690 



POSTAL FACILITIES. 



PRESBYTERIANS. 



to give in its adhesion to the Union until it 

 had been approved by the National Assembly. 

 France, however, afterward joined, with a 

 stipulation that the treaty should not come 

 into operation in France until Jan. 1, 1876. 

 The substance of the Convention is as follows: 

 The countries comprised will form a single 

 postal territory, and letters not exceeding 15 

 grammes in weight will be forwarded from 

 any part of it to another for 25 centimes. As 

 a transitional measure and for fiscal and other 

 reasons, any country may raise to 32 centimes 

 or reduce to 20. Letters exceeding the weight 

 specified to be charged for proportionally, and 

 if not prepaid the rate to be doubled. Sea 

 transportation of more than 300 marine miles 

 of 1,852 metres each, to be charged an extra 

 rate, not to be more than one half the original 

 rate. Newspapers, samples, and prints or 

 lithographic matter to be charged 7 centimes 

 for 50 grammes, with the option for each 

 country of raising to 11 centimes or lowering to 

 5, and like provisions as to sea transportation. 

 The weight of samples limited to 250 grammes, 

 and other packages to 1,000. The charge for 

 registry not to exceed the inland rate of the 

 country whence dispatched, and, if lost, a com- 

 pensation of 50 francs will be paid, unless in the 

 country where lost compensation be not al- 

 lowed by the post-office. Stamps current in 

 the country where posted to be used in all 

 cases. Newspapers insufficiently stamped not 

 to be forwarded, and letters charged double, 

 minus the rate paid. On letters reforwarded 

 no extra charge unless sent from one country to 

 another, when the charge shall be the latter's 

 internal rate. Official correspondence on 

 postal business to be free, but in no other case. 

 Mails to be forwarded by the quickest means 

 of transport. Two francs per kilo for letters, 

 and 25 centimes per kilo for newspapers, etc., 

 will be paid to the state through which they 

 pass, or, if transit be in excess of 570 metres, 

 the rate may be doubled. The Government 

 which arranges for transportation of letters by 

 sea for more than 300 marine miles will have 

 a right to be recouped but not to the extent of 

 more than 5 francs per kilo for letters, and 50 

 centimes per kilo for newspapers. The Indian 

 mails and the railway mails between New York 

 and San Francisco are not included in the 

 treaty. Letters sent beyond the limits of the 

 Union are liable to whatever additional rate is 

 fixed by existing conventions. The central 

 office of the Union was established at Berne, 

 and to be conducted at the joint expense of the 

 members. From this bureau a very interesting 

 journal is issued every month, containing arti- 

 cles and notices of postal matters in all coun- 

 tries, printed in French, German, and English. 

 The list of members of the Union has been 

 added to since its organization, until now 

 nearly every country in the world having 

 postal facilities belongs to it. The treaty made 

 provision for triennial Congresses to be held by 

 appointment, and at these various modifica- 



tions and improvements of the original Con- 

 vention have been made. The last of these 

 Congresses was held in Lisbon in 1885, and the 

 design has been to hold one every five years. 



PRESBYTERIANS. I. Presbyterian Church in the 

 United States of America. The following is the 

 summary of the statistics of this Church as they 

 were reported to the General Assembly in 

 May, 1887. The statistics for 1886 and 1883 

 are appended for comparison, and to show the 

 rate of growth of the Church : 



Total $9,661,492,110,592,831 $11,092,892 



The resources for the year of the Board of 

 Church Erection amounted to $102,830, and the 

 full amount of its appropriations for churches 

 and manses had been $104,316. The board 

 had aided, by appropriations and the trans- 

 mission of special gifts, in the erection of 186 

 churches and chapels and 47 manses. 



The receipts of the Board of Kelief were 

 $136,323. Its permanent fund amounted to 

 $365,538. The whole number of beneficiaries 

 upon its roll was 532, consisting of 220 minis- 

 ters, 284 widows of ministers, and 28 orphan 

 families; besides which, 30 families had been 

 accommodated at the Ministers' House, in Perth 

 Amboy, N.' J. 



The twelve theological seminaries returned 

 to the General Assembly an aggregate valuation 

 of $3,082,994 in real estate; general endow- 

 ment funds amounting to $3,169,631 ; other 

 funds of $916,252; income of $272,076, with 

 expenditures of $286,987 ; 55 professors and 13 

 other teachers, and 709 students. 



The Board of Home Missions had received 

 from all sources $653,456. An indebtedness of 

 $21,68] was returned. Fourteen hundred and 

 sixty-five missionaries had been employed, with 

 215 missionary teachers, who returned totals of 

 87,294 church members, 138,590 members of 

 congregations, 2,132 Sabbath- schools with 142,- 

 246 members, 3,974 baptisms of adults, 4,658 



* To be known hereafter as Sabbath-school work. 



