Year: 1862

4


DELIVERY OF LETTERS


The practice which somewhat extensively
! prevails, especially 10 country towns, of autho
1 riZing the delivery of mail matter to any
! neighbor or acquaintance who may happen to


be in the vicinity of the post office, is one


which is liable to, and often does, lead to in


Vulnerable troubles. In addition to risks ari-
sing from motives of curiosity or something


worse, such exposure subjects correspondence


to the ordinary contingencies of carelessness
and irresponsiblity. s bHoa
/ 1t often causes great embarrassment in in
I yestigations in cases of loss or improper tam


pering with letters, because they may have


been exposed in variety of ways, which from
the nature of the Case, can never be discover


ed, while the post office, the ordinary pack


horse' OF all sorts of tsde deviltry, must


stand the brunt of vague suspicious, aud some


times open charges OF dishonesty and harsh


denu1ciations. a alaael


1t is unjust to postmasters and their clerks


thus TO hold them responsible, where they are


made to share responsibility with promiscu-


Gus circle of young and old, white and black


private post office Messengers, or to imply, as


is almost always the case, that the morals and
faithfnlness of the former are deficient, while
the Latter are entirely free from acts of care


'essncss, or even beyond the reach1of tempta-


ton. E. 5-as -- s-EstE -f -ssll.-E


We knew case recently, where va luahle
letter was delivered to one of a dozen persons
authorized TO take out the letters of the party
addressed. The letter contained some $500
IN bank notes. 1t was not received by the
owner, and great excitement followed in all
the neighborhood. The postmaster had in
his office the post bill Which unqursti"nably
accompanied the letter, and in fact he dis
tnctly recollected delivering such a letter to
somebody, about the time indicated. But this
would not do, especially for certain parties
who had been ssmiffed'' at the original ap-
pointment of our, for the time being, unfortu-
nate official. Said they to one another, as the
news Of the ssrobbery'' reached them, We
have been expecting something of this kind
for some time, and we sha II have m ore trouble
before there is less, no doubt - and some OF
the more active Of these gentlemen might
have been seen, if the darkness had not pro-
tectcd them from ready observation, peering
through the boxes and windows of the post of
flee, night after night, expecting to catch the
postmaster or his young clerk in the very act
oftamperng with the lettelsl Judge of their
confusion, and we had almost said disappoint-
ment, when il announced by the party
most interested that the missing letter and
contents had finally reached him in safety. af-
ter delay of a number of weeks. 1t had
been taken out of the office by 'ssporting"
neighbor, who placed it safely in pocket of
his hunting coat temporarily worn for the day,
and was only discovered on the next occasion,
when his sporting incinations led him to take
it down from The peg, where it had been qui-
city hanging since his last gameless excursion
into the adjacent hunting grounds.


Now, it was not only the postmaster at that
point who had suffered unjustly, but the mail
ing Office was Tor time also under the ban OF
suspicion, and even the outside party who
Claimed to have deposited the supposed lost
letter in the post office, having no witness to
the act, came in FOR share of pretty close
scrutiny during the offic al Investigation of
the case, and all because of the loose and mis-
chievous practice above alluded to. Cases,
ilustrat ing much more important and worse
could be given almost without
limit.


There is phase in this Kid of post office
experience which appeals directly to the in
terest, and we may say the selishness, OF cor
IN case money letter is lost,
and it is proved to have been received at the
office for which il was mailed, there can be no
legal redress where the postmaster can show
that he had been authorized to deliver letters
to any one who may call for them. Even the
clearest proof of habitual carelessness, and
improper exposure OF letters in a post office,
would not avail, where the system of univer-
sal letter carrying is in vogue. ,


The true and only safe way is, in city as
well as country, to curtail the range of person
al responsibility as much as possible United
States Mail.


Instead of lighting misfortune, we too often
mako il prisoner. A4sF - "a