The Sun.
London, England, 1834-06-27 00:00:00

--:e3 "4. 44,

LONDON, 1:1
FRIDAY EVENING, JUNE 317, 1834.

The Duke of RICHMOND, ddring the four
years that he remained at the hea'l of the Post-
office, effected many beneficial Changes in that
department ; and from his knolyn habits of bu-
a'ness and activity, would, rnyidoubt, have ef-
fected more, but for the-unfoitunate secession '
caused by the Irisli:rithe question. IrnprOVe-
ments, however, it: an estOisliment. of 'such
importance to the public cannot stop Merely
from the retirement of the chief officer. There
are still numerous defects, and we are a.. therefore
glad that thmpbject is kept before the
and the atthrrtion of the Governmen't called to
it by sir th motions as that of Mr. WALLACE
last night. It was satisfactory to learn from
Lord ALTHORP, though he resisted the mo-
tion, that, Government had ample means of
obtaining all the information that could The
procured by the appointment of a commis-
sion, and that they were prepared to cart-
improvement still farther, and had been pre-
vented only by want of time from bringing in a
bill to consolidate the numerous acts of Parlia-
ment relative to the Post-office. There cer-
tainly is still a good deal of mystery in the
management of the Post-office which a com-
mission might clear up, and unless the Govern-
ment take the question up with a determination
to root out abuses, to remedy defects, and render
it not only a more fruitful source of revenue to
the country, but more suited to the convenience
and wants of the public, the House of Com-
mons. next session will be forced to recur to the
question. There cannot be a greater proof of
some great defect in the system than the
fact, that while trade, commerce, the dif-
fusion of knowledge, and the communi-
cation between different parts of the country
have been doubled within a certain number
.of years, the revenue derived from the
Post-office remains nearly stationary. This
no doubt arises, in some measure, from the
practice of transmitting letters- in parcels, or in
some other illegal way, which all the strong
measures of the Post-office directors have
hitherto been found insufficient to check ; but
that alone cannot account for the anomaly.
There is still ample field on this head for in-
- quiry. It will also be a matter of consideration,
how far it might be expedient, in order, to
check this, to have two, or even three,
sets of mails leaving the capital at different pe-
riods of the day. When a merchant has news
of importance to transmit to the country, it is
certainly most absurd to compel him to delay it
for eight or ten hours, or commit an illegal act
by transmitting his letters by a stage-coach.
Some such plan will be found absolutely neces-
sary when the stamp duty is taken off
newspapers. In that case there would
be no difficulty in transmitting by the mail even
treble the number of papers that are now pub-
lished, and what with a small postage on each,
the increase "o.f revenue fr-Om'the-duty on paper,
and the removal of all obstruction on trans-
- mitting letters as often as the increasing trade
and commerce of the country required, the
revenue instead of being diminished would be
greatly increased. The improvements in this
• .
department we are convinced have only com-
menced.

' Priuce METTERNICII has lately devised a
tribunal with a" name (the Commissiongerigt)
as long as the Areopagus, and of a composition
as intricate as any assembly to be found hi the
" pigeon-holes of Abbe SIEVES." The func-
tions of this notable contrivance of a comer-
vatiye-;-,liietOhysical, and innovating brain,
,
wyeAmoe4 tne•setnblance of arbitrating between
~,,, , _ .
tibelitlife arid:people of every free state in Ger-
riatiy, Jo:deprive theformer of their independence
liid tkeijaiter of their freedom. No doubt it
kr,. cimiiiigly connived for . its purpose. It
have weedect from its native soil every
..- .