ORDER OF THE POSTMASTER-GENERAL.

POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT,

Washington, D. C., July 1.

The regulations herein contained are issued by my auth have my official sanction. All former regulations and rulin flict, or at variance with those herein contained, are hereby All postmasters and other postal officers and employés are return to the Post-Office Department all copies of form the Postal Laws and Regulations immediately upon th present volume.

13706

D.M

HE6323
1879

DOCUMENTS
DEPT.

REGULATIONS.

ice Department. 2. Assistant act as Postmaster-General. 4. Post-Office Department. 5. Other Tent. 6. Special agents and their ts. 8. Special agents authorized ntendent of railway mail service. 11. Bonds required of special agents.

13. Authority and powers of special mmunications confidential. 15. Juat the postal laws. 16. Preliminary

When witness must give bond. 18. to Postmaster-General. 19. Resi20. Mail agents on ocean steamers. na and Japan. 22. Route agents, empostal clerks. 24. Oath of office. 25.

26. Authority of Postmaster-General 27. Distribution of the business of the the Post-Office Department. 29. Duties 1. 30. Property in charge of the Departgements with foreign countries. 32. Publitions. 33. Blank agency at Washington. rs. 35. Orders, contracts, etc., to be truly bonds and contracts. 37. Copies of mail conr. 38. Orders to be certified to the Auditor. ents by postmasters. 40. Fines, penalties, forremitted. 41. Discharge of imprisoned judgSuch discharge no bar to execution. 43. Postal be interested in contracts. 44. Prescribed ane Postmaster-General. 45. Annual reports of the

5

Pages.

27-28

29-31

33-47

ERRATA.

Page 34, section 5, for "June 19" read "June 17;" for "20 Stat., p. 201," read "20 Stat., p. 141."

Page 42, section 34, for "their respective use" read "the respective use."

Page 84, section 247, for "19 Stat." read "18 Stat."

Page 90, section 276, for "end of each month" read "end of each week."

Page 91, section 288, for "Return Letter Office" read "Dead Letter Office."

Page 101, section 361, for "addressed to box-holders" read "addressed to box numbers."

Page 107, section 414, for "Division Superintendents" read "their Division Superintendent."

Page 114, section 443, line 8, for "d" read "c."

Page 115, section 449, line 2, strike out the word "only."

Page 117, section 462, for "see section 442" read "see section 472.”

Page 143, change the foot-note to read as follows:

"By the act of June 12, 1879 (see page 354), the time is extended to one year."

Page 147, section 627, paragraph 4, line 2, for "of their depots" read "from their depots."

Page 167, for section 227" read "section 727."

Page 170, for "section 557" read "section 757."

Page 172, section 787, for "attendance book" read "record of arrivals and departures."

Page 183, section 865, for "return-registry-receipt" read "registry-return-receipt." Page 314, section 1247, for "(R. S. 5434” read “R. S. 5534"; section 1248, for “R. S. 5435" read "R. S. 5535."

Page 318, line 8, for "5265" read "5266."

Page 319, line 1, for "tables" read "topographer."

Page 320, add "American Rapid Telegraph Company, 41 Wall street, New York, received and filed April 12, 1879."

Postmasters and other postal officers and employés must make these corrections in the proper places in the book as soon as they receive it.

TABLE

OP

TITLES AND CHAPTERS.

CONTAINED IN THE

POSTAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS TO POSTMASTERS
SUGGESTIONS TO THE PUBLIC.....

TITLE I.

THE POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT.

Chapter 1.-ORGANIZATION AND GENERAL PROVISIONS
SEC. 1. Establishment of the Post-Office Department. 2. Assistant
Postmasters-General. 3. Who may act as Postmaster-General. 4.
Assistant Attorney-General for the Post-Office Department. 5. Other
officers of the Post-Office Department. 6. Special agents and their
salaries. 7. Acting special agents. 8. Special agents authorized
to administer oaths. 9. Superintendent of railway mail service.
10. Payment of special agents. 11. Bonds required of special agents.
12. Assignment of special agents. 13. Authority and powers of special
agents. 14. Special agents' communications confidential. 15. Ju-
risdiction over offenses against the postal laws. 16. Preliminary
proceedings before whom. 17. When witness must give bond. 18.
Special agents, how related to Postmaster-General. 19. Resi-
dent foreign mail agencies. 20. Mail agents on ocean steamers.
21. Postal agencies in China and Japan. 22. Route agents, em-
ployment of. 23. Railway postal clerks. 24. Oath of office. 25.
Who may administer oath. 26. Authority of Postmaster-General
to prescribe regulations. 27. Distribution of the business of the
Department. 28. Seal of the Post-Office Department. 29. Duties
of the Postmaster-General. 30. Property in charge of the Depart-
ment. 31. Postal arrangements with foreign countries. 32. Publi-
cation of postal conventions. 33. Blank agency at Washington.
34. Foreign dead letters. 35. Orders, contracts, etc., to be truly
dated. 36. Form of bonds and contracts. 37. Copies of mail con-
tracts for the Auditor. 38. Orders to be certified to the Auditor.
39. Credits for payments by postmasters. 40. Fines, penalties, for-
feitures, etc., how remitted. 41. Discharge of imprisoned judg-
ment debtors. 42. Such discharge no bar to execution. 43. Postal
employés may not be interested in contracts. 44. Prescribed an-
nual reports of the Postmaster-General. 45. Annual reports of the
Auditor.

5

Pages.

27-28

29-31

33-47

Chapter 1.-ORGANIZATION AND GENERAL PROVISIONS-Continued
SEC. 46. Annual estimates of the Postmaster-General. 47. Esti-
mates to be furnished the Secretary of the Treasury. 48. Con-
tracts signed by the First Assistant. 49. Contracts signed by the
Second Assistant. 50. Contracts signed by the Third Assistant.
51. Omission to take oath not to affect liability, etc. 52. Suits and
prosecutions in State courts. 53. Disbursements for topographer's
office, how made. 54. No employé to receive fees.
Chapter 2.-ACCOUNTS, REVENUES, AND DEPOSITS....

SEC. 55. Manner of keeping accounts. 56. Miscellaneous and money-
order receipts. 57. Postal revenues to be accounted for. 58. Reve-
nues to be appropriated for postal service. 59. Payments, how made;
advances. 60. Transfer of debts to contractors. 61. Suits to recover
wrongful and fraudulent payments. 62. Delivery of stolen money
to owner. 63. Disposal of fines, penalties, and forfeitures-of moi-
eties. 64. Accounts to be preserved two years. 65. Restrictions on
payments on account of postal service. 66. Postal revenues and
collections to be paid into Treasury. 67. Deposits, how brought
into the Treasury. 68. Transfer of postal deposits. 69. Accounts of
postal deposits. 70. Entry of each deposit, transfer, and payment.
71. Public moneys in Treasury subject to draft of Treasurer. 72.
Money to be safely kept by postmasters. 73. Custody of government
money in hands of postmasters. 74. Frequent deposits of revenues.
75. No money to be paid directly into the Department. 76. Post-
offices financially designated and classified. 77. Post-offices trans-
ferred from one class to another. 78. Postmasters to transfer their
deposits promptly. 79. Letter of transmittal to state what. 80.
Postmasters may transfer funds free. 81. Postmasters to report
amounts paid mail messengers, etc. 82. Postmasters to report
cause of failure to deposit. 83. Want of funds not accepted as ex-
cuse. 84. Collection drafts must be paid. 85. Failure to deposit
cause for removal, unless. 86. Postmasters to pay over balance at
end of quarter. 87. Postmasters at special post-offices to report
balance. 83. Postmasters at special post-offices to transmit receipts
promptly, 89. Payment to department must be in what. 90. No
allowance made for expenses for payments, etc. 91. Counterfeit
money to be replaced. 92. Postmasters at draft post-offices not to
pay drafts on other post-offices. 93. Postmasters not required to
redeem mutilated currency. 94. Postmasters to refuse mutilated
coins. 95. All funds to be kept in current money. 95. Postmasters
to sign certificates in person. 97. Postmasters not to receive for-
eign coin.

Pages. 33-47

47-54

TITLE II.

POST-OFFICES AND POSTMASTERS.

Chapter 1-ESTABLISHMENT OF POST-OFFICES AND APPOINTMENT OF POST-
MASTERS

OF BONDS AND SURETIES.

SEC. 98. Establishment of post-offices. 99. Discontinuance of post-
offices. 100. Classification of postmasters. 101. Appointment and
term of office of postmasters. 102. Appointments issued from office
of First Assistant. 103. Postmasters' commissions to be recorded
and countersigned. 104. Residence of postmasters. 105. Bonds of
postmasters. 106. Application of payments after giving new bond.
107. Commissions not issued to postmasters before approval of
bonds.

55-58