The Warwickshire Herald. — 1899-01-05 (Birmingham, West Midlands, England)

UNPRECEDENTED POST OFFICE  BUSINESS.  It Would seem that they have never had a busier time at the Gent cal Post Office than this Christmas, and this applies both to correspondence and to parcels. To cope with the work nearly 5,500 supernumeraries were added to the London postal staff, over 2,800 of these being engaged in the parcel post department, where the increase of the traffic was even more marked than in letters, book packets, and newspapers. The reduction of the inland letter rate to one p. n iy for four ounces accounted, no doubt, for the thinarkable increase in the number of light packeth which passed through the letter post, but, as Imperial penny postage did not come into operation until midnight on Saturday, its effect had no influence on the Christmas correspondence. Although time has not yet permitted the preparation of statistics, it is believed that all branches of the correspondence of the season have this year been greater than ever. Some of the foreign Incoming mails have shewn a remarkable growth, those from the United States and Canada delivered during the past week being the heaviest remembered. The Cunard steamer Umbria brought no fewer than 2,351 sacks of correspondence. each sack weighing on the average icwt. Of these sacks 1,540 contained letters and other packets for delivery in Ireland and the provincial ' towns in the ncrth cf England, the remaining 811 sacks being for London. The American Line steamship Paris, which left New York on the 14th inst.. arrived at Southampton with the largest mail which has yet been forwarded to London, consisting of 1,487 sacks of letters, newspapers, and po-tal packets other than parcels. The White Star steame. Majestic brought 676 sacks, and the new steame. Cymric. belonging to the same line, arrived with 065 sacks, 930 of which contained correspondence kr Ireland and the North of England, theother 235 sit. Itbeing filled with letters, newspapers, and posts i packets for delivery through the General Post-Offic.• in Loudon. The mail from the West In lie, consisted of 311 sacks. and the India and Att,tralian mail wis carried in 632 sacks, while the mail Iron' the Cape contained no fewer than 80,000 letters, ti.) far the greatest number cver transmitted from C.. Cape by a single mail. As to the home service, the whole of the Christmas parcel work was concluded in time for the special delivery which was made on Sunday morning, but a considerable number of letters posted on Saturday were distributed in London yesterday morning.  'The annual treat to sandwichmen was held at the Holborn Restaurant on Saturday night, when the Prince of Wales sent a telegram in response to despatch wishing himself and the Princess the compliments of the season. It is reported from Paris that in spite of tho. agreement between the Court of Ctssation and th, Minister of War, a number of documents mill I-, withheld from Maitre Mornard, the counsel lc: Dreyftn, when he examines the "secret dossier." The Norte Metropolitan Tramways Company announce an all-night service of workmen's car, commencing on January 2nd from Aldgate ft Stratford and return. The london County Council have aecided to run all-night cars in South Lortenn about tin third week in januar.v.  TEN? chemist to the experimental farms of Canada recommends powdered oyster shells as dressing for I Ind, chiefly because of their carbonate of lime. Unless the shells are ground to dust, or meal, the chalk is not readily absorbed by the soil and useful to the plant. Better to burn the shells and get the chalk in the form of quicklime, which is more portable.  Bone time ago M. Becquerel, the well.known French chemist, chewed that uranium and its compounds emitted certain rays having properties akin to those of the X rays of Röntgen. They could act on a photographic plate and traverse bodies opaque to ordinary light. Quite recently MM. Schmidt and Curie have shown that thorium Also gives these rays.  At Westminster. Johanna Driscoll.a lodging-house tger, of Pimlico, was sentenced to two months' labour for stealing a large assortment of articles from the Army and Navy Stores. Mr. Shell Intimated his intention in future of sending all store thieves to prison and accepting no excuse about kleptomania.  The governor of York gaol has received a message from the Home Secretary respiting George Stoner. lying under sentence ot death for the murder of Emily Hall at Hull.