632 



POST-OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES. 



tered package, duly stamped, is placed in a 

 large red envelope, addressed to the postmaster 

 of the place to which the letter is to be sent. 

 The address and appearance of the letter are 

 thus concealed. On domestic packets to any 

 part of the United States or Territories, the fee 

 is fifteen cents ; to England, Ireland, Scotland, 

 "Wales, Belgium, the Netherlands, Prussia (in- 

 cluding all the German States), Austria, Italy, 

 and Switzerland, the fee is eight cents for let- 

 ters or other postal packets ; and for letters 

 only, directed to Denmark, Sweden, Norway, 

 Kussia, Greece, Moldavia, Wallachia, most 

 parts of Turkey, and Panama, the fee is eight 

 cents. Letters only may be transmitted to the 

 Papal States (via the North-German Union) 

 for twelve cents for each half ounce ; to Egypt, 

 for twenty cents ; and to Canada, Nova Scotia, 

 New Brunswick, and Prince Edward's Island, 

 for five cents. The registration fee is in all 

 cases to be paid in postage stamps attached to 

 the letter or packet, and cancelled at the 

 mailing office. 



Oceanic Mail Service. This service now 

 exchanges about fourteen millions of letters 

 annually with foreign countries, is rapidly in- 

 creasing, and, under reduced rates, is destined 

 to a yet more rapid growth. New postal 

 treaties have been recently made with Eng- 

 land, Belgium, the Netherlands, the North-Ger- 

 man Union, Switzerland, and Italy. These 

 postal treaties were generally negotiated by 

 Hon. John A. Kasson, who was instructed to 

 proceed to Europe, and propose these treaties 

 on the general basis of the international postal 

 intercourse, recommended by the Paris Con- 

 ference of 1863, the main points being the 

 reduction of rates ; the reduction or abolition 

 of territorial transit charges; the establish- 

 ment of uniform postal rates to all parts of 

 Europe ; and generally to simplify and render 

 uniform the exchange of international cor- 

 respondence. Thus far it has not been pos- 

 sible to conclude a new postal convention with 

 France, that power claiming too large a pro- 

 portion of the rates of postage, and refusing 

 to grant transit in closed mails except at rates 

 which would be prohibitory. 



The advantages secured by these treaties 

 are:. 1, a material reduction, of international 

 letter postage, generally one half; 2, the stand- 

 ard weight for letters to be one half ounce, 

 with uniform progression from that base; 3, 

 prepayment of letters optional, but generally 

 a fine of five cents, besides the lacking postage, 

 when not prepaid, prepayment of all other 

 packets compulsory ; 4, the transit charge for 

 letters in closed mails to be one half the 

 interior rate in each country ; for instance : 

 one and a half cents for the United States, 

 one half-penny for Great Britain; 5, the re- 

 moval of all restrictions upon the exchanges 

 of printed matter in the mails at reduced 

 postage charges ; 6, granting to each post de- 

 partment the right to make use of all mail 

 communications, established under the author- 



ity of the Tther, for the dispatch of correspond- 

 ence, either in open or closed mails, on the 

 same terms as those applicable to the inhabi- 

 tants of the country providing the means of 

 transmission; Y, the country dispatching the 

 mail to pay for its transportation, and the 

 total postage collected to be equally divided 

 between the two offices, after deducting the 

 expense of intermediate transit; and 8, each 

 post department to make its own arrangement 

 for the dispatch of mails to the other by ships 

 sailing on stated days. Under these treaties 

 there are now four weekly services of mails to 

 Europe, and the day is probably not far distant 

 when a regular daily mail communication will 

 be maintained by steam across the Atlantic. 

 We now exchange international mails with 

 Great Britain and Ireland, France and Algeria, 

 Belgium, the North-German Union, Bremen, 

 Hamburg, the Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, 

 Canada, and British North American provinces, 

 Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, and Hong 

 Kong, China; and through the mails of one 

 or more of those countries, used as inter- 

 mediaries, with Kussia, Poland, Norway, Swe- 

 den, Denmark, Holland, Spain, Portugal, Aus- 

 tria, Greece, European and Asiatic Turkey, 

 Syria, Egypt, Africa (Mediterranean and At- 

 lantic coasts), islands of the Mediterranean Sea 

 and Indian Ocean, Arabia, India, China, Japan, 

 Ceylon, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Moluccas, Phil- 

 ippine Islands, Australia, New Zealand, Ma- 

 deira Islands, Canary Islands, St. Helena, As- 

 cension, Azores, Cape de Verdes, Bermudas, 

 Bahamas, "West India Islands, Falkland Islands, 

 Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, the Argentine 

 Eepublic, English, French, and Dutch Guiana, 

 Central America, New Granada, Ecuador, Peru, 

 Bolivia, Chili, and many other portions of the 

 world. Direct mail steamship communications 

 are also maintained between the United States 

 and neighboring countries, including Brazil, 

 Central America, Bahamas, Bermudas, and 

 "West India Islands, British Columbia, and 

 Vancouver's Island, Sandwich Islands, Japan, 

 and China. 



The mails to England and Europe generally 

 cost the department twenty cents per ounce 

 for letter matter, six cents per ounce on paper, 

 book, and other matter. During the year 

 1868 the expenses of the Oceanic mail service 

 were somewhat over a million of dollars, di- 

 vided as follows: 



To England $389,681 96 



Japan and China 291,666 67 



Brazil 187,500 00 



Havana 64,940 12 



Hawaiian Islands 56,250 00 



Havre, France 30,984 86 



San Francisco, via Panama . . . 27,348 87 



Mexico 1,726 43 



All other places 7,169 67 



$1,057,268 58 



A uniform mail service is now maintained 

 between San Francisco and Hong Kong, in 

 China, the trips averaging thirty days each. 



