transportation 1,847,621 miles, and the additional cost $163,982; being 6.83 per cent in transportation, and 9.87 per cent in cost. The lettings of new contracts for the term commencing 1st July last embraced twenty-one States and Territories of the Northwest, West, and Southwest, including California, New Mexico, Utah, Oregon, and Washington. The following table shows the new service, as in operation on the 30th September, including the overland mail route from St. Louis and Memphis to San Francisco, also the route from New Orleans, via Tehuantepec to San Francisco: Compared with the service on 30th June last, the length of routes increased 27,973 miles; the annual transportation thereon 9,026,666 miles, and cost $2.243.156. This amount, with the increased cost of service under new contracts, commencing on the 1st of July... ... Added to the cost of service as in operation on 30th June last. 2,243,156 00 7,795,418 00 Makes the total amount for current year.. $10,615,947 41 REVENUE AND EXPENDITURES. The expenditures of the department in the fiscal year ending June 30, 1858, amounted to... $12,722,470 01 For transportation of inland mails, including payments to route agents, local agents, and mail messengers.... 7,821,556 83 If there be added to the above $91 90 lost by bad debts, and the sum of $925 35 gained on the suspense account be subtracted, then the net amount of expenditures will be $12,721,636 56, as adjusted in the Auditor's office. The gross revenue for the year 1858, including receipts from letter carriers, and from foreign postages, amounted to $7,486,792 86, as stated below: To the gross revenue above stated are to be added the permanent annual appropriations, amounting to $700,000 granted to the department by the acts of March 3, 1847, and March 3, 1851, for the transportation and delivery of free mail matter for Congress and the executive departments, thus making the whole revenue of the year amount to $8,186,792 86, which falls short of the expenditures, as adjusted on the Auditor's books, $4,534,843 70. I beg leave to invite attention to the full and highly satisfactory report of the Auditor, hereto appended, and marked. From this interesting document, I derive the following brief synopsis of the financial operations of the department in the past fiscal year :— The balance standing to the credit of the department, on the books $1,163,886 05 The amount of the various appropriations drawn from the treasury 7,487,718 21 4,679,270 71 Making the total of receipts..... The whole amount of expenditures in the year, including $91 90 for accounts closed by bad debts, was...... Leaving to the credit of the department on the 1st July, 1858..... We have before noticed statements taken from the report of the British Postoffice. By the annexed, which is copied from the Boston Post, it will be perceived that the employments of the Duke of Argyll in the time of Queen Caroline, and he of the time of Victoria, are essentially different. The fourth annual report of the Postmaster-General of Great Britain, (for 1857,) is just out. It appears to have been issued by the Duke of Argyll, just before he left office, as it is signed by him, and dated February 25th, though not published till April. It is similar in size and appearance to the annual report of our Post-office Department, and evidently a copy of the plan long in use in this country; for until the last four years, the British Post-office has issued no distinct yearly report. The present number is a modest brown, or tea-colored, pamphlet of 84 pages, and is taken up with current statistics, past progress, postal history, notices of railway bills, postal conventions with foreign nations, and reports of the health officer and controller on the sanitary condition of the Post-office, and the general health of the men. Everything in the report indicates system, care, and good management, very different from the "circumlocution office," made notorious by the pen of Dickens. There are in Great Britain 11,101 post-offices, and of these 810 are head post-offices, and 10,271 sub post-offices. The increase during the year 1857 was 256. The number of persons employed in the British postal service within the kingdom is 23,545. There are also 125 in the colonies that are considered as attached to the home Post-office, and 61 agents in foreign countries, for the collection of postage, making a total of 23,731. These persons are classed as follows:-1 Postmaster-General, 5 secretaries and assistant secretaries, 15 surveyors, 19 other superior officers, 11,101 postmasters, 1,610 clerks, &c., 205 mail guards, 10,582 letter carriers, messengers, &c., and 7 marine mail officers. Payment to be made in advance. All other letters optional. + Weekly, per annum. Papers in all cases to be paid in advance. In large offices many of the same persons that are classed as letter carriers and messengers, act as clerks and sorters a portion of the time, on the arrival or before the departure of important mails. The gross expenses or actual amount of money paid out for the support of the Post-office during the year is set down as $8,604,380, and consists of the following items, along with the expenses of 1856, in a parallel column : WEAR AND TEAR OF IRON ON THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD AND BRANCHES. ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT, PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD COMPANY. TO SAMUEL J. REEVES, Esq., Vice-President Phoenix Iron Company :— DEAR SIR :-The following is a copy of the account of worn out and condemned rails, taken from the line of the Pennsylvania Railroad, from the opening of the road in September, 1849, to November, 1857, viz. :— Eastern Division, (Harrisburg to Altoona,). Total....... .tons 553 2,084 2,637 223 2314 454 Total miles of track on Eastern Division, including double track and sidings H. J. LOMBAERT, C. and A. Pennsylvania Railroad Company. 454 Total main track, 248 miles, and second track and sidings, 206 miles .... WEAR AND TEAR. Eastern Division--Length, 223 miles; rails removed, 5 miles; quantity, 553 tons. Western Division 66 2311 46 201 66 2,084 66 8 y'rs; equal to about p. ct. p. an. Total...... Western Division about 4 21 The entire purchases since the beginning of the construction, up to November 1st, 1857 : Brought from above statement...... A small quantity of steel headed rails and city grooved rails, say. Seven-eighths of all the rails in use were made at the Phoenix and Safe Harbor Iron Works, by Reeves, Buck & Co., and Reeves, Abbott & Co. None of the iron removed from track was remanufactured until 1856, when a few hundred tons were re-rolled; also, an additional quantity during the year 1857 :— The entire quantity remanufactured was... After the whole 4544 miles of track was laid with rails, there were left over 1,394 tons. 2,455 tons 64 lb. T. Sufficient to lay 234 miles of track. This quantity was sufficient to replace nearly all the worn out and broken rails taken up from September, 1849, to November, 1857. Thus : The number of tons required to lay a mile of track of the several patterns, is The Eastern Division has been open since September 1st, 1849, and is laid entirely with Phoenix and Safe Harbor iron. The main track is 132 miles long. The first 65 miles, say from Harrisburg to Lewiston, is laid with 64 pound Trails, from the Phoenix Works. The remaining distance, and all the second track, is laid with 64 pound T rails made at the Safe Harbor Works. The wear and tear of rails includes the use of them in construction of road. PHILADELPHIA, November 15th, 1858. I have compared the foregoing statement, prepared by S. J. Reeves, from data furnished him from this office, and find the amount of iron rails, purchased for the tracks of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, and the amount worn out and taken from the track, to be correct to the date given, viz., November, 1857. HERMAN J. LOMBAERT, Cont. & Aud. P. R. R. Co. |