The San Francisco call., 1896-04-19
How 1t Originated and Was
Carried On in the
Olden Time.
A FAMOUS P0sToFFICE COLONY.
The Captains of the Packets Used to
Fight Their Ships
Valiantly.

| In recent issue of the London Chroni-
Gle is an interesting review of a new
! book, History of the Postoffice Packet
| Service" by Arthur H. Norway. The
author tells, with engaging modesty and
| simple directness, story which, in all
probability, is quite unknown to the world
at large. People are accustomed nowadays
to think of the postoffice as the most pa
cifie of all establishments. II was once.
however, fighting service. The convey
ance OF mails over seas-now, as always,
the most important of its duties-forced
this character upon it. To-day the ques-
ton is mainly one of speed. Only few
generations ago it was mainly question
of safety. The very change OF significance
in the word packet" shows the altered
conditions. To-day we think of floating
hotel, some Lucania or Teutonic, designed
mainly for passenger traffic, and treating
the conveyance of mails as a mere Incl
dent. A century ago the word denoted a
ship practically appropriated to the car
riage of mails and what was more, armed
to the teeth.
The postoffice packet service, like the
roauelaure and Dutch gardening, came in
with the Revolution. For its headquar-
ters choice was made of the best roadstead
for sailing ships in the English Channel,
Falmouth, which from a mere fishing viii
lage became as it were a postoffice colony.
existing solely for postal purposes and
thriving upon postal trade. A packet
agent. the local representative of the
Postmaster-General (two at time), pre-
sided over this queer little community.
The captains and their crews were ser
wants OF the postoffice-an important fact
which, as it soon appeared, they were in
some danger OF forgetting. With their
heavily armed ships and their fiery Cor
nlsh blood they only remembered that
they were "frst-rate fighting men" and
delayed the mails while they secured the
seas for prizes. They dubbed themselves
privateers, but they were privateers with
out license from the Crown-in plain Eng
lis h, pirates.
To recall them to sense of their duty
their armament was reduced and thev
were bldden not fight, but to outsail their
enemies. F" ou must run when you can.
You must fight when you can no longer
run; and when you can fight no more you
must sink the mails before you strike"
These instructions brought about unex-
pected results. The packets neither out
sailed nor fought their enemies, but sur
rendered to them. One vessel even hauled
down its flag before its opponent had fired
shot, and, lest the darkness should cover
Its dlshonor, sent boat off at once to an
nounce it.
Curiously enough, these little accidents
ALWAYS happened on the homeward voyage.
1t took the postoffice authorities some
little time to unriddle the mystery; when
they dio they found it deliciously simple.
The packet crews their officers the agent
and the whole town of Falmouth were en-
gagged IN an elaborate system of private
trade. The cargo, heavily Insured for the
round voyage, was secretly disposed of
at the outward port; the capture of the
vessel on the homeward voyage established
a claim on the insurance companies, and
the crews quietly pocketed double profit.
There were other abuses. The sailors not
only traded, but smuggled. The agent did
little business with his own packets IN
the ship-chandlery line. The captains
sent the boats to sea under fo' c'sle hand,
while they stayed at home and made their
pie.
There exists significant minute of the
POSTMASTER General on this point, dated
1888: 1--WE cannot forget that Captain
D. has been absent from his duty dur
ing many years, assigning no other cause
than the death of his mother in 1892"
Ultimately, greater vigilance at the gem
eral postofflce put an end to these abuses.
Private trading. at the cost of an abortiye
mutiny, was suppressed, and during the
first decade of this century the packet ser.
vice, While attending to It's proper busi-
ness OF carrying the mails. distinguished
itself, in safeguarding them, by series of
actions as gallant as any in English naval
history.
The course of these actions was nearly
always the same. There was first an at
tempt to get away. Then, upon this
proving useless, the mails were brought on
deck, heavily shotted. so as to be sunk in
case the ship should have to strike her
flag. The enemy, relying upon superior
mum bers, would always attempt to board,
and when 1t came to hand-to- hand fight
ing the Englishmen were nearly always
victorious. Many OF the packet captains
died glorlously on their quarterback