1148. There was an increase in the number of orders sent of 47,870, and there was also an increase in the amount sent of $77,275, but the average value of each order has been still further reduced. In 1868 it was $37.18; in 1885, $20.79; in 1886, $19.32; in 1887, $17.96; in 1888, $17.30 ; in 1889, $16.72; in 1890, $15.37; in 1891, $14.58; in 1892, $13.94, and in 1893, $13.33. It may be argued from this, that as the country progresses, the business and wealthier classes avail themselves of the increase in banking facilities, while the money order system is used principally by the working classes, who keep no banking accounts., 1149. There was an increase of 48 in the number of money order offices in operation. They are distributed among the provinces in the following order : 1150. The revenue from fees, profit on exchange, &c., amounted to $103,927; but under the new system of keeping the accounts no details of expenditure are available. 1151. Of the total amount of orders issued in Canada, $10,404,857 were payable in Canada, and $2,498,118 were payable in other countries, being an increase of $194,758, and a decrease of $117,498, respectively; and of the total transactions with other countries, $2,498,118 were sent out of the country, and $2,269,635 came in. 1152. The next table shows the money order transactions between the Dominion and other countries since Confederation - MONEY ORDER TRANSACTIONS BETWEEN THE DOMINION AND OTHER COUNTRIES, 1868 TO 1893. Issued | Payable Issued Payable Issued Payable Issued Payable in in in in 1153. From the above table it is seen that the principal money order business with other countries is transacted with the United States, the United Kingdom and Newfoundland. Since the year 1876, inclusive, the amount of money sent by this system to the United Kingdom has exceeded the amount payable in Canada by $7,934,818; during the same period the amount sent to the States has exceeded the amount received by $1,420,587, while the amount received from Newfoundland has exceeded that sent to the island by $593,830. With the exception of Newfoundland, it will be seen that more money is sent from this to other countries than is received. 1154. The growth of the business done through this channel is seen in the following statements of the average amounts by five-year periods : TOTAL MONEY ORDERS ISSUED IN CANADA, AND PAYABLE IN CANADA. 1155. The contract with the Montreal Ocean Steamship Company (Allan line) for the carriage of mails across the Atlantic expired in April, 1891. An agreement for the season of navigation was afterwards made, and in December another contract with the Allan line was made for the resumption of the direct service, it being stipulated that only the very best boats of the Allan and Dominion lines should carry the mails. One or two of the steamers have made fairly quick passages, notably the "Parisian of the Allan line, and the "Vancouver" and "Labrador" of the Dominion line, but the service is very considerably slower than that between New York and Liverpool. The present contract expires in December, 1894. The efforts of the Dominion Government to establish a direct fast service between England and Canada have not yet been successful. The Allan line boats have carried the mails almost continuously since May, 1856. 1156. The mail service between Canada and China and Japan by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company's steamers is rapidly assuming respectable proportions, 143,878 letters and 42,800 newspapers having been carried from 24th September, 1892, to 9th September, 1893, being an increase of 34.467 and 7,900 respect ively. Mails have been actually delivered in London by this route within 21 days from leaving Yokohama. By the Suez Canal the usual time is six weeks. 1157. A direct mail service between St. John, N.B., and Demerara and other West India islands, was established in January, 1890, the steamers being subsidized by the Canadian Government. The number of letters carried during the year was 11,722; papers, books, &c., 3,768; parcel post baskets and bags, 139. The establishment in June, 1893, of direct postal communication between Canada and Australia by means of a line of British steamships, calling at Honolulu and Fiji, nearly completes the chain of direct mail communication between the Dominion and the other parts of the British Empire. From the 8th June, 1893, to 20th October, 1893, the number of letters carried was 16,297; newspapers, 8,260; books and samples, 2,089. 1158. The following table gives the numbers and number per head of letters and post cards sent in the principal countries of the world. The figures have been taken from the best available sources, and the calculations have been made in this office. The extraordinary quantity of mail matter sent in the Australasian colonies is very remarkable. The system adopted in Canada does not do justice to the correspondence of the country, as no notice whatever is taken of the large number of letters which come from foreign countries. NUMBER OF POST OFFICES AND OF LETTERS AND POST CARDS SENT IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES. NUMBER OF POST OFFICES AND OF LETTERS AND POST CARDS SENT IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES-Continued. +Including Telegraph Offices. All kinds of mail matter included. 1159. The principal telegraph lines in Canada are in private hands, and the Government only own and operate those lines which have been built by them in furtherance of the public service, between places where the traffic could not be expected to be sufficient to compensate private outlay, but where public interests require that there shall be communication, especially in |