The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1882-04-29

LATE LETTERS.
Before closing the subject Of internal service
l shall make "a few more suggestions taken from
abroad. and first treat Of late letters. The general
habit OF the public here. although plenty OF time
seems to eiapSs from one mail 10 another, Is to
wait I'LL tue very last moment TO bring TO the
Offices their correspondence 10 be forwarded.
This naturally OTer-crowds the postal servants
and obliges them to rush through the work at
the peril Of making thereby, many otherwise
avoidable mistakes.
The local Administration, true to its duty
tries 10 afford the greatest facilities by announc-
ing the closing Of mails within a limit to the
final departure which barely leaves the clerical
force the necessary time for sorting the matter
and closing the bags. Notwithstanding this
great cOndescendency from the postal authorities
late Letters are always brought in notable number
after the notified time, and after the office is
really closed and the internal sOrtings begun;
and here may it be said, the clerks III unison
with the easy-going community, never begrudge
the acceptance of the latest letter before the bags
are. actually closed, without any compensation,
thus seemingly rather encouraging the pro-
crastInatlng tendency.
A similar state OF things has been the subject
OF a special legislation in Europe, and the neces-
sity of compsRsafing the inconvenience of late
letters and the increase of labor caused by them,
without injuring the public or refusing him the
extreme limits of facilities, has been fully estab-
hshed. Consequently III all places where neees-
sary, the late letters are received ms to the very
latest moment at special windows or boxes, pre-
pared for the object, from whence they are
closed up and sent in supplementary mail bags,
on prepayment OF an additional fee which is gen.
orally equal to the amount of the ordinary post
age, though III England the surtax is 4 pence,
and in British India it has been as high as l
shilling IL France the late letters have been
taxed 90, 10 and 20 centimes. Whatever the
extra charge may be, people who are late never
object TO pay the pains of their retard and do
not regret the expense for the satisfaction of
having their correspondence sent off anyhow,
and the interests of the p. Administration are
secured by the augmentation of receipts, which
not only pay for the extra clerks who may be re-
quired. but even go as far rs to offer, in some
countries, to the PGSt-oficers a special compen-
sation under the form OF a commission on the
produce of the s~urtaXes.
This system ought to and could easily be
adopted here. No one who knocks at the closed
windows TO beg the acceptance of a late letter,
would object to the augmentation of prepaid post
age, any more than the public does in Europe,
and those who might object, would take care to
post their mail in time. OF course, where the
system works by means of special boxes which
do not require the attendance of special clerks.
any late letters found in the box insuficiently
prepaid to the amount of regular surtax, is not
forwarded, but kept rs an ordinary letter until
the next mail.