Part 37

1. When were the salaries of postmasters changed from a percentage on stamps sold to a percentage on stamps canceled? 2. What is the postage on newspapers to Great Britain? 3. Can a supplement be sent without extra charge?

SUBSCRIBER.

_Answer._—1. Under the postal law approved Jan. 23, 1874, the compensation of postmasters of the first, second, and third classes consisted of annual salaries, assigned in even hundreds of dollars, to be ascertained and fixed by the Postmaster General from their respective quarterly returns for four quarters immediately preceding the adjustment or readjustment, by adding to the whole amount of box rents, not exceeding $2,000 per annum, commissions, also not to exceed $2,000 per annum, on the postal revenues of the office. All postmasters whose salaries, computed by this law, did not amount to $1,000, constituted a fourth class, whose compensation was the box rents collected at their offices and commissions on other postal revenues of their offices at the rate of 60 per cent on the first $100 or less per quarter, 50 per cent on the next $300 or less, and 40 per cent on the excess above $400 per quarter. To swell the revenues of their offices, postmasters of the fourth-class, and some of those of the third and second-classes, went into the large cities and sold stamps to mercantile firms and other heavy dealers, in some cases even sharing commissions with them. This abuse led to a revision of the law in the act of June 17, 1878, so that commissions should be allowed only “on stamps canceled as postages on matter actually mailed” at the offices in question. 2. The postage on newspapers to Great Britain and most of her colonies, the world over, is 1 cent for every two ounces or fraction thereof. Better inquire at postoffice for postal rates, or consult the United States Postal Guide, which can be seen at every postoffice. 3. That depends on the weight.

FARM AREAS AND VALUES.

ORD, Neb.

Oblige some of your readers by giving the cultivated area of the United States; the number and value of farms, farm implements, stock, etc. Also specify the States and Territories having over 500,000 acres each under cultivation.

HENRY P. MAIDEN.

_Answer._—The total number of improved acres in the United States, according to the census of 1880, was 284,771,042, embraced in 4,008,907 farms. The value of farms, including lands, fences, and buildings, was $10,197,096,776; value of live stock, $1,500,464,609; cost of building and repairing fences, $77,763,473; cost of fertilizers purchased, $28,586,397. Estimated value of all farm productions (sold, consumed, or on hand), $2,213,402,564.

The following States and Territories had each more than 500,000 acres under cultivation;

Alabama 6,375,706 Arkansas 3,595,603 California 10,669,698 Colorado 616,169 Connecticut 1,642,188 Dakota 1,150,413 Delaware 746,958 Florida 947,640 Georgia 8,204,720 Illinois 26,115,154 Indiana 13,933,738 Iowa 19,866,541 Kansas 10,739,566 Kentucky 10,731,683 Louisiana 2,739,972 Maine 3,484,908 Maryland 3,342,700 Mass’ch’setts 2,128,311 Michigan 8,296,862 Minnesota 7,246,693 Mississippi 5,216,937 Missouri 16,745,031 Nebraska 5,504,702 N. Hampshire 2,308,112 New Jersey 2,096,297 New York 17,717,862 N. Carolina 6,481,151 Ohio 18,081,091 Oregon 2,198,645 Pennsylvan’a 13,423,007 S. Carolina 4,132,000 Tennessee 8,496,556 Texas 12,650,314 Vermont 3,286,461 Virginia 8,510,113 W. Virginia 3,792,327 Wisconsin 9,162,528

Illinois leads the column with nearly double the cultivated area of the Keystone State; Iowa comes next, and Ohio, New York, Missouri, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Texas, in the order here given, come trudging after. The next census will make marked changes in the above list.

THE GOOSE HANGS HIGH.

BLUFFDALE, Ill.—Some one asks in Our Curiosity Shop as to the origin of the saying, “All things are lovely, and the goose hangs high.” This is it: In the autumn, during the warm, hazy days of Indian summer the wild geese fly very high, so high that they cannot be seen, but their cry, which is a “haunk,” is plainly heard. Therefore it was, and is, a saying in the West, “All things are lovely, and the goose ‘haunks’ high,” a sure indication of continued fine weather. It is not “the goose hangs high,” which is a corruption of language, and is, moreover, nonsense.

S. G. R.

ARCTIC EXPLORATION.

SHERWOOD, Wis.

Mention all the attempts made to explore the arctic regions, and tell where we can find a full account of these expeditions.

WILLIAM R. BISHOP.

_Answer._—No one work contains a full account of all the toils and sufferings, the thrilling scenes and exciting experiences of arctic exploration. The books and charts on this subject would make a good-sized library. As respects the northeast passage, they include narratives of the expeditions of Willoughby and Chancellor (English, 1553), Burroughs (English, 1556), Pet and Jackman (English, 1580), William Barentz (Dutch, 1594-96), Henry Hudson (English, 1608, and Dutch, 1609), Wood (Dutch, 1676). Behring (Russian, 1741), Shalaroff (Russian), who with his crew perished of starvation, Wiggans (English, 1784), Billings (Russian, 1787), and finally, Professor Adolf Eric Nordenskjold (Swedish), who, after two other expeditions (severally in 1875 and 1876), in 1878-9 succeeded in sailing from the North Atlantic eastward, through the Arctic Ocean and Behring Straits, into the Pacific, thus triumphantly completing the discovery of the “northeast passage.”

The search for the “northwest passage” has engaged nearly two hundred and fifty expeditions, of various nationalities. It would be useless to enumerate them all. The first attempts were made by Sebastian Cabot (English, 1498), and Martin Frobisher (English, 1576); Captain John Davis, after whom Davis’ Strait is named (English, 1585-88); Henry Hudson, after whom Hudson’s Bay is named (English, 1610); Button (English, 1615), and Bylot and Baffin, after the latter of whom Baffin’s Bay takes its name (English, 1615-16). Little more in the way of discovery in this direction was realized, although occasional attempts were made by Jens Munk, a Danish navigator, Fox, James, and others, until 1818, when Ross and Parry, under direction and support of the British Admiralty, entered upon a series of expeditions extending over more than a decade, by which a large addition was made to the knowledge of the geography of this region as far west as long 110 deg west, in Melville Sound, and north to latitude 82 deg. 45 min., and the magnetic pole was discovered. Dease, Simpson, Dr. John Rae, and other explorers followed. Then in 1845, came the memorable expedition of Sir John Franklin, whose party perished to the last man, but not until they had left records, since recovered, of discoveries showing that Sir John, had he been spared to return, was prepared to claim the honor of discovering the northwest passage. But as these records were not discovered by McClintock’s expedition (English) until 1859, and McClure (English), who went out via Behring’s Straits in search of Franklin in 1850, returned in 1852, after having brought his ship to Melville Island and his ship’s crew through from Behring’s Straits to Baffin’s Bay, had already received the award for the discovery of this long-sought passage. Besides the above, which are only the principal British expeditions, there are the American ones, under Dr. De Haven, 1850; Dr. Kane, 1853; Dr. Hayes, 1861; and Captain Hall, 1860, 1864, and 1870, full of interest, and resulting in important geographical and scientific discoveries; the Austrian Arctic Expedition of 1872-74, resulting in the discovery of Franz Joseph Land; the British Expedition, under Captain Nares, 1875-76; the Jeannette Expedition of 1879-80, which resulted in the melancholy death of Captain De Long and so many of his companions by starvation. Written and illustrated accounts of nearly all the above explorations have been published, and many of them can be found in the catalogues of the leading American publishing houses.

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.

ZANESVILLE, Ohio.

When was the Declaration of Independence first proposed, and when was it finally adopted? Give the hour in the day as nearly as you can, the order of proceedings, and the scenes that followed.

GEORGE M. HOFFMAN.

_Answer._—That enthusiastic little rebel, Rhode Island, was the first of the colonies to declare itself “free from all dependence on the crown of Great Britain.” This she did on May 4, 1776. The Assembly of Virginia in the same month instructed her delegates to the Continental Congress to present to that body a proposition “affirming the independence of the colonies from Great Britain.” In compliance with these instructions Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, on June 7, 1776, introduced his famous resolutions: “That these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown; and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved. That it is expedient forthwith to take the most effectual measures for forming foreign alliances. That a plan of confederation be prepared and transmitted to the respective colonies for their consideration and approbation.” John Adams seconded these resolutions, and an animated discussion ensued. On June 8 a committee, consisting of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston, was appointed to draw up a declaration of independence embodying the sense of Lee’s resolutions. On July 2 Lee’s resolutions were passed by the vote of twelve of the thirteen colonies, the New York delegates refraining from voting for want of instructions from their province. On July 3 the formal declaration, almost precisely as written by Thomas Jefferson, was presented by the committee above named, and was debated with great spirit, John Adams being the chief speaker on the part of the committee. The discussion was resumed on the morning of the 4th, and at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, after one or two slight modifications, it was adopted. The announcement was hailed with the liveliest enthusiasm. “Ring! ring!” shouted the lad stationed below to give the signal to the old bellman in the State House tower; and he did ring until the whole city shouted for joy. The King’s arms were wrenched from the Court House and burned in the streets; bonfires were lighted, the city illuminated, and the exultation was prolonged far into the night. In New York City the populace hurled the leaden statue of George III. from its pedestal and molded it into bullets, and in all the great cities similar demonstrations of enthusiasm were exhibited. Washington had the declaration read at the head of every brigade of the army, and the soldiers pledged fealty to the cause of independence.

INVENTOR OF THE LIFE-BOAT.

JOLIET, Ill.

Who invented the life-boat, and when did he do it?

JAMES.

_Answer._—It is not easy to determine this question. Many writers give the credit to Mr. Henry Greathead, of Shields, Eng.; others give it to Lionel Lukin, a coach-builder, of London; others to William Wouldhave, parish clerk of St. Hilda’s Church, South Shields, Eng. Now that the Royal National Life-boat Institution of Great Britain alone has 271 life-boats in its service, and more than 900 lives annually, on the average, are saved, mainly by these boats, when the life-saving institutions of other countries are using them with most gratifying results, it is not strange that the honor of this invention is zealously contested. The facts seem to be these: The first patent for a life-boat was granted in England, in 1785, to Lionel Lukin. It was not satisfactory for several reasons, but was improved by Admiral Graves, of the Royal Navy, and Henry Greathead, a boatbuilder of Shields. This was improved by George Palmer, a member of the National Life-boat Institution, and remained the favorite boat in the service until 1851, when in response to the offer by the Duke of Northumberland of a prize of 100 guineas, about 100 models of improved life-boats were exhibited, and the prize was awarded to Mr. James Beeching, of Yarmouth. This boat, improved by Mr. R. Peake, of the Royal Dockyard, Woolwich, was adopted by the National Life-boat Institution, and is still its favorite model. Undoubtedly Greathead has received more credit for this invention than any one else. He received the gold medals of the Society of Arts and the Royal Humane Society. He received £1,200 from Parliament in 1802, and a purse of 100 guineas from Lloyd’s. He obtained patents and honorable awards in foreign countries and made large sums by furnishing boats for life-saving service for Great Britain and other lands. Nevertheless, the honor of inventing the self-righting life-boat is strenuously claimed for William Wouldhave, particularly by his fellow-townsmen and parishioners of South Shields. The story is that soon after a wreck, accompanied with a terrible loss of life, which occurred at Tynemouth in September, 1789, Mr. Wouldhave noticed a wooden dish floating on the surface of a well, which, on being accidentally struck by his finger, when he was assisting a woman to raise a skeel of water, turned bottom upward, and instantly righted itself again. Capsizing it again several times, he noted that it always righted itself. He discovered the self-righting principle then and there, and soon after made a model life-boat of tin, which he offered to exhibit to the ship-owners and mariners of South Shields as a suitable boat for rescuing persons from wrecks. The affair was greatly talked about, and a committee consisting of gentlemen connected with the merchant marine was appointed to test the model and any others that might be offered for inspection. Greathead, the boatbuilder above mentioned, exhibited a model at this time, and upon testing the merits of the boats Wouldhave’s proved to be self-righting and unsinkable by any water it might ship. Greathead’s model failed in these respects, though in others it was pronounced a good sea-boat. Mr. Greathead, however, was what Mr. Wouldhave was not, a shrewd business man. He made improvements in his model, adopting some of the features of Lukin’s patent above mentioned and some of Wouldhave’s, and it was not long before he had introduced it into actual service, not only in Great Britain, but elsewhere. Hence his name has become famous as the inventor of the life-boat, while Wouldhave’s name was known to few but his townsmen as the actual and original inventor. The first model made by Wouldhave is now in the Free Library Museum at South Shields. His tombstone, in St. Hilda’s Church-yard, bears a life-boat carved on it, and above the gaselier in the church a model life-boat is suspended in memory of him.

“BULLS” AND “BEARS.”

JONESBORO, Ark.

Explain how “bulls” and “bears” operate to affect the prices of stocks and provisions.

S. W. MOREHEAD.

_Answer._—The means used to “bull” and “bear,” or raise and depress, the prices of stocks, grain, provisions, etc., are innumerable, varying with the needs of the times, but influenced much more by the combinations of capitalists and brokers. The “bulls” magnify every circumstance favorable to the appreciation of the stocks they hold or have agreed to take at a given time, while those who have contracted to deliver such stocks, or who for any reason wish to buy, do all in their power to depreciate them, and are therefore nicknamed “bears.” Any one who has ever witnessed a bull and bear fight will not question the appropriateness of these terms as applied to the combatants in the exciting wars among the kings of the stock board. The bulls struggle to toss the stocks higher; the bears squeeze and tug to force the prices down. The former resort to all kinds of expedients to induce small holders to cling fast to their stocks instead of putting them on the market. They persuade them by direct appeals, or by circulating encouraging reports, that these stocks are bound to rise rapidly in value; and they often combine to buy up the stock of the few who persist in selling, so as to “corner” the market. Not content with fair means, they sometimes enter into combinations with one another, and employ third parties to buy and sell stocks of the same description on ’Change, in such a way as to create the impression that there is a greater demand for them than there really is, when in fact the sales are never consummated, or merely amount to an exchange among themselves. Often, when neither the foreign nor home news was favorable to their purposes, false reports have been telegraphed through the country by interested parties, to affect the stock board. Similar methods are pursued on boards of trade.

ORIGIN OF POSTOFFICES.

WAUKESHA, Wis.

What country first established a postal system for transmitting the mail? When was postal communication established in America? Give us a few facts on this subject.

J. J. S.

_Answer._—Couriers for carrying royal or government dispatches are mentioned in histories of the earliest times. Royal posts existed in Assyria, Persia, Greece, and Rome. The name postoffice originated in the posts, or stations, at intervals along the roads of the Roman Empire, where couriers were kept in readiness to start on the instant. But such posts were not used for transmitting private letters. The first postal system for commercial and private correspondence appears to have been established between the Hanse Towns early in the thirteenth century. In the reign of the Emperor Maximilian I., of Germany, letter posts were established by the Princes of Thurn and Taxis, connecting the chief cities of Austria and Lombardy, and later, 1516, the same princes connected Vienna and Brussels in the same way. Maximilian’s successor, Charles V., encouraged still further extension of this private postal system by repeated enfeoffments or special franchises, until all the great commercial centers of his vast empire, from Vienna to Madrid, from the Adriatic to the North Sea, and intervening places, were brought into regular postal communication. Far back in the twelfth century the University of Paris, whose students, gathered from all civilized nations, numbered not long after this over 25,000, employed foot-runners to carry letters for its members to all parts of Europe. But not until 1524 was permission granted to the royal French posts to carry other letters than those for the government and the nobility. London merchants established a postal communication of their own with France and other continental countries as early as the fifteenth century, and it is evident that, although the royal post of England established in the thirteenth century was intended and long restricted to the transmission of government dispatches only, it had gradually become a vehicle for private correspondence. In 1581 Thomas Randolph was appointed the “Chief Postmaster” for England, with authority to establish and supervise post-houses and regulate the fees charged by postmen, but apparently without authority to receive and handle mail matter, which was left largely to the discretion of the postmen themselves. Not until the time of James I. of England was a postmaster for foreign parts appointed, and steps taken by the government to establish regular running posts, going day and night, for the transmission of letters for the general public. In 1635 such a mail was established to run weekly between London and Edinburgh, and soon eight other lines were instituted.

In this country, Massachusetts provided by legislation for the postal system as early as 1639, and Virginia in 1657. A monthly post between Boston and New York was instituted in 1672. In the beginning, letters arriving in this country from beyond the seas were delivered on board the ship. Letters not called for were left by the captain at a coffee-house near the wharf, where they were spread on a table or shelf, awaiting call. Persons calling not only took charge of their own letters, but of those of acquaintances in their neighborhood, either delivering them in person or leaving them at the minister’s or some magistrate’s office to be inquired for, or announced in church. These coffee-houses gradually grew into common use for letters between cities and the interiors, until regular posts were instituted. One of the first acts of the Continental Congress was the establishment of a general postoffice department, and the appointment of Benjamin Franklin, who had enjoyed large experience in the British colonial postal service, as the first Postmaster General.

FINANCIAL CONDITION OF FRANCE.

HAMILTON, N. M.

What is the financial condition of France as compared with other European countries? Is she prepared to cope with Great Britain in case of a war between them?

E. L. EASDALE.

_Answer._—France is carrying a larger national debt than any other nation. It amounted at the close of the fiscal year 1882 to $4,683,840,000—nearly a billion dollars more than that of Great Britain. Besides this, like our own States and minor political divisions, the departments and municipalities of France are carrying local debts amounting in the aggregate to an immense sum. The debt of Paris in September, 1880, was 2,295,000,000 francs, or about $450,000,000. The national debt is well distributed among the people, there being in 1881 as many as 4,617,900 holders, receiving 851,909,901 francs annually for interest. So long as this interest, or “rente,” is paid promptly these holders are, for the most part, content with the government; but should the latter plunge the country into a costly war, rendering it necessary to suspend payment of the interest, and jeopardizing resumption of such payments, a popular revolution would in all probability ensue. This enormous national debt will indisputably prove a source of weakness to the government and the nation In the event of a foreign war. The imperial debt of Germany in 1882 was only $120,197,528. Add to this the debt proper of Prussia, $493,821,812, and that of the other constituent states of the empire, $735,608,892, and the total was $1,349,728,232. The imperial debt of Austro-Hungary the same year was $1,107,978,118, which, added to the Austrian debt proper, $176,914,016, and the Hungarian debt proper, $400,532,142, made a total of $1,685,424,276. The public debt of Italy in 1882 was $2,042,000,000; of Spain, $1,826,613,093; of Great Britain, $3,814,500,000; of Russia, $4,314,607,500; of the United States, $1,918,312,294.

Undoubtedly the industrial condition of France is better than that of any other European country, except Great Britain, Belgium, and Holland. The French people have been accumulating wealth at a remarkable rate since the Franco-German war, and in this respect France is stronger than her great continental neighbors.

The following table, compiled from Mulhall’s “Balance Sheet of the World,” shows the estimated capital or wealth of a few of the principal nations of Europe in 1880:

Nations— Total wealth.

Great Britain $44,800,000,000 France 37,085,000,000 Germany 30,375,000,000 Russia 17,700,000,000 Austria 15,250,000,000 Italy 9,300,000,000 Spain 6,865,000,000 Holland 5,650,000,000

The next table gives the per capita, or rate of wealth for each inhabitant, less the per capita of the public debt:

Per capita of Nations— wealth.