The Sun.
London, England, 1862-01-25 00:00:00

rim SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, JANUARY 25, 1862.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.—(This Day.)

THIRD EDITION.

BOW-STREET.

THE POSTMEN AND TRIM CHRISTMAS-BOXES.—TWO
letter-carriere, named Finkney and Cottam, appeared to a
summons issued at the request of the Post-office authori-
ties, charging them with delaying the delivery of their
letters.

Mr. Peacock, the solicitor to the Post-office, said the
two men were letter-carriers, and the latter one of the
two (Pinkney), during the last one or two days of Decem-
ber last, instead of delivering all the letters entrusted to
him, gave a number of them to the other defendant, Cot-
tam, to deliver for him. Cottam, it appears, had engaged
with the man to leave the letters at their respective ad-
dresses, but instead of doing so he got drunk and did not
deliver one of them. On the matter becoming known to
the Post-office authorities it was thought proper to institute
the present proceedings.

Pinkney said he had been five years in the Post-office
He did not deny giving the letters to Cottam to deliver,
and the reason he did so was that he had been delayed very
much in his usual duties by the collecting of his Chris-
mas boxes. Cottam was interested in the amount of money
collected, and he did not think he would fail in delivering
the letters he had entrusted him with.
Cottam said he certainly had undertaken to deliver the
letters, but he had been to a party the overnight and there
having made merry he was soon overcome with the drink
that was given to him during the time he was engaged de-
livering his own letters that he was quite unable to deliver
those of Pinkney.

Mr. Corrio having been informed that the men had been
suspended for the last fortnight, said that being the case he
would only fine them 20s. each, but he hoped it would be a
warning to them, as it was a very serious thing to delay
the delivery of letters.

Pinkney said it would be a most unfortunate warning for
him, for he would most certainly get his discharge.
Mr. Corrie said he hoped not as he had, he thought, been
punished enough. He hoped Mr. Peacock would represent
his wishes to the Postmaster •General.
Pinkney expressed his thanks to the magistrate for his
kindness.

Mr. Curie said he should not have interfered at all in
the matter had it not been that, during the time he had
been in the employ of the Post.office, Pinkney had con-
ducted himocif GUMMI) luost certainly, was tne most
to blame.

Another letter carrier, named Walker, was summoned
for not delivering his letters.

Mr. Peacock said the defendant, instead of delivering a
number of his letters, smuggled them back to the Post-
office, and laid them in such a position as to get them
stamped as "late," or "unknown at the addresses."
Mr. Rowe, inspector of letter-carriers at the Western
District-office, said the defendant was a letter carrier there.
His district was Crawford-street and its neighbourhood,
and he was on duty on the Bth of the month. He left
with his letters about half-past seven, and the time occu-
pied in their delivery would be about till half-past nine. In
the event of his not being able to deliver all of them he
ought to have written on them the cause, and left them
to be stamped as " not known." Ott the following day
three letter carriers complained of a number of letters being
put in their delivery, which the defendant ought to have
delivered the previous evening. The defendant
on
the following day was told of
,the Circumstance that 22
letters of his had not been delivered, and he selected about
a dozen, and said he could get no answer at the addresses
given. Amongst them there was a letter that ought to
have been delivered at two on the afternoon of the Bth.
Having reason to suspect that he was not speaking the
truth, he (witne a) went over the ground, and went to
the different addresses, and found that nearly al of them
were at shops which did not close till 11 o'clock.
It was here found that the man was in a state of in-
toxication, and Mr. Corrie adjourned the hearing of the
defendant's explanation for a week.