New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-07-25
DEAD LETTERS IN GREAT BRITAIN.

In former article we spoke of the Dead Let
ter System in the United States, and gave a
somewhat minute account of the manner In
which it operates. Let us now see how this
business is managed in Great Britain There,
when letter from any cause miscsrries, it is at
once returned to the writer. This is invariably
the case where the writer's locality is known.
The plan is this: When the person to whom a
letter is addressed cannot be found, the fact
is reported by the letter. carrier, and as no
good would result from delay, the letter is im-
mediately sent to the Dead-LeEter Ofice-there
are three of these Offices in Great Britain
where it is at once opened and returned to the
writer-wthout charge if it was prepaid, other
wise charged with double postage.
A very important regulation has recently been
adopted, which is this: ali letters miscarrylng,
on which the writer's address has been written
or printed, are returned without being opened.
OF course, it will be understood that this rule
applies to all letters-aH are returned except
anonymous letters, worthless sheets, like Val
entines and printed circulars, which are de-
stroyed. The labor of returning letters is less
than might be supposed. A clerk sends back
20G daily, 200 week, and 62, 400 year. But
the number of dead letters in Great Britain is
small in comparison to what it ia in the United
States. In England and Wales in 1854 there
were, according to estimate, 355, 900, 600 letters
sent by Matchmaker of dead letters, 1,707,779.
In the Unite States, in the same year, the num-
Der of letters was estimated at ll9 634, as
dead letters 8, 323, l75-one in Sc of all the let
tiers mailed; while in England there was only
one dead letter out of 207 sent or about one
sixth as many with US. Do not these facts
show the British system to be preferable to
oursl Unquestionsbly the migratory character
of our population, the breadth of the country,
and the large number of foreigners, tend TO
make the number of our dead letters greater
than they are in an old, permanent and thickly
populated State like Great Britain: but this
could hardly account for about six times the
number of dead letters in proportion to the
number mailed.
Letters destined to foreign country in which
pre- payment of postage is made the condition
on which they may enter the mails, are set
up in the Post Office to be gazed at by the public,
labelled, "can not be sent because the postage
"is not pre- paid" In Great Britain such let
tiers are at once sent to the dead-letter Office
and if they do not bear the writer's address on
the outside, are opened aud returned by the first
mail, with a note TO the effect that they can not
be sent because the postage has not been paid.
Now is it not evident from these facts that
our dead.letter system needs reformingi Why
should not all letters here be returned to the
writer's thereofl-we mean those possessing
value. The only objection we can discover TO
the return of all letters is the expense, and on
that subject perhaps few words will not be
amiss In 1852 the number of dead letters in
the United States, according to a report from
the Post-Ofice Department, was ., 636, OOO To
return these would require the labor of forty
two additional clerks. Surprising they are paid
an average salary of 81, 400 each, the annual ex-
pense would be SIS, 500. This does not appear
to be an extravagant sum for nation populous
as ours The amount would come out of the
treasury, and if raised BY direct tax upon the