The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-10-11 00:00:00

make their Report the vehicle of disrespectful reflections
on the Board as uttered by a subordinate officer; and this
was still less justifiable, after having themselves stated
that the above Correspondence " had been laid before
them," which alone should have induerd them rather to
have repelled these undeserved imputations on the Board,
than to have recorded them. That Correspondence mani-
fests throughout that the measure was not only well con-
sidered, but weighed with a view to the r.dnoval of every
oliji ction that might be made to it ; and that so far from
its .
b, mg adopted " without a sufficient attention to local
circumstances," It arose wholly out of local circumstances;
it was exclusively adopted for local conveniences, and ori-
ginated in views of local expediency. Their Report thus
proceeds—
'''' In the Sale Office stamps are sold to the amount of 130,0001.
per annum ; and if two individuals were known to profit from the
'ale of stamp., and, by receiving a pound ige, were enabled to give
a bonus fiw dealing with men of business, it was more than pro.
' bible that by far the greatest eropartion of these sales would be
made at their office."

But on what principle of fairness can these Commissioners
of !equity justify the thus throwing out an insinuation, for
which they must have known that there w.ts not the most
remote foundation? If had been the slightest reason
to suspect that any such hones had been given, there would
not have been any difficulty in proving the fact. I remark
this, because I mean professedly to call your Lordships' at-
tention to the spirit in which this measure is opposed. And
while I am un this topic, I will jest pause to recall to the
recollection ofpo' your Lordships the favourable representation
that is given, throughout both this and the former Report—
as to Mr. Bremner department—of the character and ma-
nagement of the persona acting under the present system ;
but no s toner does any measure of the Boa no come to be con-
sidered, than it is found to be unfit and ill-advised. It was
endeavoured to be shown, that the delay in the delivery
of Mr. Bremner's bills was imputable to the Board.—
Whew power is withdrawn from Mr. Bremner of institut-
ing prosecutions without the Board's knowlolge and con-
curreece, the regulation is represent. 11 as being injudicious,
and it is recommended that this power be motored. When
the Beard. with the approbation of the Treasury, appointed
a separate Solicitor to the Legacy department, the Coinntis-
sioners of Ingeiry, notwithstanding its return of duty bar.
increased fourfold, recommended that this appointment be
set aside, and the two offices again consoiidated. The
Beard had suspended Mr. Bremner with a view to his re-
tnoval from office ; but Messrs. Sykes and Forbes are so
well satisfied with his management as to recommend that
he should have either an increase of his former salary or
an extra remuneration for his services. Si.. likewise, with
the present appointment, which was adopted, not only for
the accommodation of the public of E linburgh, but to put
an end to elitists which were very generally complained of,
the Commissioners find nothing that could have called for
their adoption, or that can require their continurnice.
I shall now proceed to observe upon the objections, in the
order in which they were made.
" We beg leave to report, that it appears to us, if the two dis.
tribitors are to be appointed for the supply of Edinburgh, that it
would he better to abolish V • Sole Office, with its establishment
of Clerks, the business of which would be prodigiously reduced,
and, so far as the supply of Edinburgh is concerned, quite un-
nreciatrov ; but, after bud ling an office, and furnishing it with a
Sale Office, it certainly will not be desirable to supersede the use
of it for such an establishment as has been commenced experiment-
ally for a year,unkets the advantages to the public are very great."
That the increased facility given by these appointments
to the procuring of Stamps is a great accommodation to the
public of Edinburgh is here sufficiently proved by the
extent to which they avail themselves of it. Now, if, in
addition to this, a reduction, as it appears, may be thereby.,
effected in the number of clerks in the Sale Office, it is so
much the more in its favour. As to the abolition of the
Sale Office, it does not necessarily follow that that would
he expedient, since it might still continue the sale of
Stamps, by which, all who live in the neighbourhood of
Leith-walk, and adjacent to the new Stamp Office, would
have equally the benefit of a supply of Stamps at band.
" Again, we do not approve of the (lead Distributor being re-
lieved from the responsibility of any sub-distributor, whether in
Edinburgh or in any other part of Scotland. Mr. Ilepbume
shoal be left with the responsibility of accounting for every
farthing of Revenue derived from the sale of stamps in Scotland.
and we doubt the expediency of any appoiuttnent which relieves
him from this responsibility."
This ground of objection is peculiarly inapplicable to
the appointments in qui scion, as Mr. Ilepburne is not re-
sponsible for stamps sold at the Sale Office, the Distributor
for Edinburgh and Leith having a distinct appointment
from the Board, pennant to a Treasury Warrant. The
Report thus proceeds
" Nor can we conceive, that If no inconveMence was found, as to
the accommodation of the inhabitantsof the New Town with stamps,
when the Office was in the Old Town. that it can be necessary to
have a Sub-distributor in the New Teen, since the office Is re-
removed to the New Town."
If no inconvenience were found, then certainly this rea-
soning might be true ; the fact is, however, that great in-
convenience was found, but it was submitted to be of ne-
cessity, for there was no avoiding it. The accommodation
speaks for itself. No person wanting a stamp would will-
ingly go a mile for it, if it can be got within a hundred
vault ; but, if it cannot, why, he must go a mile for it.
11: fore the new Post-cffice was built there was no receiving
house, but it was found that such an accommodation was
necessary, and the advantage of it was obvious. The Com-
missioners, moreover, forget, that from Mr. Hatton and
Mr. Cameron stamps may be bad at all hours, whereas, at
the head office, they cannot be obtained after three o'clock,
nor on a Saturday after twelve.
" For men of business residing in the New Town, we think the
New Office peculiarly well situated, being between the General
Post Office on the one hand, and the Register Office on the other,
and within a few yards of both. To the one, men of business must
be daily sending clerks with letters, and in the other are kept all the
proceedings going on in Law C quits, and the various registers in
which deeds are recorded, and through means of which executions,
or, as they are termed, diligence is raised, by which means there is a
constant resort of men of business and their clerks to the Register
Office."

lam perfectly well acquainted with Edinburgh, and it
is a fact well known to every professional person there that
very little business is done in the Register Office during
the early part of the day. Professional men and their prin-
cipal clerks are invariably in the practice of attending the
Parliament House during the forenoon, and it is not until
the evening that they apply (if they have occasion) at the
Register Office. iVith respect to the Post Office, the mails
are not despatched from Edinburgh until after seven o'clock
in the evening, with the exception of the Carlisle Mail,
which, however, does not close till five ; were professional
and mercantile men, therefore, induced to purchase stamps
at the time they may be sending to the Post and Register
Offices, they could not procure them, as the Stamp Office
close's at three o'clock, and is therefore shut at the time
they have occasion to send in that direction. The neces-
sity, therefore, of these centrical appointments, where
stamps may be had at any hour, is not in any manner su-
perseded by what is here urged as to the situation of the
new Stamp Office.
The objection next urged is the situation of the respec-
tive residences of Messrs. Hatton and Cameron.
" When It is considered that Mr. Hatton's shop is situated in a
continuation of the same street with the Stamp Office, and within
about half a mile of it, we ronceiVe, that even if additional facilities
for the sale of stamps are thought advisable, this would not be con-
sidered as the beat situation.
" With regard to Mr. Cameron'. shoe, which is situated in
Bank-street, we think that it also is not well adapted for the supply
of the Old Town. Its local situation is in that part of the Old
Town which is situated nearest the New Town."
But if the situations of both these persons are so ineligi-
ble, how can it be accounted for that the resort to them
has been so great, and the sale of stamps so considerable,
that the Commisaioners of Inquiry, just before, express it
as their opinion, " that it would be better to abolish the
Sale Office, with its establishment of Clerks; but that
after building a new office, and furnishing it with a Sale
Office, it certainly would not be desirable to supersede the
use of it ?" Surely, nothing can evince more strongly than
this the convenience of both places, or more completely
refute any objection to these appointments drawn from
the local station of the persons appointed.
" It is oar opinion, that some additional accommodation may be
easily given to the public for the sale of sumps; and we beg to sub-
mit two modes for consideration. either of which, we thins, will an-
swer better than the two experimental appointments."
The first plan proposed is,
" That a branch or the Sale Office should be opened in Hunter's.
square far the accommodation of the Old Town, and that both this
new Sale Office, and the present Sale Office, should be opened an
hour in the evening, and should be kept open! an additional hour
on Saturday afternoon."
Of this plan the Commissioners state that—
" The only expense would be the rent of a shop, and the salary