 1840. 1841.. 1842.. 1843.. 1844.. letters. 82,470,596 Number of Amount of mon'y ord'rs. mon'y ord's. 188,921 $1,565,623 4,804,878 1839..... $11,953,818 $3,784,997 $8,168,821 6,797,332 4,298,385 2,503,947 168,768,344 587,797 7,497,093 4,690,845 2,806,248 196,500,191 1,552,845 15,637,538 7,890,729 4,887,522 3,003,207 208,434,451 2,111,980 21,685,889 8,104,338 4,903,252 3,201,086 220,450,306 2,501,523 25,564,204 8,525,339 4,925,553 3,599,786 242,091,684 2,806,803 28,476,977 9,437,883 5,627,971 3,809,912 271,410,789 3,176,126 32,066,805 9,819,287 5,693,726 4,125,561 299,586,762 3,515,079 35,355,284 10,905,084 5,982,600 4,922,484 322,146,243 4,031,185 39,515,886 10,718,400 7,016,253 3,702,147 328,830,184 4,203,651 40,756,475 10,826,749 6,622,814 4,203,935 337,399,199 4,248,891 40,763,219 11,323,421 7,303,928 4,019,493 347,069,071 4,439,713 42,472,493 12,110,841 6,520,818 5,590,023 360,647,187 4,661,025 44,402,104 12,171,634 6719,536 5,452,098 879,501,499 4,947,825 47,191,389 12,872,039 7,008,399 5,868,640 410,817,489 5,215,290 49,580,976 13,524,313 7,532,781 5,976,532 443,649,301 5,466,244 52,312,059 1845.. 1846..... 1847..... 1848. 1849.... 1850.. 1851.. 1852.. 1853.. 1854..... 164,478,300 93,509,380 70,953,920 4,619,773,296 53,654,898 522,151,799 POST-OFFICE MANAGEMENT. A Canadian correspondent, residing at Port Hope, has called our attention to the following remarks of the Scientific American on "Post-Office Management." Coinciding in the main with the writer, we cheerfully transfer his statements to the pages of the Merchants' Magazine : Although we are far in advance of all other nations in a free government by the people, and in the general economy of its administration, still we must confess that in some things we are behind some other countries. In post-office management, for example-respecting which we should stand, like Saul, above all other governmentswe are, on the contrary, behind Britain and even despotic Prussia. In England and Prussia, the safest and most convenient way of transmitting money is through the post-office. In the last-named country, so safe and convenient is the postal system, that it is customary for persons going to distant cities, to deposit the money they intend to use at the end of their journey, in the post office, before they start, and get an order for the same, the government becoming responsible for it. This is also the case in England, and has been found to operate well. In Berlin, Prussia, a plan is in operation, which we should like to see introduced into all our cities. It consists in having light post office wagens, with letter deposit boxes, pass through the streets at regular intervals every day, to carry letters to the general post-office. The people have but to drop their letters at their own doors into the wagon, and away they go safe to dif ferent parts of the world. With our stamp system this would be easily carried out in our large cities, and would be a most convenient arrangement. By a recent law the Province of Canada has started out in advance of us in postoffice improvements. All Canadian newspapers are allowed to pass free in the Province, and no charge is made upon those from England. The expenses to carry out this system must be paid from the general fund, but such an appropriation is a wise one. It facilitates the circulation of useful information, and thus it tends to educate the people. To this systein the aphorism of Lord Brougham-" the schoolmaster is abroad"-may well be applied. The spirit of democracy is to adopt every system which will benefit the people, let it originate where it may. We therefore hope that our people will give these remarks a careful consideration prior to the meeting of Congress, in order that our post-office system may be reformed to meet the wants of the age and the people. We must yet engraft the "money order," ocean penny postage, free newspapers and periodicals, and the cheap carriage of light packages, upon our postal system. Until we do this, we will be behind Britain and Prussia, and this we should not be in anything." STATISTICS OF POPULATION, &c. DEATH'S DOINGS WITH THE POPULATION OF MASSACHUSETTS. The following table is derived from the Secretary of State's Twelfth Report to the Legislature of Massachusetts, relating to the Registering and Returns of Births, Marriages, and Deaths in that Commonwealth. It has been carefully prepared, in order to exhibit in a clear and comprehensive view all the deaths that have occurred during the year 1853, together with those that have been reported the previous eleven years and eight months, as they are found in this and the previous Registration Reports: By this it will be noticed that the class of diseases designated as zymotics, and the diseases connected with the respiratory organs, have been most fatal during the year under consideration, 57.40 per cent of all the deaths whose causes have been reported having been caused by them. This has been the case, also, in the twelve years and eight months in which registration has been carried on in Massachusetts. MARRIAGES IN THE STATE OF KENTUCKY. Some curious information in relation to marriages in Kentucky during 1854 is given in a late number of the Louisville Courier. The total number, as reported by the county clerks, was 2,000-about one marriage to every ninety-eight inhabitants. The largest number was in December. Of 5,261 marriages, 4,184 were the first to both parties; 148 widows married bachelors; 598 widowers married maids; and 204 widowers married widows. In one instance the same parties had been previously married, then divorced, and remarried. The youngest person married was a female of 13; quite a number at 14, and over 150 were under 15 years. Of 4,184 first marriages of both parties, 2,094 males-or more than fifty per cent-were under 20 years; and 89 per cent married under 25 years. Of all marriages, 43 per cent were under 20, and 79 per cent were under 25 years; and 31, or 6 per cent, married over 50 years. On the other hand, of the 4,184 grooms, 1,507, or 36 per cent, were under 25; and of all marriages, 29 per cent were under that age; and 174, or 3 per cent, married over 50 years; 27 males and 6 females married for the first time over 50 years of age; 13 men men and 1 female married over 70. |