The Bristol Royal Mail: Post, Telegraph, and Telephone

by Robert Charles Tombs

"Mr. Dix said he was very much obliged to Mr. Robinson for his figures. They all felt that there had been a great growth in the postal arrangements of the country, and that there would be a great growth in the future; and if it had been shown to him that they could not have a good building in Small Street by having the one there altered by the

authorities, and that they could have a proper one in Baldwin Street, he would say let them go to Baldwin Street; but it did not come before them in that light. They were anticipating that the postal authorities could not make a proper building in Small Street; but he could not see how Mr. Robinson and those who advocated the Baldwin Street site came to such a conclusion. If they had the buildings in Small Street, that street would be improved, which had been anticipated for years, and they would have the Post Office close to the Guildhall and that great place of commerce—the Commercial Rooms (applause). He argued that the city did not want the property in Small Street—it would be useless to them; and he hoped they would pronounce against it going forth to the Postmaster-General that it was the wish of the Council to alter the site (applause).

"Mr. S. G. James said he did not think that they should be saddled with a building that would not be any good to them. He suggested that it should be represented to the Government that the building would be a good one for a Stamp and Excise Office, and that it would be convenient to have those offices

moved from Queen Square to the building in Small Street. He thought that would be a very wise suggestion to make to the Government.

"Mr. Daniel said he viewed the proposition to shift the Post Office as one of the most solemn and weighty that had been considered by the Town Council for years (hear, hear). By common consent, and by the development of the city trade, where the Post Office now was the centre of commerce, and they should hesitate very much before they changed it (hear, hear); and the Council, being trustees of the property owned by the city, and looking at the extent of that property in the neighbourhood of the Post Office, and the outlay made on it by the city, he could not understand why they made the suggestion to run away from Small Street (applause). They had under arbitration paid to the bank £9,600 for a piece of land, and that was surely not to keep the street as a narrow lane. If the present Post Office were retained, the authorities would take the houses that would be put in a line with the Post Office, and two-thirds of Small Street would be converted into a wide street—and it was only to shave off the Water Works

offices and adjoining building, and then they would have a good wide street (hear, hear). The Corporation during the last twenty years had spent in the neighbourhood not less than £50,000, and if by establishing the Post Office in Baldwin Street they would enhance the value of the adjoining property, so taking it away from the centre of the city would depreciate the property there. It would not be doing justice to the citizens to take it away from Small Street and remove it to a remote spot like Baldwin Street. ('Oh, oh!' and laughter.) It was a remote spot, and he did not know that a street through which were a tram line and continual cab traffic was the best place for a Post Office. He believed a quiet street would be the better place. He farther argued that the proper place for the Post Office was where it was—in the neighbourhood of the Assize Courts, where the County Court was held all the year round, and the assizes and sessions were held, and at the back of the Commercial Rooms, to which there were upwards of 600 subscribers.

"Mr. Alderman Naish said that what weighed with him was that the Government had not applied

for a better site. He apprehended that Mr. Shaw-Lefevre was perfectly satisfied with the accommodation he could get on the present site. He had seen the draft of the Bill promoted by the Government for taking possession of a building under the compulsory powers at a fair valuation. Someone in Bristol wished them to go somewhere else. All Mr. Shaw-Lefevre said was that if the citizens wanted to go elsewhere they must take the old building. The Postmaster-General did not suggest the removal, but somebody else did (hear, hear). The Postmaster-General knew his business, and he probably considered that the present office could be enlarged so as to provide all the accommodation necessary. They could thus have a good public improvement in the centre of the city, and at the same time provide for the postal requirements. They were simply asked to go to a street in which certain people were interested, which, although a large thoroughfare, had two lines of tramways running through it. He hoped the Council would not agree to the proposal.

"Mr. Matthews said if the question was put to them simply, did they require more postal accommodation?—they

would unhesitatingly say that they did; but the question of site was a totally different matter. They had not gone into the question whether another site would not be a better one than the Baldwin Street one. He moved that the question of a site be remitted to a committee, with instructions to report to the Council, and that the committee consist of the Mayor, Aldermen Spark, Harvey, and Naish, and Messrs. Townsend, C. F. Hare, Barker, and Inskip.