The Express.
London, England, 1861-09-03 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS , TUESDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 3, 1861.

some time in his life, heard • friend remark on his
luck in his seal being known at the Post-office, as
it had canned a letter to be returned to him which
he had forgotten to address? Which of us may not
have laid out an unaddressed or unfastened letter
to go to the Post, so that it would have gone
in, but for its having caught somebody's eye?
Klettn thousand persons may be conceived to
have done the same thing in the course of twelve
months, even if no absent man had played the
same trick several times over. In the same way,
is there any one of us who has never known any
hasty, or inexperienced, or silly person clap •
banknote entire into a letter, without taking any
particular pains about folding it, or seeing that the
envelope was securely fastened! Hero, an in-
dolent woman, for whom everything has always
been made to go right, sends off • banknote entire,
without troubling herself to read the number or
date, or to give notice, or ask an acknowledgment
from her correspondent. Weeks afterwards she
discov. is that the letter was never received. She
can give 110 particulars ; and nothing can be done.
A 4ain, a hardworking governess saves and saves,
till she can spare 51. to some struggling
brother or sister. She sends off• her bank-
note in the same way ; and finds she might
as well have put it into the lire.
Have we not heard of birthday gifts of rings and
brooches announced in letters which have arrived
with a hole in the envelope—an envelope so
flimsy as to debar complaint ? Have we not seen
packets arrive, of taco or other valuable things,
bursting open, or tied and secured with Post-office
twine and red wax t If each of us has known one
such case, where is the wonder at the annual
amount? As for the continuanc, of the mischief,
do we not all know that the careless senders of
valuables are inexhaustible in their objections
to preidutiou ? Theis is no use in taking the
number of a banknote, because somebody once
failed to recover one. There is no use in sending
I half-notes, because somebody once got odd ones,
and had much trouble in setting the matter straight.
There is no use in registering •valuable letter, be-
cause the Post-office is not legally bound to
make up the loss. This these a iseacres reject
prudent methods which they fancy may have failed
once in ten thousand time, and use an impru-
dent one, which is more likely to fail than not. It
is hard for them to find reasons for evading the
money-order plan ; but, when reasons are want-
Mg, whims must serve the turn. Do we not, some
of us, know persons who say they never could
fancy that way of sending money ? They don't
understand it or they don't believe in it ; or it is
more troublesome than thrusting your note or
sovereign into your letter. So people go on ;so
they talk ; and while they do, the sore evil of these
Post-office thefts will 4o on.
We must remember how difficult it is to induce
a considerable mass of society to take any inte•
rest whatever in public events, or social arrange-
ments on • large scale. The same people who
pride themselves on " knowing nothing of poll-
" tics " are exactly those who aro vain of their
innocence about the Post-office system. There were
families, people who thought themselves superior
and literary, who had not discovered, at the end
of two years, that the red and blue stamps wore
not of the same value. When asked why they
supposed there were red and blue for the same
purpose, they said they had never thought
about it. Others of the sane sort wondered
at their neighbours for troubling them-
selves about the weight of their letters, saying
it was the business of the Post-office to look to
all that. Others, to save themselves the trouble
of providing the stamps, dropped as many pennies
as letters into the slit at the Post-office, and called
it a cheat when their correspondents were charged
two-pence per letter. Plenty of such people are
still resisting the request to set up • letter box on
their door, and to put on their London letters the
initials of the districts. They have no notion of
doing any of the work of the Post-office ; and so
forth. All this is very silly and very ignorant.
But there are, and always will be, such people ;
and the question is how they can be made least
mischievous.

The sin of sending money and valuables care-
lardy by poet is so especially injurious to society,
that every one of us should feel called upon to do
what he can to check it. A very large proportion
of the instances may arise from the ignorance of
uneducated persons. Cannot we look to that, and
each of us make some of our poor neighbours
understand ? Every head of a household can
prevent the mischief under his own roof. Perhaps
we can make some of our acquaintance ashamed
of their indifference and ignorance. If anything
can have that effect it must be the information of
the number of men—sons, husbands, and fathers
—who are every year disgraced and ruined, be-
cause some besetting weakness, or some ill-timed
temptation conquered them, through the wilful
carelessness of those who should have known their
social duty better.

LO& oF LIFE ON THE NORTH-LONDON

RAILWAY.

Before the inquiry into the accident on the
Brighton Railway is concluded, we are called to
record another fearful casualty, resulting in the
beis of ten lives, and in much personal injury, on
one of our most familiar metropolitan lines.
It will be seen by the detailed report iu soo-
ther column that the North-London Railway
has been the scene of a frightful collision.
Again it is an excursion train that carrier the
unhappy passengers to death, and again it is the
engine-driver's want of information of the state of
the road which permits him to speed his train on to
destruction. The circumstances of the collision, oc-
curring, as it did, on the top of an embankment, and
resulting in the overthrow of several carriages, are
very dreadful. It would he premature to offer
opinions in the present 'date of our information,
and on the eve of the coroner's inquest. Mean-
while, we may be thankful that the train into which
this one ran carried ballast instead of passengers.

SEUREE FOREETza's FETE AT THE CITETAL
PALACE.—YestErky a grand demonstration of the FOreetefs
Coots In the South London district., in aid of the widow
sad orphan's fund, took place at the Crystal Palace, and
set with extraordinary suoora. The weather being
fine the grounds filled rapidly. The outdoor amuse-
ments consisted of archery, ride practice, • pair-
oared boat race, and other matches on the lake. a tub
race, and duck bunt, cricket, quoits, Sc. At 1 o'clock a
grand promotion was formed of the members belonging to
2.305 Courts of the South Loudon District, with banners,
regalia, sod decorations, the whole preceded by the
Forster' band, immediately followed by the Foresters'
Rifts Corps, moat of the brotherhood wearing the recognised
cottons of the order.

The accounts from the wine producing districts
are satidactory. In many vineyards the vines afford a pros-
pact of an abundant vintage. Should the weather contisue
to favour t►eir maturity the quality of the wine of this year
will be first.rate. Amounts from Nuts state that the wo-
rse. of the vines to maturity is most mtisfactory. Should the
lamest fine weather coati num tbe vintage will commence there
from the 10th to the 15th of September. In other districts
the owners of vineyards complain that the produce will be
dimini.bed from a quarter to a fifth by the iirewive hest.
A rise has, consequently, t►ken place in the price of wine.

gtot erourt.

BALMORAL, AUGUST 31.

The royal yacht Victoria and Albert arrived
in Holyhead Harbour at half-past eight o'clock yesterday
morning.

Lieutenant-General Sir G. Wethersll, K.C.S., condo:rod:
in; the Northern District, sad Hear-Admiral Erskine, paid
their respects to her Majesty.
The Hoe. Owen Stanley likewise came on board of the
Victoria and Albert to place his carriage and horses at her
Majesty's diapinwl.
The Prance Consort and Prince Alfred, with Earl f:ntn•
rill; and t'olooel the Hon. Sir C. Phipps, K.C.8., went at
eleven o'clock by special train to CArnarvon, and Aided the
ancient cantle. From thence their royal highnesses
drove to lieddgelert, returning to the yacht by a quArter past
six o'clock.

In the &Remote' the (piece, with the Prim:muses Alice
and Helena, attendod by Lady Churchill, the Hon. Victoria
Stuart Wortley, Vinount Sydney, Lieutenant-Creams! the
Hoe. C. Grey, Dr. deeper, and the Hon. 0. Stanley, drove
to the Stack Lighthouse.
In the eveaing Earl Granville, Viscount Sydney, Rear.
Admiral Enkine, Lieuteuant.Geceral Sir O. Wetherell,
K.C.B, the Hon. 0. Stanley, Captain the H0n..1. Ikenen,
and Captain Christian, together with the Ladies and Can.
Hereon of the Household, had the honour of joining the
Royal dinner party.
At nine o'clock, her Majesty and the Prince Consort, the
Princes Alice, Priecem Ilekna, and Prince Alfred, attended
by Lady Churchill, the Hon. Victoria. Stuart Wortley, Miss
Hildyanl, Lieutenant-General Chu lion. C they, Colonel
the Hoc. Sir C. Phipps., and Dr. dormer, landed front the
yacht., and entered the railway rarriagra
A Haan( of Honour of t►e let Royals was drawn up upon
the Pier at Holyhead.
The train mintediately started rot rout. for Abnyne, from
which place her Majosty continued the journey in carriages
1, Balmoral, where bar Majesty arrived at three o'clock.
The Prince of Wales, having nearly completed Lie course
of military instruction at the camp at the Curragh, will
shortly proceed to the Coetinent, to be present at the
Prussian reviews on the Rhine, and after paying a short
visit to the Crown Princess of Prussia, he will join his royal
parrots for a few days at Balmoral. previous to his return-
ing to Cambridge.

Her Majesty's Commissioners for the International Ex-
hibition of Pea have rooently received official notification
of the appointment of the following gentlemen to act an

C 01311111.1.10001,1 is Louden for the several oulonies named—
New South Wales, Edward Hamilton, Faq. ; Queeushiedi
M. H. Marsh, Faq., M.P.„%lfred lknison, Esq.,and Arthur
Redraw, Faq. ; South Australia, G.S. Walters, Esq., agent
general, and Alex. Laing Elder, Esq. ; Western Australia,
Alex. Aedrews, Earl. ; Tasmania, Fred. A. Du Crux, Faq.,
Joseph Milligan, Faq., and James A. Youl, Esq. ; Ceylon,
ltawdon Puwis, Eaq. ; British Guiana, Joseph T. Gil.
hart, Faq., aml Sir W. H. Holmes; St. Helena, N. Solomon,
; Hong-Kong, Patrick Campbell, Faq. For mince!.
lemons foreign countries :—Hawaiian Islands, Manley Hop-
kins, Eq. ; Liberia, Gerard Ralston, Faq.
Her Majesty's Commisaiouer+ for the International Milli.
bitios of letti2 have received a notification from the Wur-
temburg Camnissioners to the effect that Professor Leon;
Levi, of 10, Fenn-buildings, Temple, 8.C., has been
appointed their agent in London.
Despatches were received yesterday at the Culoniabuffice
from the Governor+ of the North American Provinces, the
Falkland Islands, Vancouver's bland, Ceylon, and Hong.
Kong.

to. A guard of honour, under Captain Bond, was also in
attendance.

Carriages being in readiness, the royal party drove off
without delay, slight rain falling at the time. Ere Renate:
was reached, however, the weather cleared up, and her Ma•
jesty was pleased to throw the carriage open and acknow-
ledge the cheers of the residents, native and imported, of
this favourite watering and summer holidaying village.

The royal journey terminated at ten minutes to three,
13ahnoral Caatlo being reached at that hour. Her Majesty
was received at the Highland Palace by Dr. Robertson, of
Indego, who, with other gentlemen, was in waiting. The
upper strath of Doe was n.•ver looking better. The crops
are plentiful, and falling fast under the sickle of the I.ns.
bandmim. In the immediate vicinity of the Castle lir!
Irene it particularly 'pleasing, and everything betokens a
satisfactory holiday for the court.