form prescribed in the 5th section of the act of 21st August last, will be required in all cases to be taken before the collector, or other chief officer of the customs, at the port, before the vessel will be permitted to break bulk or to be entered. It will be seen that the collector and other officers of the customs are authorized, without special instructions, to examine and search every vessel for letters which may be on board, or have been carried and transported contrary to law; and whenever they have good reason to suspect such violations have been committed, they will make such examinations and searches, and if seizures are made, they will retain in their own hands the letters or packages of letters so seized, reporting at once the facts to the Department, and await its instructions. The provisions of the acts of 1825 and 1852, are mainly for the security of the postoffice revenue, and the seizures therein authorized are for the conveyance of letters contrary to law. Independently of these enactments, officers of the customs are required to protect the customs revenue by searches, examinations and seizures, for the purpos of detecting suspected attempts to introduce foreign merchandise into the United States without the payment of the duties prescribed by law. As letters and packages of letters from foreign countries, may become the channels of such illegal and clandestine importation, searches and seizures, if the facts justify them for such cause, cannot be omitted by officers of the customs. The duties of officers of the customs in that respect, are clearly defined and prescribed in the annexed instructions of the 10th August, 1829, and must be faithfully performed. It may be proper to add that the penalty for the illegal conveyance of letters, by steamboats or other vessels, is one hundred dollars for each offence, to be paid by the owner of the steamboat or vessel, and fifty dollars by the captain or other person in charge thereof, as prescribed by the 10th section of the Post-Office Act of 3d March, 1845. THOMAS CORWIN, Secretary of the Treasury. www THE PASSENGERS' ACT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. The new British Passengers' Act Amendment Bill has just gone into force. The former acts, except as to existing liabilities, and except as to an order in council, dated the 6th of October, 1849, are repealed. The act is to extend to every passenger-ship proceeding on any voyage from the United Kingdom to any place out of Europe, and not being within the Mediterranean Sea, and on every colonial voyage stated. The Commissioners of Emigration are to carry the act into execution with the assistance of their officers. There are ninety-one provisions in the statute, and a number of forms to be used. Among the enactments there are several to secure proper accommodation and food for the passengers. Boats are to be carried on board each vessel. Every passenger in a passenger-ship is to be entitled, for at least forty-eight hours next after his arrival at the end of his voyage, to sleep in the ship, and to be provided for and maintained on on board. No passenger in any ship is to be landed without his previous consent at any port or place other than the port or place at which he contracted to land. A certain space on board is to be allowed to each passenger. Rules are to be made and proper order observed. REDUCTION OF EXPORT DUTY AT TURK'S ISLAND. GRAND TURK, August 14, 1852. The Legislative Council of these islands, at the last sessions, passed an ordinance to reduce the export duty on salt from one cent to half a cent per bushel, which will go into effect on the first of January next. This, it is thought, will give a new impetus to the trade of this colony in its great staple, salt, in addition to that which the completion of the light-house at the north point of Grand Turk will give. The President of the Turk's and Caicos Islands has informed the American Consul here that the light-house is to be lighted on the first of October, and that "all steam vessels, without exception, touching here, will be exempted from light dues, pilotage, or other port charges." Salt is abundant at nine cents, and will not be lower, but is not likely to be higher for at least two months to come, unless heavy rains should ensue or the demand for salt be very great. JOURNAL OF BANKING, CURRENCY, AND FINANCE. CAPITAL AND DIVIDENDS OF NEW YORK CITY BANKS. We give below a tabular statement of the capital of each bank in the city of New York, together with the dividends for 1851 and 1852, that is, the first semi-annual dividend of 1851, and the first and second semi-annual dividends of 1852. The charters of the City and the Butchers and Drovers' Banks expired this year, (1852,) deducting the extra dividends paid by them in conscquence, the banks divide $1,528,186, or an average of 4.31 per cent. For a statement of the location, discount-days, and dividend months, &c., see Merchants' Magazine for August, 1852, (vol. xxvii., page 223 :-) PRODUCTION OF PRECIOUS METALS IN THE WORLD. The following table will exhibit the annual product of the precious metals at different periods : Total....... $42,000,000 $132,000,000 $174,000,000 The total product of 1852 is estimated at $268,000,000, to be derived from the following sources: It will be perceived that until the discovery of the California mines, the quantity of gold in America was constantly diminishing. The Russian were discovered in 1809, but were not extensively worked until 1843. The California mines were discovered in April, 1848, and the Australian in February, 1851. It will also be perceived, that the annual production of the precious metals, has become five-fold of what it was at the commencement of the present century. What it will be at the commencement of the next century, he would be a bold man who would venture to predict. The amount obtained from the California mines in 1851, is estimated at $84,434,355. The following statement will exhibit the annual product of the precious metals at various periods prior to those named above: 1492... 1500.. $250,000 1600.... 8,000,000 1700.... $11,000,000 23,000,000 The following statement will exhibit the quantity of the precious metals in existence at various periods :— Of the latter amount, $4,600,000,000 is in silver, and the remainder in gold. The amount of coin in circulation in the world is estimated at $1,800,000,000; the remainder being absorbed in watches, plate, jewelry, &c. The annual depreciation by wear and tear of coin is estimated at a fourth of 1 per cent. PROGRESS OF THE BRITISH PENNY POSTAGE SYSTEM. [FROM THE LONDON ECONOMIST.] In its way, the adoption of the "Penny Postage" was, perhaps, the largest experiment ever made: and it is not too much to say, that of its kind, it has been the most successful. But when we say so, we would not be understood to base its success upon the amount of net revenue which it returns to the exchequer. That we have always held, though an important, yet not the main object of a postal establishment. At best, a revenue to the State, over and above the expenditure, should be regarded rather as an incident, than the object of the post-office;-that being an easy, rapid, and cheap means of communication between the different parts of the country, and different portions of the empire. To a great commercial country like England, there is probably nothing so essential to a profitable development of its resources; nothing that tends more to promote its prosperity and increase of wealth; and few things which contribute more to social and intellectual enjoyment and improvement. To understand fully the effect of the "Penny Postage" upon our commercial and social existence, it is only necessary to reflect upon the consequences which would ensue were we to attempt to revert back to the old plan. Since the first introduction of the uniform penny rate, there has been a rapid annual increase of letters without an exception in any one year. In 1839, the year preceding the reduction, the entire number of letters, including "franks," which passed through the post-office of the United Kingdom was 82,470,596; in 1840, the first year of the reduction, it rose to 168,768,344; since then the increase has been steady but rapid, until, in 1851, the number amounted to no less than 360,647,187. It is interesting to watch the progress of this increase. The following table is taken from a return which has just been presented to Parliament: RETURN, AS NEARLY AS CAN BE ESTIMATED, OF THE NUMBER OF CHARGEABLE LETTERS DELIVERED IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, IN THE YEAR IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE FIRST GENERAL REDUCTION OF POSTAGE ON THE 5TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 1839, ANd for the YEARS 1840, 1845, 1850, AND 1851, SUBSEQUENT THERETO; ALSO, FOR THE FIRST YEAR, THE NUMBER OF FRANKS. Ireland. Scotland. England and Gross total U. Kingdom. 77,907,572 6,563,024 "Year ending 31st December. Estimated number of letters, 1839.. Estimated number of franks, 1839.. Estimated number of letters, 1840.. 132,003,525 18,210,642 18,554,167 168,768,344 Estimated number of letters, 1845.. 214,153,628 28,587,993 28,669,168 271,410,789 Estimated number of letters, 1850.. 275,252,642 35,388,895 35,427,534 347,069,071 Estimated number of letters, 1851.. 288,151,755 35,982,782 36,512,649 360,647,188 From this table, it would appear that the relative increase in Scotland and Ireland has been nearly the same, while that in England and Wales has been somewhat larger. But one of the most remarkable features in it is, that Scotland, with less than half the population, shows a somewhat larger number of letters than Ireland. So far as regards the gross revenue collected, the year ending the 5th of January, 1852, is the first in which the amount is equal to the largest sum collected at the highest rates. The last complete year under the old rates was 1839, when the amount collected as gross revenue was £2,346,278; in 1841 it fell, with the reduction to the penny rate, to £1,359,466; since which time it has gradually increased, until, in 1851, it amounted to £2,422,168. But the enormous increase in the number of letters has sys necessarily led to a large increase of expenditure in the management; and chiefly in consequence of the more frequent dispatch of mails, and the extensive employment of railways. But as frequent communication is one of the most important considerations in a commercial country, the additional cost is not to be compared with the great advantages thus secured to the public. In 1889, under the old, dear, and limited tem of postal communication, the cost of management amounted only to £686,768, leaving a net revenue of £1,659,509; while in 1851, the cost of management has risen to no less than £1,304,163, leaving the net revenue £1,118,004. The following table, from the same return, shows the gross revenue, the cost of management, and the net revenue in each year since 1838: AN ACCOUNT SHOWING THE GROSS AND NET POST-OFFICE REVENUE, AND THE COST OF MANAGEMENT FOR THE UNITED KINGDOM, FOR THE YEAR ENDING THE 5TH JANUARY, 1838, AND FOR THE YEARS 1840, 1845, 1851, and 1852. From this table it appears that the net revenue has more than doubled since 1841, the first complete year of the penny rate. RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES OF THE UNITED STATES. STATEMENT OF THE RECEIPTS and EXPENDITURES OF THE UNITED STATES, FROM 1ST JULY TO 30TH SEPTEMBER, 1852. TREASURY Department, RegisTER'S OFFICE, November 11, 1852. From Customs From Lands... RECEIPTS. From Loan of January 28, 1847, (Treasury notes funded,). From Miscellaneous.. $15,728,992 25 415,945 91 10,250 00 531,761 38 |