The Sun.
London, England, 1837-05-02 00:00:00

POST-OFFICE

The EIGHTH REPORT of the Commissioners appointed to
inquire into the management of the Post-office Depart-
ment. (Part I.)—Presented on Friday to both Houses
of Parliament by command of his Majesty.
TO THE RIGHT HON. THE LORDS COMMIS-
SIONERS OF HIS MAJESTY'S TREASURY.
FEES-SECRETARY'S OFFICE, LONDON.
My Lords,—We have directed our attention to the fees
and emoluments received by officers of the Post-office, and
proposed that this inquiry should have formed the subject
of our English Report ; but finding that the various
branches of the investigation would be likely to occupy a
considerable time, especially as regards the Colonies, we
deem it of importance that we should now submit to your
Lordships the result of our inquiries with respect to the
Secretary's office in London.
The accompanying return gives, we believe, a correct
statement of the fees and emoluments of every description
which have been received by the officers in the establish-
ment in London, during each of the three years ending 31st
December, 1835.
In the Secretary's department, fees are received on the
deputations granted to every new Postmaster in England
and Wales ; upon commissions to agents and Postmasters
abroad ; upon private expresses to and from London ; and
for the supply of intelligence to the London Press of the
state of polls at the time of a general election. A more
considerable sum is realised from the profits on the Packet
and Shipping Lists.
The whole of these emoluments form what is termed
" the Secretary's Office Consolidated Fee Fund ;" out of
which 7501. is paid annually to the revenue, and the re-
mainder is divided among a certain number of the clerks
in the Secretary's office, in the proportions stated in the
return.

We recommend to your Lordships that the fees charged
on deputations and commissions may be forthwith abolished ;
and if it is considered expedient to continue to give facility
for the transmission of private expresses, and for the receipt
of election intelligence through the post-office, we are of
opinion that any fees which are charged ought to be carried
to the public account.

PACKET AND SHIPPING LISTS.
The Packet List was established in 1799, under the au-
thority of the Postmaster-General. It contains all, the
packet intelligence received at the General Post-office by
the morning mails ; and, being published in time for distri-
bution with the letters of the same clay, the information
could not by any other means be so speedily and accurately.
conveyed to the public.
The Shipping List was established inlBol, likewise with
the authority and concurrence of the Postmaster-general.
Mr. Johns, one of the senior clerks in the secretary's
office, who Wad been for many years editor of the Shipping
List, states that it contains information respecting " the
arrivals and sailings of ships from and for foreign ports,"
and also " vessels from one English port to another."
Since the first establishment of these lists the clerks have
enjoyed the privilege of receiving information for them free
of postage. They have likewise been circulated under the
secretary's frank, and notices to subscribers, or circulars for
the public, and all other correspondence relating to them,
have been transmitted without any charge.
It has been the practice to employ the country post-
masters and the letter-carriers in London as agents, and to
allow them a gratuity for the orders they obtain, and a
per-tentage on the money collected by them.
The returns from the agents of some of the large ship-
ping houses are likewise permitted to be sent through the
post-office free. The clerks have the advantage of the in-
telligence contained in these returns from their lists, and
afterwards transmit them to the persons for whom they are
intended, who thus save the postage they would otherwise
be charged with.
Returns from the agents at Lloyd's are likewise ex-
empted from postage.
'1 he Tenth Report_of the Commissioners of Fees and
Gratuities (dated 30th June, 1788) contains the following
statement with respect to the information received from
Lloyd's :

- -
An account of the arrival and sailing of ships from all
parts is transmitted to the Postmaster-General, and sent,
immediately on the coming in of the mails, to the Master of
Lloyd's Coffeehouse, for public information, for which the
sum of 2001. is paid annually ; which sum is at present
divided equally between the Secretary and the Comptroller
of the Inland•office.
" The intelligence should be continued ; but as, from the
early delivery of the letters, the Master of the Coffeehouse
cannot avail himself so much thereof as formerly, we are of
opinion the sum of 1001. per annum only should now be paid
for such indulgence, which sum ought to go in aid of the
general fund."
In consequence of the above recommendation, the charge
made for the returns appears to have been reduced, and in
1793 it was entirely discontinued, by direction of the Post-
master-General, who stated that he considered it " of con-
sequence that these returns should come up regularly and
free, and be addressed to the Postmaster-General, without
charge to the party."
'l'lie privilege has continued on this footing since 1793,
and has, in our opinion, been of much advantage to the
shipping interests of the country ; nor do we think that any
individual has reason to complain of the existence of this
privilege, as the public have access to the whole of the in-
formation as soon as it is received. The returns are con-
fined entirely to intelligence relating to the arrivals and de-
partures of vessels, or accidents at sea, and a list is pub-
lished twice a-week embodying this information.
No undue preference is, however, given to these lists by
the subscribers or managers of Lloyd's, as every other news-
paper or periodical has an opportunity of publishing the re-
turns even before they appear in Lloyd's List.
It appears to us important that there should be some one
public establishment in the kingdom to which reference can
be made for correct and accurate intelligence, such as is
contained in the returns received from the agents to Lloyd's.
We therefore feel assured that your Lordships will be de-
sirous to continue the facilities which have been hitherto
afforded by the Post-office and other Government depart-
ments with this view, on condition that the public shall have
gratuitous and unrestricted access to the returns.
With respect to the Post-office Shipping List, we must
state to your Lordships, that we entirely disapprove of
the clerks of a department having any portion of their time
employed in managing and editing a publication of this na-
ture ; and we consider it still more objectionable that an
exclusive privilege should have been conferred upon them
of sending the publications which are unstamped postage
free, and of receiving and transmitting their returns and
correspondence in the same manner. We beg, therefore,
to recommend that the Post-office Skipping List should
be immediately discontinued, and that the clerks shall, at the
same time, cease to have any interert in the Packet List.
It will be desirable, however, to continue to publish the
Packet List at the Post-office, as the information it con-
tains is necessarily transmitted to that department, and
ought to be communicated to the public as early as pos-
sible. The price of the List should be fixed at the low-
est rate which will defray the expense which the depart-
ment will be put to by its publication, and if any small profit
is derived from it, the amount should be carried to the
public account. We have also to propose to your Lordships,
that for the future no officer in the Secretary's depart-
ment shall be permitted to derive any part of his income
from official privileges, or from fees of any description ; and
in making this recommendation, we are at the same time
bound to sav, that the clerks appear to us to have a just
claim to a fair compensation for the emoluments they will
be deprived of, by an addition to their respective salaries.
The privileges and fees to which we have alluded have con-
tinued for upwards of thirty years, and have been fully re-
cognised by successive Postthasters-General, and always
returned and considered as forming part of their official
incomes.

In confirmation of this statement, we would call your
Lordships' attention to a communication addressed by the
Postmaster-General to the Lords of the Treasury in 1809,
where he says, " that the salaries of this department have
been purposely kept down, that the fees in question might
come in aid of the expenditure."
We find also, in a Report made to the Lords of the
Treasury in 1832, that the Postmaster-General proposed
a reduction " in the salaries of the chief clerks and the
seniors in the Secretary's office, because they derived emo-
luments from the Packet and Skipping Lists."
We have further to submit to your Lordships that it
would be expedient, in settling the amount of compensa-
tion to be givdn to the officers who now derive emoluments
from the fee fund, to fix a permanent scale of salaries for
their successors.

( Signed) DUNCANNON,
H. L AI3OUC HE RE,
SE YMO UR.
Office of Woods, April 15, 1837.

Despatches were forwarded yesterday from the Co-
lonial Department for the West India Islands.

An instance of female heroism is related as having
taken place during the late campaign against the Seminoles
of Florida, well worthy of being banded down to posterity.
A Mr. Sikes, together with his wife, their only daughter, her
husband, Lieut. Smiley, and infant child, and three old negro
women, occupied a house which was attacked by a large body
of Indians-. The first alarm was, given by the discharge of
three muskets fired at Lieut. Smiley, who was chopping wood
in the yard, the balls from which caused his immediate death.
His father-in-law, who was near him, fled instantly to the
house, which he entered without. injury. Fortunately there
were seven muskets in the dwelling, which were loaded in
succession by the negro women, and discharged at the assail-
ants by Mr. Sikes and his wife and daughter. The last-men-
tioned lady was very active in avenging the death of her hus-
band, and killed three of the Indians. The attack was conti-
tinued until dark, when the savages retired, having lost five or
six of their/lumber.