The Sun.
London, England, 1835-07-14 00:00:00

POST OFFICE.

The Duke of RICHMOND in moving for certain Returns
respecting the Post Office Revenue, said it was not
his intention to make any charge against an indi-
vidual who could not be present to answer for
himself, and he thought that, bad that Hon. Gentleman to
whom he alluded acted in the same spirit, he thought he
would have acted in a more fair and manly way. He would,
however, take the opportunity of denying, in the strongest
manner, that there had been a defalcation in the accounts of the
Post office during the last 10 years to the amount of 1,900,0001.
Had the Hon. Gentleman only looked to the Return he pro-
fessed to read from, he would have found that in the very
next line to that from which lie quoted, there was not
one shilling unaccounted for, as the Returns which he now
moved for would show. He moved for a Return of the
receipts and expenditure of the establishment during the last
10 years. He hoped his Noble Friend would have no objec-
tion to the making of such a Return, as it would prove most
clearly that the office kept its accounts correctly, and had
not lost one single shilling by post-masters or otherwise, during
the whole of the period to which he had referred.
The Earl of LICHFIELD had no objection to the produc-
tion of the Returns—so far from that, he was much obliged to
his Noble Friend for the opportunity of making some state-
ments in opposition to those made by an Hon. Gentleman in
another place.—( Hear.) Ho did not altogether blame the
gentleman alluded to ; for if he believed there was a tenth
of the abuses in the establishment that he had brought for-
ward, then it was his duty to bring it under the notice of
Parliament ; but he ought to have made himself better
acquainted with the facts of the case before he made such
grave charges against a public establishment. He regretted
exceedingly that the Hon. Gentleman bad made such grave
charge!) against a Gentleman who had been for 50 years in
the service of the public, arid who had acquitted himself in his
office of Secretary to the Post Office with so much
honour to himself and benefit to the public, which was evi-
dent from the vastly increased revenue which had been brought
in under his management. Of late years a great increase in
the receipts of the Post-office was to be found ; and that in-
crease, it was the opinion of those most competent to offer it,
was mainly attributable to the great facilities of communication
which, under the management and by the advice of Sir Francis
Frecling, were devised and perfected. Another charge
brought against the Post-office by the Hon. Member in ques-
tion related to an item of 2,5001 for the greasing and repa:r-
ing of wheels. This sum the Hon. Member was pleased to
assert had never got beyond St. Martin's-le-Grand. Into
whose hands it went the Hon. Member did not say ' • but if he
pleased to call for the requisite vouchers he could be easily
satisfied that no improper application of it had been made.-
-( Hear, hear.) At present this was the only charge to
which the country was put for the mail coaches, and in the next
contract it was to be discontinued altogether. Another charge
of the Honourable Member related to the Money Order-
office. He complained that no Return of the receipts of this
office had been made to the House of Commons. Now the
fact was, as the Hon. Member must have well-known, this
office did not properly come within the Post-odce Depart-
ment. It was a private office, carried on under the sanction
of the Pose office, witlina view of securing poor persons de-
sirous of transmitting small sums of money from the risk of
loss. He was not disposed to contend that this was a good
arrangement ; but until some other was framed, by which the
Money Order Office might become part of the Post Office, he
did not think it would be advisable to discontinue it. The
Hon. Member next complained that a sum of 25,0001. or
30,000/. a year was unnecessarily spent upon mail coaches.
Now the fact was, the public did not pay ss. for mail coaches.
They were paid for by the persons who contracted to horse
the mails, and it was well known that so small was the sum
paid to those persons, that it often did not suffice to defray the
cost of the coach and the duty. The Noble Lord concluded
by expressing his readiness to afford the Noble Duke the Re-
turns he asked for, and expressed his conviction that the result
of any inquiry which might be instituted would prove the Post
Office Department worthy of that public confidence which was
reposed in it.—( Hear.)
Lord WALLACE felt sure there could be but one opinion
as to the conduct of the Noble Duke (the Duke of Richmond)
while at the head of the Post Office Department.—( Hear.)
There had been much said of the expenses of' mail coaches ;
but the real truth was, that they did not cost the country one
shilling. He thought it inexpedient to dwell on the details of
the arrangements of the establishment, and would merely ob-
serve, that the appointment of the Commission was, he was
sure, agreeable to the opinions of the House, and would realise
the anticipations of the good entertained from it.
Lord MAR YBOROUGH said as ho happened to have
some knowledge of the establishment, having been connected
with it, he begged to offer a few remarks. Nothing equld he
' more proper than the conduct of the Noble PVtica in bringing
forward his motion in his elm vindication; and the motion
"13 CAP. Paul in aiding an opportunity for the vindica-
tion of the officers of that establishment. It was an act of
justice to set their conduct in its proper light, and defend their,