OLD AGE PENSIONS AND OTHER ACTIVITIES
OF THE POST OFFICE
The General Post Office undertakes several duties for the State that are
not strictly proper to the Department, but which fall to its share
because of the splendid machinery it possesses for getting into touch
with the people. And when big reforms come along, such as Old Age
Pensions or National Insurance, although the money is to come out of
imperial funds, and is not brought into the Post Office balance-sheet at
all, it seems the most natural thing for the Treasury to use as
paymaster or receiving agent the Department which has an office in every
village.
As regards Old Age Pensions I cannot do better than quote the
Postmaster-General's own words in his report for 1909, the year
following the adoption of the scheme.
“The Old Age Pension Act, 1908, provided for the payment of the pensions
weekly, and your lordships having directed that the money should be paid
through the Post Office, a committee composed of representatives of the
Treasury, the Inland Revenue, the Local Government Board, and the Post
Office drew up a scheme providing for payment by means of orders of a
special pattern but resembling a postal order in general appearance.
“It gives me great satisfaction to report that the arrangements, which
were necessarily planned at short notice, were carried out with complete
success—a result due, to a considerable extent, to the hearty and
sympathetic co-operation of the postmasters and their staffs throughout
the United Kingdom.
“The first payments took place on New Year's Day 1909, and during the
three months ending the 31st March, 7,925,150 Old Age Pension orders
were cashed, representing a total sum of £1,904,722.
“In addition to paying the pensions after they had been granted, the
Post Office furnished (and continues to furnish) information and
assistance to any person desiring to make an application for an Old Age
Pension.”
And again, in his report for 1910, the Postmaster-General referred to
the matter:—
“The total number of Old Age Pensions paid during the year was
35,167,983, representing an amount of £8,465,231.”
It will be seen from the size of these figures that the Post Office
has taken upon itself a huge amount of extra business. The old people
of the country have an additional reason for looking upon the
Department as in a peculiar sense the friend of the poor. The weekly
visit of the pensioners enables them to become known to the officials,
and the pensioners in their turn grow attached to the building in
which they experience weekly the joy of possession. There are few
pleasanter human sights in the country to-day than to watch the faces
of the pensioners as they leave the post office. Moreover, the meeting
of the pensioners, all on the same errand, is having curious results.
The Postmaster-General, in his wildest dreams of the possibilities of
the Post Office, never perhaps saw it pictured as a matrimonial bureau
in which Darby and Joan, going thither to receive their Old Age
Pensions, would cast sheep's eyes at each other, and ultimately
surround the dole of the State with a halo of romance. In a village
near Dudley, a few months after the introduction of Old Age Pensions,
two old people were united in wedlock. The bridegroom had seventy-five
years to his credit and the bride admitted to seventy-four summers.
They had frequently met at the post office, grew to be friendly
towards each other, and discovered perhaps a touch of romantic love in
their hearts. Anyhow they decided to pool their pensions.
There have been many such instances. It is evident that many of the lady
pensioners are now regarded, for the first time perhaps in their lives,
as “catches,” and I am afraid several have sacrificed the certain
pension for the possible romance.
One of the most amusing incidents of the kind was brought to light over
the payment of a Savings Bank warrant. The sub-postmaster was asked to
satisfy himself as to the depositor's identity “in view of the shaky
nature of her signature.” The sub-postmaster replied: “I have paid the
warrant. Depositor an old age pensioner, aged seventy-seven, well known
at this office. The shakiness of signature was pointed out to her, and
she explained that she was very excited that morning, having just put up
the banns. Marriage at the Old Church. Ceremony will be on May 15th.”
Of course there are abundant humours and tragedies revealed in the
inquiries made at the post office by would-be pensioners. What desperate
efforts will they not resort to for the purpose of proving their age
qualification! An applicant at Monaghan, when asked for some evidence of
age, replied, “I remember eating a fish which was blown out of Drumloo
Lake the night of the big wind, 6th Jan. 1839.”
And some persons seem to think that by the payment of the pension the
Post Office is under an obligation to see that it is spent properly. A
postmistress received this letter from the relative of a pensioner: “To
the Postmaster. Dear Madam, you are requested by order to chastise J——
M—— of B—— for drinking his pension on Saturday, an also on a few
occasions this month has been found drunk, an if you don't write to him
and give him a sharp advice I shall proceed against you without further
notice.”
In consequence of the removal of the pauper disqualification on the 1st
January 1911 the number of pensioners was greatly increased. A few can
scarcely realise that they have not to go through some ceremony before
they can be entitled. The lady pensioner perhaps feels what many of her
sisters do when being married at a registry office: they miss the
ceremony and the blessing of the Church. At one office in London an old
lady inquired earnestly if she had to be christened. “Because,” she
said, “I've never been, and if I must I'd like to go to the Rev. —— for
choice.”
And she looked woefully disappointed when she was informed that even in
her unregenerate state she was qualified for a pension.
The General Post Office through its offices also supplies local taxation
licences. If you seek to be the possessor of a dog, a gun, a male
servant, a carriage, a motor bicycle, or a motor car, you will obtain
the licence from the post office. There seems, indeed, no limit to the
possibilities of the local office as an agent for the distribution of
the good things which we expect in these days from reforming
Governments.
* * * * *
A very interesting but little-known branch of Post Office work is that
connected with the army and navy. In time of peace the army at home and
abroad is served by the Post Office in the same way as the ordinary
public. Correspondence posted in this country for the regiments
stationed abroad is sent to and delivered through the agency of the
civilian post offices of the colonies and dependencies. During great
campaigns, however, it becomes necessary to organise special services to
meet the needs of the larger bodies of troops engaged. The first
occasion in modern times in which certain postal servants donned
fighting kit and subjected themselves to military discipline in order to
conduct the postal service in the field was in 1882, upon the outbreak
of the Egyptian War. The men-sorters and telegraphists were enrolled
from the 24th Middlesex Volunteers, a regiment composed entirely of Post
Office servants, and by royal warrant they were constituted the Post
Office Corps. The corps consisted of two officers and one hundred men
specially transferred from the regiment to the Army Reserve for service
abroad, and of these a detachment forty-four strong served with the
expeditionary force in Egypt and conducted the entire postal service of
the campaign.
The second reserve corps, consisting of telegraphists, and organised on
similar lines to the Post Office Corps, was created within the regiment
in 1884, under the name of the Royal Engineer Telegraph Reserve, to
supplement the staff of the regular Royal Engineer telegraphists during
the war. A detachment from this corps and one from the Post Office Corps
served in the Sudan campaign of 1884-85.
In the South African War of 1899-1902 the Post Office Corps consisted of
648 men, and 453 men served in the Royal Engineer Reserve. The serious
nature of their service is shown by the fact that the losses included
several killed in action and about fifty who died of disease.
The duties of the Army Post Office are, to put it briefly, to receive,
sort, and distribute correspondence, and to sell stamps, stationery, and
postal orders, and generally to perform the main functions of a post
office as we know it at home.
The Army Post Office Corps, which is mobilised in time of war, is a
volunteer organisation—that is to say, the men composing it are postal
servants who volunteer for the particular service. The work of the
Telegraph Battalion during the South African War was especially severe,
and no less than 386 men were drawn from the Post Office for telegraph
purposes alone.
In addition to acting as telegraphists with the army, the men were also
required to mend the wires, which were constantly being cut by the
enemy, and they were also expected to keep the wires in working order.
Seventy-six skilled linesmen were sent out by the Post Office to look
after this branch of the work.
Some idea of the postal work conducted by the Post Office Corps during
the war may be gathered from the fact that in one week the number of
letters sent from London for the seat of war was 313,416, and the mail
from the Army Post Office, which reached London about the same time,
contained 108,150 letters and registered articles. The parcels sent to
the troops reached very high figures, amounting in one week to 19,019.
“The undelivered postal packet” of the Army Post Office is of course a
large item in the day's work. It is pitiful to look at the contents of
the bags returned. The envelopes are torn and dirty, some of the letters
have lost their covering, thus making the delivery hopeless, while
others have written across them, “Killed in Action,” “Missing,” or “Gone
Home.”
Few people have any idea of the enormous area of South Africa which was
covered by our military operations. By the time mails despatched from
Capetown reached their destination the addressees had frequently changed
their station, and the letters had to undergo a long course of
re-direction.
Mr. H. C. Shelley, the war correspondent of the _Westminster Gazette_,
bore eloquent testimony to the work of the Post Office during the war.
“Both at Capetown and in the field I had many opportunities of watching
the Army Post Office Corps at work. Officers and men alike were always
alert in the discharge of their duties, and their courtesy was
unfailing. No trouble was ever too great for them to take: their sole
concern was that those longed-for letters from home might reach the
expectant owners as quickly as possible. At Modder River the post office
was a miserable room in which you could not have swung your arm, much
less your arm and a cat, but in that wretched apartment the heroes of
the Postal Corps kept cheerfully to their work with unflagging zeal.”
As regards the navy, each ship of his Majesty's fleet has a post office
to itself in charge of some duly appointed officer. Stamps and postal
orders are on sale, and a special bag is provided on board for the
posting of correspondence.
When the ships are in home waters the rates of postage to be prepaid are
the same as those prevailing in the inland service of the United
Kingdom, but in the cases of ships stationed abroad the postage home is
1d. for letters, 1d. each for postcards, and ½d. per 2 oz. for printed
matter. As long as the correspondence is posted on board the ships in
the special bag provided for the purpose these rates apply, and British
stamps are valid for the prepayment of the postage even though the ships
may be in the harbour of a foreign country. The ship's bags are sealed
and landed at the first convenient port, or transferred to the first
likely ship that is met, for conveyance to destination. In the outward
direction a special bag for each ship is made up in the General Post
Office in London, and is despatched under seal at the first available
opportunity.
* * * * *
A book on the Post Office would not be complete without some reference
to the boy messengers of the Department. They are certainly one of its
activities. They have been called the aristocracy of the messenger
world, for the State is in a position to pick and choose its servants.
They are almost as well known to the public as the postmen.
No boy is accepted unless he has passed the seventh standard at school,
and every candidate has to provide a satisfactory certificate of health
from “his own medical attendant.” A boy of fourteen must also be over 4
feet 8 inches in height. In London the boys usually start at 7s. a week,
rising 1s. a week annually to 11s.
The Post Office messenger certainly receives an excellent training in
good habits, and the discipline he undergoes is excellent for him. He is
required to be alert and resourceful, though perhaps he does not have
the same opportunities for varied experience as the district messenger
boy. No doubt his training is useful also for outside employment if he
leaves the Service at the end of his time, but the boys' special
qualifications are for Post Office service.
The boy messenger is especially interesting as a human type. He comes
into a public office raw and untrained, and he usually leaves it a
well-disciplined and decent-mannered man. If it unfortunately happens
that discarded boy messengers frequently join the ranks of the
unemployed, or even of the unemployable, it is difficult to believe that
they can ever become hooligans. How is the boy licked into shape? First
of all, in any large body of men or boys there is a recognised standard
of conduct; even the boy who lives in the street is conscious of a
standard of the street; but of course in a public office the standard is
maintained also by rules and regulations. Perhaps we shall know these
boys better, and besides obtain little glimpses into their lives, if I
let them tell their own stories, by means of our old friend the written
explanation.
The special feature of the boys' explanations is that there is nothing
studied about their composition. As a rule, they are simple, direct, and
unlaboured. They dispense with such trifles as punctuation, orthography,
or syntax, but you feel when you are reading the documents that the boy
is stating the facts as he knows them. It has been said that “it is
better not to know too much than to know the things that ain't so,” and
we forgive the form of this sentence because of the way it grips with
the situation: it closes with the truth; there is nothing to be said in
opposition to it, but its form is the form of the half-educated. So it
is with the literary efforts of the boy messenger: they are fresh,
human, and free from artifice. “Are you free from any bodily injury or
defect?” was asked of a youthful applicant for a boy messengership. And
he wrote down proudly, “Yes; I am in fine condition.”
Here is a snipping from official papers. It is on the printed form used
in all cases of the written explanation.
“Messenger G——: To furnish your explanation as to your conduct towards
an old gentleman in —— Street this evening.”
“THE POSTMASTER.
“SIR,—As I was passing through —— Street last night an old
gentleman stood in the street. I threw a potato at the gentleman. I am
very sorry, and I hope it will not occur again.”
There is no beating about the bush here. As Mr. Birrell said of Dr.
Newman: “That love of putting the case most strongly against himself is
only one of the lovely characteristics of the man.”
Another young hopeful had the misfortune to smash one of the office
windows. An indignant Superintendent wanted to know the reason why. The
lad made a clean breast of it. He filled in the departmental form giving
all particulars, and he finished up with a fine piece of pleading. “I
admit I threw the stone, but if the other boy had not ducked, the window
would have been all right.”
The boys are indeed often very smart in their replies. One was asked to
explain “why you were seen walking across the sorting-room with an
unlighted cigarette in your mouth.” The answer was: “Because it is
forbidden for me to light it in the office.”
As an instance of the smart messenger boy, let me tell a story. A young
man, having missed a train at Victoria, despatched, with faint hope of
its being delivered, a telegram to a young lady whom he should have met
at East Croydon Station. The only possible address was of course “Miss
X., waiting at East Croydon Station,” and great was his surprise when he
found the young lady awaiting him, as the telegram had directed, at
Reigate. The young lady told him she was one of a great number of ladies
who were on the platform, but the boy, on looking round them, came up to
her at once with “A telegram for you, miss.” Curious to know how he had
detected the right addressee, she asked him the question, and he
replied, “Because you looked so downhearted, miss.”
A messenger who was exceedingly troublesome, and who had already
received several cautions for his conduct, gave in this touching
explanation: “After being cautioned several times about misconducting
myself, I tried to turn over a new leaf, but whatever I do it seems that
every one is down on me. I try very hard to behave myself but I find
that I cannot do so.” The truth must be told: his papers gave no
indication of any new leaves.
A struggle between two boys in the sorting-room was explained in this
way:—
“To the Postmaster: Messenger Smith called me a wooden head, so I poured
hot tar over his dinner and punched him on the nose: hopeing this will
meet with your approval.”
It is to children unused to the arts of diplomacy that we have to look
for plain statements of facts as they are: we elders grow astute by
experience, and we hedge and prevaricate. The following bears all the
evidence of a real happening:—
“Messenger Halter: You are requested to furnish at once your explanation
as to the delay in the delivery of message No. 30. You were turned out
at 11.20 and did not return until 11.37. Please state whether you
stopped on the road before delivering the message.”
“The Postmaster: I stopped and asked a boy if he had not only one handle
on his barrow and he said no and I walked on again but the Gentleman saw
me and asked me if I had a telegram for boston view and I said Yes and
he said you silly fool Why did you Dam-weell stop and I said I was sorry
and he said sorry by Dammed why did you stop with that boy you Dame fool
I shall report you. You have made me lose the train.”
The following is also no doubt a true picture:—
“Robert Brown, No. 28: You are requested at once to furnish your
explanation as to excessive time taken to go to ——”
“The Postmaster: When I got my message I went up High Street and through
the market and delivered the message. When I was coming back, a horse
which was in the park that I was walking along side of came over to me,
so I stopped and patted it on the neck hoping it will never happen
again.”
We are all interested in the story of a fight, especially under unequal
conditions, and here is a thrilling account of an encounter between two
boys, written by themselves. We shall not fail to admire the splendid
calm of the boy clerk who, though struck in the pit of the stomach, with
the addition of several kicks on the shins, still remembered he was the
superior officer, with the right to caution a subordinate.
“Boy Messenger: To explain fully the circumstances which led up to being
molested by a boy clerk on the 6th inst.”
“The Inspector: I was coming back from a wait case and I saw Messenger
Jones through two cupboards and I called to him and the boy Clerk
mentioned called me and gave me a wait case to take out and I told him
that I did not know where to take it and he threw me outside. When I
came back from the wait case he dragged me downstairs to the ground
floor and kept hold of me while he was showing another boy clerk to get
papers out. About ten minutes later he pushed me upstairs and bent my
arms back and hurt my wrists at the time. He turned round on me all of a
sudden and caught hold of my neck and pressed as hard as he could and
wrung it. This happened on the First floor in the corridor.—E. C. P.”
Now listen to the boy clerk's explanation. Note the superior tone of the
boy in a higher position: it is a case of dignity and impudence.
“The Superintendent: Respecting the complaint made by the messenger P——,
I wish to point out that any injury done to him by myself was done under
circumstances which could with every justification be called
self-defence.
“I was asked by Mr. Green to forward a case to the Ledger Branch, and
when I asked P—— to go he after being absent from his bench for a
considerable time gave me a blank refusal. I prevailed upon him to go
after threatening more than once to report him. On arriving back he on
each occasion when going past my desk passed sarcastic and insulting
remarks, such as 'fool' and 'swanker.'
“Later he actually asked me to go down to the basement and fight him
though he is barely one-third my size, and for the second time
threatened to blacken my eyes. He also deliberately gave me a blow in
the pit of the stomach and several kicks upon the shins, _upon which I
again cautioned him_. Taking no heed, he rushed at me with hands raised,
and in the struggle which ensued he imagined he was badly hurt.
Regretting having been in any way connected with this disturbance, I
trust this explanation will be considered sufficient.”
The italics are mine: we cannot fail to admire the way in which, in most
trying circumstances, the boy clerk maintained his dignity.
The fighting instincts of the average boy are indeed the chief
difficulties of his Superintendent. “I was coming out of sorting-room
ground floor when Messenger B—— and I knock up against one another. So I
tapped him on the head and he tapped me back and one thing brought on
another and it ended wrestling.”
A very pretty and reasonable story, which does not, however, prevent us
forming a tolerably correct picture of the savage fight which actually
took place.
Here are a few more explanations:—
“I had a pain in my leg which came on me all of a sudden, but I am sorry
for this offence.”
“We were all whistling at the time but we made no noise.”
“I was watching an accident and had no idea what time it was, but I will
watch that I stand and talk at no other accident.”
Another in rather an aggrieved mood says: “If you knew what it is to
take half-an-hour to eat half-a-slice of bread you would know what it
was to have a gumboil.” We think we understand.
Yet another: “He was telling me a story and I called him a liar, only I
used stronger language.”
“I was taking a moonlight walk with my fiasco,” was the explanation of
one boy.
And one boy asks for a day's leave. “I beg to apply for a holiday to
attend my grandfather's funeral. He died of senile decay.”
Another boy's explanation of his delay in delivering a telegram was: “I
went there and back as quick as I could and I will never let it occur
again.”
The Post Office has from the earliest times drawn upon the boy
population of this country to do a large portion of its work. The
postboys were carrying letters across country three hundred years ago,
though in many cases the term “boy” was merely an official designation,
and the individual was nearer his second than his first childhood. The
labour is cheap—that of course is an advantage in the eyes of the
Treasury—but there is also a peculiar fitness in the employment of the
young in work which above all things demands quickness, alertness, and a
capacity for endurance.
* * * * *
We are approaching the end of our story, and it may not be out of place
in this last chapter to say a few words concerning the Post Office as a
whole, worked not by machinery but by human beings. Now what is called
“the system” in human concerns influences more or less every individual.
If you are a grocer “the system” is with you; the custom, the habit, and
the public opinion of your trade will grow upon you, and your
individuality and personal enterprise may in the end be crushed by “the
system.”
So it is in the Post Office; nearly all the irritation which the public
exhibits occasionally towards the Department is due to the fact that the
official they have been dealing with is controlled by “the system.” And
the larger, the more powerful the body, the greater is the power of “the
system” over the individual. The outward and visible sign of the
domination of “the system” is “red tape,” and it is found in the
grocer's shop as well as in the Post Office.
A lady once wrote to the Controller of the Post Office Savings Bank this
simple application: “Please send me a nomination form in the event of me
dying in accordance with Rule No. 27.” Now, strange as it may seem,
there is a type of official mind which sees nothing ridiculous in her
application. Long years of official routine, and the observance of
minute regulations on every point of official conduct, have the effect
of implanting in many minds so great a reverence for the regulations
which govern their occupations that they view it as only natural that
life and death should be subject to official rules. It is only a small
minority in any condition of life who are not controlled by “the
system.” Why should we expect the minority to become a majority just
because the persons involved possess Civil Service certificates?
Moreover, it is only a small minority anywhere who can be trusted to use
their own judgment always or to work “the system” in the light of their
own intelligence, and I venture to say that in the imperfect condition
of the human race what is called “red tape” means security for the
public. It is better to suffer from some hardship, owing to the personal
application of a regulation framed not to meet one individual instance
but an average of cases, than to run the risk of your official business
being conducted by a man whose guiding star is supposed to be common
sense alone, but whose own particular illumination is probably a mere
twinkle, scarcely seen by the naked eye.
There is a delightful official phrase which is frequently addressed to
complainants, and it runs something like this: “The regulation, which is
framed under Act of Parliament, has been drawn up as much in the
interests of the public as to safeguard the Department.” Both the public
and the Department need to be protected from the capriciousness of the
average official—who is also, it may be noted, the average man.
I remarked in a previous chapter that the British Government had a way
of contracting itself out of its own laws, and the Postmaster-General
often reserves to himself the right to contract himself out of his
regulations. The phrase, “the discretion of the Postmaster-General,” is
brought into play in cases of hardship, and it is through this loophole
that the rigour of “the system” may become modified.
Now, roughly speaking, the discretion of the Postmaster-General can only
be exercised in the General Post Office by officials who are in receipt
of at least £500 a year, and the flexibility of “the system” depends,
therefore, upon the personnel of a small group of men in each
department. The rank and file carry out the regulations; certain members
of the public consider that in their particular cases the regulations
are unjust or inapplicable; they appeal to headquarters, and here it is
where the discretionary powers of the Postmaster-General are exercised.
I do not say this is a perfect arrangement: the man at headquarters,
owing to his training under “the system,” is often afraid himself to use
the discretion to which he is entitled, and he too falls back upon the
rigidity of the regulations. But it works admirably when the official is
equal to his responsibilities, and when the complainant has a legitimate
grievance against the Department.
Many grievances against a public office arise, I am convinced, not out
of the thing done or undone, but on account of the way complainants are
sometimes approached. It is the officialism of the average official man
which we dislike. A certain clergyman was once summoned to the presence
of his bishop, a dignitary who was known throughout his diocese for his
want of urbanity, and on leaving the august presence he was asked by a
sympathising brother how he had fared. The clergyman simply threw up his
hands despairingly and said: “He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who
is able to abide his frost?”
There are too many officials in the public service who resemble this
bishop: the influence of “the system” on their official characters has
been to develop in them a sort of consciousness of caste. But I have
written this story of the Post Office in vain if I have not brought out
clearly the human side of the Department, and if I have not shown that,
although it is in appearance and working a huge machine, yet the human
factor counts in the highest as well as the lowest duties of the
Service. And I hope I have proved my case that the Post Office is a live
institution and adapts itself readily to the needs of the British
people.
INDEX
Abbot's Cliff, 191
Aberdeen, 72, 73, 80
Accountant-General, 45, 55
Addresses on letters, 108, 111, 115, 120, 252
Admiralty, 220
Advertising postal facilities, 85, 323
Aldersgate Street, 129
Allen, Ralph, 36
Alphabet keeper, 45
America, 64
Anglo-American Telegraph Company, 160
Animals by post, 323
_Annals of the Road_, 27
Annuities, Post Office, 143
Architecture of Post Offices, 233, 302
Army Post Office—
Crimea, 130
Early history, 336
Duties of, 337
Arran Islands, 217
Assistant Secretaries, 261
Associations, their recognition by Postmaster-General, 262
Atlantic Ferry, 209, 212
Athens, 81
Australia—
First mail service to, 215
Postal service, 258
Articles refused by post, 328
Austria, 160
Awards Committee, 206
Aylesbury Coach Road, 89
Bagnigge Wells, 85
Baines, F. E., C.B., 32, 265
Balloons, 235
_Balmoral Castle_, 216
Band conveyors, 60
Baptism, commercial idea of, 150
Barnet, 98
Bartholomew's Hospital, 58
_Batavia_, 213
Bath, 22, 36
Baudot system—
Introduction, 155
Circuit, 160
Working of, 167
Bawtry, 281
Bedminster Town Penny Bank, 325
Bees by post, 323
Belfast, 279
Belgium—
Parcel Post to, 84
Money Orders to, 131
Wires to, 160
Telephone to, 191
Bell, A. M., 182
Bell, Graham, 182
Berlin, 327
Berne—
First Congress, 225
Treaty of, 226
Second Congress, 228
Monument, 230
Bicycles, 99
Birmingham, 31, 35, 70, 72, 164, 279
Blackfriars Power Station, 162, 169
“Black Swan,” 44
Blackwood, Sir Arthur, K.C.B., 264
Blind Section, 62, 89, 90
Bombay, 215, 216
Bousseul, Charles, 181
Boxmoor, 72
Boy messengers—
Qualifications, 339
Explanations, 341-346
Bradshaw, 231
Bright's Bell, 155
Brighton, 75, 99, 100
Brindisi, 215
Brisbane, 216
Bristol, 21, 279, 280
_Britannia_, 213
British Central Africa—
Postal Service, 255
Postmaster's duties, 257
British Islands packet services, 217
British Post Offices abroad, 205
Brontë, Charlotte, 67
Brussels, 191
“Bull and Mouth,” 27, 50
Bullion, carriage of, 209
Burdett, Sir Francis, 34
Burravoe, 81
Buxton, Right Hon. Sydney, M.P., 201, 262
Cable conveyors, 60
Cadiz, 81
Cairo, 215
Calais, 220
Caledonian Railway, 73
Camels as carriers of mails, 246, 254
_Campania_, 213
Campbell, Lord, 23
Campbeltown, 285
Canada—
Parcel Post, 84
Money Orders, 131
Imperial Penny Post, 258
Canary Islands, 237
Cape Colony—
Money Orders, 131
Ocean mail service, 214, 216
Post Office stones, 255
Cape Grisnez, 191
Card system for accounts, 244
Cardiff, 279
Carlisle, 75
Cash on Delivery System, 253
Cats in Post Office, 95
_Central News Agency_, 165
Central Telegraph Office—
Building, 67
Transmitting centre, 159
First office, 161
Interior, 163
Sunday arrangements, 169
Staff, 173
Chamberlain, Right Hon. Joseph, M.P., 51, 247, 263
Channel Fleet, letters to, 116
Channel Islands—
Cable to, 156
Mail service, 218
Chesham, 104
China—
Mails to, 220
Post Office, 244
Articles refused, 328
_Christian World_, 298
Christ's Hospital, 58
Civil Service, secret of success in, 272
Clerical Establishment, 268
Clerks of the Roads, 45, 125
Clifden, 178
Cloak Lane, 43
Coaches, 22
Coaching inns, 98
Coin by post, 125, 127
Coke, Lady Mary, 304
Coldbath Fields Prison, 85
Coleridge, S. T., 33
Colonial Office, 51
Compensation, 59
Comptroller and Accountant-General, 265
Concentrator switches, 168
_Connaught_, 218
Consols—
Popularisation of, 140
Amount held in Post Office, 141
Facilities for purchase, 141
Reduction of interest on, 143
Constantinople, 84, 130, 328
Continental Mail, 75, 222
Cooke, 155
Cornwall, 75
Cowper, William, 21
“Creed” system, 155, 166
Crimean War, 130
Cuba, 328
Cunard Company, 212
_Daily Mail_, 108, 193
_Daily Telegraph_, 245
Date stamping, 61
_David Copperfield_, 281
Dead Letter Office, 109, 118
Deal, 33
Denmark, 328
De Quincey, Thomas, 28, 102
De Saint Marceaux, 230
Diamond Jubilee Reforms, 84, 246, 258
Dickens, Charles, 28
Dickson, Mrs. Elizabeth, 314
Dieppe, 220
Dockree support system, 88
Dockwra, 35, 290
Don Manuel Alvarez Espriella, 210
Dover, 220
Dover Road, 19, 208
Dryden, 45
Dublin, 218
Duncan, Rev. Henry, 138
Dunfermline, 287
Eastbourne, 284
East India Company, 247
Edinburgh, 23, 32, 36
_Edinburgh Castle_, 216
Edison Telephone Company, 183, 184
Egypt, 84, 215, 336
Electric stamping machines, 61
Electric Telegraph Company, 161
Elephant as carrier of mails, 246, 249
Engineer-in-Chief, 267
Engineers, 195, 196
Enniskillen, 284
_Etruria_, 213
Euston, 72, 74, 80, 89
Exchange Telegraph Company, 165
Exeter, 25
Express Delivery Service, 96, 323
Factories (_see_ Post Office Factories)
Fair Isle, 220
Fair Wages Resolution, 206
Falkland Islands, 328
Falmouth—
As packet station, 209
100 years ago, 210
P. and O. service, 214
Farmers' telephones, 193
Fawcett, Right Hon. H., 85, 262
Ferry mail services, 81
Fiji Islands, 216
Fishguard, 217
“Fleece Tavern,” 44
Flushing, 75, 220
Flying Coaches, 22
Folkestone, 75, 220
Foot posts, 21
Foreign Parcel Post, articles refused, 328
Foreign postal rates, 223
Foreign Post Office methods, 231
Forman, H. Buxton, C.B., 265
_Forty Years at Post Office_, 265
Foula, 220
Founder's Court, E.C., 161
France—
Money Orders to, 131
Wires to, 160
Postal methods, 234
Savings Bank, 235
Telegraphs, 236
Parcel Post, 236
Franks, 34
Freeling, Sir Francis, 264, 268, 278
Garibaldi, 41
Gavey, Sir John, K.C.B., 267
Gell System, 166
General Election—
Effects on telegraph system, 171, 204
General Post Office North, 55, 67
General Post Office South, 55, 67
General Post Office West, 67, 161
Germany—
Parcel Post, 84
Money Orders, 131
Wires to, 160
Postal methods, 232
Post Offices, 232
Ghosts seen from motors, 107
Gibraltar, 81, 84, 214
Gladstone, Right Hon. W. E.—
Anglican Orders, 132
Post Office Savings Bank, 138
Home Role Bill telegrams, 171
Glasgow—
Early charges to, 32
Telephone, 191
Postmaster, 279
Postmen, 313
_Grand Magazine_, 270
Great Eastern Railway, 75
Great North Road, 22, 32, 98, 282
_Great Western_, 212
Great Western Railway, 73, 75
Greenwich Observatory, 170
Grievances against the Post Office, 330
Halfpenny Post, 64, 320
Harkara, 249, 250
Haroldswick, 80, 81
Harwich, 209, 220
Hasker, Thomas, 24, 27, 30
Heaton, Henniker, 247, 320, 325
Hennibique reinforced concrete, 58
Hill, Sir Rowland, K.C.B.—
Penny Postage, 31
As a reformer, 35
Career, 38
His reforms, 39
As a lecturer, 54
Hindhead, 199
_Hindustan_, 214
Hobart, 216
Holborn Viaduct, 75
Holland, 160
Holyhead, 24, 29, 217
Home Safes—
England, 154
New Zealand, 259
Hong Kong, 84, 244
Hood, Thomas, 40
_Household Words_, 136
Hughes recorder, 155, 160
Hull, 279
Hungary, 160
Imperial Penny Postage—
Beginnings of, 247
Establishment of, 258
Incivility of officials—
Germany, 233
America, 241
England, 329
India—
Wires to, 160
Mails, 214
Early postal service, 247
Honours, 251
Indo-European Telegraph Company, 160
Insurance, National, 279, 332
Insurance, Post Office, 143
Intercommunication switch, 163, 168
International Parcel Post, 83
Investments in Government Stock, 140
Ipswich, 25, 75
Ireland—
Mail coach service, 29
Parcel Post, 94
Packet service, 217
Service incident, 295
_Iris_, 215
Isle of Man, 217, 218
Isle of Skye, 217
Isle of Wight, 217
Jacobs, W. W., 274
Japan—
Mails to, 220
P. O. service, 243
Savings Banks, 244
Jingle, Mr. Alfred, on postmen's uniform, 311
Johnston, Sir H. H., K. C. B., 255
Johnston, R. W., 50
Jolly, John, 107
Joyce, H., C. B., 265
Karstadt, Frederick, 70
Kekewich, Sir George, 270
Kipling, Rudyard, 250, 324
King Edward's Building—
Migration of staff to, 55
Site, 57
Construction, 58
Ventilation, 66
Staff, 67
King's Birthday—
Coach processions, 27
Post Office feast, 46
King's posts, 20, 208, 277
Kingston-on-Thames, 100
Knoydart, 220
Lamb, Charles, 216
Leamington, 305
Leeds, 32, 279
_Leinster_, 218
Lerwick, 80, 220
Letter bringers, 45
Letters, number of, 64
Lichfield, Lord, 36
Lighthouse communication, 178
Limited mail, 73
Lincoln sorting carriage, 75
Lisbon—
Early mail service, 214
Postal congress, 228
Lismore, 295
Listowel, 172
Liverpool, 35, 57, 70, 97, 213, 279
Liverpool Street, 75
Loading coils, 191
Local Taxation Licences, 335
Lombard Street, 45, 48, 55
London—
Early posts, 19
Mail coaches, 27
Twopenny posts, 35
First Post Office, 43
Postmaster of, 56
Chief Post Office, 57
London and North-Western Railway, 31, 73, 74
London and South-Western Railway, 75
London Bridge, 75
London Postal Service, 56
_Lucania_, 213
_Lusitania_, 213
Maberley, Colonel, 50
Macadam, 27
Macdonald, Flora, 285
Madeira, 81, 216
Magazine competitions and postal orders, 133
Magazine Post, 238
Magnetic clocks, 170, 200
Mail bags—
Makers of, 45
Colour, 62
Travelling Post Office, 77
Repairs, 203
Mail cart, 80
Mail coaches—
Early days, 23
Speed, 24
Robberies, 27
Procession, 27
End of, 29
Coach _v._ motor, 104
Mail coachmen—
Uniform, 24
Furious driving, 26
Stories of, 104, 107
Mail guards—
Arming of, 24, 103
Condition of service, 25
Complaints against, 26
Mail trains—
First trains, 32
Late-fee boxes, 73
Night, 74, 75
Catching up, 302
_Majestic_, 213
Mallaig, 220
Malta, 84
Manchester, 35, 279, 326
Manila, 216
Manning, Thomas, 216
Marconi Company, 178
Marriage, depositors' views on, 150
Masters of the Posts, 143
_Mauretania_, 81, 208, 213
Melbourne, Lord, 37
Middleton, 92
Midland Travelling Post Office, 75
Milford, 217
Milton, John, 45
Mirror, 308
Money Orders—
Reduction in price, 39
Offices, 55, 68
Early days, 125
Old charges, 126
Number issued, 127
Soldiers and sailors, 130
Foreign and Colonial, 131
Telegraph, 132
Complaints, 134
Scenes at counter, 136
_Monte Video Times_, 243
Montreal, 123
Morris, O'Connor, 53
Morse characters, 165
Morse's Printer and Sounder, 155
Mossbank, 81
Motor mails—
Early beginnings, 100
Distances, 102
Night service, 102
Guards, 103
Drivers, 103, 105
Mount Pleasant, 61, 67, 85
Mowatt, Sir Francis, K.C.B., 271
Muckle Flugga, 79
Mulock, Hon. William, K.C., 258
_Munster_, 218
Murray Multiplex, 155
National Insurance, 279, 332
National Telephone Company, 177, 185, 187
National Telewriter Company, 177
Navy Post Office, 338
Newcastle-on-Tyne, 279, 326
Newhaven, 220
New Jersey, 285
Newmarket, 35
Newspaper post, 29, 64, 322
Newport, 92
Newton, 92
New South Wales, 260
New York—
Telephone service, 189
Mail service to, 213
New Zealand—
Postal service, 258
Pigeon post, 260
Articles refused, 328
Nightingale, Florence, 130
Northcote, Sir Stafford, 130
Norway, A. H., 209, 210
Norwich, 35, 75
Nottingham, 279
Old Age Pensions—
In New Zealand, 259
In England, 332
Number, 333
Stories of, 334
_On the Track of the Mail Coach_, 265
Oporto, 214
Orient Company, 216
Orkney, 80, 217
_Osiris_, 215
Overland Route, 214
Oversea Mails—
Times of voyages, 216
Packet Services (_see_ Post Office Packet Service)
Paddington, 75
_Pages from a Private Diary_, 299
Palmer, John, 22, 99, 102
Parcel Post—
Offices, 55, 67
Beginnings, 83
Rates, 84
Foreign, 84, 328
Sorting, 86, 88
Receptacles, 89
Packing, 93
Switzerland, 232
France, 236
Parcel Post coaches, 99, 101
Paris—
Telephone, 191
Postal Congress, 228
Postal service, 235
_Paris Messenger_, 240
Parsons, Alfred, R.A., 274
Payment on demand, 142
_Pearson's Weekly_, 133
Peel, Sir Robert, 291
Peninsular and Oriental Company, 214
Penny Post—
Demand for, 32
Introduction, 37
Results, 40
Dockwra's, 290
Penzance, 73
Permanent officials, 270, 349
Persia, 85, 328
Philadelphia Exhibition, 182
Phonogram, 163
Pigeon Post—
French, 235
New Zealand, 260
Pillar boxes, 112, 113
Pitt, William, 23
Plague, Great, 44
Pneumatic tubes, 161, 163, 203
Port Said, 215
Postal charges—
Old style, 32
Evasion of, 33
Prepayment of, 37
Postal Orders—
Offices, 68
Origin, 132
Numbers, 132
Effect of newspaper competitions on, 133
Lost, 135
Regulations, 322
Foreign, 328
Postal Union—
First Conference, 224
Opposition to, 225
Business, 227
Conferences, 228
Monument, 230
Uniformity of services, 327
Postboys, 20, 46, 346
Postcards—
Number, 64
Addresses, 114
Prices, 320
Post horses, 20, 104, 277
Postman's bell, 304
Postman's Federation, 309
_Postman's Gazette_, 313
Postman's knock, 315
Postmaster—
Early history, 20, 277
News agents, 277
Duties, 278
Salaries, 279
Powers, 282
Letters to, 283-287
Inquiry agents, 288
Postmaster-General—
Early conditions, 45
Duties of office, 261
Discretionary powers, 348
Postmaster-General's monopoly, 19, 184
Postmen—
Before Penny Postage, 34
Empire, 246
Early condition, 302
Grades, 305
Duties, 306
Uniform, 311
Lame, 315
Post Office clerks—
Promotion, 269
Advantages, 273
_Esprit de corps_, 275
Counter, 329
Post Office factories, 202
Post Office figures—
Their size, 63
Balance-sheet, 266
Post Office Guide—
Its scope, 318
Usefulness, 320, 325
Time-tables, 325
Defects, 331
Post Office Library, 54
Post Office Packet Service—
Early history, 209
Sailors' pensions, 211
Home Service, 217
Post Office Savings Bank—
Sir Rowland Hill on, 39
Offices, 55, 68
Origin, 138
Number of depositors, 139
Stock investments, 140
Withdrawals, 142
Cost of transactions, 143
Government security, 144
Cheque deposits, 144
Staff, 145
Colonial transfers, 154
Home safes, 154
Withdrawal telegrams, 163
Stories of depositors, 146-153
Post Office song, 46
Post Office stone, 255
Post Office uniform, 201, 250, 254
Posts—
Origin of word, 19
Masters of, 20, 143
Postwomen, 313
Preece, Sir William, K.C.B., F.R.S., 179, 183, 267
Press telegrams, 158, 189
Preston, 72
Primrose, Sir Henry, 271
_Punch_, 193, 319
Punctuality, 51
Puzzle addresses, 63
_Quarterly Review_, 26
Queen Victoria Street, 67, 327
Race Meetings—
Telegraph arrangements, 166, 176
Radio telegrams, 178
Raikes, Right Hon. Cecil, 262
Railways—
Introduction, 29
Travelling by night, 32
Modern conditions, 71
Parcel carriers, 96, 99
Rat-catcher, 46
Rats in Parcels Office, 95
Reading, 75
Red Hill, 101
Red tape—
Supplies, 202
Methods, 347
Registered packets, 112
Reply coupon, 228
Returned Letter Office, 108
Returned Parcels Office, 94
Roads—
Early conditions, 19
Improvements in, 27
Neglect of, 98
Motor service, 103
Rome, 228
Rosebery, Lord, 275
Roman remains, 48, 57
Roumania, 328
_Royal William_, 212
Runners—
Early use of word, 19
Indian, 249
South African, 254
Central African, 256
Rural Posts—
France, 234
America, 241
Early history, 290
Later history, 291
Russell's Wagons, 209
Russia, 160, 204, 328
Ruthwell, 137
Sailing Vessels—
As mail packets, 208
Construction, 211
Contracts with, 220
Sanctuary, privilege of, 48
St. Kilda, 218
St. Martin's le Grand—
College of, 48
Design of building, 49
Interior, 50
Chief office, 56
Officials, 54
Closing of, 55
St. Petersburg, 328
Samuel, Right Hon. Herbert, 266
_Savannah_, 212
Savings Banks, 137, 150 (_see_ Post Office Savings Banks)
Scalloway, 80
Scavenger, Post Office, 46
Schooling, J. H., 64
Scilly, 156, 217
Scotland—
Early postal service, 19
Footposts, 21
Postal charges to, 32
Mails to, 73
Scott, Sir Walter, 29
“Scottish Coast Village,” 298
Scudamore, Frank Ives, C.B., 54, 265
Selby, 32
Serna, 213
Shanghai, 215
Sheffield, 279
Shelley, H. C., 338
Shetland Isles, 39, 79, 116, 156, 217, 219
Shrewsbury, 79
Sikes, Sir C. W., 138
Skye, 217
Smirke, Mr., 49, 55
“Snooper in,” 190
Solicitor to Post Office, 267
Sorting carriages, 73, 74
Sorting of letters and parcels, 60, 61, 88
South Africa, 253
South America, 243
Southampton, 218
South-Eastern and Chatham Railway, 75, 302
Southsea, 286
Spain—
Leisured methods, 211
Postal service, 236
Spanish swindle, 114
Special Events Section, 166
Steam motors, 101
Stephen, Justice, 185
Stephenson, George, 31
Stock certificates, 140
Stock Exchange, 173
Stores Department—
Early beginnings, 45
Offices, 68
Business, 200
Sale of stores, 205
_Stow's Survey_, 43
Straits Settlements, 84, 245, 328
Studd Street, 68
Submarine cables, 156, 160, 191
Sub-Postmaster—
Qualifications, 289
Increase of duties, 292
Troubles, 294
Hereditary, 295
Applications for, 300
Sub-Postmistress—
Qualifications, 296
Methods, 297
Difficulties with, 302
Suez—
Mail route, 214
Canal, 215
Sunday deliveries, 326
Surveyors, 267
“Swan with Two Necks,” 27
Switzerland—
Money Orders, 131
Postal facilities, 232
Tamworth, 75
Tangiers, 81
Taplow, 104
Telegraph Act (1869), 184
Telegraphs—
Offices, 56, 67
Early history, 155
Transfer to State, 156
Charges, 158
Breakdown, 159
News Section, 165
Special Section, 166
Long distance, 167
Timing of, 170
Loss on, 189
Telegraph Construction Act (1908), 199
Telegraph instruments, 160, 204
Telegraph poles, 198, 203, 204
Telegraph Street, E.C., 161
Telegraphists—
Scales of pay, 173
In war, 336
Telephone Company, 183
Telephones—
Effect on telegraph, 176
Early beginnings, 181
Parliament's action, 185
London service, 186
Decision to purchase, 187
Subscribers, 188
United States, 189
Long distance calls, 190, 193
Exchange, 191
Farmers, 193
Telephone-telegram business, 163
Telewriter, 177
Telford, 27
_Teutonic_, 213
Thomson, Sir William, 183
Threadneedle Street, E.C., 173
Tie-on labels, 94
Tilley, Sir John, K.C.B., 264
Tintagel, 301
Tranavoe, 81, 255
Travelling Post Office—
Romance, 69
First service, 71
Apparatus, 75
Disasters, 79
Mail bags, 203
Oversea mails, 213
Treasury, 264
Trinidad, 328
Trollope, Anthony, 41, 52, 53, 267
Trouble-man, 190
_Truth_, 329
Tuke, Brian, 19
Tunbridge Wells, 22
_Ulster_, 218
_Umbria_, 213
Undelivered packets—
Numbers, 110
Stories of, 113-123
South African War, 337
Underground wires, 178, 187, 190, 196, 199, 233
Uniform (_see_ Post Office Uniform)
Union Castle Line, 216
_Union Postale_, 227
United States—
Letters to, 64
Money Orders, 131
Telephone service, 189
Weather, 190
Postal Union, 224
Postal service, 238
Postmaster-General's reports, 241
“Valeurs à recouvrer,” 236
Value-Payable Post, 253
Vienna, 228
Vigo, 214
Village Post Office—
Described, 298
Architecture, 300
_Villette_, 67
Viner, Sir Robert, 45
Voe, 81
Von Stephan, Herr, 224, 226, 232
Waghorn, Lieutenant, 214
Walpole, Sir Spencer, K.C.B., 229, 265, 271
Washington, 228
_Washington Evening Star_, 228
Wayleave-getting, 197
Welby, Lord, 270
West, Sir Algernon, K.C.B., 270
West Indies, 84, 131
West Kensington, 68, 144
Weston-super-Mare, 287
Weymouth, 218
Wheatstone, Sir Charles, 182
Wheatstone apparatus—
A B C, 155
Automatic, 155, 165
Transmitter, 165
Telephone, 181
White Star Line, 213
Wick, 326
Window man, 45
Wireless telegraphy, 178
Witherings, 35
Wolverton, Lord, 147
Women clerks—
Savings Bank, 145
Conditions of service, 274
Wort, Mrs. Jane, 314
Written explanation, 310
Yarmouth, 209
Yates, Edmund, 53
Yell Sound, 81
York, 24, 27
YQ wire, 166
Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO.
Edinburgh & London
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Transcriber’s Note
At the top of p. 28, the conclusion of the paragraph is punctuated
inconsistently. Either the quotation begun on the preceding page should
end after the words 'key bugle', or at the end of the paragraph. In the
latter case, the quotation marks are incorrect. The passage is left as
printed.
On p. 51, the paragraph beginning 'The old riddle' is likewise
compromised by faulty punctuation. In this case, the nested quotations
on p. 52 are corrected for consistency. However, it is not clear where
the quotation ends.
An index entry for “Mails to Scotland” is incorrectly referenced to p.
407, which does not exist. It is most likely meant to refer to the
discussion of the mail train to Scotland on p. 73, and the entry is
accordingly revised.
In most instances, apparent errors appear in quoted material, and have
not been corrected. Errors deemed most likely to be the printer’s have
been corrected, and are noted here. The references are to the page and
line in the original.
v.7 but it count[ sits/s its] friends in millions Space
misplaced.
52.1 [“/‘]Oh,[”/’] said she, [“/‘]I don’t> Replaced.
52.2 We don't begin till eleven.[”/’] Replaced.
52.5 replied, [“/‘]I daresay Replaced.
52.8 of the hour.[”/’] Replaced.
61.32 On the no[r]thern side correspondence Inserted.
182.28 the Centennial Exposition in Philade[l]phia Inserted.
End of Project Gutenberg's The Post Office and its Story, by Edward Bennett