The Sun.
London, England, 1856-05-01 00:00:00

POST-OFFICE IMPROVEMENTS.

Of all the branches of the civil service the Post-office
performs the largest amount of work, possesses the
most perfect organisation, and obtains the largest share of
public interest. Not to dwell on the fact that the post-
man's knock is connected in our minds with a thousand
associations, there is something pleasant in thinking of a
great public service executed as never was public service
before—all the intelligence of a mighty nation astir, and
noiselessly conveyed from point to point. Some idea of
the work may be formed nom the circumstance that it
gives employment to 22,030 pet sons—a greater number
than that of the Customs and Inland Revenue Depart-
ments put together-and that the letters carried during
the past year amounted to 456,600,000. The work, too,
is annually increasing in magnitude; last year it waa
[3,000,000 more than in 1854, 46,000,000 more than in the•
year before that, and 374,000,000 more than in 1839, when.
the old system of postage was iu force. The labour thus ra-
pidly multiplying on their hands, the Post-office system is
not allowed to sink into a dead routine ; every year calls
for increased exertions—new hands, new arrangements,.
more post offices, more pillar-letterboxes, more mailearts,
more deliveries. The object is not simply to dispose of
an increasing number of letters ; it is much more ambi-
tious—it is to dispose of them with even greater speed
than before. Hence a growing preference for railways,
hence travelling post-offices, hence the apparatus for ex-
changing mailbags, hence the amalgamation of the two
sAs of London lettei-carriers, district and general ; hence
the use f perforated stamps and many little contrivances
to facilitate the work. And the Postmaster-General, in
his second annual report, announces still further improve-
ments as in progress. It is even proposed that model
lodging-houses shall be erecte 1 for the sorters and carriers
in the neighbourhood of St. Martin's-le-Grand, so that
they may be at hand for any emergency, and that the
health of the men may be insured—an important point at
all times, but especially so in the midst of epidemics, to
which the carriers are peculiarly liable from their constant
exposure to the weather. But theprincipal points which the.
Postmaster-General d scusses relate to the more rapid deli-
very of London letters, and to the cheaper conveyance of the
mails by railway.

London has grown so vast that it has at length become ne-
cessary to break it up into several towns, each with its oven
post-office. It is to bo divided into ten districts, each of
which will collect and contribute its own letters. Thus, in-
stead of a letter from Cavendish-square to Grosvenor-square
being taken to the city and then back to the West-end, in four
milesone way and four miles the other, it will pass in a direct
lino throughthe Cavendish-streetpost-office to its destination.
When it is known that on an average no less thr.n one-filth of
the London district letters are intended for delivery /war to
the place of posting, the advantages of this scheme will be
duly appreciated. Its object, however, is of more i';han
local importance, for it is proposed that the con Mt/
as well as the town letters shall be sorted in these
post-offices, and distributed directly from them. This
will not only insure au early delivery of letters,
but alSo a better supervision of the letter-carriers. For
the carrying out of this scheme the Postmaster-Ge floral
appeals to the public for co-operation. The assistance 130
expects from them is in getting their letters properl3 r di-
rected. It seems that in the first morning delivery t here
are not less than 481 letter-carriers, each with a sew irate
walk. As it is impossible to divide the letters at once
among the 481 carriers, the practice has long been to sorb
them first according to districts, and to subdivide these
again according to the walks. Now, what is wanted is
that the public should assist the Post-office to assort Itil*
letters according to the ten districts into which the metre'
polis is to be divided, so that, for example, a letter
tended for Hill-street, Berkeley-square, shall be directed
simply " W." (Western District). In tide
way an immense amount of time may be saved. All the
London letters may bo arranged into districts, partly ati
the larger provincial offices, and partly on the railw.kys,
before even the mails reach town, and the bag'
may at once be forwarded to the district post'
offices, and the distribution bo everywhere complete"
before 9 o'clock. In carrying out this object, however.
the Post-office authorities expect the co-operation of tb 0,
Board of Works as well as of the public. The Board 4*
Works has power to change the names of the streets Athe*
these aro more than one of the same name in the metro'
polis, and the Postmaster-General is anxious that it she .111 a,
act up to its powers. It is rather perplexing to choose co'
of thirty-seven King streets and twenty-seven Qut
streets, and, judging from the report of their recent 1 pro-
ceedings, we suppose that the Board of Works will s Oen
direct our street-makers to be a little less loyal and a li 016
more practical.

The increasing expenses of the postal system the and h°-
titles are anxious to diminish by lowering the rates g men
railways. The argument which they urge against the
railway companies is very ably put and, if the facts Iv°
ii4htly stated, seems to be sufficiently cogent; but 'l°
should like to hear the other side of tie question, and O.
pecially when we find the Post-office needlessly overstat
the case in its own behalf. Complaints have been m:141,
that railway companies are underpaid for conveyance 0
mails—the Inspector-General of Mails declares that thel
are overpaid, and so very much overpaid that the Awl°
disbursed by the Post-office for the use of ouli,
a fraction of the train exceed the whole cost
running by from 60 to 260 per cent. Mr.
bases this calculation upon a statement which be
attributes to Mr. Robert Stephenson, that the cost of t 'lOl,
!ling a train may be assumed in most cases to be ab 01
Rd. per mile. If Mr. Stephenson made that statement .10
can only say that his word is of great authority, but t
?itt
it happens not to agree with the published accounts of :
those railways that have announced their working el.
penses per train mile. The expenses of the Great North era
are 2s. 2d. per mile ; of the London and Brightola
2s. 10c1. ; of the South-Eastern, 3s. 4d. ; on which last 1010
the Post-office pays for the carriage of the mails 2s. 3..3-°
mile, the average rate which is charged to it on all the tual-
ways being only 10,1. But, apart from this special ph wad-
ing, Mr. Page brings forward some facts that tea 16
his favour, and it is certainly strange that a cyst
of travelling which, for the public at large, has very c on'
siderably reduced the cost of the conveyance of passenl ;erg
and goods should have precisely the contrary effect as re•
girds the conveyance of mails. The fact is, that Par lie'
ment had the foresight to stipulate for certain model •stA
charges for passenger conveyance, while no provision 'W
made for postal carriage, and the result is that, even w'llon,
a hundredweight of mail has been forwarded in charge 01
the companies'= not the Poet-office—guards, and by s°
ordinary train, the rate demanded has been as much as.
a mile.—Tintes.