The Bee-Hive. — 1873-03-22 (London, England)

VIE  POST OFFICE.  To be flogged in fun, and hanged in mistake, does not sound more unreasonable than "dismissed on suspicion." Such, however, is the " glorious uncertainty of the law " of St. Martin's-le•Grand. Dismissed because we had no proof against him is the meaning of " dismissed on susidcion." We tried to rake Up all the evidenee we could to the utmost of our power, but we failed to obtain an atom of proof' as to his supposcd crime ; yet, having begun, we were determined to go on—our sapience is not to be impag nod; and our justice is as pure as Astrea herself—so we ruined his character and blighted all his future hope's because "in him we find no fault at all." i This s a subject by no means least in the catalogue of Pest Office grievancv, if it wer6' only for its absurdity, hut the absurdity is far outweighed by injustice in this unequal struggle of might -against right. It is about as just as the robbers good old rule " Let those take who have the power, and let those keep who can." No secret evil of the many ia the postal establishment 'calls more loudly for ventilation, ant none the less bonnie it,  _ iS hidden. Indeed, snereey i tho strength o the injustice, as it 1o( every injuitiee, whir,"  the pure atmosphere of publics opinion woula disperse as the sun .dispels the pestilential fog.  The postman, whose " rat-tat " rings the chime of human joy and sorrow round the world—" Is he honest?" asked the authorities of his referees; for his character must be flawless, or he cannot be admitted into Government employment. "Is he intelligent?" was the interrogation of his examination paper. We reply, he was at least not a blockhead, else he would not have passed the Civil Service ordeal, and afterwards have daily sortedovith a rapidity astounding to the uninitiated, letters to all parts of the civilised world. Not only so, but he carried the wealth and correspondence of the country, and therefore filled a situation of great trust and responsibility may be truly said of every letter carrier. Ile had been in the service some twenty years. He passed the prime of his manhood under them into the decline of  life—an pld, industrious, and tried servant, but " dismissed on suspicion." Why ? Oh! that's a mystery! Was it to deprive him of his hard-earned pension, so that-they mightputthe paltry pittance of eight or ten shillings a week that he might have had for the few remaining years of his worn-out life, to add an atom more In swelling the bloated coffers of the Post Office surplus revenue? Or was it because they felt animosity towards him for his seeing too clearly into their clandestine practices, and then exposing them ? "Can't tell," is the uniform answer. "Give a dog an ill-name," we are wont to say, "and then hang him." "I never liked him," said Manning, "and, therefore, I finished him with a ripping-chisel." In regard to the letter carrier, we say, not murdered, but irretrievably ruined. " Dismissed on suspicion" from such an institution, whose laws are mere arbitrary caprice, , and whose caprice is its laws, means loss of character, blighting of future hopes, poverty, extreme misery, perhaps loss of bread, and a starving wife and children—and may it not, nlato! sometimes mean suicide?  Are the instincts of postal authorities always unerring? If not, what safeguard is there for any of the employes under such a regulation? If tho accused be guilty, the very punishment of such a dismissal; though just, is almost sufficient to satisfy the vengeance of the vindictive, and Nemesis has only a few more strokes of her lash to inflict, even in the subsequent severe sentence of penal seratude ; but if innocent, and yet "dismissed on suspicion," who but the injured can portray the pangs of the injustice? Grant that the authorities are not infallible that .they are not wiser than the wisest of mortals, then who can deny the probability of many innocent being "'dismissed on suspiaion ?' and if so, what a fearful uncertainty hangs over the 'head of every servant in their employ I If with individuals of world-wide fame instances of mistaken identity have frequently occurred, and if, before the best legal tribunals, cases of circumstantial evidence, apparently so flawless as to amount to a clear demonstration in the minds of judge and jay, have often signally failed by punishing the innocent and lettinF the guilty go free, what shall we say of "dismissing on suspicion " by such an incompetent and onesidkal tribunal as that of St. Mattin's-leGrand ? Those who for many, years have. ground down their employ C's to the last farthing, who have cajoled them in a hundred ways, who have overworked and oppressed them to the utmost of their power, it as their judges, and if they can find no proof against them, may dismiss them on suspicion. What hope of justice, what hope of right can there be? " never liked them," their notions say, "and so we finished them with the ripping-chisel of suspicion." " Dismissed on suspicion" from such an institution is a parallel sentence to that of Fouquicr Tin Ville —" executed. on suspicion." As a batch of about seventy were brought before Fonquier, the executioner pointed out one who was not even charged with an offence. " Oh I " exclaimed the sanguinary demagogue, "one is as good as the other l" And so the unhappy victim was marched off with the rest to the guillotine. Now, tho law of England does elot permit postal authorities to execute their employes on suspicion, else they might prekress with wonderful rapidity ! in despatching males. Whenever they dismiss on suspicion they always studiously keep the matter as secret as possible until it appears in the "official circular," Is it out of pity, think you, to the delinquent ? for 'great is the mercy of the Post Office towards the, erring. On the other hand, whenever they prosecute a servant they notify the circumstance as publicly as possible. Why is the difference made? Because the authorities in the latter case have proof of the guilt of the prisoner, and they cackle over their fancied ' cleverness in his detection, but they know that in the former case they have got an eei.. deuce amounting to proof, against the accused; f r suspicion is not proof and never can be. "11 you have any doubt, give the prisoner the benefit of' that doubt" are the words of the sternest judge—better let ten guilty escape than 'punish one innocent. A noble principle of justice this is and te glorious bulwark of English lik),ett-31,. lint the postal  authorities, in their superior wisdom, say—if you have any doubt, dismiss the accused at once on the strength of that doubt—guilty or innocent, turn hum out. Better punish hundred innocent men than let one guilty es()ape.  "Allow them not a parting word, Short be the Ehr:ft and are the cord."