New-York daily tribune., 1859-05-17
THE BRITISH POST-OFFICE.


aurioR the year 1853, amounted to the enormous
number Of 522, s74, 0O0, being lS,2o3OOO more
than in 1857 Of the entire number 127, 1850, 600
were pested London, and Of these 56,404 900 were
both posted and delivered in the London District,
passipg through no baDd. and routes, except
those Of the London sorters and the London letter
carriers. The mere statement Of the fact that the
increase Of local London letters-tbose posted IN
London for delivery in London-hss been, for ten
years, from ls47 TO 1857, about 500, 900 year
and that the increase in 1857 239 OOo, and IN
1859. 627O.OOO, gives an idea Of the vast import
anee and convenience of good local postal arrange
ments in a large city. But such statement, re-
n,srkabe as it is, has no effect upon our Democrat
ie rulers who look solely 10 the spOlls o. Office We
have heretofore recorded the fact that the people o.
London alone-less than $500, 600, or not one
tenth the population Of this country-bave written
and cent through the PostOice more letters in ten
years than oil the people in the United states have
mailed during the same period; and that the inhab-
itsnts Of the entire Kingdom of Great Britain have
written more letters in FIVE years than the people
Of this country have in hundred years.
The number of newspapers sent by post in the
United Kingdom, was III, COO, coo, and of book
packages 7.25O,OO0 The gross revenue of the
Post Office was E3 067 ,535, or in Federal currency
about $15 1858, being an increase Of t5l, ,s22
over the year previous. The expenses for the year
amount to fl,770,554, giving a clear profit of
$6JS4,90 The operations Of the Money Order
Department Of the Post Office seem almost incred-
ible The money RENTED during the year Amounted
1isto c,rtv
eight or fifty towns is given, with the amount of
money sent through their respective Post Offices IN
these orders and these range from Sl4O, 600 to
$4,000, 900 of orders " cashed"-nOne Of the fifty
towns less than S140000; beside about an equal
nmount of orders issued" for the money to be re-
mitted to other places. For example, there were
eashed at the Post Office in Bristol town having
population of 1877 600 money orders to the amount
Of G2iO, 98i-or over a million dosrs-and money
orders sold to the amount Of fI27,G4O A city
like Pittsburgh or st. Louis. or Albany or New
Orleans, would at this rate, have Money Order
transactions in year to the amount of 81 800, 900
TO $2,5O0,O0O. The clear profits Of the English
Money y-Order Office, in commissions, which aver
aged less than per cent, amounted in the year
to $13O,0OO.
The number of letters returned to the writers
during the year-letters that, for various causes,
could not be delivered to the persons addressed
amounted to 100000. In England, Spain and
other European mOnarchies, the practice of making
holocaust of returned letters, burning up the
written records of some millions Of people, without
any attempt to find the original owners, seems
quite unknown. The Government of Great Brit
aiD, instead OF being something placed above and
superior TO the people hcts very justly in this, as
IN other things, as the servant OF trustee of the
people. What would be said of an Express Com
pany that should, instead Of delivering TO the send
ers at the end of every year, burn up all the goods
that they had not from any cause delivered to the
persons addressedf Such course would accord
with the practice Of the United States Post Office
in burning up all .hv dead letters.
There are in the Kingdom of Great Britain lI,23o
Post-Offices, of which so6 are Head Post-Ofices'
and II, 400 Sub Post-OHiccs. At one large ohce-
that Of Liycrpool-a greatly improved hight is
spoken of. 1t is called the " Sun-burner, ana Is
described as afording ." uniform and beautiful
..hpht. and excellent vcntlstion," and in that
respect "the Liverpool sorting Office stands un-
"equaled" New Offices have been opened at various
places, and at Bristol two new Branch Offices have
been established. Lord Colchester speaks of this
as something of an innovation; the plan usually
beng except in London, where there are ten branch
Offices 10 have one chief office in city only with
receiving ofhce and letter-pillars. His Lordship
speaks of the Branch Offices at Bristol as afford
"ing great accommodation TO portions of the
"ciiy, and considerable relief to the Chief Office.
"Shoud further experience confirm the benefit of
"ihis arrangement shall consider the eXpediency
"of adopting it clsewh One important adyan-
"tage it affords is the means of providing for
"large increase of postal business in any town,
without the erection Of new Chief Office"
Could not the bone of contention among our
neighbors in Boston be settled by this plan and the
adoption of a general system of letter delivery
Greatly increased accommodations have been made
By means of "Letter.Pillars," or as they are now
termed, Road Letter Boxes OF these. there were
put up last year, 465 making present aggregate of
1,l6s. The Receiving Offices receive money for
postage on Foreign Letters, sell stamps and an
xwcr all needful questions in relation to Post Office
business. None Of these things of course can be
done at the Pillar Boxes, which are merely for the
reception Of lettts. But the Receiving Offices do
not receive letteo after o'clock in the evening,
for the first morning delivery, for the morniag
mails outward-not being opened till . u. m;
while the Letter-plllsrs are all cmptied at 5 a. m.
London now, as well as many other cities, has
large supply d both these conyenienc.s. The re-