The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-05-20 00:00:00

gitonqriby Oscrt)cr.

SATURDAY, MAY 20, 1871.

THE
PROPOSED POSTAL REGULATIONS.

We have reason to believe that the Postums-
ter•General has still under consideration the pro- ,
priety of modifying the postal regulations, which ,
he some time since formally announced, am' cer-
tainly some of these regulations require modifi-
cation badly enough. The new scale with re-
gard to money orders, in some respects would be
an improvement on the existing system, but in
other respects the public would be worse off than
before. For example, under the old plan a
Post-office order for £2 would cost 3d only, but
under the new system it would cost 4d. At pre.
sent to sand .£5 costs fist for the order, but
under the new regulations it still cost 7d.
Whether the proposed regulations have the ad-
vantage of comparative cheapness in relation to
those which exist, may seriously be questioned,
but it cannot be determined, as so much depends
on the amouats which individuals may Intro to
transmit. It way so happen that an individual
may gain by the new plan, or he may lose by it;
but if this be the case the boon, which Mr. Mon-
sell offers to the public, cannot be a very decided
one. What the public was a general reduction
in the rate of money orders, on some definite
and easily understood plan. We think there
should be but three rates, thus; under fl, a
penny ; above £1 and under .£5, 2d. ; between
£5 au £l.O, 3d. This would be easy to under-
stand and remember, and would probably be
found, in the long run, to benefit the Post office
revenue. At all events the Postmaster-General's
scheme of money orders is very little better, if
any better, than the existing system, and eer-
taiuls does nst meet the public requiremeats.
We trust he will see fit to reconsider his pro-
posals and bring them more into harmony with
irnat the public reasonably demands.
But another part of the proposed alterations
is so utterly opposed to the public conveniencs
that we cannot understsnd how Mr. Monsell
could even have entertained the idea. He has
issued an ukase that after the end of June post-
masters throughout the country shall not be al-
lotsed to purchase postage stamps of the public.
The existing regulation, as is well-know, is that
any one can take stamps to a post-office and sell
them at a reduction of 2f per cent. We believe
no one can demaud money for them at this rate,
but practically there is no dillioulty about it,
and postage stamps are thus largely sold to the
Government at a profit. The convenience of
this system to the public is so vast that it will
never be fully appreciated till it is abol.shed, and
we sincerely hope that will not be. The amount
of money transini.ted, in small amounts, in post
age stamps, must be immense. Take as an le-
st ince tile publication of a pamphlett or salmi,
I) oil; at rid ..• post free, sewed .sta.ops." Mil-
ipais of books are sold in this way ; and the
same thing applies to music, to patent medi-
cines, to newspapers, to advertisements', and in
fact to an hemmer) number of articles which are
daily advertised and which are bought and sold
through tho post. And then postage-stamps af-
ford a convenient means of transmitting small
sums in payment of debts, and they are readily
taken because every one knows that shon'il
stamps accumulate, they can readily be cashed
at the post-office. But take away this facility of
cashing her Majesty's r(wi e.ffigiis, when we got
too many of them, and hundreds, nay thousands
of large and small firms will be most seriously
inconvenienced, and infect will safer consider-
ably in their business transaations—to an extent
which Mr. Monsell apparently had no idea of.
The privilege of selling s`auips at the p ati.of-
fiees is not only a grett c. nvenience to those
houses of business that Cr,in the haisit of re-
ceiving them, but is equaily convenient to the
public, because if this privilege is abolished this
easy mode of purchasing and paying for small
articles through the post will ha abolished also.
The excuse which Mr. Monsell offered, when
bringing forward this proposal for abolishing a
privilege was, that it, would remove the tempta-
tion to steal stamps from letters, ant there cer-
tainly is something in the argument; but this
argunient is not sJ pow-I.:all as the considera-
tion of the public convenience. We hope, there-
fore, that this Postmaster General will reconsides
his proposal, or that the House of Commons will
decline to sanction it if be adhmes to it. Cer-
tain we are that should this most undesirable
change he in tile it will tot last long. Had the
the public waver poss.assed the privilege *hat Mr.
Monsell proaosss to Wield I'ATI mrs might never
hare fully appreciated it; but having had it and
known its value, its abolition wonld become a
scrim's gri..vance.