I'OST-OFFK'K 



hould be omitted in future contracts, and the 

 committee'* views in this matter weie then given 

 effect to. The mail-packet contract hu-ineMi re- 

 mained in the hands cif i!n- Admiralty till tin' l-i 

 April 1860, when tin- whole management was taken 

 over by the (tout -office. In order to establish rapid- 

 ity and regularity of service, it has IM-CII necessary 

 from time to time to grant vast subsidies to the 

 mail packet contiacloi*. in those cases where tin- 

 -ncies of tr.-ule had not swiired these condi- 

 tion*: hut the growth of coiniiierce and greater 

 competition have enaliled the post "Hire in man\ 

 cases to obtain easier terms. At the close of the 

 17th century a mail-packet was a vessel of some 

 85 tons, and in the last years of the 18th century 

 a mail-packet on the Falmouth station, reckoned 

 fit to proceed to any part of the world. WOK one of 

 about 179 tons. The JM. !,.-!- at this time sailing 

 to and from the Continent were of ahout 70 tons 

 burthen. About 1840 packet* performing tin- 

 American service were vessels of niMiiit 400 or 500 

 tons burthen. Steam vessels were limt emploved 

 in the packet service in IvJI. since which time 

 vast strides have lieen made lioth in the speed 

 and carrying capacity of these ships. The British 

 mail-packets are to be seen in almost every sea on 

 the glol>. For the Atlantic service steamers of 

 from 7000 to 10,000 tons are employed, making the 

 tranxit from chore to shore in six days. So hue as 

 182!) the time allowed for a packet trip to and 

 from America was 10."> days. The contract services 

 at home are very numerous, and those to foreign 

 stations arealmo-i co extensive with the high seas. 

 In the year 1889-90 the total payment made by 

 the post-office for packet services was 665,. - f7">, 

 full details of which will be found in the post- 

 master-general's annual report. 



Rota and Regulation*. In the scope of an 

 article like this it is impossible to review the past 

 rates of postage and changes of regulations that 

 have taken place from time to time. The con- 

 ditions applicable to the business in relation to the 

 public will lie found fully set forth in the Post 

 otlice Ciiide, which may he consulted at any post- 

 office, and to which the reader is referred. 



Stuff. The highest authority in the post-office 

 is the postmaster general. This ullicial Is a mem- 

 ber of the government, a privy-councillor, and 

 sometimes a cabinet minister. All important 

 measures of administration, ap|>ointmenta of officers, 

 and dismissals are passed under the authority of 

 the postmaster-general in the form of minutes. 

 The chief |>ermanent ollicials are : the secretary, 

 a financial secretary, four other secretaries in 

 London, a surveyor-general in Scotland, and a 

 secretary in Ireland. The several secretaries under 

 the first secretary take charge of separate branches 

 of |M>st oflice business. Another important officer 

 is the receiver and accountant general. This 

 oflicer is responsible for the whole vast accounting 

 work of the post-office, the collection of its revenue, 

 and tin; ili- 1 1 Unit ion of its expenditure. He has 

 no power, however, except by effecting economies of 

 work or reforms of method, to reduce the latter or 

 to increase the former. The liases of revenue and 

 expenditure are fixeil by higher authority. The 

 total niinilier of IHTSOIIS employed l>v the ]M>S( ollirc 

 ( 1890) is 1 13,550. Of these 81,004 are established 

 officers, and 52,496 nnestahlishcd and persons not 

 giving their whole time to post olliee work. The 

 total number of employees comprises 89,373 males 

 and 24,177 females. The salary of the postmaster 

 general is 2500 per annum, and of tin- chief 

 secretary a maximum of 2000. On a change of 

 government <he |x>stma><ter-general demits his 

 olli. 



Erpi<""< f "f J-r f rx. -The post-office statute of 

 Queen Anne contains a prohibition, repeated in 



subsci|iient acts, against letters being opened or 

 detained bv persiiiis in the service of the post-office, 

 cx.-cpt under a warrant from one of the prinripal 

 secretaries of state. During the 18th century 

 such warrants were often granted upon very tri ial 

 pretexts. At liislio]) Attcrhiiry's trial in 17-.'< 

 copies <if his letters, intercepted in the liost, were 

 produced as evidence against him ; and it would 

 seem that aliout 1735 a system was kept up at 

 immense expense for the examination of home and 

 foreign corres|Mindence. In I7S'-' the cone-pond 

 encc of l.ord Temple, then lord-lieutenant of 

 Ireland, was subjected to such treatment in tin- 

 post. The I'.llh century brought a change for 

 the lietter in this respect, and in 1806 I^ord Spencer 

 initialed the custom of recording the dates of all 

 warrants granted, and the grounds upon which 

 they were issued. Since 1V2-J the warrants have 

 been preserved at the Home Office; ami a House 

 of Commons return in 185.'t shows thai, in the pre- 

 ceding ten years, only six letters were detained 

 and opened four in cases of felony. When Sir 

 James Graham (q.v. ) was Home Secretary in 1844 

 a warrant was issued for the arrest and opening 

 of the letters of Mazzini, the matter contained in 

 them being conveyed to the Austrian minister. 

 This act involved the government of the day in 

 serious public obloquy, and produced a widespread, 

 though groundless, distrust in the security of the 

 ordinary correspondence of the country. It may 

 safely be held that this power of opening letters 

 in the post has been very rarely exercised in recent 

 years. 



Dead-letter, or Returned-letter Office. A depart- 

 ment of the post-office appointed to deal with 

 letters, books, newspapers, \-c. which cannot be 

 delivered to the persons to whom they are directed. 

 When a letter or other postal packet is refused at 

 the address which it bear- it is kept by the po-i 

 master, if an inland letter, &c., one day, and if a 

 colonial or foreign letter, &c., three days, lie-fore 

 being sent to the returned-letter office. Inland 

 letters are here opened, and those which contain 

 the writers' addresses are at once returned to them ; 

 while those which furnish no indication of tin- 

 addresses of the senders, and contain nothing of 

 value, are at once destroyed. Letters which bear 

 the senders' addresses on the outside, in the form 

 of medallion or otherwise, are, however, usually 

 returned without lieing opened. Foreign and 

 colonial letters, after being retained from one 

 week to one month, are returned unopened to the 

 country of origin for disposal. A register is kept 

 of letters found to contain value. In the year 

 1889-90 the following numbers of articles were 

 received in the various offices constituting this 

 department : letters, 0,31 1,1 (12 ; post -cards. S4 1,070; 

 Look packets (including circular-letters passing at 

 iKMik-post rates), 6,661,201; newspapers. 5:.I,IC."J : 

 patterns or samples, -JT.tsii; paiceK IO7.M.:!. Of 

 the letters 119,386 were reissued to corrected 

 addresses, and 5,539,551 returned to the senders, 

 while 214,839 were returned unopened to foreign 

 countries. Of the total parcels received 81,'J77 

 were either re-issued to corrected addresses or 

 returned to the senders. The returned letter 

 department hits not only principal offices in London. 

 Edinburgh, and liublin, but branch offices in the 

 other more important towns. 



Offence* i/<iin.it the Post-office. In view of 

 the vastly important services rendered, to the 

 public by the post-office, involving the imposition 

 of great responsibility upon its officers, and of 

 tin- necessity which onviously exists for the pro- 

 tection of the revenue (the conveyance of letters 

 lining a state monopoly), the legislature have 

 thought fit to pass special enactments for the 

 regulation of the one and the safeguarding of the 



