The Sun.
London, England, 1839-11-02 00:00:00

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LONDON:
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1839.

The immense interest which the Post-office ques-
tion still excites in the country is equally plain
from the number of communications made both to
the Government and the newspapers. The provin-
cial journals, as well as the weekly and monthly
journals of the metropolis, contain numerous plans
anti hints to carry into effect the uniform system.
Among others, we see a very good practical article
in the Polytechnic Journal for the month, a por-
tion of which we shall quote on a future occasion.
It disposes of some of the Quarterly Reviewer's ob-
jections of detail, as we have already shown the in-
accuracy of that journal's objections on principle.
For the ultimate welfare of the nation, in order to
heal it of silly prejudices, we desire nothing better
than to see the Tories display on all subjects, whe-
ther it. be facilitating the carrying of letters, or ex-
tending the franchise, a morbid horror of improve-
ment, which stamps them as the enemies of that
progress which nature has decreed for society.
We have already published the suggestions
which Mr. COOPER, who appears to be" a Post-
office man, has thrown out in his pamphlet ; arid we
now publish a letter from him on the same subject.
It replies to some remarks which we appended to the
extract we gave from his pamphlet, and ridicules a
suggestion we threw out as unworthy of notice.
We had heard before a similar objection to the wholc
plan of pre-payment. When you find, it was said,
a great number of letters put daily into the Post•
office wrongly directed, imperfectly directed, and
without any direction at all, though many of them
contain money, it is impossible to rely on the dis-
cretion of the people, and you must adapt your
plans accordingly to their ignorance and negligence.
To us this appears a wrong principle ; and we no-
tice Mr. COOPER'S letter the more willingly, as it
enables us to state the principle which ought, we
think, to guide the Legislature.
When laws are made on the presumption that
the people are ignorant and have contracted bad
habits, the consequence is, that ignorance is gene-
rated and evil habits encouraged, if not created.
Instead of making the law with a view to the igno-
rance and to the slovenliness of the people, the laws
should be made with a view to their improvement.
Instead of acquiescing in evil they should enforce,
if posible, better methods. Mr. COOPER says, let-
ters are posted by children, persons who cannot read
and who do not know East from West, or North from
South. That is true in some cases, but those case:-
foim the exceptions to the general rule, and the laws
should be framed on the general rule and circuin..
stances of society, not exclusively on the exceptions
and peculiarities of individuals. If the public are not
to be made instrumental in sorting the letters by au
easily arranged mechanical contrivance, because
children and ignorant servants are sometimes sent
to the Post-office with letters, the result will be,
that the public will be put to an unnecessary ex-
pense, and time will be wasted, in order to protect a
few ignorant or slovenly people from the conse-
quences of their own conduct. To cure bad habits
people must be convinced that they are bad, and the
wit of man has not yet discovered any method so
efficacious as the natural method of allowing the
consequences of the habit to be felt. Why should
the Legislature make a law to perpetuate ignorance
and slovenliness ? The plan of making the public
sort their own letters by a mechanical contrivance,
in the disposition of boxes for their reception, may
be impracticable, but as the arguments of Mr.
COOPER only proceed on the ignorance and ne-
gligence of a few individuals, which ought to be
cured not fostered, we do not admit their validity.