R.M.S. "Monterey."
First Liner in The New Canadian Mail Service.
From a photograph by G. M. Roche, Esq., Dublin.
Subsequent steamers used for carrying on the mail service were the Montfort, Monteagle, and Montrose.
The arrangements for the new service worked very smoothly from the outset, thanks in no small measure to Mr. Flinn, the local general manager for Messrs. Elder, Dempster & Co., who facilitated in every way the Post Office and Customs operations. The trial so far has proved that the use of Avonmouth as a port for the Canadian mail traffic is attended with advantages on this side of the ocean, but greater facilities for embarking and disembarking the mails at Avonmouth are absolutely necessary.
CHAPTER X.
POSTAL SERVICE STAFF; ITS COMPOSITION, DUTIES, RESPONSIBILITIES.—VOLUME OF WORK.
In 1855 the Bristol Post Office staff consisted of a postmaster and fifteen clerks, with sixty-four letter carriers. Over 1,500 people of all grades, including sub-postmasters and their assistants, are now employed; and the annual bill for salaries, wages, and allowances of men, women, and boys amounts to little short of £100,000. It will thus be seen that the Post Office ranks as one of the largest employers of labour in the western city.
The head office is centrally situated both for the receipt and despatch of the letter correspondence. It is not very far from a point known as "Tramway Centre," upon which the tram services of the city converge. It plays an important part with regard to the Bristol postal system, as out of a total of 833,000 letters posted weekly in the city