The attendance at the Banquet was large, and the guests closely filled the large central hall of the Royal Hotel, College Green. The High Sheriff, Mr. Weston Stevens, presided, and amongst those present were the Lord Bishop of Bristol, Colonel C.E.H. Hobhouse, M.P., Rev. A.N. Blatchford, Messrs. J. McMurtrie, S. Humphries, R.C. Tombs, I.S.O. (Postmaster and Surveyor of Bristol), E. Bennett, J.T. Francombe, J. Asher, J.C. Gilmore, L.J. Botting (the Bristol Central Secretary), E.C. Taylor (the Chairman of Conference), and many others.

The speeches were interesting as throwing a light on the Post Office working, and on Post Office benevolence.

When he received the invitation to attend that dinner, Mr. Francombe said, he was at a loss to know why he should be so honoured. He thought that possibly some gentleman engaged in the dead-letter office knew he was a member of the Education Committee of Bristol, and that he might give a hint to the rising generation to write better, and so save him a great deal of trouble. If that was the reason, he certainly would attend to it. Afterwards he said he knew why it was; it was because Sir Francis Freeling was born in Redcliff, where he (Mr. Francombe) happened to be schoolmaster of the parish. Sir Francis worked his way up to high rank in the Postal Service, which was something to be proud of. He hoped members of the Conference would not go away from Bristol without visiting Redcliff Church and seeing the slab to his memory. But his duty was to propose the toast of the Bishop and ministers of religion of that ancient city. They did not know as much about the Bishop as he should like them to know. They in Bristol believed him to be physically, mentally, and spiritually fit to be a leader in the great city. He believed the work of a Bishop was something like that of a policeman—not altogether a happy one. His Lordship attended many functions, gave a fillip to every one of them, and all he said was reported and saved up ready to be cast in his teeth sometimes. If he were of a tender disposition he would say, "I could weep my spirit from mine eyes." But he was not one of that sort. His toast was "Ministers of Religion." He thought it would have been "Ministers of all denominations." There was one denomination in Bristol that had no ministers, and it went on wonderfully well. He referred to the Society of Friends. He was sure His Lordship would agree. They only spoke when the spirit moved them, but a good many spoke when a spirit moved them. Some denominations were better without a minister, and some ministers would be better without denominations. In the city of Bristol there was room enough for all, and they need not spend time in attacking each other, but might do the work God sent them to do. They had one present that night—a broad-minded gentleman who did his work like the Bishop, and minded his business, and did not interfere with other people—Mr. Blatchford.

They always listened in Bristol with special pleasure to a speech from their friend Mr. Francombe, the Lord Bishop said. He desired to thank Mr. Francombe for the pleasant manner in which he had spoken of him. The clergy and ministers had looked about in the world for the faces that were on the side of right, besides the purely spiritual faces and spiritual work, and he was always thankful to think a great deal of good was done in the country by that great service represented that evening. Their army of postmen and employés of the Post Office were a very great factor indeed in keeping steady a State like their own. He always said the same of certain other bodies, but of the postmen it seemed to him they were so particularly careful about their business, they learned of necessity to be so sober and so well conducted, or they would lose their place, that he looked upon them and the railway men as two of the greatest civilising influences they had among them, apart from such work as Mr. Blatchford and he were called upon officially to do. He desired to express, on his own part, his extreme gratitude to those gentlemen for another reason—the wonderful accuracy with which they delivered the letters. That gentleman who laughed might once in his life have missed a letter addressed to him, but it did not happen to the Bishop. In the five and a half years he had been in Bristol, with a large correspondence, he was not conscious of having lost one single letter. He should have been exceedingly glad if a good many had been lost. It so happened he gave the Post Office a good deal of trouble. He lived at a place called the Palace. Now Henry VIII. created a bishop's residence in Bristol, a palace, and it was supposed that a palace must mean something royal. The real fact was, the name was derived not from a king's palace but from that of a shepherd—a most suitable thing for a bishop. Henry VIII., besides creating his residence a palace, created Bristol a city in the same document. The name palace gave a certain amount of trouble, because there were palaces in some cities where other things than bishops were sold. There was a palace where a certain innocuous drink was sold, and letters sometimes went there. There was also a most delightful place of entertainment called the People's Palace in Bristol, and letters sometimes went there. When grave clergymen from a distance came to stay at his house they were occasionally driven up to the doors of the People's Palace, and the cabmen expected that they were going to purchase tickets for the entertainment. A letter came to Bristol addressed "March 25th, Bristol." The Postmaster was puzzled at first. Then it occurred to him that the assizes were on, and Justice Day was the judge, and that his wife was Lady Day. He should like to tell them one thing more from history. Admirable as the Post Office was now, a little more than 1,200 years ago, a letter was sent to his predecessor, St. Aldhelm, from Ireland. The only address given was from an anonymous Scot. The letter said, "You have a book which it is only the business of a fortnight to read; I beg you to send it to me." That was all. He did not name the book. The Post Office in those days was so marvellous a thing that, as far as they knew, Aldhelm just took the book, put it in the post, addressed to an anonymous Scot, and he supposed it found its way to him in Ireland. He did not think they could beat that to-day. Few people knew how much the country was saved in taxation by people who had a large correspondence. Their letters were the most agreeable and easy way of paying their taxes. When they came to see the Budget analysed it was surprising what a large amount of taxation was paid in this innocent way. He could not see how it was done. It seemed that the work for which a penny was charged must cost at least a penny. He could only understand it on the principle of the old Irish lady who lost on every single apple she sold, but, by the blessing of God, sold so many that she got a good living out of it.

He was not surprised, the Rev. A.N. Blatchford said, that the toast should be so heartily received in a city known as the city of churches. The Church had thrown herself from ancient time into the cause of the people; progress and religion had been indissolubly linked together.

In proposing the toast "The Postal and Telegraph Service," Mr. Sidney Humphries, J.P., present President of the Chamber of Commerce, said that when he was asked to propose the next toast on the list, his thoughts naturally turned to the reason for his being put forward to do this duty, and the only explanation that had occurred to him was that having had the hardihood to be one of a deputation to the Postmaster-General quite recently, on the question of their local postal service, those who had had the arrangement of this function, Mikado like, had lured him to his punishment; but still, being in for it, many interesting thoughts had arisen. The first, as to the foresight of that Worcestershire schoolmaster, Rowland Hill, who, feeling the pinch of expense, made an agreement with his sweetheart to only write once a fortnight, the rates of postage in his early days varying from 2d. to 1s. in accordance with the distance at which they were separated. Fortunately, his thoughts were directed to the penny postage for all distances within the United Kingdom, and although many spoke of him as an over-sanguine dreamer, still events had proved his wisdom, and to-day they had a postal service that dealt with over 3,832 million letters, postcards, and papers per annum, giving 91 per head of the population, as against 940 millions 33 years ago, with the comparatively small number of 30 per head then. Whilst speaking of the enormous growth of the postal business, they must not lose sight of the wonderful growth of both the telegraph and Savings Bank business. The former, since it was taken over by Government in 1870, had more than justified that step, for in the following year—1871—the number of telegrams sent was 10 millions, whilst last year the number was well over 92 million messages. Then as regards the Savings Bank, they could flatter themselves as to the proof it furnished of the increased wealth of the country, for whilst the total Savings Bank capital in 1869 was 13½ millions, in 1901 it stood at over 140 millions. But whilst all this progress had been made, many helpful suggestions had been made by men of moderate position. Take, for instance, a time so long ago as 1784: the credit of first suggesting the mail coach was made by a Mr. Palmer, who was then the manager of the theatre in their neighbouring city of Bath. This was a great improvement as to speed and safety of delivery when compared with the old postboy; but think of the mail coach when compared with the mail trains that covered now over three millions of miles per annum. But with all this progress there had been many other changes. Think of the notice that was issued to all postal employés in 1832, that none were to vote or advise electors how to vote. This was very different to running a candidate on postal lines, as was to take place at the next election at York. And in considering what for a better term he might call the commercial side of the question, there were instances that ought not to be overlooked in great numbers of devotion to duty—for example, take that of the Scotch mail carrier, who, feeling himself overcome by the gale and snow, hung his mail-bag on a tree so that the letters should not be lost, even if his life were sacrificed. Then this postal system seemed to develop a special shrewdness. One local case had been mentioned by the Bishop as having recently occurred, and there was another in which a pictorial address of Daniel in the lion's den found its rightful owner, who had become talked about by his visit to a menagerie just before. But in case they should all think that at last perfection had been reached, there was another circumstance that he could relate from his own personal experience. Wanting to send a parcel to Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, he foolishly sent it to his private address, at 40, Portman Square, instead of his official residence, he being Chancellor of Exchequer at the time, and judge of his own astonishment when he received an official announcement, "Cannot be delivered owing to address being unknown." But this did not tell against their Bristol friends, a body of men, he ventured to say, who for smartness and anxiety at all times to meet the various calls made upon them could not be surpassed, and therefore he called upon them all to drink heartily the toast of the Postal and Telegraph Service, coupling with it the name of their local Postmaster and Surveyor, who was always to the fore in anything that would help forward Bristol or Bristol interests.

POSTMASTER OF BRISTOL.
(The Author.)

In replying, the Postmaster thanked them all for the cordial reception of the toast of the Postal and Telegraph Services, and especially Mr. Humphries, the proposer, for the kind and considerate and genial way in which he had alluded to his department. In the first place, he wished to extend to the delegates assembled there—and they came from all parts of the United Kingdom, North, South, East, and West—the right hand of good comradeship. Welcome, delegates to Bristol, thrice welcome, he said. He supposed, in response to this important toast, they would expect that he should say something of the postal system. The Lord Bishop had taken them back some hundreds of years—1200 years back, when Bishop Aldhelm wrote a letter. He must go a little further back than that. His friend, Mr. Humphries, found a parallel in Holy Scripture—Daniel in the lion's den. He found in Holy Writ, the only book of ancient date he had to refer to, that posts and letters were of respectable antiquity. They would find recorded in Kings II. this passage in connection with the account of that pathetic incident of the little Israelitish maiden suggesting the means whereby Naaman might be cured—"Go to," said the King of Syria, "I will send a letter to the King of Israel." In the wisdom of Solomon were the words, "My days are like a shadow that passeth away, and like the post that hasteth by." So they saw in those ancient days it was all hurry for the postman. He would skip a few thousand years and come to 1496. It was recorded that the means of communication in this country were almost non-existent, and news was carried to and fro by means of travelling merchants, pedlars, and pilgrims. In 1637 letter posts were established by Charles I. King Charles stopped in the building that stood on the site of their local St. Martin's-le-Grand, but little could he have thought that the day would come when it would be possible for a man to stand on that spot and speak to a friend and recognise his voice, as far away as Wexford. Sir Francis Freeling had been named. He became secretary to the Post Office. He served in the Bristol office two or three years before being translated to London to become the associate of Palmer, of mail-coach renown. The old city of Bristol had been under a cloud. In the year 1793 they had only one postman, and two or three years later two. Now they had 500. In the last 60 years the letters posted and delivered in Bristol increased from 66 millions to 134 millions in the year. This was an enormous increase, and showed that Bristol was going to forge ahead again. It made them glad that the old city had once again aroused herself. The Post Office had become a giant in the kingdom, but it exercised its power as a kindly giant. They heard the demand for all sorts of reforms, but they felt that Mr. Austen Chamberlain was equal to the occasion.

"The Postal and Telegraph Benevolent Society" was submitted by Lieut.-Colonel Hobhouse, M.P., who said he was not sure that before long they would not have to add to their service, and include the telephonic operators as well. He noticed they depended in their work, and for the relief which they gave to their members, entirely upon the donations of their own members. That was satisfactory, not only to them, but to him as a Member of Parliament, because Members of Parliament seldom came to gatherings of that sort without being requested to make some contribution, direct or indirect, to the funds of the Society, so good as to give them a dinner. He understood the provision of the Society was in addition to the official pension of the Post Office.