The Sun.
London, England, 1840-11-12 00:00:00

COUNTRY POST.OFFICES.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
SIR,—I wish to offer a hint to the directors of
..the
Post-office service, which I humbly imagine would con-
stitute a salutary check upon the extortion and inso-
lence of their subs, much needed, I assure you, in order
to make the system of cheap postage work smoothly. i
In some towns the post-office is closed at an early hour
in the :norning. This brings a handsome swoop of extra
pennies to the postmaster from parties living at the
more distant parts of the town, whose clocks and
watches are not always corresponding with that arbitra-
rily in use at the post-office. Why not require a public
timepiece to be fixed over each post-office ? Who so
proper as the postmaster in each town (whose official
time bills ought to be regulated by London time), to
take charge of a sound, well-going public dial, by which
his own department would be regulated. As it is, the
arbitrary power of the deputy-postryaster is equalled
only by that of the Captain of a ship, who " makes it
12 o'clock" whenever he pleases ; so does the post-
master make it kali an hour earlier or later, and gains
ss. to 10s. profit thereby per day in extra pence.
I also complain of the discreditable disregard of public
convenience in allowing the post-office to be conducted
in ill-situated unsuitable premises. If one person will
not provide a proper place, another should be appointed
who would, and not let public convenience be bartered
for political or personal patronage. In one town in my
circuit the post-office is down a long dark passage,
where pickpockets and robbers might act with perfect
impunity. In another the post-office is situated in an
open alley, of great length, one end of which is towards
the sea. There do we stand egpnsed from 10 to 9.0
minutes, with the current of air blowing with prodigious
force, until the tardy and contemptuous official conde-
scends to come from the remote interior of his dwelling
to answer the knock of the shivering applicant at the
window. There is no consideration of providing even
a shed covering for us poor wretches, who meet coughs,
fevers, and death in the current of wind driven between
two high walls with the force of a blast furnace. If we
have union houses established at the public cost, why
not have offices erected for the public' convenience in
every place where the public can afford to pay for it ?
Or rather, why not make it contingent on the office
itself, that the holder thereof shall have a place afford-
ing the needful accommodation of centrality, shelter,
and adaptation ?—Your's respectfully,
AN OLD ROADSTER.

Yesterday evening the fourth anniversary of the
South London' Auxiliary of the Total Abstinence Society,
was held at the Borough-road Chapel, B. Patch, Esq in
the chair. An excellent and lengthy report of the labours
of the Society for the past year was read, which stated
their numbers to have increased upwards of 300 during
that period, and detailing numerous instances of reforma-
tion of a very useful and,encouraging nature. The meet-
ing was eloquently addressed by the Chairman, the Rev.
Messrs. S ovell, Burns, Baker, and Whitty ; Messrs.
Meredith, Gregg, Smith, &c., and was numerously attended
by members of the Society and others.
SUDDEN DEATH IN SCOTLAND.—On Tues-
day evening, a young woman, named Mary Butler, twenty
years of age, while sitting at a table sewing, suddenly
leant her head forward, and on being raised, life was found
to be extinct. A surgeon at the Coroner's inquest attri-
buted her death to apoplexy.—Glasgoto Courier.
On Saturday night a young woman, a serval:t,
was observed to fall down while walking in Canongate,
Edinburgh. She was lifted up and carried into a surgeon's
shop in the neighbourhood, where it was discovered that
life was quite extinct,—Culedomun Mercury.