The Express.
London, England, 1862-11-12 00:00:00

POST OFFICE ROBBERIES.

It is very satisfactory to find that the recent
alteration in the system of the General Post-office relative
to the registration of letters, and the reduction on the
amount of the fee charged for regiatenng them, hu been
found to work mast satisfactorily in one respect, namely,
by most materially reducing, if not altogether anuihilating
the offence of stealing post letters containing money or
valuables. This crime was formerly carried on to • very
groat extent, and hardly any session of the Central
Criminal Court took place and the same observe.
tion applied to the assizes—without five or six postmen
being charged with stealing letters that were en•
trusted to than to deliver, or which they
purloined during the process of sorting. Those
cues where detection took place did not by any means re-
present the total extent of the crime, as complaints were
continually made to the head-office of the loss of letters
containing money and valuable property, but the circum-
stances. were such A. to afford no clue to the detection of
the guilty party. The cases where detection took place
were always of a very painful character, as it is known that
the Post-office suthonties are very strict in making in-
quiries relating to the persons whom they take into
their service, and many of the unfortunate post-
men who could not resist the temptation of
purloining a letter given to them to deliver,
which contained money or other valuables, were
persons who up to that time had borne a most
unimpeachable character, and the sentence of penal servi•
tuck which the judges felt it invariably to be their duty to
per upon them wu attended not only with ruin to them-
selves but to every one connected with them, and the Rev.
Mr. Davis, the chaplain of Newgate, and the other
officials of that prison, have frequently, in their reports,
stated that these are the most painful description of cues
that come under their notice. Various schemes were
adopted with • view to put a stop to the crime, but the
mode that was usually carried out was by making ass of
what is called a " test" letter, addressed to a fictitious
person in the district from whence complaints of the loss
of letters containing money had been made. The
effect of this proceeding, however, was merely to detect the
guilty party ; but, although the postman was perfectly aware
that such means were employed to discover those who were
guilty of a breach of trust, it did not appear to have any
effect in deterring them from committing the crime, and
they trusted to the chance of being able to destroy the letter
and get rid of the coin contained in it before soy inquiry
should he made. The crime, therefore, instead of diminish-
ing, was undoubtedly on the increase. The recent regulation,
however, appears to have almost completely put a stop to
the offence, and it operates in the following meatier.
The public are aware that the fee for registering
letters containing money or valuables was formerly sae
shilling, but by the new regulation that fee is reduced to
fourpenoe, sad all persona sending money or other property
in a letter are cautioned as to the necessity of montane% it.
In addition to this the Peet-office authorities have the power
in all cases where a non-registered letter evidently contains
coin to register it themselves, and the party to whom it Is
addressed is required to pay a double registration fee
of eigbtpence before the letter is delivered. It is
well that this fact should be generally known, as
the new regulation undoubtedly tends greatly to
the protection of property passing through the
Post-office, as, in the very few instances where •
Posteoffice money order cannot be obtained, • letter
can always be registered, and the temptation to dis-
honesty formerly afforded to the servanta of the Poet-
office is almost entirely abolished. Persons who have been
in the habit of aenditg small sums of money is letters
would also do well not to forget the effect of this alteration,
as instances have occurred in which a small unmet, such as
a shilling, has been sent in a letter, and the Post-office
authorities, of course, Dot being aware whether it was a
shilling or a sovereign, have themselves registered it ; and
the person receiving the letter has been compelled to pay
eizhtpence of the amount as the double registration fee.
The effect of the new regulation must, however, soon
become generally known, and there is no doubt that it will
be found to work most advantageously as regards the sup-
pression of this peculiar description of crime.

KITCHENS FOR THE PEOPLE IN LANcASHIRE.—
Mrs. Eason Wilkinson, who is actively exerting herself in
establishing " kitchens for the people" in the distressed dis-
tricts, by received the following letter from Mr. Potter,
M.P.:—" Pitnacree, Dunkeld, Nov. I.—My dear Mrs.
Wilkinson, I must apologise for not answering your noto
sooner, it having been forwarded to me from Manchester to
Scotland, and thus occasioned some delay. I fully ',we.
thise with you in the efforts you are making to take advan-
tage of the present deplorable state of things in the cotton
manufacturing districts, to instruct the female portion of
our suffering working people in domestic economy. lam
satisfied that it may be made the nucleus of much future
good, and by encouraging thrifty and frugal habits in the
wives and daughters of our artisans, it may be the means of
avoiding great waste in times of prosperity, and much need-
less suffering in a period of adversity. I feel the deepest
sympathy for the sufferings of the working classes at this
time, and I hope your plan may mitigate peewit distress as
well as prove a permanent good. I shall be glad to sub-
seribe 1001., either to be paid at once or by instalments, and
I wish every success to your enterprise.—Youn, ke.,
THOMAS BATLEY Porreg."
- Gentlemen who require good and fashionable
Drees can depend on the best materials and latest style (of whle.h
.• ansseinien_yarments are kept for inspection or sate). et Hamil-
ton and Klmpton a, 103, Strand, °poodle' Rester HalL—(Advse,
threat.)