The Sun.
London, England, 1858-04-01 00:00:00

ALTERATIONS IN TUE HALL.

The sides of the hall of the office in St. Martin's-
le-Grand have been brought out level with the
fluted lonic side pillars which support the roof of
the vestibules, and two capacious rooms constiucted.
That ,n the north side is for the posting of letters
to every pars 61 the world, with the exception of
the LondA,n district area ; and that on the south
sid- is now. used as an office for the sale of stamps,
Postal Guides, the disti ibutiou of letters left " tilt
cal ed for," poste restante le tern, &c., &c. Glass
sky-lights have been iuser ed in panels in the roof,•
and though the ,lterations have imiterially marred
the effect f the building, considered as a specimen
of nrehittcure, the 11411 has a light, if not an ele-
gant apFearatice. AJ the tv,rin-east corner of the
hail is the &rano Tekgraph Office, and next to it
the posting-box for the "district" area. Au officer,
in uniform, is coi,w autly on duty during the day
io the hail to answer inquiries and givt ii,forma ion
to applicants.
LICE UNDELIVERED AND RETURNED LETTER
OFFICES.

In consequence of the enormous increase which
has takt-n place in the c,rre-pondence passing
ihrough the chief 11. e 1-4,politau office, it has fol-
lowed hat, the inquirt-rs for Ltters " undelivered,"

or become " dead," from various causes, have mul-
tiplied in something like a similar ratio. To meet
thi, increased and increasing difficulty a most elabo-
rate i-cherne has been designed by tie heads of the
office, and executed by Mi. J. Gould, Vie surveyor.
c ,nsists of •he consolidation of the Undelivered
with the it, turned Le•ter Office, and in order to
effect this ohject a spacious room has been con-
structed, completely over the sorting offices. This
room is built upon immense iron girders, which
were raised* and have been fixed in a very brief
space ( f time, and happily wilout the slightest
accident. Below a door has been opened in the
no,tti-west corner of the trout of the building,
whet e is pl,c.cl a window for applicants for mis--
sin,i I,tt,rs. These improvements, whilst they will
touch f.ciiitate the duty, will also be highly valued
by the pubic, who will ave much time in conse-
quencr., and receive a much more speedy answer to
iheit applications.
Ina,simich as much misapprehension has arisen

u k on-,equeuc- of want of Official information in

regard to "de c.l" anti " un. laimed" letters, our
eporter has written to the Secrt tary of the Post
04 Office, and received the following reply :—" I beg
leAve to acqm.int Sou that there no printed list
f uncl-,itned lettei s kept at the General Post Office,
nor is the t ecord of de d letters which is kept in the

returne i letter branch of ibis department accessible
to the plidio. I beg to add that all applications
respecting letters,' whether containing
'54 property or nut, should be made to the General
Post-office."

THE NEWSPAPER DEPARTMENT.
A most valuable impr-vement has been just
comple,,d for the accommodation of vendors who

have to send papers " just in time to save post !"
The contrivance is vevy simple. As alm, st every-
'% body kn ,ws, the scene in the hall just before six
o'clock was one of indescr,bable confusion, from
the rush of wen with bags and sacks, boys with

bundles, and kind, eds with single newspapers, to
the window inside the hall. The mouth of the
le ter box has been widened some feet, and the
single papers must all be posted there, while the
hags, instead of being pitched into the window and
over into the office aie taken in by the front door
of -he new under-ground office, put on a counter,
op ned, rind the conients poured into baskets by
the side of the counter. The baskets ate placed
upon a tram, and immediately it is filled—which of
course isinstantly—it is wheeled off, placed upon
the ledge of the ascending machine, and by the
medium of the " everllsting chain," lifted with the
men to the sorting room at the top of the building,
ote rted and despatched by the mails two hours
afterwards to all parts of the habitable globe.

Gouhtry Market 6,

EDINBURkzH BAY AND STRAW MARKET
Menea 30.

Supplies of all kinds these last six days small.
Oat straw, from On to Hs Od per lzemple of 16 stones
tron ; wheat do., 7s Odto lOs Cd ; barloy do., 7s OJ to 9.i
val. Hay from I.od. to 12d.

EDINBURGH MEAL—MARCH 30.
There were in the market to-day 13 sacks oatmeal, each
weighing 2801 b imperial, which sold at 37s 5d and -- a.

DALKEITH MEAL MARKET—MAR.:IH 29.
There were in the market to-day 5 bags of oatmeal, 0 o:
b3rleyrneal, and 0 pot barley. Sales ready.
Oatmeal, per sack of 280Pes First. Second. I Third.
imperial -s Od 36s 6d
darleymeal, per ditto -s Od —s Od Cd
Peasemeal, per ditto
Flour, new, per ditto l—sOdl—sOd —a Od
Pot-barley, new, per ditto --a Od s Od Od