(_b._) The proceeds of the impressed stamp on newspapers is an item regarding which the claim of the Post Office to include it in the receipts is sufficiently established by reference to the fact that, though this part of the revenue is collected by another department, the sole purpose for which the stamp is now resorted to is to obtain for the newspaper the advantage of postal transmission. At the same time, it may be added, that the proceeds in question, amounting for the year 1861, to £134,571,[258] are by no means a remuneration for the service performed. Divided by the number of such newspapers conveyed (viz., about 41 millions),[259] this amount gives only four-fifths of a penny per paper; so that, as newspapers weigh on the average 2-1/2 ozs. each,[260] the rate of charge for a newspaper is less than one-seventh of that for a letter of the same weight. An argument in favour of the sufficiency, and even more than sufficiency, of the postage on newspapers to defray their postal expense, has been drawn from the fact that the railway companies actually convey them at a lower rate. But two important circumstances have to be borne in mind, 1st, that railway companies, instead of delivering the newspapers individually, merely hand them in bulk to the newspaper agents; and 2ndly, that the companies make little or no provision for conveyance to villages and hamlets, thus performing only the least expensive portion of the service, and leaving the more costly work to the Post Office. After what has been said, it must be obvious, that even when newspapers are prepaid with a postage stamp (the charge being thereby raised to a penny for each transmission[261]), the payment is too low to be remunerative. Moreover, the privilege accorded to news papers indirectly forces another loss on the department, since the difficulty of discriminating between newspapers and other printed matter has, in fact, compelled a reduction of the book postage to the same rate. So that, whereas formerly no book-parcel was carried for less than sixpence, the charge on light book-parcels is now as low as a penny. Instead, therefore, of any part of the receipts from newspapers being withheld from the Post Office, as it is alleged ought to be done, an equitable adjustment would have the effect of placing to the credit of the department something additional for the unprofitable service thus thrown upon it. _Under the head of expenditure_, the only material item regarding which a difference of view prevails, is the expense of the packet service, which expense, it is maintained by some, should be charged to the Post Office.