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The Post Office and Its Story

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The Post Office and Its Story THE POST OFFICE & ITS STORY HEAVING OVERBOARD THE MAILS. FernanSo Noronha is a little island in the South Atlantic Ocean, and when a is vessel does not call there the letters are enclosed in a cask, to which a flag attached ; this is cast into the sea and there left floating until a boat from the island picks it up. The island is sighted by perhaps more ships and visited by fewer than any other spot on the globe. THE POST OFFICE AND ITS STORY AN INTERESTING ACCOUNT OF THE ACTIVITIES OF A GREAT GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT BY EDWARD BENNETT With 31 Illustrations LONDON SEELEY, SERVICE far CO. LTD. 38 GREAT RUSSELL STREET 1912 THE SCIENCE OF TO-DAY SERIES With many illustration!. Extra Crown 8vo. $s. net. BOTANY OF TO-DAY. A Popular Account of the Evolution of Modern Prof. G. F. SCOTT Botany." By ELLIOT, M.A., B.Sc., Author of The Romance of Plant Life," &c. <5fc. "One of the books that turn botany from a dryasdust into a fasci- nating; study." Evening Standard. AERIAL NAVIGATION OF TO-DAY. A Popular Account of the Evolution of Aeronautics. By CHARLES C. TURNER. " Mr. Turner is well qualified to write with authority on the subject. The book sets forth the principles of flight in plain non-technical language, One is impressed by the complete thoroughness with which the subject is treated." Daily Graphic. SCIENTIFIC IDEAS OF TO-DAY. A Popular Account, in Non-technical Language, of the Nature of Matter, Elec- tricity, Light, Heat, Electrons, &c. drv. By CHARLES R. GIBSON, F.R.S.E., Author of" Electricity of To-Day," &c. "Supplies a real need. Mr. Gibson has a fine gift of exposi- tion." Birmingham Post. ASTRONOMY OF TO-DAY. A Popular Introduction in Non-technical Language. By CECIL G. DOLMAGE, LL.D., F.R. A.S. With frontispiece in colours, &> 45 other illustrations. " Dr. Dolmage has absolutely kept to his promise to introduce the reader to an acquaintance with the astronomy of to-day in non- technical language." Saturday Review. ELECTRICITY OF TO-DAY. Its Work and Mysteries Explained. By CHARLES R. GIBSON, F.R.S.E. "Mr. Gibson has given us one of the best examples of popular scientific exposition that we remember seeing. His book may be strongly commended to all who wish to realise what electricity means and does in our daily life." The Tribune. ENGINEERING OF TO-DAY. A Popular Account of the Present State of the Science, with many interesting Examples, described in Non-technical Language. By THOMAS W. CORBIN. With 73 illustrations & diagrams. " Most attractive and instructive." Record. "The descriptions which are given of various types oi engineering structures and work are excellent." Yorkshire Observer. "Altogether a most delightful book." Literary World. MEDICAL SCIENCE OF TO-DAY. A Popular Account of the more recent Developments in Medicine 6 Surgery. By WILLMOTT EVANS, M.D., B.S., B.Sc. (Lond.), F.R.C.S. (Eng.), Surgeon to the Royal Free Hospital. MECHANICAL INVENTIONS OF TO-DAY. An Interesting Description of Modern Mechanical Inventions told in Non-technical Language. By THOMAS W. CORBIN, Author of "Engineering of To-Day." With 95 illustrations d^ diagrams. SEELEY, SERVICE cV CO. LIMITED AUTHOR'S NOTE A GREAT deal has been written about the General Post Office in newspapers and magazines, but the books on the subject are comparatively few. And these volumes are either exhaustive historical treatises, such as Mr. Herbert Joyce's History of the Post Office, or more popu- larly written descriptions of Post Office life and work of the character of Lewin's His Majesty's Mails or J. W. Heyde's Royal Mail. Mr. Joyce's work, however, carries us no farther than the eve of penny postage, while the other books were written too long ago to be a guide to the Post Office of to-day. It is within the last twenty years that the Department has made the most rapid strides in the extension of its activities, and it is this period especially which is without an historian. What I have attempted to do is to tell the story of the Department, briefly in its early beginnings, more fully in its modern developments, and in such a way as to give the reader the impression that the Post Office is alive, that it is in close touch with the needs of the nation, and is in less danger of being strangled with red-tape methods than at any time of its existence. A book on the Post Office written for the student should contain abundant references to authorities and exhaustive tables of figures and estimates, but in the interest of the general reader I have omitted these aids to reflection. Mark Twain, when he published one v Author's Note of his novels, said he had omitted all descriptions of scenery in the story, but those who liked that sort of thing would find it in the appendix. I have dispensed even with an appendix, and those who really want figures and estimates must be referred to the Post- master-General's Annual Reports. Of course I am largely indebted to the volumes I have mentioned and to others for the historical portions of my book. To Sir Rowland Hill's Life, written by his daughter, I owe many of the facts contained in my " chapter on The Penny Post." The staff of the General Post Office have during the last twenty-one years conducted a magazine entitled S/. Martin's le Grand, the volumes of which have been of great assistance to me, as they will be in the future to a more serious historian of the Post Office than I can claim to be. Among the writers to this magazine whose contributions I have found of great use are A. M. Ogilvie, J. A. J. Housden, C. H. Denver, R. C. Tombs, I.S.O., and R. W. Johnston. Mr. Johnston, who had held during a long life several important posts in the Department, took a keen interest in this book in its early stages, but, to my great regret, died before it was com- pleted. Articles by J. G. Hendry and W. C. Waller " helped me considerably in my chapter on The Travel- ling Post Office." Mr. E. Wells and Mr. A. Davey gave " " me their kind help on the subject of Motor Mails and " The Parcel Post," and to my friend Mr. A. W. Edwards I am indebted for most valuable assistance in the writing " of my chapters on The Telegraph." I have also to thank another friend, Mr. R. W. Hatswell, for advice and help in many directions. My acknowledgments are due to Messrs Jarrold and Sons of Norwich and Warwick Lane, E.G., for their vi Author's Note kind permission to include a schoolboy's essay on the postman in my chapter dealing with that official. The essay is to be found in a book entitled The Comic Side of School Life, by H. J. Barker. The Post Office has many critics, friendly and un- friendly, but it count sits friends in millions, and I have written this book with the belief that a closer know- ledge of the Department with which we all have deal- ings will be acceptable. EDWARD BENNETT. vn CONTENTS PAGE CHAP. I. POSTBOYS AND MAIL COACHES . .17 1 II. THE PENNY POST . 3 III. LOMBARD STREET AND ST. MARTIN'S LE GRAND 43 IV. KING EDWARD'S BUILDING .... 56 V. THE TRAVELLING POST OFFICE . 69 VI. THE PARCEL POST ... -83 VII. MOTOR MAILS .... .98 VIII. THE UNDELIVERED POSTAL PACKET . 108 IX. MONEY ORDERS AND POSTAL ORDERS . .125 X. THE POST OFFICE SAVINGS BANK . 137 XL THE TELEGRAPH i5S XII. THE TELEGRAPH (continued) . .170 XIII. THE TELEPHONE . 181 XIV. ENGINEERS, STORES AND FACTORIES . 195 XV. OCEAN MAILS .... .208 XVI. THE POSTAL UNION . .222 XVII. CONCERNING FOREIGN POST OFFICES . 231 XVIII. THE POST OFFICES OF THE EMPIRE . 246 XIX. THE POSTMASTER-GENERAL AND THE PER- MANENT STAFF ...... 261 bt Contents CHAP. PAGE XX. THE HEAD POSTMASTER 276 XXI. THE VILLAGE POST OFFICE .... 289 XXII. THE POSTMAN 304 XXIII. THE POST OFFICE GUIDE . .317 XXIV. OLD AGE PENSIONS AND OTHER ACTIVITIES OF THE POST OFFICE 332 INDEX 350 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS HEAVING OVERBOARD THE MAILS . Frontispiece PAGE THE MAIL COACHES LEAVING LONDON . .20 MAIL COACH AND TRAIN -34 ST. MARTIN'S LE GRAND 48 THE BLIND SECTION 62 THE TRAVELLING POST OFFICE INTERIOR 70 SUSPENDING THE POUCH 76 POUCH AND NET 76 POUCH TAKEN 76 APPARATUS FOR RECEIVING POUCH .... 78 APPARATUS FOR DELIVERING POUCH ... 78 THE PARCEL POST HOSPITAL 94 THE CUSTOM HOUSE OFFICERS AT WORK ... 96 THE SORTING OFFICE no A POSTCARD 114 A POSTCARD 120 A LONDON POSTMAN (OLD STYLE) . .126 THE WOODPECKER AND THE TELEGRAPH POST . 156 TELEGRAMS ON TELEPHONE WIRES . .172 THE TELEPHONE DETECTIVE 182 THREE MINUTES' CONVERSATION BY TELEPHONE . .192 xi List of Illustrations PAGE UNDERGROUND TELEPHONE WIRES 198 How TREASURE WAS BROUGHT TO LONDON . .210 ST. KILDA MAIL 219 THE POSTAL UNION MONUMENT 228 A POST OFFICE STONE 255 THE RIVER POSTMAN 258 THE SORTING SCHOOL 280 THE POSTMAN'S BELL 306 A COUNTRY POSTWOMAN 314 A NEST IN A LETTER-BOX 328 XII x THE POST OFFICE & ITS STORY CHAPTER I POSTBOYS AND MAIL COACHES A SCHOOLBOY who was given the task of writing an " essay on the Post Office used these words : The Post Office contains the whole world's circumstances, or welfare, day after day, as a mother shuts all her chickens under her wings. A man would not reveal his very secreate words to his wife or to any one, but he trusts them to a weak envelope in the Post Office." This boy was perhaps \viser than he knew.
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