The duties of the several departments named above are thus defined:—
The postmaster-general “is further directed to superintend the business of the department in all the duties that are or may be assigned to it, and he is required once in three months to render to the Secretary of the Treasury an account of all the receipts and expenditures in the department, to be adjusted and settled as other accounts.” The postmaster-general may establish post-offices and appoint postmasters on the post-roads which are or may be authorized by law, at all such places as to him may appear expedient. He regulates the number of times the mail shall go from place to place, and he is authorized to contract for carrying the mail, and to establish post-roads.
APPOINTMENT-OFFICE.
The Appointment-Office not only has supervision of the appointment and regulation of all postmasters, and the establishment and discontinuance of post-offices, but also the distribution of blanks, wrapping-paper, and twine to all post-offices; the supervision of pay of clerks in post-offices; of allowance for furniture of post-offices; of extra allowances to postmasters under the acts of Congress; of the appointment and pay of special agents, route-agents, local agents, and blank-agents, and of baggage-masters in charge of mails; of the foreign mail transportation and foreign correspondence; together with some other miscellaneous duties.
CONTRACT-OFFICE.
The Contract-Office is charged with the conduct of mail-lettings, and all contracts and allowances for inland mail transportation, with the mail messenger service; the supervision and regulation of mail-contractors, and the routes of mail-transit, including distributing-offices; and with the increase and diminution of service on mail-routes.
FINANCE-OFFICE.
To this office are assigned the issuing of postage-stamps and stamped envelopes for the prepayment of postage and the accounts thereof; the preparation of warrants and drafts in payment of balances reported by the Auditor to be due to mail-contractors and other persons; and the superintendence of the rendition by postmasters of their quarterly returns of postages. It embraces, also, all the operations of the dead-letter office, and the accounts connected therewith.
INSPECTION-OFFICE.
The Inspection-Office is charged with the observation of failures and delinquencies in the service of contractors and route-agents; with fines and remissions thereof; with the subject of mail-depredations, and prosecution of violators of postal laws; with the duty of procuring and distributing mail-bags, locks and keys, and some other duties of detail.