The Marine Corps has the organization of a brigade, and numbers now 75 commissioned officers, and 2,320 non-commissioned officers, musicians, and privates; in all, 2,395 men. The pay and allowances of the officers of the marine corps are the same as those of officers of the same grades in the infantry of the army, except the adjutant and inspector, who have the same pay and allowances as the paymaster of the marines. The marine corps is subject to the laws and regulations of the navy, except when detached for service with the army by the order of the President of the United States. A portion of the corps, under Lieut.-Col. Watson, is now with General Scott in Mexico. The head-quarters of the corps are at Washington.

*Col. Archibald Henderson, Lieut-Col. Samuel Miller,

Staff of the Marine Corps.

Major Thomas Linton,

Capt. Parke G. Howle, Adj. and Inspector
Capt. G. W. Walker, Paymaster.
Capt. A. A. Nicholson, Quartermaster.

† Lieut.-Col. by brevet.

VIII. POST-OFFICE ESTABLISHMENT.

1. Post-office Statistics for the year ending June 30, 1846; the first year under the New Law. (Exclusive of Texas.)

Number of contractors,

Increase in aggregate length of routes over last year,

Number of post-routes,

Number of post-offices supplied,

Increase of mail transportation over last year,

Receipts for the year,

Expenditures for the year,

The receipts fell short of the expenditures,

3,530

4,285

5,739

14,601

1,764,145

$3,487,199.35

4,084,297.22

597,097

During the year, 877 new post-offices were established, and 459 were discontinued. 2,905 postmasters were appointed in consequence of resignations or deaths; 301 for changes of sites of the offices; 877 to new offices; 871 by removals; 4 where commissions expired, and were not renewed; in all, 4,958.

The mails have been expedited one business day between New York city and New Orleans; 24 hours from Washington to St. Louis and Nashville by the way of Louisville, and 55 hours to St. Louis, by Springfield and Dayton.

The Magnetic Telegraph between Baltimore and Washington, including salaries of officers, cost, between the 1st of April, 1845, and the 1st of October, 1846, $9,906.66; and the receipts have been $2,312.38. Between the 1st of December, 1846, and the 4th of March, 1847, the line was kept for its profits, and without aid from the treasury.

2. Table of Mail Service for the year ending June 30, 1846.

The entire service and pay of the route are set down to the State under which it is numbered, though extending into other States.

*Add Texas, 3,186 miles; in all, 152,865 miles.

+Also, expenses of mail agencies, $42,406; service in Texas, from Feb. 16, 1846, $9,189 ; making in all $2,716,673.

3. Number of Post-Offices, Extent of Post-Roads, and Revenue and Expenditures of the Post-Office Department; with the Amount paid to Postmasters and for Transportation of the Mail.

* The returns for 1846 are for the first year under the new law, passed

March 3, 1845.

4. Revenue under the New Law.

Revenue of the Post-Office from 1st July, 1836, to 30th June, 1846.

Year, ending 30th June.

$425,714 $816 $135,415

Total Annual
Receipts.

$4,236,779 4 238,733

215 3,656

The above statistics apply wholly to the revenue under the old law. The following table shows the income for the first year under the new law :

From the above tables it will be seen that the annual average income for nine years, ending 30th June, 1845, was $4,364,625. For the year ending 30th June, 1846, the first under the new law, the income was $3,487,199; making a loss, as compared with the average of the nine preceding years, of $877,426; and with the year preceding of $802,642. This loss is chiefly on letter postages, in which, as compared with the average of the nine preceding years, the loss is $926,296, and with the year preceding, $778,534; being the entire loss of the department, under the first year of the new law, within $24,108, as compared with the year preceding; and $123,654 more than the entire loss, as compared with the average of the nine preceding years. The Postmaster-General supposes that this arises in part from packages of letters, addressed to different individuals, being directed to some third person for distribution. In this way, 100 letters, weighing eight ounces, would be charged (the law allowing one-half ounce to each letter) under 300 miles, 80 cents, and over 300, $1.60; the department being entitled to receive, under the law, $5 or $10 according to the distance. One provision of the law of March 3, 1847, is intended to remedy this evil, and to make the increased number of letters increase the revenues of the department. It will also be seen, that, while the income from newspapers and pamphlets, during the last year, is less than during the year preceding by $46,622, it is larger than that of the average of the nine preceding years by $33,164.

5. Gross amount of Letter Postage, and Newspapers and Pamphlets, for the three Quarters preceding the 1st of April, 1846, compared with the three Quarters preceding 1st of April, 1847.

[Furnished from the Post-office Department, July 23, 1847.]

Aggregate average increase, 12 per cent.

6. Expenditures of the Post-Office from 1st July, 1836, to 30th June, 1846.

Year ending June 30.

The expenditures under the first year of the new law were $4,084,297; being less than the average of the nine preceding years by $415,297, and less than that of the year preceding by $236,433. This saving has been effected by reducing the rates in reletting the contracts in New England and New York. Since the close of the last fiscal year, the new contracts have gone into operation in the North-western and South-western States and Territories, and the cost under them is $323,901; or 33 per cent. less than under those which expired 30th June, 1846. There have been no curtailments of the service; but the frequency and despatch of the mails have been increased.

7. Business of the Post-Office and Compensation of Postmasters.

There are no returns to show correctly the increased business of the department. Some idea may be formed by comparing the weight of all the mails sent from three offices for one week in June, 1838, with the weight of the mails on the railroad and steamboat routes only, from the same offices, for one week in May, 1846.