RATES OF POSTAGE. 8. In establishing the present rates of postage, two objects were aimed at; first, to diminish the cost of sending letters, and second, to make the rates uniform to all parts of the country, irrespective of distance. Formerly the rates were much higher, and were made to depend on two circumstances; first, the distance. over which the letter was to be sent, and the rate varied from six to twenty-five cents; second, the number of pieces on which the letter was written, counting every piece of paper as a letter. But by recent laws this has all been changed; any distance within the United States makes no difference in the rate or charge for carrying; and instead of counting the pieces of paper used, weight is made the basis of charge. Half an ounce is reckoned a single letter, and every half ounce more, or a fraction of it, is counted as another. Three cents is the rate of a single letter, and an addition of three cents more for every additional half ounce or fraction of it. The charges for carrying newspapers and other printed matter, were also greatly reduced from former rates. Formerly, under the old system, postage might be pre-paid, or paid upon delivery of the letter, and the government lost the postage on all letters never called for. But under the present system, all mailable matter, except newspapers and regular periodical publications. sent to subscribers, must be pre-paid by postage stamps. FRANKING PRIVILEGE. 9. This means the right to send letters, documents, &c., through the post office free, or without paying postage therefor. This privilege was so abused that the law was changed, and restricted to a certain class of officers of the government when sending or receiving official communications which relate to the business of their respective offices, and to the President, Vice President, Members of Congress, and chiefs of the several Executive departments. Petitions to Congress may also be franked. DEAD LETTERS. 10. Dead letters are those which are never called for at the respective offices where sent. The law directs that they shall be advertised three weeks in some newspaper in or near the post office where the letter is; and if not called for in three months thereafter, they must be sent to the General Post Office at Washington, as dead letters. There they are opened, and if they contain money or valuable papers, they are returned to the writers, and the money and papers are kept at the General Post Office, where an account of them is kept, and will be returned to the owners whenever they call for them. POSTAL MONEY ORDER SYSTEM. This department was established by Act of Congress, May 17, and went into operation November 1, 1864. To insure greater security in the transfer of small sums of money through the mails, orders are issued for any amount up to fifty dollars, and three orders. only can be obtained in one day, payable to the same person. The list of offices embraces some fourteen hundred; and millions of dollars are annually remitted in small amounts to all parts of the country in perfect safety. The rates of commission on money orders are, When a money order has been lost or destroyed, a duplicate can be applied for by the remitter or payee, at either the issuing office or the office of payment. An international money order system, between the United States and Switzerland went into operation September 1st, 1869, whereby the exchange of Postal orders between the two countries is effected through the agency of two Post Offices termed International Exchange Offices. The Office of New York City being set apart for the United States, and that of Basel, in Switzerland for that country. The amount drawn for cannot exceed fifty dollars in one order, three orders only can be obtained by the same person in one day. The system works satisfactorily, and will no doubt be extended to Great Britain, and perhaps other European Nations at an early day. Without wearying the reader with a detailed statement of the condition of the department for every year since its establishment, we give the number of offices, and the number of miles of post-roads as they were every tenth year. In 1790 there were but 75 post offices, and 1,875 m. of post-roads. POSTMASTERS GENERAL. Samuel Osgood, Mass., Sept. 26, 1789. Montgomery Blair, Md., March 7, 1861. Alexander W. Randall, Wis., July 15, 1866. CHAPTER XII. Attorney General. The Attorney General of the United States is one of the high officers of the government, and is a very responsible one. The law by which the office of Attorney General was created we find in an act passed as far back as 1789, at the first session ever held by Congress; in which his duties are thus defined: "Whose duty it shall be to prosecute and conduct all suits in the Supreme Court, in which the United States shall be concerned; and to give his advice and opinion upon questions of law, when required by the President of the United States; or when requested by the heads of departments, touching any matters that may concern their departments." By an act passed in 1861, he is charged with the general superintendence of all the Attorneys and Marshals in all the Judicial Districts in the United States and Territories, as to the manner of discharging their duties. He is appointed by the President and Senate, and holds his office at the pleasure of the President. He is a member of the Cabinet, and now receives a salary of eight thousand dollars per year. He has an assistant, and clerks to aid him in the discharge of his duties. His office is in Washington. This, with the preceding six chapters, contains a brief account of what are properly called Executive De |