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ry 1, 1856, to "place postage stamps upon all prepaid letters upon which such stamps may not have been placed by the writers." The Postmaster General requires postmasters to comply with, and carry into effect, this provision of the law. They will take care, if not already done, to supply themselves with postage stamps accordingly, by sending orders for them, addressed to the Third Assistant Postmaster-General, Washington, D. C.; and until a supply reaches them, will continue to forward all prepaid letters in the same manner as they have done before January 1, 1856.

On drop letters, prepayment is optional.

The Act of March 3, 1855, making no provision for unpaid letters to places within the United States, on the same day or day following any such unpaid letter or letters being put into a post-office, the postmaster thereof will post up conspicuously in his office a list of the same, stating that they are held up for postage. If not attended to, such letters must be returned monthly to the Dead Letter Office. Letters part paid should be dispatched, charged with the additional postage due, at the prepaid rate, according to distance, established by said Act, except where the omission to pay the correct amount is known to have been intentional, when they shall be treated the same as letters wholly unpaid.

Ship letters, as they cannot be prepaid, and are not supposed to be embraced in the new Act, will continue to be dispatched agreeably to the provisions of the 15th section of the Act of March 3, 1855.

Copyright books, charts, etc., required to be delivered to the Library of Congress or Smithsonian Institution, and which are entitled to pass free in the mail, should be superscribed "Copyright for Congress Library," or Smithsonian Institution," as the case may be.

AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE COMPULSORY PREPAYMENT OF POSTAGE ON ALL TRANSIENT PRINTED MATTER.-Approved Jan. 2, 1857.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the provision in the Act approved August thirtieth, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, entitled "An Act to amend the Act entitled 'An Act to reduce and modify the Rates of Postage in the United States and for other purposes," " passed March third, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-one, permitting transient printed matter to be sent through the mail of the United States without prepayment of postage, be and the same is hereby repealed. And the postage on all such transient matter shall be prepaid by stamps or otherwise, as the Postmaster-General may direct.

INSTRUCTIONS TO POSTMASTERS-TRANSIENT PRINTED MATTER, ETC.

1. Books, not weighing over four pounds, may be sent in the mail prepaid by postage stamps, at one cent an ounce, any distance in the United States, under three thousand miles; and at two cents an ounce over three thousand miles, provided they are put up without a cover or wrapper, or in a cover or wrapper open at the ends or sides, so that their character may be determined without removing the wrapper.

2. Small newspapers and periodicals, published monthly or oftener, and pamphlets containing not more than sixteen octavo pages each, when put up in single packages weighing at least eight ounces, to one address, and prepaid by postage stamps, may be sent to any part of the United States at onehalf cent an ounce or fraction of an ounce.

3. Unsealed circulars, advertisements, business cards, transient newspapers, and every other article of transient printed matter, (except books and packages of small publications as above), not weighing over three ounces, sent in the mail to any part of the United States, are chargeable with one

cent postage each, to be prepaid by postage stamps. Where more than one circular is printed on a sheet, or a circular and letter, each must be charged with a single rate. This applies to lottery and other kindred sheets assuming the form and name of newspapers, and the miscellaneous matter in such sheets must also be charged with one rate. A business card on an unsealed envelop of a circular, subjects the entire packet to letter postage. Any transient matter, like a circular or handbill, inclosed in or with a periodical or newspaper sent to a subscriber, or to any other person, subjects the whole package to letter postage; and whenever subject to letter postage from being sealed or from any cause whatever, all printed matter, without exception, must be prepaid or excluded from the mail. It is the duty of the postmaster at the mailing office, as well as at the office of delivery, carefully to examine all printed matter, in order to see that it is charged with the proper rate of postage and to detect fraud. At offices where postage stamps can not be procured, postmasters are authorized to receive money in prepayment of postage on transient matter, but they should be careful to keep a supply of stamps on hand.

4. It is no part of the duty of a postmaster to receive and deliver to subscribers any other newspapers than those which come in the mail, or to put the address on newspapers sent to clubs, or to deliver them from a furnished list; nor should he do either, even through courtesy, unless it may be done without interfering with the legitimate business of his office.

REGISTRATION OF LETTERS.

5. The regulations and instructions to postmasters, for carrying into effect the third section of the Act of March third, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, providing for the registration of valuable letters, are modified as follows, viz.:

First. So much of sections four, five and six of these regulations as requires that packages of registered letters shall be sealed, is hereby revoked.

Second. All registered letters are, before mailing, to be numbered on the upper left hand corner, their numbers to correspond with those on the letter bills in which they are entered.

Third. Each registered letter or package of registered letters, will be inclosed in a wrapper in the usual manner, and if there be a package of unregistered letters to be sent by the same mail, the package of registered letters will be placed in such package, without being tied, and the whole will then be carefully tied up into one package, addressed to the office of its destination, and placed in its appropriate bag at the moment when that bag is to be finally locked and sent from the office. If no unregistered letters are to be sent by that mail, the package of registered letters is to be tied and forwarded in the same manner without being sealed.

Fourth. The registered letter bill will be inclosed in a separate envelop, addressed to the postmaster as now required, and will be forwarded by the usual route as an unregistered letter.

Fifth. The numbers given to registered letters, at the office of mailing, are not to be changed in the accounts or letter bills of distributing offices through which they may pass.

Sixth. Postmasters are required to see that the post-mark of every letter (whether written or stamped), is clear and distinct, so that the place and date of mailing can be readily determined.

JAMES CAMPBELL,

POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT, Jan. 3, 1857.

Postmaster-General.

1. RATES OF POSTAGE TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES.

[Corrected at the San Francisco Post-Office, March 14th, 1857.]

NOTE.-The figures following the name of each country, is intended to represent first, the postage, in cents, on letters weighing one-half ounce or under, and second, the postage on single newspapers. North America.-British Possessions, 3, 1. Mexico, 10, 2. Central America, 44, 8.

South America.-Bolivia, Chili or Ecuador, 48, 8. New Grenada, 20, 8. Peru, 32, 8.

Europe.-Belgium, 26, 6.

Denmark, 35, 6. France, 26, 2. German States, 30, 6. Great Britain, 29, 2. Greece, 42, 6. Holland, 26, 6. Norway, 46, 6. Portugal, 68, 6. Russia, 37, 6. Sardinia, 38, 6. Spain, 78, 6. Sweden, 42, 6. Switzerland, 35, 6. Turkey, 30, 6, Tuscany, 35, 6.

East Indies and Islands of the Pacific.-Australia, Sandwich Islands, Manilla, China, Java, New South Wales, New Zealand, Victoria, etc., etc. (by sailing vessels) 1, 1.

Danish, 44, 6. Dutch, 44, 6,
Sweden, 44, 6.

West Indies.-British, 20, 6. Cuba, 20, 2. French, 44, 6. Spanish, except Cuba, 44, 6. Pamphlets or bound books, not to exceed four ounces in weight, may be forwarded by mail to foreign countries at the rate of four cents per ounce.

VIII. WAR DEPARTMENT.

DEPARTMENT OF THE PACIFIC.*

JOHN E. WOOL, Brig. Gen. and Brevet Maj. Gen. U. S. A. Commanding.

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* The country west of the Rocky Mountains, except the Territory of Utah and the Department of

New Mexico.

2. Returns of the Department of the Pacific, commanded by Brig. and Brevet Major-General John E. Wool, exhibiting the Name and Location of each Military Post composing the same, with the Officers and Command stationed thereat.

Posts.

Commanding Officers.

pres'nt

Garrison.

Fort Lane.

Fort Yamhill

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Fort Steilacoom.
B. H. Puyullup River
Detached Service..
Bellingham Bay.
Muckleshute Prairie..
Dep'cy Muckleshute..
Fort Vancouver..
Fort Cascades...
Camp Yackima River
Fort Sincoe

Fort Walla Walla...

En Route...

Fort Dalles..

W. T. Lieut. Col. S. Casey.

44

.W. T. Capt. G. E. Pickett.

46

Capt. E. D. Keyes..

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Col. George Wright.

44

Capt. C. S. Winder.

46

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Capt. and Brevet Maj. G. O. Haller 4th & 9th Infantry.
Major R. S. Garnett.

9th Infantry..

Maj. & Bre't Lt. Col. E. J. Steptoe. 1st Dragoons..
Capt. D. A. Russell..

.O. T. Capt. and Brevet Maj. P. Lugenbeel 9th Infantry.

Block House Cascades W. T. Lieut. J. Miller...

.O. T. Lieut. E. Underwood

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9th Infantry

2 43

5 158

6111

4 68

3d Art'y, 4th & 9th Inf'y.

7 250

3 104

9th Infantry.

1 18

4th Infantry

1 50

Capt. A. J. Smith..

1st Drag. & 4th Inf'y.

6 118

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Sergeant

20

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77

66

Capt. C. C. Auger..

4th Infantry.

2 56

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Lieut. R. Macfeely.

4th Infantry

3

Fort Humboldt.

Fort Jones..

Campaign against Indians.. Capt. H. M. Judah..

.Cal. Major G. J. Rains.

.Cal. Lieut. G. W. Crook.

4th Infantry.

2 24

4th Infantry

1 39

4th Infantry

3 35

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Lieut. C. H. Rundell.
"Lieut. H. H. Garber....

4th Infantry

1 23

3d Art'y & 4th Inf'y

1 10

Wak El (Dep'cy Cap

Ell).

4th Infantry.

81

Benicia Barracks..

.Cal. Maj. & Bt. Lieut. Col. G. Nauman..3d Artillery.

115

46

Capt. F. D. Callender...

Ordnance

2 31

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Ordnance

2

"Capt. E. O. C. Ord.

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Capt. & Bt. Lt. Col. M. Burke.
Capt. H. S. Burton.

3d Artillery.

218

3d Artillery.

Benicia Arsenal.

Monterey Redoubt.

Presidio of San Francisco

Fort Miller..

Fort Tejon..

Fort Yuma.

"Lieut. L. Loeser.

"Capt. J. W. T. Gardiner.

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Mission of San Diego...
Mission of San Luis Rey. "
Detached Service.
En Route...

Commissioned officers, 102; Privates, 2,376.

3.

FORTIFICATIONS OF SAN FRANCISCO HARBOR.

The amount appropriated by Congress, for the erection of the fortifications of San Francisco Harbor is: Fort Point, $1,083,000; Fort Alcatraz, $850,000.

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The fortifications of San Francisco Harbor, when completed, will be viz: Fort Point, 164 guns; Lime Point, 50; Angel Island, 50; Alcatraz, 47; Point San José, 50; Presidio Hill, 50. Total, 411 guns.

The ordnance intended for these works are of the heaviest and most effective used in the service, consisting of ten-inch Columbiads, sixty-eight, fortytwo and thirty-two pound guns, furnished with all the improvements and appliances of modern warfare.

The appearance and extent of these works are fully equal to the important position they occupy, and when the plans of the War Department are matured and executed, California will have, for the number of ordnance mounted thereon, the most effective chain of harbor defenses in the United States.

4. MILITARY SYSTEM OF THE STATE.

By the Act of April 25, 1855, the State is organized into six Military Districts, with six Major-Generals and twelve Brigadier-Generals.* All free and able bodied citizens, between the ages of eighteen and forty-five, residing in the State, not exempt by law, are subject to military duty, and are required to be enrolled therefor. The Governor of the State is Commander-inChief, and is authorized to appoint and nominate an Aid-de-Camp, for each and every Brigade. Every free white male inhabitant of the State, between the ages of eighteen and forty-five, not members of any volunteer company, is subject to a tax of twenty-five cents, for the support of the militia of the State. Number of citizens liable to military duty (estimated) 175,000. There are at present organized in the State twenty-five volunteer uniformed companies, with 1,568 members.

IX.

NAVY DEPARTMENT.

1. NAVY YARD, MARE ISLAND, CAL. Capt. DAVID G. FARRAGUT.

.....Commandant.

The position for the Navy Yard, Mare Island, was selected and located by a board of officers charged with that duty, in 1850. The first appropriation, $200,000, was made by Congress for founding the yard in August, 1854. The subsequent appropriations made have been in 1855, $345,000; in 1856, $322,000, in addition to $119,000 for a magazine, making the whole amount appropriated up to the present time, $986,000.† Operations were commenced October 1st, 1854, and all the temporarily necessary workshops and buildings constructed, beside temporary wooden wharves for landing stores and materials. About thirty acres of ground, requiring heavy grading and filling in, have been brought to the established grade of the yard. A smithery, one story in hight and six hundred and fifty-eight feet frontage, by fiftyfive feet in width, designed to contain sixty-seven forges, a steam engine, and all the necessary appliances of such a structure, with a chimney one hundred and twenty-seven feet high, and its funnel nine feet in diameter; a storehouse, two hundred feet long by fifty-five feet wide, two stories high; the commandant's house, forty-two feet square and three stories high, and two blocks (four houses) of officers' quarters, also three stories in hight, have all been completed; a joiners' shop and timber-shed, four hundred feet long by sixty-five feet wide, of two stories is now in course of completion, and two * For a list of Major-Generals and Brigadier-Generals and Military Districts of the State, see page 97. + Exclusive of the cost of the Sectional Dry Dock, Basin and Railway, $1,400,000.

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