however, results in part from reduced service, which, if increased to the standard of frequency previous to the war, on the present rates of pay, the cost would be For railroad service $550,053, instead of $989,365 per annum. For "star" service $266,848, instead of $320,025 per annum. For steamboat service, which having been increased, estimated at former number of trips, is $63,501, instead of $293,668 per annum, making the aggregate pay pro rata for all the service $880,402, instead of $1,603,058, per annum; showing an aggregate decrease pro rata of $722,056 per annum. Proposals have been invited by advertisement for carrying mails in Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida, from January 1, 1866, to June 30, 1867. Number of routes advertised... Number for which proposals were received.... Number for which no proposals were received.... Number of proposals accepted 232, at an aggregate of.... 852 517 335 $102, 714 Number of offers made by department 235, at an aggregate of..... 128, 250 Number of proposals suspended 50, being those of certain railroads, and routes of doubtful utility. Advertisements have been issued for carrying mails in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas, from July 1, 1866, to June 30, 1867. Details explanatory of this branch of the service will be found in the Appendix. FOREIGN MAIL SERVICE. The general results of the foreign service are as follows: The aggregate postages, sea, inland, and foreign, upon the correspondence exchanged with foreign countries, amounted to $1,819,928 56; of which amount. $1,449,530 76 accrued on the mails exchanged with Great Britain, France, Prussia, Bremen, Hamburg, and Belgium; $275,197 06 on the mails exchanged with the British North American Provinces ; and $95,200 74 on the mails transmitted to and from the West Indies, Central and South America. The amounts of United States postage, sea and inland, were: On the correspondence exchanged, with Great Britain and the continent of Europe... The British North American Provinces.. And on West Indies, Central and South American mails...... $570, 156 81 162, 485 28 95, 200 74 827,842 83 The cost of the United States trans-Atlantic service performed by steamships receiving the sea postage only was $405,479 56. Of this amount $213,330 23 was earned by the New York, Queenstown, and Liverpool (Dale) line; $71,106 70 by the Canadian line; $73,273 11 by the New York, Southampton, and Bremen ; and $47,769 52 by the New York, Southampton, and Hamburg lines, respectively. The cost of the ocean transportation of mails to and from West India ports by United States steamers, receiving different rates of compensation within the limit of the postages, was $50,863 90, being $22,178 95 less than the total postages on the mails conveyed. And $14,691 62 was paid for the sea and isthmus conveyance of the correspondence with Central and South America. The excess of collections in this country over the postages collected abroad, upon the correspondence exchanged with Great Britain and the continent of Europe, was $411,582 32, causing balances against this department on settlements of the quarterly accounts with the respective post departments, amounting to $232,439 55. Full particulars of the foreign service are stated in the Appendix, No progress has been made in the negotiations of postal conventions with European countries on the basis of the resolutions adopted at the Paris international postal conference, and referred to in the last report. A convention with Venezuela, which adopts the principal recommendations of the Paris conference, and dispenses with postage accounts between the respective departments, has been agreed upon, and executed on the part of the United States, and only awaits execution on the part of Venezuela. The details of a convention with the United States of Colombia have been agreed upon, which it is expected will be concluded at an early day. Additional articles to the United States and British postal convention have been executed, constituting Baltimore a new office of exchange on the side of the United States. A copy of these articles is annexed. The service to Brazil, authorized by act of May 28, 1864, has been put into operation, the first steamship of the line having left New York with the mails. for Brazil on the 30th of October last. The contract for the mail steamship service to Japan and China was awarded, on the 28th of August last, to the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, whose bid for the required service at the sum of $500,000 for twelve round trips per annum, between San Francisco and Hong Kong, touching on the outward and homeward passages, to land and receive mails, at the port of Honolulu, in the Sandwich Islands, and the port of Kanagawa, in Japan, was the only one received under the advertisement of this department inviting proposals for the service. The company are to build four first-class sea-going steamships, of from 3,500 to 4,000 tons burden each, government measurement, and commence the service on or before the first of January, 1867. By existing law no provision is made for compensating sailing vessels conveying the mails to foreign ports. It is recommended that authority be given to the Postmaster General to allow such vessels so employed compensation not to exceed the sea postage. Prior to June 1, 1857, three lines of American steamships were employed in transporting the mails to and from Europe, receiving subsidies under special acts of Congress amounting to $1,208,000 per annum. The New York and Liverpool (Collins) line received an annual subsidy of $858,000 for twenty-six round trips, the New York, Southampton, and Bremen line $200,000, and the New York, Cowes, and Havre line $150,000, for twelve round trips each per annum. The contracts with the Bremen and Havre lines expired on the 1st of June, 1857, and were not renewed; but temporary contracts were made with the proprietors to continue the service on both routes for the United States postages on the mails conveyed, thus inaugurating a system of self-sustaining ocean mail service, subsequently adopted as the policy of the government, by act of June 14, 1858, limiting the compensation to the sea and United States inland postage when the conveyance is by an American, and to the sea postage only when by a foreign vessel. The service of the New York and Liverpool (Collins) line ceased in the month of February, 1858, since which time the mails have been carried between those ports for the postages. In 1858 the average earnings per round trip of American steamships, receiving sea and inland postages, was $7,125 between New York and Liverpool, $8,621 between New York, Southampton and Bremen, and $7,491 between New York, Southampton and Havre. In 1859 American steamers received $199,261, averaging $7,663; and foreign steamers, employed as United States mail packets, $125,349, averaging $4,730 17 per trip. In 1860 American steamers received $228,149, averaging $7,604; and foreign steamers $147,085, averaging $2,828 per trip. In 1861 American steamers received $157,174, averaging $6,833; and foreign steamers $235,713, averaging $2,740 per trip. In 1862 American steamers received $33,509, averaging $5,584; and foreign steamers $285,884, averaging $2,094 per trip. In 1863 the entire trans-Atlantic service was performed by foreign steamers, at the sea postages only, receiving $332,184, an average of $2,516 per trip. In 1864 the earnings of foreign steamers were $371,740, an average of $2,795; and in 1865 $405,479, an average of $2,970 per trip. During the rebellion American steamers engaged in the carrying trade between this country and Europe were withdrawn from service, resulting to the advantage of foreign lines which continued their regular voyages; and while the subsidies granted by Great Britain to the Cunard line, and by France to the line recently established between Havre and New York, materially aided those lines, it does not follow that they would not have been self-supporting, and even remunerative, without such aid; neither has this department information warranting the conclusion that American lines would not have been sustained during the same period under the provisions of the existing law allowing the United States postage as compensation for the service. The subject of subsidizing American lines to British ports may be presented to Congress at its approaching session. Although in the last report the policy was commended of granting incidental aid to certain classes of new routes, as of those to Brazil and China, no modification of the system, based upon the postage earnings, was proposed in favor of established routes. The results of this system in regard to the service on new as well as old routes are encouraging. As to the new, several lines have been established since the close of the war, to which less than the postages have been allowed. As to the old, application has been made to resume service by American steamers between New York, Southampton, and Havre, for the sea and inland postage, as heretofore. Other lines to Great Britain are projected; one of which, between Baltimore and Liverpool, is in operation; and it is believed that our citizens directly interested in ocean steam navigation will establish lines at no distant time to all the important commercial ports of Europe. It is urged, however, that there is no sufficient assurance of the permanency of such lines in view of the competing heavily subsidized mail packets of Great Britain and France, unless like subsidies are given by this government. While it would gratify our national pride to encourage the commercial enterprise of the country, through the agency of subsidies, in the establishment of steamship lines of the highest grade to all ports where foreign lines are or may be in operation, and which it cannot be doubted would contribute to the earlier development of the commercial interests of the particular routes covered by such lines, this department is not prepared to recommend any departure from the established policy, not only because of the financial wants of the government, but as well from the absence of any necessity for special legislation on behalf of the postal service. During the past year $405,479 was paid to foreign lines conveying the mails to and from Great Britain. If to this sum be added the United States inland postage, amounting (approximately) to $166,677, the amount which would have been available as compensation to American steamers for the same service was $570,156. The argument in support of heavy subsidies as necessary to enable American lines to compete successfully with British steamers loses much of its force when it is remembered that the postage earnings of the British contract packets on the mails which they convey are retained by the government and form a part of the revenues of the British post office. The British portion of the postagesea and inland-upon the mails exchanged with this country alone by means of the Cunard line during the past year amounted (approximately) to $456,000; if to this sum be added the postage on the mails conveyed to and from the North American colonies, of which this department has no official datail, but which must have been quite large, it will be found that the actual bonus paid to that line in excess of the postage earnings was small, although the nominal subsidy is £176,300. It is also to be observed that Great Britain grants a subsidy to but a single line of steamships to the United States. If it was advisable for this government to grant a like monopoly to any single line of American steamers, it could be paid, under the provisions of the existing law, a liberal mail compensation equal to any subsidy that Congress would be likely to grant. But were it practicable to satisfy the conflicting claims of our principal Atlantic cities by granting a monopoly to a single line of steamers sailing from any one port, the effect of such a measure would be to retard rather than advance the general commercial prosperity of the country; and as it would be injudicious to subsidize separate lines from each of our Atlantic ports because of the large expenditure it would involve, it is submitted whether our commercial interests are not best advanced by the present mode of encouraging competition in ocean. steam navigation. At least, the wiser course will be to postpone additional grants, in aid of ocean steam lines, until the system based upon postage earnings has had a fair trial in time of peace, and of greatly increased activity in commercial affairs. APPOINTMENTS. The number of post offices established on 30th June, 1865, including suspended offices in southern States, was 28,882; number subject to appointment by the President, 712; by the Postmaster General, 28,170. New offices established during the year, 586; offices discontinued, 582; changes of names and sites, 200. Appointments made to fill vacancies caused by The number of offices in the late disloyal States is 8,902, of which 1,051 were reopened on November 15, 1865. Number of route agents, 387; aggregate compensation, $229,522. Number of local agents, 51; aggregate compensation, $30,949. Number of special agents, 33; aggregate compensation, $82,790. Number of baggage-masters, 110; aggregate compensation, $6,600. Number of postal railway clerks, 64; aggregate compensation, $75,000. The free-delivery system has been discontinued at 22 of the smaller offices, and is now in operation in 45 of the principal cities. The number of carriers employed was 757, at an aggregate compensation of $448,664 51. Full particulars of the operations of the Appointment office are shown in the Appendix. The attention of this department has been again called to the subject of erecting a new post office building in the city of New York. The Chamber of Commerce of that city have recently adopted a series of resolutions recom |