belonging to the postal union, at the uniform rate of five cents per half ounce.

Money may be sent to all parts of the United States by means of postal orders, which may be purchased at all the important postoffices in the United States. Internationai money orders are also used to send money abroad.

Classification.-Postoffices are divided into classes, according to the amount of business transacted.

First Class. First class offices are those whose annual receipts are forty thousand dollars and upwards, and the salaries of postmasters in such offices vary from three thousand to six thousand dollars a year. The postmaster of the city of New York is allowed eight thousand dollars a year, and the postmaster of Washington, D. C., five thousand dollars.

Second Class.-In second class offices the receipts range from eight thousand to forty thousand dollars a year, and the salaries from two thousand to twenty-nine hundred dollars.

Third Class.-The receipts in third class offices must be not less than nineteen hundred nor more than eight thousand dollars. The range of salaries is from one thousand to nineteen hundred dollars, by even hundreds.

Fourth Class.-Postmasters of the fourth clas receive salaries varying according to the amount of business transacted. All of the box rent collected by them, and als a commission on canceled postage-due stamps, form part of the salary. In addition to this, they are allowed one hundred per cent. of the value of all postage stamps and postal cards canceled by them, and of all amounts received from the sale of waste paper, dead newspapers, and other printed

matter, and twine, not to exceed in value fifty dollars for each period of three months; on the next hundred dollars received from such sources per quarter, sixty per cent; on the next two hundred dollars, fifty per cent; and on the balance received for the quarter, forty per cent. Salaries . fourth class officers vary from one quarter to another, as they are based upon a percentage of the business of the offices.

Adjustment.-Salaries are readjusted annually, and if the receipts of any office grow so large early in the year as to change the class to which that office belongs, the readjustment will not be made until the end of the postal year, which is March 31.

Post Roads.-Post roads are routes designated by the government over which the mails are carried. They consist of railroads, steamship routes, and wagon roads. These post roads are not special routes constructed at government expense, but any route by which mail is conveyed is called a post road.

CHAPTER XV.

POWERS OF CONGRESS.-CONTINUED.

Clause 8.-Copyrights and Patents.

To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing, for limited times, to authors and inventors, the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries.

Patents. A patent is a certificate issued by the authority of the government to the inventor of any useful article, or the discoverer of any useful process, by means of which he is given the exclusive right to manufacture and sell his production. Models of the various articles patented in the United States are kept in the patent office at Washington. Patents are issued by a commission that is in charge of that branch of the interior department.

Expense.-Letters patent, as the certificate is called, secures to the inventor the exclusive right to his patent for seventeen years, and a patent may be re-issued. The expense of obtaining a patent is thirty-five dollars. Fifteen dollars must accompany the application, and this money will not be returned to the applicant, even if he is not granted a patent. It is used to defray the expense of the careful search through the models in the patent office to see that the article is not like some similar one already covered by patent.

Copyright.-A copyright is a privilege granted to authors and designers, and it is intended to secure to them the exclusive right to their productions. Any person wish

ing to copyright a book, map, chart, or other similar article, must make application to the librarian of congress before the publication is made.

Cost. The fee for recording the application for copy. right is fifty cents, and the certificate issued to the applicant costs fifty cents. These fees must accompany the application. Two copies of the article copyrighted must be sent to the librarian of congress within ten days after its publication.

Notice. Every book or other article under copyright must contain a notice to the public in one of the following forms: Entered according to act of congress in the year in the office of the librarian of congress, at Washington, D. C.," or "Copyright, 18.., by Any person who uses either of these forms contrary to law is subject to a fine of one hundred dollars.

......"

by

......

......

Duration. A copyright secures protection to the author for twenty-eight years, and, if application is made for a renewal six months before that time expires, the copyright will be extended for fourteen years. The application for a renewal may be made by the author himself, or by his legal heirs.

Clause 9.-United States Courts.

To constitute tribunals inferior to the supreme court.

Judicial Department.-This clause is an important one, and congress, exercising the authority granted by it, has established several important courts, some of them inferior only in name to the supreme court. Owing to the relation of these courts to the supreme court, the whole subject will be discussed as the judicial branch of the gov

ernment.

Clause 10.-Crimes at Sea.

To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations.

Piracy.-Piracy is a crime committed on the high seas which is equivalent to robbery on land. Congress has passed stringent laws for the punishment of piracy, and as other civilized nations have taken similar action, this crime is now of rare occurrence.

Low Water Mark..—The jurisdiction of a state bordering on the ocean extends to low water mark, but the nation has control of oceanic waters for a distance of three miles outside of low water mark. The nation also controls the gulfs and bays that indent its coasts.

Citizens. The offenses against nations referred to here apply only to citizens of the United States. Each nation is responsible to every other nation for the acts of its citizens. The United States has been called upon to make reparation for the injuries done to citizens of other countries, and the power of our government is often invoked to protect the rights of our citizens abroad.

Clause 11.-Declaration of War.

To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water.

War.-One of the sovereign powers of a nation is that of declaring war. The United States has been engaged in two important wars with other nations, and in the great Civil War.

Declaration.-A delaration of war is a very important step for any nation to take. It is a formal proclamation to the world that war is about to begin, and war is always dreadful.