THE FARMER'S WAR AGAINST MONOPOLIES. 493 



of supplying officers of the Post-Office and their friends 

 with articles of all kinds, both for domestic consump- 

 tion and general use, at the lowest wholesale prices. 



" ' The advantages of the scheme are obvious, but its 

 full benefits can best be secured by a general combi- 

 nation in support of it on the part of the officers of the 

 various departments. 



" l It is intended that the articles mentioned in the 

 accompanying price-list shall be purchased by the com- 

 mittee and distributed among the members. Arrange- 

 ments for the supply of all other articles have been 

 entered into with the firms named in the accompanying 

 list.' 



" Even when the Association was fairly started, and 

 carrying on its business on its own premises, the com- 

 mittee did not venture to order any goods without 

 ascertaining from the members what quantity of each 

 article was needed. The business soon outgrew the 

 room in Bridgewater-square, and the committee in a 

 fit of extraordinary daring, engaged from a printer the 

 upper floor of a small house in Bath street, on the 

 ground floor of which the worthy typographer carried 

 on his own business. The memorable house wherein 

 the third store (counting the original cupboard) was 

 carried on, has long since been pulled down to make 

 way for the new Post-Office buildings, but those who 

 went there to cooperate in those early days must have 

 a vivid recollection of the narrow staircase, where one 

 was elbowed by printer's devils, and of the dark little 

 rooms crowded with purchasers. Here, however, we 

 stayed but a short time, the business growing so rapidly 

 that within a very few months the committee had 

 ^.gain to seek larger premises, and this time, after mak- 



