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    3gg The* Leader andV Saturday[Analyst. [...

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    THE POST-OFFICE. rpHE public feels tho c...

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    The Duties Of Col/Ntlly Landlohds. Rnilj...

    envj ' , and to render poverty less intolerable , and wretchednes more endurable ? ! . .,, " 6 sua sihona norint 1 " ¦ ' What ernperors of happiness might be these country gentlemen ; if they but knew the power of kindnesswhat seas of smiling faces might ring 1 them in with ¦ blessings —what deep roofs of perpetuity and unshaken conservatism they might strike in the soil their wealth burdens , did they but know theglorrtms omnipotence that doing good confers I What hands of devoted retainers would again follow their sons to battle !—what blessing * of dying ? men would hallow their houses , as only good men ' s prayers can do !

    The tory advocate , who always thinks the existing state of thing's , whatever it may be , perfection , calls this mere rhetoric and declamation , and asks what practical good country landlords can do that they do not do ? Do ( hey not hunt three times a week ?—keep their kennel well fed , their labourers' cottages with the roofs snug on—do they not subscribe to the village school ? Do they not g-ive money to a coal club and a blanket club—do they not touch their hats when a labourer touches his p Are they not affable ? Are they not six months a year at home at Beech wood , and do they not leave behind a responsible , respectable agent ? And for all lesser wants is there not the clergyman always on the spot , to bind up ex ery wound and pour balsam oh every saddened heart ? The last sentence is when the torv advocate gets fervid , and for a

    time abandons the shallow pedantry of his Latin Grammar quotations and his sciolist arguments ^ to appeal to the feelings on behalf of an injured class of worthy men . No one knows better than themselves what they might do . They might make it known as tlicir repeatedly expressed , wish that every tenant ' s son should attend school—they might start village libraries aiid reading-rooms —they might leave the beershop unterianted , by . cncouraging openair amusements and athletic exercises , by supplying requisites and giving ground to parishes for the purpose . They might visit and

    speak kindly words to their poor—they might , and ought , to trust to no stewards , but to become personally acquainted with the wants and suflTerinirs " of the poor—to give occasional feasts , where , for that great object of blending classes " , poor and rich might for once . meet ns equals—to secure work to all honest striving men , and , in times of neerli to invent work for them by making roads through the property , beds for artificial water , and other improvements—to protect by law tho rights . of the parish , and to be tacitly the king , advocate ; benefactor , and champion .

    When even a clergyman's warning and counsel was unheeded , a landlord ' s would be all-prevailing . A few words how and then , and drunkards would take the pledge ; riotous bullies would be tamed ; senseless law-suits would be quashed , and old feuds reconciled . A kind , wise landlord might be the arbitrator and referee for half the county . It is he who should induce the restless and incurable villagers to emigrate , and should build and enclose to fill more thickly places where labourers wore insufficient . Were this accomplished , by which we imply that rich men should be no longer selfish or mean , wo might , indeed , again hope to see the Auburn of . the poets again the brooks would flow with golden sherry and water ' and tho trout look like gold and silver fish in that

    precious and transformed liquid . Blue and pink small-clothes we could scarcely expect to see again , except in stage dreams , but streams of white smooks flowing into village churches , in the Ab-SOLON- manner—and logs like pipes , thin and brittle , in cold white stockings , would pass away fov ever with workhouse bastiles , cruel boards of guardians , and old couples committing suicide to prevent being separated ; then would Sir Rogkr de Oovkrltr y , bland and smiling , re-appear in great force on our country roads on session days and . other public ceremonials , and happiness and , contentment , like two happy children hand in hand ,. would bo seen walking together , harnessed together with daisies , and over the grave of the last bad landlord would dawn tho now and golden ago that is to irradiate tho world for tho great CcwrrxG Man .

    3gg The* Leader Andv Saturday[Analyst. [...

    3 gg The * Leader andV Saturday [ Analyst . [ April 28 , 1860 .

    The Post-Office. Rphe Public Feels Tho C...

    THE POST-OFFICE . rpHE public feels tho conveniences . of this establishment ^ thcro X are no tuxos it pnys more vendily tluiri those on the curringe of lottovs . For every farthing it expends a good service is performed . At tho same time it is not satisfied , because it bcliovos Hint it might have still bettor service nnd still greater conveniences at oven lower qharpoa . Tlio public , howovor , will bo pleased to loam from tho sixth report of tho . Postmastor General , that in 1859 the number of posl .-oflficcs wns incronso < i by 177 , tho total now being 11 , 412 ; 825 hond pqat-ofliROB , and 10 , 587 sub-offices . With 1 , 958 road letterboxes put up in tho yenr , tho number of public receptacles for letters is now 13 , 370 , ' against 4 , 618 before tho establishment of tho penny postage . In London , every roRidont , with fow exceptions , is within * a furlong" of a letter-box , nnd a quarter of a xnilo of a monoy-ordor office , Thoro are ton dolivorios of letters overy day , and ono more is to bo added in tho conrse of tho yoar . The mails Imvo boon aoooloratod to tho west of Cornwall , to tho north of England and Scotland ; and greater regularity has boon assurod , with gvoator dospatoli , Travelling 1 offices , in wltfoh lotters avo sorted en , route , have boon movoapod . aiul lotters can in consequence bo postod lator and nro dolivored earlier . Ah tho result of all those improvements , mails nro now conveyed on < MW * h ' Wook « flny 85 , 0 O < Ji miles by mil , at an overage coat of 9 £ d . per milo ; ft 2-, 03 $ milos by mail coaches , omnibnsos j and carte , fit 2 : 1 cl . per milo ; ( 58 , O ( H miles on foot at lfcd . nor mile , and 2 , 817 wulos by packots and boats between , different pnrts of tho United

    iCingdom , at 9 £ d . per . mile j making a total of miles that mails are conveyed by these several means every week-day- —140 , 321 , about 7 , 500 more ' . 1859 than in 1858 . These mails carried 545 , 000 , 000 letters ; to each person in England , twenty-two ; in , Scotland , seven ; and in Ireland , six ; on the average of the whole , eighteen to each person . IJast '' year * the increase of letters carried above 1858 was 22 , 000 , 000—4 i per cent . ; and compared to 1839 , the year before the penny post , the inn-ease is now more than sevenfold . The number of letters now posted in X ^ ondo-n annually , equals the whole number of lettei-s posted in England arid Wales , including London , twenty years ago . The number of registered letters was 1 , 400 , 000 , an increase of

    6 per cent . In 785 cases the letters did not reach , but all except fifteen were recovered , of which eight were , lost , after leaving the custody of the British Post-office . The number of newspapers delivered was 70 , 500 , 000 . The number of money orders was 6 . 989 , 108 , for an . amount of £ 13 , 250 , 930 , being an increase of 4 £ per cent , on 1858 , and yielding a profit of £ 29 , 115 . All this work was done , and colonial and foreign letters despatched , at a cost of £ 2 , 312 , 114 , the yield being £ 3 , 448 , 074 , giving a net revenue or profit to the state of £ 1 , 135 , 960 . The Post-office , then , is a very great concern , the greatest of its kind in the world ; and we have thought it" right thus to state in outline what it does , at what cost and at what gain , before adverting to the unsound principle on which it is established .

    The growth of the Post-office and the many services it performs tell us that wants are for ever increasing . .. From the ¦ beginning to the end it is the product of modern civilization , and all that it does ministers to wants utterly . unknown in the early stages of man ' s social condition . They are the natural results of social life , and come into existence and extend as knowledge and population increase . The means of gratifying theni by the . Post-office are utterly trilling compared to the means of gratifying similar and connected wants by navigation , the control of which is not assumed by Government . We may infer , therefore , that as the wants which the Post-office subserves would certainly exist without the interference of ¦ Government , the moans of gratifying them would also grow up , thouirh it did not interfere to supply them . little of which

    In fact , the Post-office is only a part commerce on the Government seized to make money by . monopolizing it . Fast as it has been extended nnd impi'ovod since 1 S 39 , general ¦ commerce has improved-and ¦ extended still faster . ; But prior to 1830 , general commerce , in spite of corn laws and innumerable similar restrictions , was both improved and extended , while , the Post-office was . for many years almost-stationary . It was continually complained of for its inefficiency , and commerce was actually compelled extensively to smuggle letters and break through the monopoly . . The . great improvements since 1839 , on which the Post-office and the public now placidly rest , are consequently far less proofs of its present efficiency , than of the ' impediments- which its negligence and bad regulations previously placed in the way of supplying the natural wants which it nowto a considerable extent , subserves .

    , Subsequently to what we may call the arbitrary change from high and various charges to the uniform penny postage , as contradistinguished from tlie gradual and incessant reduction in the cost of most other services , the increase of duties thrown on the Postoffice was very great . They have continued ever since to increase ; they have multiplied so fast that all the exertions of the oflksiald have been insufficient to overtake them . At present , its great building is too small for its multifarious work ; it doos not provide efficiently and effectually for the transmission of newspapers and books and small parcels , and tho public is forced to consider the question whethor the carriage of letters and of books , tho transmission , of small sums of money , Ac , which constitute the duties of the Post-office , aro Jin exception to the general rule , that the Government never interferes with commerce or any part of

    commerce but to disturb or derail pro it . Could the servicos now performed by the Post-office not bo performed better , cheaper , with greater celerity and safety by private enterprise , than by Government regulations avid a Government monopoly p Wo aro struck by tlio fact that tho public makes numerous complain tfl of tho Post-ofiico , and , however courteous may bo the clnet officials , tho public can get no rodresa . Why P Bocaus ' o it 13 a" (* overnrnent establishment . It can neither bo reformed nor its delinquencies punished . If it wove a privnto establishment , tlio competition of otlicr establishments would bring ifc under tho complete

    control of tho public , nnd it could , bo amended without a revolution . If it committed any wrongs , withhold or lost property , or did not fulfil its tacit contract-with tho public to deliver everything intrusted to its charge solely , it could bo prosecuted and punished . But ( lie public cannot prosecute and punish tlio Government , nor force on it improvements . It must submit , as it submitted for many years till 1830 , to many wrongs without rodress . It cannot bo supposed tlwt privnto enterprise could not convoy letters and books , us ic conveys passongors and goods , from ono ond of tho country , or oven of tlio earth , to tlio other . Cloiuly , \ o curry letters is within tho compotunoo of private ontorpriae , and , had it not boon monopolised by Government , lottors would lmvo boon delivered an saluly and as

    ohonnly as markets aro supplied with cotton and corn . Tliiw Koport tolls us' ttmt nn additional oxponso of more tlinn £ 11 , 000 per annum has boon incurred to develop provincial ami rural posts , with a hope only that in tijno the expense will bo repaid , cm an expendituru of WHS , ! . !^ tho Post-office makes « l , l « 5 , 0 « 0 ,, or vory imarly 50 nor cont , This is at least fivo times a « grout jib tn « ordinary profit of capital , to pay nothing 1 of tho economy of ninunffomont , which distinguishes privato from public enterprise . M tlio

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), April 28, 1860, page 8, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_28041860/page/8/