The Royal Mail Part 8

[3 and 4] From published records of 1812.

One more instance:--From Salisbury to South Wales, a distance of some 70 miles, letters had to circulate through London, making a journey, up and down, of something like 220 miles, and this without alternative.

These facts show what a poor circulation the Post-office had at the period in question, and what splendid intervals there were in which to sort the correspondence. Nowadays, in any office pretending to importance, the letters pour in all day long (and all night too, possibly), and they pour out in a constant stream at the same time--letters being in and out of an office in certain instances within the s.p.a.ce of a few minutes. A good sorter will sort letters at the rate of 25 to 40 a minute. But let us look at what a sorter has to learn to do this. A leaf of the circulation book in use at Edinburgh for places in England is here inserted (p. 131), which will be of a.s.sistance in understanding the matter. It will be observed that there are seven times in the day at which despatches are made to England. Letters for Martock, in Somersetshire, for example, in accordance with the hour at which they may be posted, would be sent thus: to Birmingham at 10.0 A.M.; to the Midland Travelling Post-office Forward, third division, at 2.40 P.M.; no circulation at 4.15 P.M.; to the Glasgow and Carlisle Sorting Tender (a sorting carriage running between these towns) at 5.50 P.M.; no circulation at 7.20 P.M.; to the Bristol and Exeter Travelling Post-office at 9.0 P.M.; and to London at 10.0 P.M. Then if we take Mitcheldean, at the foot of the sheet, its circulation is this: to Birmingham at 10.0 A.M.; to Gloucester at 2.40 P.M.; to the Glasgow and Carlisle Sorting Tender at 5.50 P.M.; to Gloucester at 9.0 P.M.; and to Manchester at 10.0 P.M. And so on throughout the book, which contains the names of some 1300 places in England. Nor, as regards England, is this all. The sorters have to divide letters into the several London districts by reference to the street addresses which the letters bear.

Again, these men have to know the circulation for Scotch towns and Irish towns, and many of them have, besides, such a knowledge of the streets of their own city, Edinburgh, as enables them to sort letters for delivery into the several postmen's districts. Thus it will be seen that the sortation of letters is no mere mechanical process, but demands considerable head-work, as well as activity of body.

[Abbreviations used in the following table: T.P.O. - Travelling Post-office S.T. - Sorting Tender F. - Forward]

+-------------------+--------------+----------------------------------+ Towns. Counties. How Sent. +-------------------+--------------+----------------------------------+ Martock, R.S.O. Somerset 10 A.M. Birmingham (_Ilminster_) 2.40 P.M. Midland T.P.O., F. 3 5.50 P.M. G. & C. S.T. 9.0 P.M. B. & E. T.P.O. 10.0 P.M. London +-------------------+--------------+----------------------------------+ Maryport c.u.mberland 10 A.M. Carlisle 2.0 P.M. Carlisle 5.50 P.M. Carlisle 9.0 P.M. Carlisle +-------------------+--------------+----------------------------------+ Matlock Bath Derby 2.40 P.M. Derby 4.15 P.M. Derby 5.50 P.M. G. & C. S.T. 9.0 P.M. Derby 10.0 P.M. Leeds +-------------------+--------------+----------------------------------+ Melksham Wiltshire 10.0 A.M. Birmingham 2.40 P.M. Midland T.P.O., F. 2 5.50 P.M. G. & C. S.T. 7.20 P.M. London 9.0 P.M. London, G.W. Div. 10.0 P.M. London +-------------------+--------------+----------------------------------+ Melton Mowbray Leicester 2.40 P.M. Midland T.P.O., No. 3 5.50 P.M. G. & C. S.T. 9.0 P.M. Leicester 10.0 P.M. Leeds +-------------------+--------------+----------------------------------+ Menai Bridge, Anglesea 5.50 P.M. G. & C. S.T. R.S.O. (_Bangor_) 9.0 P.M. Liverpool 10.0 P.M. Manchester +-------------------+--------------+----------------------------------+ Merthyr Tydvill Glamorgan 10.0 A.M. Birmingham 2.40 P.M. Gloucester 5.50 P.M. G. & C. S.T. 9.0 P.M. Gloucester 10.0 P.M. Manchester +-------------------+--------------+----------------------------------+ Micheldever Hants 10.0 A.M. London Station 2.40 P.M. London, S.W. Div. 5.50 P.M. London, S.W. Div. 7.20 P.M. London 9.0 P.M. London, S.W. Div. 10.0 P.M. London +-------------------+--------------+----------------------------------+ Middlesborough York 10.0 A.M. Darlington 10.0 P.M. Bag +-------------------+--------------+----------------------------------+ Middleton-on-the- York 10.0 A.M. York Wolds, (_Beverley_) 2.40 P.M. Normanton 7.20 P.M. Hull 10.0 P.M. York +-------------------+--------------+----------------------------------+ Middlewich Chester 10.0 A.M. Liverpool 5.50 P.M. G. & C. S.T. 9.0 P.M. N.W. T.P.O. 10.0 P.M. Liverpool +-------------------+--------------+----------------------------------+ Midhurst Suss.e.x 10.0 A.M. London 2.40 P.M. London, S.W. Div. 5.50 P.M. London, S.W. Div. 7.20 P.M. London 9.0 P.M. London, S.W. Div. 10.0 P.M. London +-------------------+--------------+----------------------------------+ Milford Haven Pembroke 10.0 A.M. Birmingham 2.40 P.M. Gloucester 5.50 P.M. G. & C. S.T. 9.0 P.M. Gloucester 10.0 P.M. Manchester +-------------------+--------------+----------------------------------+ Milnthorpe Westmorland 10.0 A.M. Birmingham 2.40 P.M. Midland T.P.O., F. 3 5.50 P.M. G. & C. S.T. 9.0 P.M. B. & E. T.P.O. 10.0 P.M. London +-------------------+--------------+----------------------------------+ Milverton, R.S.O. Somerset 10.0 A.M. Birmingham (_Taunton_) 2.40 P.M. Midland T.P.O., F. 3 5.50 P.M. G. & C. S.T. 9.0 P.M. B. & E. T.P.O. 10.0 P.M. London +-------------------+--------------+----------------------------------+ Milnehead, R.S.O. Somerset 10.0 A.M. Birmingham (_Taunton_) 2.40 P.M. Midland T.P.O., F. 1 5.50 P.M. G. & C. S.T. 9.0 P.M. B. & E. T.P.O. 10.0 P.M. London +-------------------+--------------+----------------------------------+ Mitcham Surrey 10.0 A.M. London 2.40 P.M. London Sub. 5.50 P.M. London Sub. 7.20 P.M. London 9.0 P.M. London Sub. 10.0 P.M. London +-------------------+--------------+----------------------------------+ Mitcheldean, Gloucester 10.0 A.M. Birmingham R.S.O. (_Ross_) 2.40 P.M. Gloucester 5.50 P.M. G. & C. S.T. 9.0 P.M. Gloucester 10.0 P.M. Manchester +-------------------+--------------+----------------------------------+

With some men it is impossible for them ever to become good sorters, even with the most earnest desire on their part to do so. There are certain qualities necessary for the purpose, and if they are not united in the person, he will never come to the front as a good sorter. These are: self-command--necessary when working against time; activity in his person so as to meet any sudden strain of work; a methodical habit; and, the _sine qua non_ of a sorter, a quick, prehensile, and retentive memory. So much has a sorter to learn, that a man without a head can never distinguish himself; and an educational test, except as a measure of acquirements in a collateral way, is of very little use. A sorter's success rests chiefly upon natural apt.i.tude.

In the circulation of letters, we may discover the paradox that "the longest road is often the shortest"; the explanation of which is, that by a round-about way letters may sometimes arrive sooner than by waiting the next chance by a more direct route. Post-office circulation is not tied down by any strait-laced lines of geographical science, nor by any consideration but that of the economy of time.

For example, at certain periods letters from Edinburgh for places in Norfolk and Suffolk go on to London, to return north to those counties by the mails out of London; similarly, letters for places north of Manchester are at certain hours sent on to that city, to be returned part of the way by next opportunity. It will no doubt seem a puzzle that letters for Ireland should, at a certain time of day, be forwarded from Edinburgh to Leeds in Yorkshire! Yet this is so, and with good results,--the fact being that, after the more direct despatches for the day, Irish letters are sent by the last evening train to Leeds, whence early next morning they are sent across the country, reaching a travelling post-office proceeding from London to Holyhead, and then catching the day-mail packet for Ireland. Thus they arrive in the sister isle by the time they would otherwise be only leaving Scotland. In the travelling post-offices the plan of carrying letters away from their destinations in order that time may be gained for their sortation, and afterwards sending them back by a Post-office carriage proceeding in the reverse direction, is largely practised, and with the greatest advantage. Again, letters from Newcastle-on-Tyne for Glasgow, forwarded by the night-mail, take what might be thought to be a very wide circuit--namely, by way of Normanton in Yorkshire, and Manchester and Wigan in Lancashire; yet that circulation is found to be best at the hour at which the night-mail despatch is made. In one more case that may be cited, letters from Berwick-on-Tweed for Carlisle are, at a certain time of the day, forwarded through Edinburgh as the most expeditious route. There is such a complexity of arrangement in the matter of circulation, and so great a dependence of any one part on a great many other surrounding parts, that comparatively few persons ever thoroughly understand it, and only those who can master it should meddle with it.

In one aspect the process of sortation bears some resemblance to digestion. This is observed in connection with the strange courses which letters run if, by a first misreading of the address, they happen to get out of their proper line or direction. A day seldom pa.s.ses but some letter addressed to Edenbridge in Kent reaches the city of Edinburgh, either from London or some other English town. There is, of course, a strong resemblance between the names of the two places as written, yet the missent letters must have pa.s.sed through the hands of two or three sorters before reaching Edinburgh. But though this might seem to suggest carelessness, there is this to be said, that whenever a letter for Edenbridge gets out of its own course, and into the stream of letters for Edinburgh, the sorters have a predisposition to a.s.similate it as an Edinburgh letter, and so it gets forwarded to that city. The same thing applies in regard to letters for Leek, Leith, and Keith, and for Musselburgh and Middlesborough--especially when, as is too often the case, the writing is not good; and many other similar instances might be given. Letters for Fiji frequently reach Edinburgh from London and the South, being missent as for Fife in Scotland; and we have it on the authority of the Colonial Postmaster of Fiji, that numbers of letters, papers, &c., directed to Fife, reach the Fiji Islands. Two letters posted at Hamilton, Bermuda, and addressed to Edinburgh, Saratoga Co., N.Y., were recently observed to perform a curious circuit before reaching their destination. Instead of being sent direct to the United States from Bermuda, they were forwarded to London in England; and here, getting into the current of inland correspondence, they were sent to Edinburgh in Scotland. At this stage their wild career was stopped, and they were put in proper course to recross the Atlantic. It is near the truth to say, that similarity of names and bad writing are the causes of very many of the irregularities which befall letters in their transit through the post.

CHAPTER XII.

PIGEON-POST.

The intellectual superiority of man has enabled him to bend to his purposes the various physical powers of the lower animals--as, for example, the strength of the ox and the fleetness of the horse--and his observation has taught him also to turn to his use some of the instincts of the lower creation, though these gifts may lie hidden beyond the reach of his understanding. Thus the keen scent of the bloodhound, and the sense which enables the "ship of the desert" to sniff the distant spring, are equally become subservient to the interests of man; but it is with reference to another instinct not less remarkable that this chapter is written--the homing instinct of the carrier-pigeon. This gentle bird has long been known as a messenger capable of conveying news from one place to another over considerable distances. It is a.s.serted that "Hirtius and Brutus, at the siege of Modena, held a correspondence by pigeons; and Ovid tells us that Taurosthenes, by a pigeon stained with purple, gave notice to his father of his victory at the Olympic games, sending it to him at aegina." In Persia and Turkey pigeons were trained for this service, and it is stated that every bashaw had some of these birds reared, in order swiftly to convey news to the seraglio on occasions of insurrection or other emergency. In somewhat modern times the best birds were said to be those of Aleppo, which served as couriers at Alexandretta and Bagdad; but many years ago their services in this line had to be given up, owing to the Kurd robbers killing the pigeons in the course of their journey. It does not appear, however, that, until quite recent times, any great use has been made of these birds by Western nations, at any rate under any extended scheme for commercial or peaceful ends. Yet, by what may seem an incongruity, the dove, which is _par excellence_ the emblem of love and peace, has of late years been trained for purposes of war by the great Continental States; and it is impossible to predict how far the fate of nations may be determined hereafter by the performances of these naturally harmless creatures. The following particulars from one of the annual reports on the Post-office will show to what extent service was rendered by carrier-pigeons in keeping up postal communication with Paris when that city was invested during the Franco-German war of 1870-71:--

"As the war proceeded and the hostile forces approached Paris, the risk of interruption to our Indian mails became more and more imminent, and caused serious uneasiness to the Post-office. This feeling, which was not long in communicating itself to the public, the subsequent investment of the capital served to enhance. The mails had now to branch off at Amiens, and go round by Rouen and Tours, at a cost, in point of time, of from thirty to forty hours; but even this circuitous route could not long be depended upon, and nothing remained but to abandon Ma.r.s.eilles altogether as the line of communication for our Indian mails.

There was only one alternative--to send them through Belgium and Germany by the Brenner Pa.s.s to Brindisi, and thence by Italian packets to Alexandria.

"But it was in respect to the mails for France herself, and especially for Paris, that the greatest perplexity prevailed. As soon as Amiens was threatened--Amiens, the very key-stone of our postal communication with the interior and south of France--it became evident that the route _via_ Calais would not remain much longer. The alternative routes that presented themselves were _via_ Dieppe, and _via_ Cherbourg or St Malo, and no time was lost in making the necessary arrangements with the Brighton and South-Western Railway Companies. By both Companies trains were kept in constant readiness at the terminus in London, and vessels remained under steam at Newhaven and Southampton, prepared to start at the shortest notice, according to the course events might take. Late in the evening of the 26th of November, intelligence was received in London that the line of communication through Amiens was closed, and the mails were diverted from Calais to Cherbourg; within the next four days Cherbourg was exchanged for Dieppe, and Dieppe soon afterwards for St Malo. As to the means adopted for maintaining communication with Paris, the pigeon-post has become matter of history. Letters intended for this novel mode of transmission had to be sent to the headquarters of the French Post-office at Tours, where, it is understood, they were all copied in consecutive order, and by a process of photography transferred in a wonderfully reduced form to a diminutive piece of very thin paper, such as a pigeon could carry, the photographic process being repeated on their arrival in Paris, for the purpose of obtaining a larger impression. They were essential conditions that these letters should be posted open without cover or envelope, and that they should be registered; that they should be restricted to twenty words; that they should be written in French in clear and intelligible language, and that they should relate solely to private affairs, and contain no allusion either to the war or to politics. The charge was fixed at 5d. for each word (the name and address counting as one word), and 6d. for registration. During the investment, from November 1870 to January 1871, the number of letters sent from London to Tours, for despatch by pigeon-post to Paris, was 1234."

Profiting by the example furnished during the progress of the Franco-German war, the good people of the Fiji Islands have quite recently established a pigeon-post, to serve them in the peaceful pursuits of trade. The colony of Fiji is a group of 225 islands, between which the communications by sailing-vessels or steamers are not very regular, the former being frequently becalmed or r.e.t.a.r.ded by head-winds, while the latter are of small power and low speed. An important part of the trade of the Islands consists in exporting fruit and other produce to Australia and New Zealand, the largest portion consisting of bananas, of which a single steamer will sometimes carry about 12,000 bunches. It is desirable not to cut the bananas till the steamers from Australia and New Zealand arrive at Fiji, and consequently early news of the event is most important to planters in the more remote islands; for if the small schooners or cutters which carry the fruit between the islands arrive too late for the steamer, the poor planters lose their whole produce, which, being perishable, has to be thrown overboard. In these circ.u.mstances a pigeon-post has been called into operation: and should this method of communication be extended to all the important islands, as it has already been to some, many a cargo will be saved to the poor planters which would otherwise be wholly lost.

Subjoined is a copy of news by "Pigeon-post," taken from the 'Polynesian Gazette' of the 10th June 1884. It was conveyed by pigeon from Suva to Levuka, a distance as the crow flies of about 40 miles, and the time occupied in transit was 42 minutes, the actual flight to the home of the pigeon taking but 30 minutes:--

"LATEST NEWS FROM SUVA.

"_Per Pigeon-post._

"The following despatch, dated Suva, Sunday, 3 P.M., was received at Nasova at 3.42 same day:--

"'Hero' arrived midnight, left Melbourne 26th, Newcastle 29th.

Pa.s.sengers--Mrs Fowler and child, Mrs Cusack and family, Mrs Blythe and child, Messrs F. Hughes, Fullarton, J. Sims, J. B. Matthews, T. Rose, and A. H. Chambers.

"Agents-General of Queensland and Victoria gone to France to interview Ministers _in re_ recidivistes question. Marylebone won match, one innings and 115 runs; Australians have since defeated Birmingham eleven.

'Gunga,' Capt. Fleetwood, leaves Sydney 24th ult. New Zealand football team beat N.S. Wales, 34 points to _nil_. 'Cintra' at Newcastle, loading coal for Melbourne, same time as 'Hero.' A.S.N. Co. bought Adelaide Simpsons Birkgate and Fenterden.

"'Wairarapa' and 'Penguin' just arrived, further news when admitted to pratique.

"_Monday_, 5 P.M.

"'Penguin' may be expected in Levuka mid-day to-morrow, Tuesday.

"'Wairarapa' leaves for Levuka at daylight on Wednesday. 'Hero' leaves at 10.30 on Tuesday, for Deuba, and may be expected to arrive in Levuka on Wednesday night."

It is right to add that the "Pigeon-post" of Fiji is not connected with the Postal Department, but is carried on as a private enterprise.

CHAPTER XIII.

ABUSE OF THE FRANKING PRIVILEGE, AND OTHER PETTY FRAUDS.

_Abuse of the Franking Privilege._

Wherever the use of anything of value is given without the check of a money or other equivalent, the use is sure to degenerate into abuse; and in the experience of the Post-office this has been proved to be the case, both as regards letters and telegrams. In regard to the first, the franking privilege was long found to be a canker eating into the vitals of the Revenue; and its abolition on the introduction of the penny postage in 1840 came none too soon. Had the privilege been longer continued, it is impossible to conceive to what extent the abuse of it might have grown; but what might have occurred here has, in some measure, taken place in the United States, as is shown by the following statement made by the Postmaster-General of that country, about twenty years after the abolition of the privilege in this:--

"Another potent reason for the abolition of the franking privilege, as now exercised, is found in the abuses which seem to be inseparable from its existence. These abuses, though constantly exposed and animadverted upon for a series of years, have as constantly increased. It has been often stated by my predecessors, and is a matter of public notoriety, that immense ma.s.ses of packages are transported under the Government frank which neither the letter nor the spirit of the statute creating the franking privilege would justify; and a large number of letters, doc.u.ments, and packages are thus conveyed, covered by the frank of officials, written in violation of law, not by themselves, but by some real or pretended agent; while whole sacks of similar matter, which have never been handled nor even seen by Government functionaries, are transported under franks which have been forged. The extreme difficulty of detecting such forgeries has greatly multiplied this cla.s.s of offences; whilst their prevalence has so deadened the public sentiment in reference to them, that a conviction, however ample the proof, is scarcely possible to be obtained. The statute of 1825, denouncing the counterfeiting of an official frank under a heavy penalty, is practically inoperative. I refer you to the case reported at length by the United States attorney for the district, as strikingly ill.u.s.trating this vitiated public opinion, reflected from the jury-box. The proof was complete, and the case unredeemed by a single palliation; and yet the offender was discharged, unrebuked, to resume, if it should please him, his guilty task. This verdict of acquittal is understood to have been rendered on two grounds--first, that the accused said he did not commit the offence to avoid the payment of the postages; and second, that the offence has become so prevalent that it is no longer proper to punish it. These are startling propositions, whether regarded in their legal, moral, or logical aspects."

The unblushing way in which the British Post-office in its earlier days was called upon to convey not only franked letters, but, under franks, articles of a totally different cla.s.s, will be perceived from the following cases. It is not to be understood, however, that the things consigned actually pa.s.sed through the Post-office, but rather that they were admitted for transport on board the special packet-ships of Government, sailing for the purposes of the Post-office. The cases are taken from the first annual report of the Postmaster-General:--

"Fifteen couples of hounds going to the King of the Romans with a free pa.s.s."

"Some parcels of cloth for the clothing colonels in my Lord North's and my Lord Grey's regiments."

"Two servant-maids going as laundresses to my Lord Amba.s.sador Methuen."

"Doctor Crichton, carrying with him a cow and divers other necessaries."

"Three suits of cloaths for some n.o.bleman's lady at the Court of Portugal."

"A box containing three pounds of tea, sent as a present by my Lady Arlington to the Queen-Dowager of England at Lisbon."

"Eleven couples of hounds for Major-General Hompesch."

"A case of knives and forks for Mr Stepney, her Majesty's Envoy to the King of Holland."

"One little parcell of lace, to be made use of in clothing Duke Schomberg's regiment."

"Two bales of stockings for the use of the Amba.s.sador of the Crown of Portugal."

"A box of medicines for my Lord Galway in Portugal."

"A deal case with four flitches of bacon for Mr Pennington of Rotterdam."

The Post-office always had a great deal of trouble in controlling and keeping in check this system of franking; and withal, the privilege was much abused. Before the year 1764, members of Parliament had merely to write their names on the covers to ensure their correspondence free pa.s.sage through the post; and packets of such franks were furnished by the members to their friends, who laid them past for use as occasion required. Nay, more,--a trade was carried on in franks by the servants of members, whose practice it was to ask their masters to sign them in great numbers at a time. It was even suspected, and probably with sufficient reason, that franks were forged to a large extent; and, had postage been paid on all franked correspondence, it is estimated that the Revenue would have been increased by 170,000. In the hope of imposing some greater check on the evil, it was enacted in 1763 that the whole superscription must be in the handwriting of the member; but even this proved inadequate, and further restrictions were imposed in 1784 and 1795. Some very difficult and troublesome questions arose from time to time in dealing with member's letters. For example, when a member of Parliament had no place of residence in London, and was living out of the United Kingdom, if he had his letters addressed to a public office, or to any solicitor, banker, or other agent, he was not ent.i.tled to have his letters free of postage, but, if so directed and delivered, the postage had to be paid. Again, when a member kept up a residence in London, but had his letters directed to another place, the member ceased to enjoy the privilege as regards such letters; as he also did when letters were addressed to his residence in the country, and he happened to be elsewhere at the time of their delivery. Then a Catholic peer dying, who had never taken his seat, and being succeeded by his brother, who was a Protestant, the question is raised whether the latter could claim to use the franking privilege before the issue of the writ calling him to the House of Peers; and the legal decision is given that he could not so exercise the privilege. Keeping the members within proper bounds must evidently have been a task for the officers of the Post-office requiring both vigilance and determination.