Please wait. Contacting image service... loading

Article text

THE DEPUTY POSTMASTER-GENERAL.
TO THE EDITOK OP TIIE AOE.
Sm, — Tho public interests will not, as your lead
ing article this morning gives your readers to under
stand, suffer from tho appointment of Mr Turner as
Doputy Postmaster-General. Thoso behind tho
scenes, and who aro subject to his firm, but mild,
rule, know that, with Mr Turner, tho public con
venience has ovor been his first consideration, aud
of public opinion ho is understood to bo keenly sen
sitive. When tho appointment of a secretary to tho
Post Oflico was first mado, in tho latter end of 1857,
mtrn rtrtlnmnn nnnnnti f'nrl flinf. Ml- Turner WQS
' tho right man in tho right placo 'not perhaps
in those words, but certainly in effect, and
the additional power and honor that havo
just been conferred upon him aro only proofs
of tho good opinion that tho Ministry hold of one
of tho most able and industrious permanent heads
of departments. You complain of tho abolition of
what you aro pleased to call ' Air Stephens's post
office.' But why should Mr Stephens have a post
office at»oH ? Why should his desire for popularity
disarrange all tho internal economy of tho mail
room ? If Mr Stephens must havo a post office,
why not Mossers Mullen, Sands and M'Dougall,
Buzzard, Hanvood, and tho othor Collins streot
stationers ? And why stop hero ? Aro thero no 1
other enterprising tradesmen who would thus ac
commodate and enrol customers ? But tho
Editor of tho Age need not bo told that there
must bo a closing time for letters, in order that
mails may bo despatched at a cortain timo,
exactly as there is a closing time for tho receipt of
advertisements, and at a still lator hour for news it
self, in order that tho paper may bo ' made up,' go
to press, and bo published in duo timo. Where does
his overseor draw tho line as to tho receipt of matter?
The Editor will probably be informed, from timo to
time, that such and such pagos aro made-up, until
there just remains space and timo for the editorial
articles, and then to press. So with tho mails. The
bulk of tho letters and newspapers must be made up
at tho earliest hour,, and somo means aro absolutely
necessary for limiting lato letters ; and where is
there a bettor mode than by making an oxtra
charge, or a juster method than by propor
tioning that chargo to tho lateness of the
hour, or tho extent of tho accommodation ?
It is not to be desired that the convenience of lato
lotter writing will be largely mado uso of, hence, I
apprehend, the apparent largeness of the fees, which
aro probably prohibitory to what may be considered
unimportant correspondence — importance boing mea
sured by desire, and desire by willingness to pay for
the required accommodation. What has beon said
of tho fees for lato letters may be said of the regis
tration fee. Iu England, tho chargo for registration
is fourpence, but the postage is ono penny. In Vic
toria, probably tho postage is fourpenco, tho regis
tration ono shilling. If double postage is sufficient
in Victoria, why not in England ? If no good
purpose is served by tho words ' newspaper
only,' on tho newspaper covers, suroly there
is no harm. They state what ought to
ba a fact ; but tho words themselves aro
not new. It lias long been customary to have
H.non ivnnk nviiitnrl nn ninvsnonnr (lovers. The
error in tho clauso of the Post Office Act, with re
gard to book packets will probably bo rectified by nil
act entitled ' An Act tn Amend an Act' &c. In
conclusion, I would say that tho manner in which
tho post office department of Victoria is conducted,
as compared with the arrangements for ' Her
Majesty's Mails' in the old country, only requires
a colonial Lewins to see much to admire, in fact, to
have a peep BEHIND THE SCENES.
' Melbourne, 10th August, 1801. .
$