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5*, mp...» e...“ PAYING POSTAL REFORMS. HOW TO SWELL THE REVENUE OF THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT. Increase In [the NI-ber of New Offices Since Confedernuenâ€"lexlatrauo- Fee is Too lllzhâ€"‘l'le Carriage of Parcels In the Brillsl Pest-Olleeâ€"Tbe British Postal Order Isa Great Convenienceâ€"â€" be Is the Telegraph Ilene: Order Systel. The operations of the Dominion post~‘ ofiioe for 1893 resulted in a dead loss of $647,696. In 1868, the first year of . Con- federation, it only amounted to $28,859. Though the revenue has steadily increased, rom $1,024,710 in 1868, to $3,696,062 in 1893, the expenditure has also steadily in- creased in a still greater ratio, writes a Montreal correspondent. Applying the increase of both to population, we find that while the revenue has only increased from thirty to seventy-four cents per head, the expenditure has increased from thirty- one to eightywight cents per head. To the loss mustbe added aportion, at least, 0 the subsidies paid to mail steamships, $413,839 This is a heavy drain upon the resources of a young country, and suggests the en- quiry whether anything can be done to augment the revenue,for there is little hope that the expenditure can be seriously di- minished, owing to the incessant demand for new offices, and more frequent mails. The increase in the number of new office3 since confederation has been very large, viz, from 3,638 to 8,477, while the number of letters has increased in a much greater ratio, say from eighteen to 106 millions, and post-cards from four millions, in 1876 to twenty-two millions in 1893. This is very satisfactory,for nothing affords a more convincing proof of THE PROGRESS OF A NATION than the number of letters and post-cards passing through its post-office. While the number passing through the Canadian post-office is larger per head than in France,Belgium,Holland, Denmark, Russia, Austria, Hungary, Norway, Italy, Spain and Portugal, it is yet less than one-half the number, per head, carried in Great Britain, the United States and most of the Australian colonies, and less than in Sweden and Switzerland, Ontario however, ranking far above Quebec. No complaint can be made on the score of let- ter postage, considering the enormous dis- tances travelled,aud the sparse population ; but the registration fee of five cents is too high ;a lower charge would probably pro- duce more revenue, especially ifa small compensation in case of loss were allowed, as in Great Britain. In some otherrespects,however,theDomin- ion oat-office is behind the age, and for be- hin the Imperial post-office. In the matter of parcels this is especially the case. To great distributing centres like Montreal and To- ronto this is a matter of the greatest im- pcrtance. Large houses that might be mentioned must send' many thousands of parcels to country districts in the course of a year, and though the express companies will deliver parcels at moderate rates in towns and villages where there is a railway station, there is a vast number of Villages where there is a post-office but no railway station, or only one which is several miles from the village. Itis in these latter especi- ally that the post-office regulations as to parcels are found to be so oppressive. IS THE BRITISH POST-OFFICE the carriage of parcels has assumed enor- mous dimensions. In 1887 the number carried was a little over thirty-two mill- ions; in 1890 it had increased to over forty- two millions,andin 1894 to fifty-four millions 1 You can send a closed parcel weighing one pound from any post-office in the United Kingdom to any other, a maximum distance of about six hundred miles for six cents ; a two pound parcel for nine cents : or a three pound parcel for twelve cents; but in Canada the charge is twenty-four cents, forty-eight cents, and seventy-two cents respectively. You can send a one and parcel from England to China or twenty cents ; but for a similar parcel for a distance of only fifty-seven miles, our post-office charges twenty-four cents ! It is true that such a parcel, if " open to inspection ” i: only charged sixteen cents, but people will not send valuables by post “open to in- spection,” nor should the‘ postvofiice en- courage such a system, for it needlessly tempts their employees. This is not all. In cities and large towns the British poet-office will send a van, free of charge, to collect parcels from any store supplying not less than ten ata time, or fifty ina week, and will deliver them at your own door; should the consignee reside at a distance from a post~oflice they will deliver them by a special messenger at only 6 cents per mile, or by a cab ii specially paid for. Then in case of loss or damage the posoollice will pay up to $10; for a fee of four cents the compensation is in- creased to $25, and so on to the maximum of $250 for a fee of twenty-two cents. No wonder that with all those attrac- tions rm: PARCEL war has become so popular. In Canada it is very difi'erent : for a parcel for which the post-ofice charges forty‘eight or seventy- two cents, the express companies charge only twenty-five cents and thus they get. the cream of the business, andI as is well known, make large profits out of it. The result is that whereas in 18.57 the Canadian pest-allies carried 820.000 parcels, in 1893 it carried only 343,000, a diminution of fifty- eight psrcent, and, of course. a proper- tionate loss of revenue. Its parcel postage indeed seems to be a relic of the past, when the mails were carried by stagger on horse- back, or by hand. and weight was a matter of importance. Now the post-office pays over two million dollars a year for the carriage of mails, chiefly to the great rail. way companies, and they should carry any number of parcels without inconvenience or extra charge. If the obnoxious condi- tion requiring parcels to be Open to inspec- tion were abolished, and the present rate of one cent per pound levied on small par~ cels with a maximum charge of ten up to one pound and five cents for eve extra pound,and the rate “ well advertise ," there is little doubt that the post-ofice parcel business would soon run up to the millions, especially if the 810 compensation, and the special delivery were added; and that the revenue in a short time would be increased by at least 850,000 a. year. But parcels must be delivered as promptly as letters and not detained twenty-four hours as ‘they often are now. The department must run the risk of a few' letters being placed in parcels by dishonorable persons,as the Brit- ish ofiice does. Then the British post~of1ice has in recent years inauguratedano ther greatconvenience, THE POSTAL ORDER. Such orders are issued at any post-office in the Kingdom, payable at any other post- oflice ata very small charge, but limited to twenty shillings ($5) each. They are is- sued for one shilling (‘45 cents), at a charge of one cent; up to ten shillings and sixpence at a charge of two cents, and up to twenty shillings at a charge of three cents. Practi- cally, any odd sum can be remitted: The name of the payee may be inserted by the sender, but it appears that this is often left blank, and thus they pass from hand to hand as remittances, like small bank notes. They are found to be exceedingly useful,not only in making small remittances but to travellers. They must, however, be presented for payment within three months of their issue. \Vhy should not the system be adopted in Canada '2 Then, in the money order department another great convenience has been estab- lished. " Telegraph money orders,” are issued between all head and branch offices, authorized to transactmoney order business. They are limited to ten pounds (50), and the commission is double the ordinary rates; and in addition, a charge of ninepence (18 cents) is made for telegraphic advice and its repetition. The sender may also send a telegram for twelve cents. A concession, too, is made in the charge for letter rates, when they exceed one ounce in weight, Under one ounce, the charge is two cents; under two ounces, however, it is only three cents ; under four ounces, four cents; and so on, one cent increase for every two ounces. Of course the population is very dense, and't'ne distances comparatively short, but the great aim is to meet in every possible way, THE CONVENIENCE OF THE PUBLIC. In the city of London, that is, the eastern central district, or heart, of London, there are twelve free deliveries daily; in other districts within three miles of the post- office, eleven deliveries, and in the suburbs six deliveries ; and in all other cities and towns, from two to four. For an extra fee of four cents, paid to a railway company, a letter may be sent by any train. and by an arrangement between the post-office and the company, the latter will deliver it to the person to whom it is addressed, at their station, or post it at the nearest letter-box. The result is that the British past-office in 1893-4 made a clear profit of over eighteen million dollars, (£3,749,000 sterling). From this, however, must be deducted part or the whole, of about three and a half million dollars (£723,000) paid to the mail steam- ships as subsidies. In 1841, the first year of Rowland Hill’s penny postage, the pro- fit was only two and a half million dollars (£500,789). It will thus be seen that there is ample room for improvement in the Canadian postal system, and it may be hoped that the government will do its utmost to afford the pnbllc every conveni- ence, in doing which it will surely add to the revenue. The franking system, too, may well be abolished. It is said to be much abused ; it was in England. If members of Parlia- ment must be indulged, let them be paid a fixed sum for postage in addition to their mileage. and then insist on EVERYTHING BEING STAMI’ED. Post-office officials, however, are not always the best judges in such matters. \Vhen Rowland Hill first proposed “penny postage,” the then Pastmaster-General, Lord Lichfield, said of it in the House of Lords:-â€"”Of all the wild,visionary schemes which I have ever heard of this is the most extravagant.” By other officials it was denounced “ruinous.” and even in 1843, when it had been in operation three years, Colonel Moberley, the Chief Secretary, told a Parliamentary committee :â€"-“This plan, we know, will fail. . . .it must fail,”and Mr. Goulburn, the Chancellor of th Exchequer, thought so too. The experience of Great Britain shows that high rates and slow de- liveries result in a low revenue ; but that cheap uniform rates, and rapid delivery will produce large revenue. Since 1839 the inland letter rate has been reduced from a maximum of forty cents to a uni- form rate of two cents, and the colonial and foreign letter rate, from a maximum rate of eighty-four cents to a uniform rate of five cents ; with the very great advan- tage of enclosures up to one ounce in the former, and half an ounce in the latter, without extra charge, and with the result that the net revenue has increased from two and a half to fourteen and a half mil lion dollars a year ! Fortified Paris. To-day, Paris, regarded as a fortified centre, is an intrenched camp, upon the margin of which are numerous new per- manent forts. The circle formed by the line of these new forts, which are far outside the forts of 1870, is about 85 miles in circumference, and it contains about 580 square miles, not more than one. seventh of that area being built over. It isa region nearly as large as Monmouth- shire England. with apopulatiou of 3,000,- 000. The smallest possible circuit to be formed around it by an investing army is 100 miles, so that at least 500,000 men actually upon the spot would be required to undertake any serious operations for the reduction by siege of the French capital. In practice no fewer than l,000,000 would be necessary. And fortified Paris, although so much more extensive than it was in 1570, can, nevertheless, bedefen- lively held at present by 350,000 men. while, if 700,000, or even more, were called for, they could, without detriment to the field armies, be provided out of the 3.700,- 000 trained soldiers whom France now has at her disposal. MRS GALLUP‘S WOES. paper, “I guess I’ll run over to Mrs. hands over her face and gasped out:â€" both of us will be dead afore midnight l” remedy for the cure of hog cholera. more. Samuel -â€"Sam”â€" Her sobs choked her. On the table be- side her was one of Mr. Gallup’s woolen socks, which she had been darning. She reached for it and used it to wipe away her tears, but it was a full minute before she could go on :â€" “ Samuel, you know what a ‘death’s eye’ means when seen at midnight i If it hovers over a house, then some one in that house has got to die. They seen one hoverin’ over Mr. Tyler’s house before he was kicked to death by shore, and they seen one creepin' along the roof of Mr. Sheperd’s house afore his twin als fell into the'well and got drowned. 0 you think it means both of us, Samuel, or only one 2 ” Mr. Gallup might have ventured an opin» ion if she had given him time,but before he got around to it she had cleared her eyes with the toe of the sock and choked back her feelings to say 2-â€" “I think I’m the one who is called, Sam- uel. I think so because I’m the fittest to go and because I’ve bin ready to go these last twenty years. It’s altogether likely that before the clock strikes 12 you’ll be a widower and I’ll be an angel. Some wives would insist on their husbands dyin’ at the same time, but that haiu't my way. If you want to stay behind and marry a second wife and take sich comfort as you kin, I’m not goin’ to quarrel about it. I’ve never flung out and been spiteful to you, Samuel. Even when you disputed me and said it was David who was cast to the lions, I didn’t stand out and declar’ it was Daniel. Will you marry a widder or a young gal, Sam- uel ?” Mr. Gallup worked the toes of his left foot till they cracked, but there was no doubt of his being so deeply interested in hogs and hog cholera that he was oblivious to Mrs. Gallup's very existence on the face of this earth. She had a “cryin’ spell” lasting about three minutes, and when her sobs died away she said :â€"-â€" “It don’t make no pertickler difference to me whether it’s a widder or a gal, as I shall be playin’ on a parlor melodeon in Heaven, but a gal wouldn’t be as sot in her ways as a widder. If I’d bin a widder when you married me I’d never hev got up and built the fire and let youlay and snore. I think Thompson’s oldest ga1,Mary, would marry you, as she’s bin disapp’inted four different times and orter be willin’ to take up With most anythin’ now, but if you want to look further I shan’t object. Samuel, will you git new dishes fur your second wife 2” Mr.Gallup seemed about to say something in reply, but it was a false alarm. He simply folded his paper and began to read the political news on page two. Mrs. Gallup waited awhile, and wiped her nose as she waited, and then said :â€" “There are just a few thin s I want to speak of afore I go, Samuel. on orter gin the pigs some sulphur in the mornin’, and that sore spot onthe cow's back otter be greased with mutton taller. One of the hinges is off the gate, and the front door sticks so you cant open it. I can't cum down from Heaven to see to these things, and so you’ll hev to yourself. let’s see i To-night is Thursday night. If the summons cum for me at midnight, you’d better hold the funeral on Sunday. Hev you figgered on how you’ll act, Samuel? You’d better a leetle, both at the house and the church, whether you feel like it or not. If you don’t,l there’ll be talk about it. Hev you any last words to say to me 1” Mr. Gallup scratched the calf of his left legwith the heel of his right foot,and almost looked up from his paper. He hadn’t any last words,however, and Mrs. Gallup crawl- ed over to the lounge, laid herself down,and after a few wipes at her nose with her elbow, she went or. :â€" “ I expect you’ll run out nights,git drunk on hard cider and becum tuti‘, but I hain't goin' to worry about it. You are old ’nufl' to know right from wrong, and if you go to the bad, no one will blame me. When you git home from the funeral, you’d better git that tub of soft soap down cellar, and if you are not too overcum you might lcok at that quince sass down there,and see if it has soured. I shan’t want any quince sass in Heaven, Samuel,butyou'll need it on airth. I did sort of recon on living’ till I had made up a lot of mince meat for the winter, but if I'm called to go I can't ask the Lord to wait for mince meat or anythin’ else. You’d better change your socks before the funeral, Samuel, as you are troubled with cold feet. You'll find ’em in the top bureau ,drawer, and there’s a clean rag there to do up your sore finger. That's about all I can think of. except that Mrs. Jones has one of my fiatirons,hlrs. Gilbert owes me a cup of coffee, Mrs. Winchell hasn’t brought back “Samuel,” said Mrs. Gallup the other evening as she finished clearing up the sup- per table and he had got comfortably settled in the rocking chair with his news- Trowbridge‘s for a few minlts. her baby almost had croup last night, and I want to tell her that park fat and roasted onions is asure cure. I also owe her a drawin' of tea and a cup of white sugar, and I'll return the darnin’ needle I borrowed last week." Mr. Gallup heard her words, but made no reply, and five minutes later she de' parted. Fifteen minutes after she burst into the house with a wail on her lips, and as Mr. Gallup looked up in an inquiring way she sank down on a chair with her “Samuel Gallup, we are a doomed family You’d better put up that paper and git down the Bible, fur the chances are that Mr. Gallup had been reading about the Czar of Russia on page 1 of his paper. He turned over to page 4 and began reading a “I had scarcely got into the house and told Mrs. Trowhridge what to do fur croup," continued Mrs. Gallup as her emo- tions eased down, “when she told me what she saw last night. She was up with the baby at midnight, and she jest- happened to glance over this way. Right above our house, and glidin’ back and forth and danciu’ around, was a red lightâ€"what they call a ‘desth’s eye.’ She watched it fur five minits and then becum so sceert that she pulled the curtain down and dasn’t look no greater strength and firmness. FISHING rOLn SUPPORT. in the annexed en- to which the wire is attached is pointed so while hinges contribute to its greater porta- bility. The simplicity of the device is the greatest recommendation. much as a pound of light brown sugar, and our best umbrella was left at prayer meet- in' last week. Samuel 1" Mr. Gallup waited for her to go on. but. sHhe dldg'fb finish. She had fallen asleep. e res or another ten minutes, and then - - s got up and fastened the doors, put the Of them m the UMMd 5am clock through the usual performance, and F058? "1“!" “P in ll” l0?!“ 0f briClfl ll went ofi'to bed, leaving her to sweetly bemfl "W1 by thfi Freud! Wu‘ omen. The slumber with the woolen sock held ready in mm“ "‘3 m‘de °l b‘)’: 0‘": “*1 bf“ ll her handi to mop her eyes or wipe her nose, "k" " kw “ ‘ “will” “a be bwdlté as the case might be. Will'- I A handsome football challenge shield has been resentedb th Li - ' sous ascssr INVENTIONS of 3.53.1 for co y Se.§i§°f§§f.%§‘$ni: m __ of native boys. ’IPlIey play the Association ran Se-ebody wiu nu Ilse For In 8"“ . Ever,‘.y um. { htlgzshal Canrgbert's death revives the n ‘ . . so at it was e who commented on the 1 11° “mum” ~°Hh° r°P" Md" charge of the Light Brigade If. Banal“. by shying : "C'eat ~magnifique; -mais cc n’est pas la gnerre.” Erauce has compulsory elementary eduo cation, yet out of 348,000 young men called ‘ out for military service 20,000 could neither read nor write and 55,000 more could only sign their names. Britisn and Foreign. N“‘ \\M\\\\‘ In six months 75,000 copiesfof Hall Caine'a “The Manxman" have been sold, one-third shown in the ‘annexed cut, advantage is ed in Madagascar at Antinahaka, north of Antananarivo. A thousand ounces were taken by native workers from a strip of ground twenty feet by three. Slatin Bey,who was Governor of Darfour when Gordon was killed, and ever since has been a captive among the Mahdists, is reported to have escaped and almost to have reached the Italians at Kassala. A Vienna specialist was recently sumâ€" moned to Tennesvar to decide whether the Bishop’s leg should be amputated or not. The train was stalled in the snow, but be consulted with the Temesvar doctors bv telephone, and the leg came off. ' i A miniature Gospel of St. John has been issuedto the Japanese troops measuring 23‘; by lg inches. It was specially prepared on very thin paper by the three Bible ancients. at work in Japanâ€"the British and Foreign, the American, and the Scottish. Herr Treitl, a Vienna hardWare me chant,who died recently at 91, left 800,000 florins of his fortune to the Vienna Acad- emy of Sciences for the promotion of scientific research. He lefta quarter of a piillion florins beside to charitable institu- ions. At the yachting exhibition in London is shown a “combined ship’s buoy.” It is carried on deck, and when the ship sinks it floats and records at once the hour and the card and bent minute of the disaster. It then automatic .over to form a loop call fires rockets, b bl ' on its face. In this a lafnp, and rings a brill? ue hghu' .hows WAY the? l' m"??? In Asolo, northwest of Treviso, opposite ficros;':h3y ‘3“ 3 the house where Robert Browning wrote V 5300” if“; t “f “Asolando,” Mr. Barrett Browning has _ « 3 0“ 9‘ 1° "8“ 0 established, in memory of his father a lace wire on the bottom 3nd toP “"8” of school, where young girls are tadght to weave the old patterns of Venetian lace. He has also revived the older industry of the place of weaving linen by hand looms. London University, after limiting itself for nearly sixty years to conferring degrees upon examination, now proposes to take up instruction. The University Convocation has adopted the report of the Gresham Commission to that enect, and Lord Rose- bery has expressed himself in favor of the scheme. One of the leaders in the movement 13 Prof. Huxley. It is said that the weaving of threads of aluminium in textile fabrics results in a practically non-oxidizable, inexpensive material that is free from chemical action, and can be washed without fear of injury. It can be applied to the finest and heaviest fabrics, as the thread can be drawn to any degree of thinness, and may be made round or flat, or in any shape convenient for wearing. Gen. Barattieri, the Italian commander in Abyssinia, who recently took Kassala and routed Ras Mangascia, comes from the Trentino, which is part of the Italia irre- denta, still in Aurstrian hands. He is 54- years old, and when a boy of 19 was one of Garibaldi’s Thousand in the march through Sicily, after which he joined the regular army as a Captain. He has been a Deputy in r’arliament, and was for several years editor of the Rivista Militare. Jacobites still exist in England. 0n the 30th of January, the anniversary of the execution of King Charles 1., they held a memorial service and decorated his statue at Charing Cross with flowers. On a card was the inscription: “Remember, 0 King and Martyr, we have not forgotten. God save Queen Mary.” “Queen Mary” is the niece of the last Duke of Modena, who is tihe oldest lineal descendant of King Charles ‘ At the recent sale of the library of Edmund Yates the writing desk used by Charles Dickens when he die.l,and present- ed to Yates by the family, was sold for $525. The original letters of Dickens to~ Yates brought $430, and Yates’ collection of autographs $325. The books which included first editions of Dickens and of the vessel. Hinged legs are adapted to of Thinker“ b h _ , y roug t onl fair 11 - extend below the lower end of the vessel, ea, though a ’pm’emation clépy ofpthce their surfaces being dished to fold against fl - - ., . . ‘ . U ' and conform to the circumference of body of 8513;331:133?“ A “'19 0‘ TWO (119168 was the funmfl When 11°“ "1 “59' A lot of shire horses bred by the Prince amusnnns srour ron SMALL ARMS. of Wales was sold recently at Wollerton, and this is how it was done. A big With an ex rience ained from a lon . . pa 3 a tent was sat up, in which free lunch was service in the use of small arms, a member served, over 1.000 peopm coming m it by of the active force of the United States special trains from London. The (Prince Navy has devised the rear sight for these lllmBEll Prfllded. and proposed the health , . . ' of the Queen; with him were his two Weapon” “how” m the "ccompanymg mm daughters, the Duke and Duchess of York. Prince Christian, and a sprinkling of the nobility. After luncheon the bidding be- gan, and fifty horses were sold for $27,500. At St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, London. an ingenious hot-air bath is now in use for the treatment of sprains, inflamed joints due to gout or rheumatism, and similar affections. It consists of a copper cylinder about three feet long and eighteen inches in diameter, which will hold an arm up w tration. It consists of a slight leaf pivoted the IhOUlder 01’ a: leg up 10 the middle of to the gun, and provided with a sight. the thigh ; it stands on an iron frame, and notch and a bright strip, in the same verti- is heated by gas burners placed under- cal plans with the line of sight. Means are neath, so that the temperature can be provided for raising and lowering the leaf, raised to 300 or 400 degrees Fahrenheit. notches serving to hold i; gt, any desired The patient is placed in a arm chair at one elevation.) end of the cylinder, the limb is introiiuc. ed, and the joint made air tight by a rub- A Long Step Forward. bar band. No discomfort is felt up to 2.31) degrees, until perspiration sets in, when Mr. Binksâ€"In spite of all Miss First- the moisture has a scaldin effect w.’ ‘ mind’. “1k 91mm, gdyapced woman and is relieved by 0 ning the gfurther’endlfaff higher education, she is Just as food of a the cylinder an letting the moisture ova. catasany. other old maid. . porate. A sitting usually lasts forty Miss Binksâ€"Yes, but. she speaks of it minutes. The immediate effect is agrestl as “a domesticated carnivorous quadrupled increased circulation in the part treats] of the family Felido: and genus F. domesti- profuse local perspiration, and relief from; taken of ‘ the ball-bearing principle now largely employed in mechanics. The rung tip has the usual passage for the rope, and in addition a movable ball, arranged to receive the pressure of the rope and hold in the rung firmly in any desired position. This arrangement of the party enables the ladder when not in use to be packed in small space. A SIMPLE roan or PIN TICKET. There appears to be no limit to the uses to which fine wire may be put, the latest ' novelty of this char- acter being shown in A t h e accompanyirg .> out. It is intended as a pin ticket, the prongs of the staple being passed through AN AID T0 FISHERMEN. Here is another article made from wire which appeals to the followers of Izaak \Valton. How often, when the fish are not biting with their accustomed avidity, the patient fisher- man has wished for some means to sup- port his rod in posi- tion while partaking of' lunch or resting upon the bank. An English inventor has devised such an ar- rangement, as shown graving. The board that it can be driven into the ground, BOTH FUNNEL AND MEASURE. Among the recent household novelties is the combination funnel and measuring vessel here illustrated. Avalve controls the outlet orifice, and is connected with a spring-retracted rod, extending no the top my quilt frames, hire. White owes me as ca. ” pain. Alluvial and reef gold has been discovor- ‘ .--â€"â€".... . A -._._.â€"-. .. . .