The Mikado's Empire/Catatan dan Apendiks/Statistik Pos

POSTAL STATISTICS.

The mail routes in operation throughout the empire, during this half-year, aggregated 10,650 ri (26,635 English miles) in length. The increase over those in operation in the preceding year was 568 ri (1408 miles), and 5273 rl (13,183 miles), or 98.1 per cent over those of the sixth year of Meiji (1873).

The total annual transportation for the half-year was 2,423,787 ri (6,059,843 miles), an increase of 135,530 ri (338,825 miles) over that of half of the preceding year.

During this half-year there have been established 205 post-offices, 86 stamp agencies, and 37 street letter-boxes ; and there are, therefore, now in operation 3449 post-offices, 703 stamp agencies, and 513 street letter-boxes.

The postal money-order system was established on the 2d of January of the eighth year of Meiji (1875). During that month the number of money orders is- sued was only 4120, amounting to yen 72,243.10. During the month of March 6384 orders were issued, amounting to yen 111,913.69; and the number of orders issued in June was 8393, amounting to yen 147,056.43, thus showing an increase, in the number issued in the latter month, over those issued in January, of 103.6 per cent. One yen is equal to a dollar.

The total number of orders issued during the half-year was 89,398, amounting to yen 690,617.48. The total number of money-orders paid was 37,768, amount- ing in value to yen 671,624.98; and 1630 orders, amounting to yen 18,992.50, have not yet been presented for payment The fees from money -orders were yen 3722.49.

The number of letters sent to the section for detaining those insufficiently ad- dressed, and finding the means for delivering them, was 39,185, or a little more than 3-10ths per cent, of the whole number transmitted through the mails dur- ing the half-year.

The number of letters stolen during the half-year was 6305. Of these, 5633 were regained and have been delivered intact; 380 were broken and defaced so that they could not be returned ; and 292 were actually lost Of the latter num- ber, 9 contained currency to the amount of yen 39.37, of which yen 36.50 were restored, the person who stole them having confessed and returned the money. The balance, yen 2.87, was lost. Eighty-two letters were lost in the course of delivery or transmission. Of these, 71 were regained and delivered, and 11 were actually lost One hundred and sixty-nine letters were carelessly detained by letter-carriers, but were, after some delay, delivered to their addresses.

The department manufactures its own postal cards, stamps, and envelopes. The post-offices are well equipped with New England clocks, Fairbanks' scales, American leather bags with iron tops and locks, fire-arms, and furniture. The postmaster is H. Maye"shima. The Superintendent of Foreign Mails is Samuel W. Bryan, formerly of the United States Postal Service, "to whose energy and experience the present prosperous condition of the [Japanese mail] service is due."

The United States Government was the first to recognize the right of Japan to control the transport of her own foreign mails ; and on the 6th day of August, 1873, a postal convention was concluded between th«  two countries. It is hoped that, from the general satisfaction given by the Japanese Postal Service, the^Sn- ropean nations will likewise grant to Japan the right to control her own postal affairs. During the first half of the year 1875, 242,862 articles, weighing 9,314,149 grammes of mail matter, were sent or received, the postage amounting to $21,732.63. Postal savings-banks have also been established ia several cities, as experiment. The educational power of this national postal enterprise, m teach- ing book-keeping, punctuality, the Arabic numerals, Roman letters, political economy, the triumphs of civilization, and the diffusion of information, can not be overestimated.