coach and other vehicles, 161,263 miles for about twelve cents per mile, so that steamboats carry the mails over nine per cent. of the routes, railroads over seventeen per cent., and horse vehicles seventy-four per cent. As the average amount of mail carried by car is much heavier than the average amount carried by horse vehicles, while the price is about the same, it follows that every new railroad not only benefits the letter-sending public by speed, but by economy. By the law approved January 25, 1839, the Postmaster-General is not permitted to "allow more than three hundred dollars per mile per annum to any railroad company" for carrying the mails; but this limitation is modified by the act approved March 3, 1845, where the Postmaster-General is authorized, when it is necessary to convey more than two daily mails over a railroad route, to pay such additional compensation as he may think just and reasonable. Under this law the New Jersey Railroad, the Philadelphia and Trenton Road, and other roads conveying the great mails between New York and Washington, with a daily average of from ten to eleven tons each, are allowed $375 per mile per annum. other railroads the pay is smaller, being proportionate to the work done. About thirty roads receive from twenty to forty-five dollars per mile per annum. During the past year the Department paid $11,454,130 for the transportation of the mails. After the contract is signed, no additional allowance can be made by the Postmaster-General beyond the amount stipulated in the contract, unless additional service is required; and then the additional compensation shall not be allowed to exceed the proportion of the additional service.

Postmasters at the termini of each route are required to keep registers of all mails received and sent from their offices, giving the exact time of each arrival and departure, and the cause of each delinquency. When the contractor fails to carry his mail, and has no valid excuse, he is subject to a forfeiture of not less than the pay of each trip not run, and not more than threefold that amount; and when the mail is carried, but fails to arrive in time to make connection, the contractor is subject to a forfeiture of one-fourth of his pay. And when he has left his mail or any part thereof for the accommodation of his passengers, or when he fails to deliver the mail immediately upon arrival, he forfeits not exceeding three months' pay. The amount of fines and deductions from these sources, in the fiscal year of 1867, was $145,908. The mail must not be carried by any person under the age of sixteen; and if the carrier, while in charge of the mail, become intoxicated, the postmaster must certainly dismiss him.

In the case of railroads, where the depot is within eighty rods of the post-office, the railroad company must deliver it at the office; but when the distance is over eighty rods, the mail is delivered at the depot and taken to the of

There are about fifty special agents in the Department, who are engaged in the Oceane transportation of the mails, in charge of offices where the postmaster is delinquent, in examining mail depredations and losses, or secing that the postal system is properly execute! To be a successful special agent requires selfcontrol, perseverance, caution, and good busi ness habits. Publicity is never given to the means whereby success is attained.

Dead Letters.-Dead and unclaimed letters are divided into five classes: 1st, letters not called for; 2d, those which cannot be fr warded because of illegible or omitted address or because they contain obscene matter; those on which one full rate of postage has L been paid, or when the stamps have been previously used or cut from stamped envelope 4th, packages exceeding four pounds in weith and 5th, refused letters. At offices where the salary of the postmaster amounts to five hu dred dollars or over, these letters may be advertised once a week for one cent per letter Investigation into the causes of the non-de livery of letters proves that three-fourths of them fail to reach the parties addressed through the faults of the writers.

During the last fiscal year, 4,162,144 deal letters were received by the Department st Washington, being a diminution of 144,364 from the number received the previous year. and over a million less than those of the year before. This growing diminution is partly owing to the extension of the letter-carrier system, and partly to the use of envelopes bearing a request to be returned if not called for. Of these four millions of dead letter nearly one million nine hundred thousan! were returned to the writers, the greater part of those not returned being unsigned, circulars

or of no importance. 32,422 dead letters contained $98,606.20, of which amount $89,759.36 was delivered or returned, so that over ninety-one per cent. of valuable matter contained in dead letters was restored to the own ers. Of the foreign letters from Europe, nearly three per cent. are returned as dead; of letters sent from this country to Europe, less than six-tenths of one per cent. Unclaimed money taken from dead letters, and all money derived from the sale of waste paper in post-offices, is deposited in the Treasury for the service of the Department. That taken from dead letters is always subject to the call of the

owner.

The Money-order Office. This branch of the post-office was established May 17, 1864, and went into operation on the first day. of the following November, with 141 offices. The object of the system was the establishment of an agency for the safe and cheap transmission of small sums of money. As a general rule, postmasters are forbidden to issue to one person more than three orders of fifty dollars each on one day on the same office. And when orders for $150 or over in favor of one person are presented on the same day at a secondclass office, the postmaster is at liberty to defer the payment for five days. For the sake of security, the names of payor and payee are omitted from the order. By the mail immediately succeeding the issue of the order, the postmaster who receives the money notifies the officer on whom it is drawn of the names of both parties. The latter office is thus furnished with all information necessary to guard against fraud or mistake. A money order is invalid unless presented within ninety days from date; after that date the postmaster will issue a new order without the payment of a second fee. An order may be repaid at the office at which it is drawn, provided that it is less than one year old, and does not bear more than one indorsement. No money-order business is allowed to be done on Sundays. To forge or counterfeit an order is a penal of fence, and but one instance of this kind has ever occurred.

The fees of this office are fixed on a sliding scale of one-half per cent., as follows: on orders not exceeding $20, ten cents; not exceeding $30, fifteen cents; not exceeding $40, twenty cents; not exceeding $50, twenty-five cents. When the postmaster has the maximum salary of $4,000, he is not allowed to retain any portion of the fee. When his salary is under that amount, he is allowed one-third of the fees received, and one-fourth of one per cent. upon the gross amount of orders paid. These fees, during the past fiscal year, have yielded a profit of over fifty thousand dollars, thus paying the expenses of the bureau.

Such has been the success of the money-order office that it has been determined to extend it to foreign countries; Switzerland has been selected for the trial experiment, and the

70,888 57 124,487 00

Postal Cars. The postal car service, by which is meant the sorting of mail matter while in transit, commenced on the Iowa division of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad on the 28th of August, 1864. The next service was inaugurated for the very heavy mails between New York and Washington, and this was immediately followed by its introduction on the Chicago and Rock Island, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, the Pennsylvania Central, and other prominent roads. It may now be considered as a permanent fixture on all important railroads. Under the former system, certain offices, the principal postal centres of the country, were designated as Distribution Offices. On the arrival of the mails at these offices, the matter was re-sorted for the distribution office next beyond; the delay for this purpose often keeping the mail over one train. Letters travelling a long distance were, therefore, always behind the traveller and the express; and the longer the distance, the greater the delay. By the new plan, mail matter is sorted in the cars while in transit. Letters for way stations are so bagged as to be thrown off at proper places, and those for terminal offices are classified according to the general direction of the route. The mail is now ready for transhipment from depot to depot, if necessary, without visiting the post-office. By the catching service, the mail bag is taken into and thrown from the cars while in motion. An iron arm, projecting from the car, seizes the mail-bag, at the station, and gives it to the postal clerks. And thus the local mails between contiguous offices are received, sorted, and delivered, on the same day, and without checking the speed of the train.

During the fiscal year 1868, about five hundred and forty millions of letters, besides a large amount of free matter, passed through the mails; of these, fourteen millions came from foreign countries. During the same period, the department issued 383,470,500 postage stamps, of the value of $11,751,014; 70,022,050 stamped envelopes, of the value of $2,044,738; and 3,372,600 newspaper wrappers, valued at $67,374; total value, $13,863,124.

Registered Letters.-By the payment of an extra fee, mail matter may be registered to most parts of the civilized world. The regis

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 (including all the German States), Austria, Italy, and Switzerland, the fee is eight cents for letters or other postal packets; and for letters only, directed to Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Russia, 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 increasing, and, under reduced rates, is destined to a yet more rapid growth. New postal treaties have been recently made with England, Belgium, the Netherlands, the North-German 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 Conference of 1863, the main points being the reduction of rates; the reduction or abolition of territorial transit charges; the establishment of uniform postal rates to all parts of Europe; and generally to simplify and render uniform the exchange of international correspondence. Thus far it has not been possible to conclude a new postal convention with France, that power claiming too large a proportion 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 standard 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 removal of all restrictions upon the exchanges of printed matter in the mails at reduced postage charges; 6, granting to each post department the right to make use of all mail communications, established under the author

ity of the ther, for the dispatch of correspondence, either in open or closed mails, on the same terms as those applicable to the inhabitants of the country providing the means of transmission; 7, 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 intermediaries, with Russia, Poland, Norway, Swe den, Denmark, Holland, Spain, Portugal, Anstria, Greece, European and Asiatic Turkey, Syria, Egypt, Africa (Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts), islands of the Mediterranean Sa and Indian Ocean, Arabia, India, China, Japa Ceylon, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Moluccas, Pa ippine Islands, Australia, New Zealand, Madeira Islands, Canary Islands, St. Helena, As cension, Azores, Cape de Verdes, Bermudas, Bahamas, West India Islands, Falkland Islands, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, the Argentine Republic, English, French, and Dutch Guiana, Central America, New Granada, Ecuador, Pera. Bolivia, Chili, and many other portions of the world. Direct mail steamship communications are also maintained between the United States and neighboring countries, including Braz 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, divided as follows:

A monthly branch line has also been established between Yokohama, Japan, and Shanghai, China, touching at Hiogo and Nagasaki. On the completion of the Pacific Railroad across the continent, this steam line will probably take the mails of Europe and America to all the east. Monthly trips are also made on the mail steamship routes between New York and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, occupying about twenty-seven days each trip; and also between San Francisco and Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands, with an average trip of twelve days. The post-office system, as planned by Franklin, remained in operation from 1775 till 1851, merely growing with the growth of the nation, but receiving no material alteration. It expanded, but did not alter. But in that year three cents postage was established, and, since then, many and marked improvements have been made. In 1855 the registry of letters commenced; confined at first to domestic offices, it now extends to nearly all Europe. In 1856 prepayment of postage was made compulsory. In July, 1863, free delivery by carriers commenced in our large cities. In 1864 the money-order system and the postal car service were inaugurated. In 1867 and 1868 postal conventions were made with most of the civilized nations of the earth, and Oceanic mail service extended to Brazil, the Sandwich Islands, China, and Japan.

Postal facilities have been greatly increased within the last six years. The service is now superior to that of any other country in the world, except England, and only territorial expansion, sparseness of population, and the franking privilege, keep us behind England. During the past year, postal service in the new States and Territories cost $3,849,560, while only $1,014,700 was reimbursed from those States; the postal deficiency, therefore, in these States was over $2,800,000, and, in the Southern States, the loss of the past year was $1,337,000. Time and growth will cure these deficiencies. Of the thousand million letters, papers, etc., that yearly pass through the mails of the United States, nearly all arrive at their destination. More than ninety-nine per cent. of letters safely and speedily reach the persons addressed. Of the other one per cent., a great proportion are returned to the writers: and it is the fault of the writers, and not of the department, that all dead letters are not returned. Improvements, expensive at first, become self-supporting by the postal increase they produce; for correspondence grows faster than population or business. While the population of this country, during the last eighty years, has made a decennial growth of about thirtyfour per cent., the postal revenue has averaged an increase of over one hundred per cent.

POTTER, CHANDLER EASTMAN, a distinguished scholar, editor, and author, of New Hampshire, born in Concord, N. H., March 7, 1807; died at Flint, Mich., August 3, 1868. He fitted for college in his native town, but

entered Dartmouth College rather late, graduating in the class of 1831. After leaving Hanover, he engaged in teaching in Concord, Manchester, and Portsmouth. Subsequently he read law with Ichabod Bartlett, of Portsmouth, where he commenced practice. While preparing for his profession, he was one year a member of the State Legislature. In 1844 he removed to Manchester, where, for four years, he was editor and proprietor of the Manchester Democrat. In 1848 he was appointed Judge of the Police Court of Manchester, a position which he filled for several years. Afterward he was for two years editor of the Farmer's Monthly Visitor, and was also concerned in the publication of the Granite Farmer and Visitor. As an agricultural, historical, and general newspaper writer Judge Potter was very favorably known to the reading public. He was the author of the extensive history of Manchester. Much of his time in former years he devoted to the study of the Indian language, in which he was, probably, better versed than any other scholar in the State. Many of his sketches of Indian life and character have been published. The civil and military history of New Hampshire received much of his careful and critical attention. He was also editor and compiler of all that portion of the recent excellent report of the AdjutantGeneral of New Hampshire, which included its military history from the commencement of the Revolution down to the opening of the late war. How well and faithfully he performed that important work the reports themselves will forever bear noble testimony. He closed these labors only a few weeks before his decease, and was resting from them by taking a Western trip, when death came. As commander of the famous Amoskeag Veterans of Manchester, Colonel Potter became extensively known to the military public of our country. After commanding the organization for two or three years, he was twice called back to it by the most flattering voice of its members, and was its colonel at his decease. He was the chief officer of the Veterans at the time of their celebrated visit to Baltimore and Washington, under the administration of ex-President Pierce. His addresses at the public receptions of his battalion in the various cities which they have visited were admirable productions both in a literary and historical point of view. For many years he had been an active member of the New Hampshire Historical Society. He very frequently was on its roll of officers and was two terms its president. Judge Potter was not only an able man in various public relations, but in social life he was courteous, genial, and kind. He was a true gentleman; his pleasant manners and interesting conversation won him many friends.

POUILAT, CLAUDE SERVAIS MATHIAS, a distinguished natural philosopher, born at Curanne (Doux), France; died June 14, 1868.

Was educated at Besançon, taught mathematics at the college of Tonnerre, entered the Normal School in 1811, of which he became tutor-and then lecturer, afterward professor of physical science at the Lycée Bourbon; in 1818 he supplied the place of Biot, in a course of natural philosophy, and at the same time was made examiner of candidates for admission to the Ecole Polytechnique. In 1827 he was employed to teach the Duc de Chartres, and afterward the other sons of Louis Philippe, in his especial branch. In 1829 he became professor and sub-director at the "Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers; " two years afterward he succeeded Dulong at the Ecole Polytechnique. In 1837 he became a member of the Academy of Sciences. After the coup d'état in 1851, Pouilat refused to take oath to the new government, was dismissed from Sorbonne and all his official positions, and confined himself exclusively to his academic duties and the publishing of his works. Pouilat has contributed much in the different departments of physic, on the phenomena of diffraction, latent heat, solar heat, on the radiating and absorbing power of the atmosphere, on the height of clouds, and laws of electricity. He has left a work of great value, "Eléments de Physique Expérimentale et de Météorologie."

PRESBYTERIANS. I. OLD SCHOOL PRESBYTERIANS. The statistics of this Church, as reported in the General Assembly, in May, 1868, were, as shown in the following table:

the United States of Colombia, Brazil, Liberia, Corisco, India, Siam, China, Japan. The total statistics of the Missionary Society were, 79 American missionaries and 22 natives of the countries in which it operates; 85 American and 179 native teachers; 1,616 communicants in the mission churches, and 6,851 scholars in the boarding and day schools.

The Old School General Assembly met st Albany, N. Y., on the 21st of May. The chief topic of discussion was the basis of reunion of the Old School and New School Presbyterian Churches, which had been presented by the joint committee of the two Assemblies. The basis was adopted by a vote of 186 to 79 on the first article. It contains, besides the preamble, the following points:

1. The reunion shall be effected on the doctrinal and ecclesiastical basis of our common standards; the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments shall be acknowledged to be the inspired Word of God, and the only infallible rule of faith and practice; the Coand adopted, "as containing the system of doctrine fession of Faith shall continue to be sincerely received taught in the Holy Scriptures" [it being understood that this Confession is received in its proper, historical-that is, the Calvinistic or Reformedsense; it is also understood that various methods of viewing, stating, explaining, and illustrating the dotrines of the Confession, which do not impair the integrity of the Reformed or Calvinistic system, sret be freely allowed in the United Church, as they have hitherto been allowed in the separate Churches); and Church in the United States shall be approved as the government and discipline of the Presbyterian containing the principles and rule of our polity.

2. All the ministers and churches embraced in the two bodies shall be admitted to the same standing, in the united body, which they may hold in their re spective connections up to the consummation of the union; imperfectly organized churches shall be con selled and expected to become thoroughly Presby terian, as early, within the period of five years, as s permitted by the highest interests to be constilted; and no other such churches shall be hereafter received.

3. The boundaries of the several Presbyteries al Synods shall be adjusted by the General Assemiş of the United Church.

4. The official records of the two branches of the Church, for the period of separation, shall be pre served and held as making up the one history of the Church; and no rule or precedent, which does D'S stand approved by both the bodies, shall be of any authority until reestablished in the united body, elcept in so far as such rule or precedent may affect the rights of property founded thereon.

5. The corporate rights now held by the two General Assemblies, and by their Boards and Committees, shall, as far as practicable, be consolidated, and spplied for their several objects, as defined by law.

6. There shall be one set of Committees or Boards for Home and Foreign Missions, and the other relig ious enterprises of the Church, which the charches shall be encouraged to sustain, though free to cust their contributions into other channels, if they desire to do so.

effected, the General Assembly shall reconstruct and 7. As soon as practicable after the union shall be consolidate the several permanent Committees a Boards, which now belong to the two Assemblies, in such a manner as to represent, as far as possible, with constituting the United Church. impartiality, the views and wishes of the two bodies

8. The publications of the Board of Publicatior, and of the Publication Committee, shall continue to be