Some Personal Recollections of Victoria. 325 



be grateful," the Dominion authorities said, and Victoria took it, 

 but whether she was grateful I have my doubts, for, mind you, 

 there were no postmen, not a single one, and one had to go to the 

 one office to get one's letters. So long as there was only one mail 

 in every ten days this was no hardship, but Victoria continued 

 postmanless for eight or ten years after a daily mail had been 

 established, first via the Northern then by the C.P.R. Another 

 and perhaps even more singular fact about that post-office was that 

 it was the last place to go to if you wanted postage stamps. On 

 inquiry you were informed that the Dominion postal regulations 

 prohibited the sale of stamps by the post-office officials ! " Go to 

 the barber opposite, or to So-and-so's whiskey saloon, or to Mr. 

 Hibben's book-store 'cross the street, you can get them there," 

 was the invariable reply one received, and go across one had if 

 one wanted to save one's friend the treble fine on an unprepaid 

 letter. But no, there I am wrong ; if the letter was destined for 

 the United States, and it was insufficiently stamped, the 

 Government was good enough to save your friend that fine by 

 simply burning the letter. Incredible as it sounds, this is an 

 absolute fact, which to discover cost me dearly. 



The Government having broken faith with me in relation to my 

 concessions, I had commenced a Petition of Right against the 

 Crown. There was only one really " live " lawyer then practising 

 in Victoria, and him I had retained by a soodols. fee. Other 

 business of importance obliged me about that time to run over 

 to London, making a stay of some days in New York. While 

 there my lawyer forwarded to me certain documents on which my 

 cases largely rested. His clerk stupidly put a one cent stamp 

 too little upon the letter and also omitted to register it. The 

 letter never reached me, and on making further inquiries by 

 cable, I received a notice that such a letter was held by the Dead 

 Letter Department in Ottawa,* and that it would be forwarded on 



* There was then only one Dead Letter Office in the whole of Canada, viz., 

 at Ottawa. 



