The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-10-19
The Extraordinary Post Office Inquisi-
ttOn I'm England.

From the Civil Service Gazette, Sept 3O.l
We have heard in our time Of some amazing linguistic
rial proceedings, and have been the Of
eating the public some extraordinary official docu-
mcnls; but proceeding and document have Just
come to knowledge which eclipse all that went be-
fore them and which think the public will admit
unparalleled aud absolutely prodigous. The document
freely served on the subordnatcs the Liverpool Post
Office, and whether confined exclusively 70 that highly
favored locality, distributed generally among Post
Office officials of the most remarkable set OF ques
tons record That readers may judge for them
selves and have before their eyes this marvellous speci
OF official interrogation, we print the paper in
terlso:-
Posr orrcE, LrvERreoI, August "a 1852
lowing questions Information Of the Postmaster
l. Where do you residef
Q What rent do you pay? what taxess
4 Have you any that received your official
capacity here do carry on or share profits in kind
What family have your If you have any children,
So the wages received and BY whom employed
ra y sesnsGe w sS the ended s July last
State nearly you the cipal items of expend
state the amount of your debts, and TO whom they
From whom have you borrowed money during the last
two years? When did you borrow it. and has any portion Of
repaid Have you to repay debts by weekly
TO- have you lent money to any person in this officer # 80
also whether Loron Of has been repaid
with tbs oce no who has Sopwed from o
I 4 So osn the you
society from which The loan was obtained,
r. State the circumstances fully which led TO your present
pecuniary embarrassment
This document signed by the local postmaster who
thinking the twelve questions sent from headquarters
sufficiently searching ventures to add supplemental one
by way of finisher, TO wit" What amount are you
security for, and for whomf Now, think readers
will agree with in the opinion that this is in its entirety
the fghfuy inqusitoral paper issued in the
of any autocrat ancient modern. That it should
have been issued in England and in the nineteenth
ury saggers belief and il served upon the Liverpool
officials by the authority Of the Postmaster General
which can scarcely believe possibeit shows that we
are gradually importing into this free country the
aboinabe system of continental espionage, which must be
stopped ee will extend TO other departments and
become part aud parcel OF official system. the docu
ment was only select few Of the Liverpool
establishment and the production of the inventive
brain of the Postmaster that town. the invention
tany merits the severest The officers Of the
Post Office have indeed fallen upon evil days If the dis
ibuton Of their hard earnings thus be canvassed,
and their private affairs be thus ransacked by and at the
pleasure of superior who may beor that is just posi-
bnot altogether above forming dshkes and conceivng
personal enmites. These days when curious, and
sometimes mpernent returns are called for but no re-
turn within recollection can at all match the above
string of outrageous questions We believe the imme-
date staff Of the Postmaster Of that same town Of Liver
pool consists of nearly OF people, and costs the
country extraordinary large sun, AMI wonder
that should be expensive staff when such inquisi.
toria proceedings have designated carried
on; and it will be in vain for the general Post office
surveyors to pay repeated visits to that locality with the
object Of retrenchng the heavy charges incurred there
unless they commence with the Posmaster's office We
should indeed, like to comparison between the
cost tle clerical stan al Liverpool
with that of the Postmasters at Manchester If force
large and costly be necessary at Liverpool it, surely
cannot be less at Manchester, and if unnecessary
Manchester it cannot certainly be needed at Liverpool
There subject Of inquiry quite important as and
infinitely less inqusoria than any in the Liverpool Post
masters document But written explanations and state
ments the most trifng subjects are understand
held in particular esteem by the Postmaster Of Liver
pool who has hobby for heaps Of manuscript, which
hobby entails enormous consumption Of fooscap and
necessitaes waste Of the time of clerks who might
be otherwise employed. Indeed, great passion has
this postmaster for nquirng into the pettes details
only Of official but Of private e that he ought be made
grand inausor whenever Great Britain constitutes such
functionary and that coming fast to the instu-
ton of Holy Inquison nobody doubt after perusing
the orurng questions which the officials Of Liverpool
have been called upon The poor clerk must
confess, pain of being pronounced malignant and
macious what his family earns what his and daugh-
tiers earn; and, his embarrassment being assumed
fact beyond dispute he mperilously called upon
clare how he is embarrassed and to give all the hum-
ating minute details Of his pecuniary troubles and little
domestic arrangements Talk indeed, of the builders
"odous document" Of any screw physical mental
ever invented by Spanish Neapolitan nqusors The
Post Office questions just framed and applied Liver
pool throw all precedent extorted confessions completely
into the shade.