New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-09-08
NOTES FROM LONDON.
THE AMERICAN MAILS - rMoUr1

,rnou rur REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE i'i"ON'I
LONDON, August %.
II is difficult to believe that the attempt vi ''o
british Post Office TO improve the man ScrNioo W
America has been very sincere. III is certain '"".
a. has been very weak | know nothing OF what
has gone on in private. The puohSheu i"c''
are enough to give rise to several grave questions
IL there were or ever had been the least necessity
IN nrove the badness of the existing service theIo
xVonld he nome IN presence of effort to reorgahHo
II. nm effort forced on a reluctant Department pS
the prcssure of public opinion. Everybody KNOWS
that the Post OAice chose to tie itself manu- an"
foot by contract eight years ago lha' oon''".S
gave a monopoly-for all practlcal pu'Po'0
three companies the Cunard, the NhVe "',i w
the lnman The result has been that inc mans nov
often been sent by slow ships whie iaS' Sn'p'
sailed the same day and arrived IN New o'A WV
three and four days before the mall-c"''N '"s ''
This was chiefly true of the Saturday Scrtl' me-
tho Cpnardcrs took to themselves. The depart
-. I;1 NOT soem to care When questions we're
o,tod in Parliament Mr.. Fawcetts permanent as
sistants invsriblv put INTO his mouth lhe s""o
storeotyped nonsense about regular service oeins
betterthan an irregular one In other Woio'' vas
halter the mails should always be slow IMAM sone-
times fast. IL.
Rnt the patience of the mercantile community
has limits and as the long contract drew W i'
close the Post Office are ITS own WORDS anu Wv
claimed its adoption of the American system oniS
I'm n modified and less efficient FORE. III aSheu 'o'
tenders The three companies which form the eX-
listing ring put their heads together as Judge anu
resolved not TO tender, expecting thus TO dIlVe INC
Donartment back into the old groove The Depart
oent lent itself 10 this manGuvre by insisting that
all ships should call al Queenstown ana so prSct'
callv excluded the North German Lloyd from inc
competition-of which more is moment lHo
ring carried their point The Department see'hcu
only too willing to be bulled and bplled IL was ;
and announced its surrender in terms which imply
q thorough belief in the long-sutfeiing temper ana
enduring stupidity of the public. NO chango Is ~
he made for the next twelvemonth
This act must be defended, if il can be deiehueu
Of ALL on the plea of necessity The sole excuse lor
the Department is its inability to get the mails car
r,ed on any other terms than the present DelleVe
Il can he shown that no such inability eXlSts' Inc
present service is nominally trl-weekly one. MAILS
ore made up in London for America on lueSud9 D.
Thursdays and Saturdays But the TUESDAY mai
is often overtaken by the Thursday mall Inns
very week for example, the City OF Montreal I'm
mani sailed on Tuesday and the Britannia wv hI'c
STAR on Thursday, and these same TWO shps h"'o
usuallv sailed on Tuesday and Thursday OF the
same week with the result that both reach New
York the same day. If the Tuesday boat is a good
reaches New-York i'll time for answers 10 De iha'ou
the week following the other does not Not 10 go
foo much into detail it may be said that the publlc
10 little if at all better accommodated by TINS
tri-weekly service than it would be by sood d.
weekly service on Thursdays and Saturdays Ana
nv first point Is that the material for such
service NAV be found outside the ring.
The North German Lloyd now dispatches weekly
a fast ship from southampton on lhursdays' reaou-
ing New-York, as a rule, on Friday. There is nan
the problem solved at once. At present they carry
no regular mails OF fast ships sailing from
Liverpool, there are the City OF Rome ana
Austral of the Anchor Line the Alaska and Arizo-
ma. of the Guion Line the America of the National
lime Has the Postmaster-General made proposals
TO themi Have they refusedf Ii not, there
is no excuse for resuming the old stage coach Ous
ness Here are ten of the fastest ships on the Az
lantic The three companies OF the ring cannot
among them muster five equally fast steamships
Five shins are ADEQUATE fora weekly service. The
five of the North German Lloyd and the other hVe
belonging to different companies could provide
Iholieve would provide better mail service be-
tween England aud Ncw-York than the present
WHY are they thrust aside and what are the lnnu-
ences potent enough to secure the continuance o.
m inferior servlcef Perhaps some day answers U
these and other pulling questions may De Iol'n
coming At present know OF none.
NV second point is simpler STILL The compah'e
which now carry the mails had believe, no ih'ea
ton of persisting IN their opposition TO lhe New
scheme 1t is not to be supposed that they woul
forfeit the prestige which attaches to the word
"carrvIng the Royal and United states mails Io
remember what happened when similar chang
was made in New York. The CunaTd people too
their usual lofty tone and said they would not snl
NIT to the new terms. One ship sailed VIII
ont letters Next week the CunardcTs collapse
and have carried mails on the terms
the American Post Office ever since. Is Tier
much reason to doubt that the same thing woul
have happened hercH Is there any reason AT All
in view of the facts above stated. ana the teaSlD
i+v of 4 good service without the help Of either {
the three companies constituting what l can III
ring, We must bear tie old delays, IT appear
and manifold inconveuences of the Of d method fC
another year. But venture to hope that the Brl
isb Post Office will then be made t. do its duty.
Mr.. Seymour Hadon returns to the subject
"Proofs and Prints with fresh lnsalmcnt
facts relating to tie fraudulent manufactures {
both by certain printscllcrs. One of the ring la
now turned Queens evidence and writes: " What
is the use of a stamp when the proofs are III
limited For if q member (of the association d.
sres TO stamp 20, 900 he is at liberty to do 40,
long as they are declared; there Is no limit
neither is there any limit as to quality; any rul
bish so long as it is engraved on steel can
stamped" Then he goes on to show how III
conditions Of publication arc disresarded, an
sham proofs foisted on The public Example
The Allied Generals before ScbaStopol,' publishc
1856; 1923 @ proofs O declared to be stamped
'the steel plate TO be destroyed after til
prints were taken This plate was never desIoye
but sold to the cheap market and is now in ext
tence; and what sold for 10 guineas can
boucht now for a few shillings.N
Example No. 2. 1.-The Derby Day, publishe