STATISTICS OF THE UNITED STATES POST OFFICE. The United States Senate passed, on the 25th of March, 1852, a resolution requesting the Postmaster-General "to report to the Senate the whole number of letters which passed through the Post Office of the United States during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1851; distinguishing the paid from the unpaid, those paid by stamps from those paid in cash," together with certain other matters. From the communications of the Postmaster-General and the Auditor of the Department, we condense the subjoined statistics : POSTAGE COLLECTED IN THE LEADING CITIES. The postages collected during the fiscal year ending June 30th, 1851, were as follows: The number of dead letters received during the fiscal year is estimated by the officer in charge of that department at 2,750,000. During the same period the number of dead letters containing money, opened, registered, and sent out for delivery, was 645. The aggregate amount of money found in the same The amount of money therein The number of letters returned unclaimed $40,336 73 5,347 $36,090 61 1,106 $4,246 12 A few of the unclaimed letters have been restored to their owners since the close of the fiscal year, and the remainder are yet on hand in the dead letter office. There is also another class of dead letters which contain articles of value other than money, such as bonds, notes of hand, drafts, bills of exchange, checks, certificates of deposit, certificates of stock, and other papers having a value capable of being expressed in dollars and cents. During the same year the number of letters of this class registered and sent out for delivery was 10,088. Their inclosures having a nominal value of $1,292,125. Of these 6,631 were restored to their owners; 3,263 were returned unclaimed, and 194 remained in the hands of postmasters to whom they had been sent for delivery. LETTERS PASSED THROUGH THE POST OFFICE IN 1851. By calculation, the Auditor estimates the whole number of paid and unpaid letters which passed through the Post Office of the United States during the year aforesaid (exclusive of California, foreign and dead letters) at 71,185,285 Deduct number estimated to have been prepaid by stamps.. 1,270,088 Leaves paid by cash and unpaid... . . 69,915,197 Then estimating the number paid by cash to have been 3-64th of this amount, we have as paid letters... 19,207,471 Leaving as unpaid letters.. 50,707,726 Paid by stamps 1,270,088 Free.. 3,646,016 715,428 3,909,186 Conveyed by Havana steamers.. Conveyed by California steamers. Dead letters... Total... Letters which passed through the Post Office of the United States during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1851. The amount of postage due on dead letters for the same year was $165,125, by estimate. 56,903 1,323,867 2,416,250 83,252,735 The number of free letters is computed from the returns of postmasters for a single quarter, and may be regarded as rather below the actual amount, as in some cases postmasters fail to enter in their returns the free letters delivered from their office, upon which by law they are allowed a commission of two cents. PRINTED MATTER PASSED THROUGH THE POST OFFICE IN 1851. The number of newspapers and pamphlets chargable with postage which passed through the Post Office of the United States during the year ended June 30, 1851, was 82,695,872 According to a calculation made by Mr. Bradley, of the Washington city Post Office, the free printed matter passing through his Office during the same period was... 8,460,050 Exchange newspapers and documents franked by Governors of States, &c., estimated.. 5,000,000 Total printed matter........ 12,088 20 91,155,922 It is proper to remark that in computing the number of free letters no allowance is made for such free printed matter as is mailed at other offices than Washington city; and as it is never entered on way-bills by postmasters, and no returns are made therefor, this office has no data upon which to base even a calculation. COST OF TRANSPORTATION AND POSTAGES COLLECTED IN THE SEVERAL STATES, ETC. The following table shows the amounts actually credited for the transportation of mails, by States, and differs slightly from the amounts actually paid. It also shows the amounts by postage collected in the several States : Transportation. Postages col'd. Transportation. Postages col'd. $47,690 25 $161,891 57 Mississippi.... $81,189 93 Maine.. 100,784 21 Tennessee $99,388 23 .... 74,142 59 115,441 97 .... .... New York..... 321,251 60 1,351,373 63 Texas......... 107,977 20 50,162 35 The above table of transportation embraces (with the exception of what is paid for the sea service) only such items as are classified by States upon the books of this office. A portion of the expenses of the Department charged to transportation, consisting of river mails, route agents, irregular service, and some cases of recognized service, are consequently not included. The number of letters conveyed by the Cunard, Collins, Bremen, and Havre lines for the same period is as follows, viz: Number of newspapers conveyed by same lines, respectively, and the amount of postage collected on the same:-By Cunard line, 637,168; By Collins line, 224,278; by Bremen line, 7,180; by Havre line; 3,920; total, 872,546; at two cents each, $17,450 92. Amount of postage on letters by Cunard and Collins lines, respectively, collected in the United States and Great Britain, and the amount of commissions paid to our postmasters on the balance due and paid to the British Government :- By Cunard line collected in United States... Total..... By Collins line collected in United States... Total.... The balance due and paid to the British Government was....... $309,494 44 226,543 17 $536,037 61 131.127 85 74,713 86 $205,841 71 $59,490 78 It is estimated that three-fourths of the postages by the Cunard and Collins lines collected in the United States have been collected in the large offices, at which the commissions are 12 per cent, and that the average rate of commissions paid on the remaining one fourth has not exceeded 30 per cent. According to this calculation, the commissions paid to our postmasters on the balance due and paid to Great Britain amounts to $10,039 06; to say, $44,618 09, at 124 per cent, $5,577 26; $14,872 69, at 30 per cent, $4,461 80; total, $10,039 06. A portion of this sum is returned to the Department in the shape of surplus commissions at the large offices. The amount received from the British Government on closed mails was $45,279 41. The amount paid to the British Government on closed mails was $6,306 80. The number of letters conveyed between New York and California, and New York and Oregon, via Chagres and Panama, and the amount of postages collected thereon, are as follows: The post bills sent to this office from New York do not distinguish between the California and Oregon letters; nor do they state the number of newspapers sent and received by the same line, nor the number of free letters. The number of letters and newspapers conveyed by the Charleston and Havana steamers, and the amount of postage collected thereon, are as follows:-Letters, 56,903; newspapers, 24,664; amount of letter postage, $9,156 87; amount of newspaper postage, $759 92; total, $9,896 79. REVENUES OF THE GERMAN CUSTOMS UNION IN 1851. For the following copy of a paper received at the Department of State, from J. G. FLUGEL, Esq., United States Consul at Leipsic, the editor is indebted to the Consular Bureau, at Washington. The information it contains will be interesting to readers of the Merchants' Magazine :— AN ACCOUNT SHOWING THE PROPORTION OF THE REVENUES OF THE GERMAN CUSTOMS UNION RAISED IN THE DIFFERENT STATES RESPECTIVELY, IN THE YEAR 1851, AND THE DISTRIBUTION THEREOF ACCORDING TO POPULATION.-COMPILED FROM THE OFFICIAL "CEentralblatt der Abgaben," ETC., BERLIN, 1852.TRANSMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE, WASHINGTON, BY J. G. FLUGEL, UNITED STATES CONSUL, LEIPSIC. VOL. XXVII.-NO. I. 244,203 *10,445 127,645 2,241 129,886 136.011 4,526,650 1,210,539 904,991 8,044,546 53,463 3,098,009 2,166,021 1,894,431 2,119,847 1,995,287 1,274,161 29,736 1,303,897 786,761 Wurtemburg 1,805,558 348,527 830,237 1,214,387 21,325 1,235,712 Baaden 1,360,599 652,625 853,482 915,115 16,070 931,185 899,766 534,069 a The thaler, 69 cents American currency. & Frankfort is regulated by a specific arrangement, and not by population. c A special payment by Prussia, on account of the Union. 19,994,795 410,364 20,405,159 4,610,752 4,610,762 CAPITAL AND DIVIDENDS OF BANKS IN PHILADELPHIA. The annexed table of capital, par and market value of stock, per cent and amount of dividends of certain banks in Philadelphia is derived from the Ledger :— The above amount of dividends on the same amount of capital is $13,000 more than was declared by the same banks at the semi-annual period in November, 1851, and $4,000 less than in May, one year ago. It will be seen that the dividends average a trifle less than 5 per cent for the half year. THE PENNSYLVANIA LOAN BILL. We publish below, for the benefit of our European as well as American capitalists, who refer to the pages of the Merchants' Magazine, the act of the Legislature of Pennsylvania, passed May 3d, and approved May 4th, 1852, authorizing a loan of five millions of dollars, and the issue of the bonds of the Commonwealth for the same. The acts passed by Pennsylvania are justly denominated "Omnibus Bills," as they frequently embrace a great variety of distinct subjects. The present act, for instance, commences with section 101, all the sections preceding it relating to topics of a totally different nature, and not having the remotest bearing upon the Loan Bill. We do hope that the great State of Pennsylvania, which has redeemed its public credit, will follow the example of New York, and other States in the Union, by devoting one bill to one object, or in other words, by abolishing a disgraceful system of "log rolling?"— PASSED MAY 3D, AND APPROVED MAY 4TH, 1852. SECTION 101. That the Governor and State Treasurer be and they are hereby authorized and empowered to borrow, on the faith of the Commonwealth, during the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, at such times and in such amounts as they may deem best for the interest of the State, any sum not exceeding five millions of dollars, and issue bonds of the Commonwealth for the same, bearing a rate of interest not exceeding 5 per cent per annum, payable semi-annually; which bonds shall not be subject to taxation for any purpose whatever, and shall be reimbursable in twenty-five years from their date; and the sum so borrowed shall be applied to the payment of the 6 per cent loans that are payable at the option of the Commonwealth after the years one thousand eight hundred and forty-six and forty-seven, to the cancellation of the certificates issued to domestic creditors and the outstanding and unclaimed interest certificates, in the manner hereinafter provided. And the balance of said five millions shall be applied to the extinguishment of any of the 5 per cent bonds of the State now outstanding and for no other purpose. SEC. 102. That the bends for said loan shall be issued in sums of either one thousand, five thousand, or ten thousand dollars each, with coupons or interest certificates attached in sums equal in amount to the semi-annual interest therecn; which certificates shall be redeemable in gold and silver, or an equivalent, on the first days of |