, 1897-03-10
POSTAL CERIOSITIES.

IN ines" days OF swift, regular and
certain int"rcommuniSltion with almost
every part Of the world. we find IL in
creasIngly diiii"nii 10 imagine how our
forctnthers managed when the postal ar.
rangemenjs w"r" primitive and uncer-
tain, and 1t was a comparatively rXpen-
sive matter to send II letter even for Il
few miles. When u letter was written
and handed over to such postal authori.
ties as there were, 1t was, Us 1t were
trusted to the care OF Providence to see
II TO liz destination. rather thun posted
in the justiiiablr faith with which we
now make use OF the wonderfully com
plele post office organization. The post
office service Of this and most other
great countries afford marvellous eX-
amples Of the advantages which, in some
AFFAIRS, pertain to government institu-
tons in comparison with the ncrcssnri-
~ limited md imperfect achievements
Of private enterprise. However hateful
mOnupolict may be from the point o.
view OF economies. it cannot be denied
that when. us in The case o, the post
Office. they exist solely for the benefit
oi the public, they possess inestimablc
advantages. II is true, indeed. that our
pOSlOiliCe departmental services IRE not
perfect in every respect. but they arc
continuity being improved, and the
statistics which are easily accessible,
prove how immense is the scale on
which they are worked. and we lose
sight of the imperfections in our admir-
alton Of the organization by which so
much is done with so little friction.
Every form OF government which has
been able to become so far settled as TO
deserve the name. from the remolest
antiquity, has found 1t necessary to
found some sort OF international COM
munication partaking Tor or less OF
the character Of a postal service. Pri-
mnrily in every instance intended t Sc
cure peace throughout tho dominiuns
under lis sway, these services we're in
ancient days mostly limited to the carry
ing Of dispatches to and from the var
iOus quarters Of the country, orders to
the district governors, and reports from
these TO the central authority regarding
he condition and welfare OF the regions
hnder their charge. OF this nature q
what is usually considered to be the first
appearance Of anything worthy OF the
name OF post office OF postal service, in
sJlluted by Cyrus, King Of Persia, about
30 b. c. This powerful monarch ruled
an empire Of vast extent, and us he re.
CURED all his governors Of provinces
10 write to him regularly exact accounts
of everything that occurred in their sew
eral districts and armies, some mean;
had TO be provided to render that cor
respOndence Dolh sure and expeditions
He therefore caused post Offices to b,
built and messengers TO be appointed
in every province. First uscertuininE
now far a good horse with an expert
enced rider could travel in a day with
Il O~vercXertiOn or injury, he then had
cOmmodiOus stables built in proportion
al equal distances from zach other. AT
each he stationed postmasters. charged
with the duty OF receiving letters from
The couriers as they arrived, and CIV
ing them to others, and to exchange
fresh horses for those that had already
done their part Of the journey.
y similar institution of post house.
was first Introduced into the Roman
empire by Augustus, 81 Is. G.. and he
was initiated by Charleinagne about A
ID. 500. Louis ri. vas the first SOY
erelgn to establish post houses in
France, owing 10 his eageruess for news
and this was done in li70, about 1000
years after the Persian monarch had Sc
The example. In England, in the rcgiOi
o: Edward ~, riders on post horse:
went stages OF 20 miles from each othe
for the purpose Of providing tho kin.
with the earliest Intelligence Of the pro
gress OF events in the war with tn
Scots. Charles l., in 1881, issued u pro
%clamation TO the effect that whereas
10 this time, there hath been no certai
intercourse between the kingdoms {
England and Scotland, the king no.
commands his postmaster Of Englan
for foreign parts to settle Il running pos
or two between Edinburgh and London
to go thither and come back again il
six days" The p~Ostoffice, TO be know
as the General PostOftice OF England,
and appointed Il POSTMASTER Genera
and Comptroller OF the Postotiice." Tn
development has, since those times, bee
continuous, the most noteworthy nd
vance being, of course, the adoption O
penny postage" in 1910. The saving
bank was added in 1861, and in 1870 tn
telegraphs were taken over.
The London money order office wa
set on foot by three enterprising post
office clerks in 1892, who hired premise
outside the postofiice, the firm bein,
known as Stowe & Co. In the begin
ming, the main idea was the affordins
OF facilities for the transmissions o
small sums to our soldiers and sailors
and now, by the growth from this small
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