Tus English General Post Ofice contributes over three millions sterling to the national revenue, which is satisfactory from the Chancellor of the Exohequer's point of view, but v unfortunate fur the general public. The principle involved is distinctly wrong, The money that the public pay for the transmission of their mail matter ought tu be spout on improvements in the service; it is not fair that about forty per cent, of it should be diverted to meet the general cost of the Empire. We can quite understand the Ceensury's being very loth to give up sach a simple and certain source of Seyouue; the difioulty of making both ids try the world makes the Chancellorship of the Exchequer the least desirable of our ministries; and if the Post Office receipts were devoted entirely, us they ought to be, to the Post Office expenditure, another twopence, or twenty-five per cent:, would have to be added to the Income Tax. The present system, convenient as it is for the Trensury, blocks the way to many needed reforms in one postal service, and keeps us behind our Earopean competitors, but, in the words of the present Postmaster. General, Mr. Raikes, to n recent depuof the Exchequer, without distinction of party, inid tapa. cious bands upon the Post-office surplus, and they would find any Chancellor of the Exchequer unwilling to face the ordeal of additional taxation in place of resorting to that surplus."
The deputation in question wax from the London Chamber of Commerce and its trade sections, representing the print ing, textile, oh Ena India and China, and Australasinn trades, und came to interview Mr, Raikes on the subjee! of the excessive charges of our Pont Offive us compared with those of other countries, The well-known anomalies were trotted out for the Post. master-General's inspection, He waa shown that "a letter which can be conveyed from France to India for 244, costs Sd, if sent from England, and that a newspaper which can be for. warded from Calais to China for 4d. costs 14d, if sent from Dover. It might have been pointed out to him as aalill greater anomaly that the same Bnglish ston taken lettera from Shanghai to London at leas than 24d, in a French bag, about 3d.in a German bag, and nonely 54, in an English bag, He might also have been told that letters hive often arrived here from London, with only a Qhd, stamp, if they were marked vid Russia, in the same bag with other letters marked vid Brindisi, which cost 5d. ench. As to the anomalies of the Parcel Post, they are simply Indicrous, Mr, Mead of the firm of Peek, Frean & Ca., "slowed in a very striking manner the anrensonableness of some of the present arrange. ments. A 380z. sample box of fancy biscuits can be sent to places in the United Kingdom for 2d.; but if posted to any of the coan the Postal Uniou—for example, to Egypt or Brazil—it costs only 1d; nnd Messrs, Peek, Frean & Go., availing themselves of this difference, inva for many years sent euch boxes toa Belgian port for reahipment to this opuntry, They thus clear on lots of 10,000. boxes about £40." In other words, the Belgian biscuit manufacturer, if he chooses to compete with Peek, Frean & Ov., or Hantley and Palmer, is given by our postal system a bounty of more than £40 por 10,000, (for hie does not have to pay the preliminary cost of freight to Belgium,) if be wishes to send samples of his manufacture to England 'Mr, Raikes' anewer to the deputation. representations. He wns extremely indebted to its members for tle vala. able information-they had given though, if it was really news to hin! he mitst know even leas of the details of the working of his department than most ministers de, He was delighted to find that the deputation was satiated with his new American mail arrange. monte; though whether those arranges ments were equally satisfactory to his henrere, when they fraud that' the Umbria, which did not take the mails to New York, arrived two days before the Alaska, which did, is doubtful. As, to improving or cheapening the postal service to the colonies in Australia, that would of course have to await the result of the Colonial Conference which Mr, Stanhope had summoned to meet in London this yenr; and, if the result of the Conference should be the entry of all the colonies into the Postal Union, "it would be one of the most gratifying tentures of Hor Mujesty's jubilee, (Cheers.)" Ax to cheapening the cost of trauemitting newspaper, everything wns going on bountifully now, and everyone agreed that "send. ing newspapers in bulk was now as cheap and convenient as the public In touching on the India and Chiva mile, Mr, Raikes shirked altogether the differential charges in favour of the Qontinent, merely remarking that the Indian Government was a heavy loser by the present arrangement, and would not be prepared to face a greater Jor, wt all events at the present time, "Tt would be impossible for the government of Grent Britain to take action without the cordial concert of the Government." On the whole sent the deputation away with their bellies filled with the enst wind, and they thanked him for the favour with which he had received their views; although he carefully abstained from making " single promise, or holding out any hope that any of the existing anomalies would be removed. The insuperable objection to uny reform is the fent that the surplus annually shown will be reduced; and us long as the injustice of turning the profite of the Post Office into the general treasury of the Empire continues, reforms will not be be made, and even such grave scandals as Mr. Read pointed out will not be removed. There is nothing ea slow to move as a government depart. ment, and it is evidently hopeless to expect expostulation or ridicule will move the General-Post Office, as long as it pays over Uiree millions a year into the Treasury.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.