The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1856-04-22
Second Annual Report or The English Post-
master General

Post Office has just been issued in blue book
of eighty-tour pages. It gives the statistics of
the department from lS3S-the year before the
act establishing penny postage was passed
an account Of the various Improvements made
during the last year, and contains fine map of
London, divided into postal districts The
number Of new Post Offices made during the
year Qs55) was 525, making the number ct
this time 10,478. OF these, 92O are head
Post Offices, and 9,578 sub-Post Offices,
or receiving houses pillar letter boxes
have been found to afford much public &C.
commodation," and their number is to be large
~ increased, particularly in London. "Free
deliveries were established during the year at
1927 places where none had formerly existed;
and ct GAO other places the free delivery was
extended or otherwise Improved" A list Of
towns is given Southampton, Norwich, Col
chester, Tunbridge Wells, Hudders6eld, Hall
fax and Green0ck-around which several let
ter carriers have been employed "where it
would formerly have been necessary either to
send messenger or to pay a gratuity to the
postmaster This plan has been remarkably
successful, giving distribution Of large
number Of letters, greatly increasing cores
pondence, adding to the revenue Of the depart
ment, and aGord!ng great accommodation to
the public. The number of letters delivered
in the rural districts in the vicinity of each of
these places has been from 9sO lat Southamp-
tony to 1850 lat Halliday weekly.
We are apt to think that in this city, if
there are four letter deliveries day we shall
be%ery well off. In London there have been
ten deliveries day for years every two hours
in the forenoon, and every hour in the after
noon up to P. n, except at land yet there
they are hereafter to have hourly deliveries
eli day. The morning delivery is to be COM
pleted by 8 o'clock. All letters dropped in a
pillar box or receiving house during the hour
gay from nine to ten-are to be delivered
during the next hour-from ten to eleven-so
that every letter will get to its destination in
from twenty minutes to two hours. Will our
Post Office committees and postal reformers
notice these facilities for letter distribution that
are enjoyed in an English city, The rule with
our postal authorities seems to be that the pub
lie cannot be accommodated, for. fear it will
cost money. In Great Britain the public must
be accommodated, and in supplying that &C
commodation the department finds its profit.
Vide Mr.. Banning's POSTMASTER of LiverpooD
evidence before the Parliamentary Post Office
Committee: "a great many deliveries, facili
ties for sending letters and quickness of des-
patch, must be the best way Of raising the re-
venue" That is the formula or problem.
Look at the solution. London has an annual
expense of SOL 900 for letter carriers and re-
ceivers, and receives s151s, 900 in postage on
the local letters alone, showing profit of
over $500, 900, besides collecting and deliver
ing all the general mail letters aud papers.
During the last year, sixty-nine additional
towns were provided with day mails either to
or from the metropolis, and some Of these with
mails in both directions" The mails are trans
ported nearly $4,000 miles each week day, ex-
elusive of messengers and letter carriers
walks, and to and from Post Offices and
railway stations. The average cost per mile
run for railway transportation is ten pence
sterling, and this varies from one farthing per
mile to four and ten pence. The coach and
other service varies from half farthing to
ten pence farthing mile, and averages two
pence one farthing. The postage on "book
packets'-by which is understood every spe
cies Of transient printed materials, up to
1855, been six pence for the smallest package,
up to half pound; and last year it was put
down to one penny for packages not
exceeding four ounces. The consequence
has been that the number Of such packages has
increased in London alone from less than 400,-
600 to over 100000 annually, an increase OF
273 per cent. During the year 1855 there were
sent by mail 456 ,O00,O 900 letters, about 3,O00,
600 book packages, 100000 newspapers, and
500, 900 valentines. The revenue accruing to
the government through the stamp office and
the post Offices, for impressed stamps and post
age labels, to send newspapers through the
mails, was s1ls,OO for the half year-July to
December the compulsory newspaper
stamp was abolished. The average weight Of
a newspaper now is about three ounces it was
formerly three and half. The average weight
of " book packet" which includes all circu-
lars, &C.. is now four ounces; formerly ten
The number of letters sent to the dead letter
office last year was about 100000, or about
one ldlI OF one per CENT Oh tAe WuoAe uumoer
posted. The number of newspapers sent to the
dead letter Office was 100000. The number Of
letters sent to the United States last year was
nearly 10000 of which more than 100000,
or about Eve per cent Of the whole, were re-
turned as dead letters. About 100000 were
sent to France, and $1,000 returned "dead"
To the colony of Victoria, lin Australia,) $780,
600 letters were sent, and returned dead AZ 900,
or nearly twelve per cent. Of these nearly
10000 had been prepaid, and $500 were regis
tered. OF those received from foreign coun-
tries and colonies last year, 100000 were
from Australia, 100000 from India, 10000
from Canada, $4,000 from France, and 34O,-
coo from Prussia. In letters from tte
United States there was decrease of me Z