[194] “Sixth Report,” p. 17.
[195] “Sixth Report,” p. 18.
[196] “Third Report,” p. 15.
[197] “Third Report,” p. 17.
[198] “Fifth Report,” p. 19.
[199] “Third Report,” p. 18.
[200] “Sixth Report,” p. 20.
[201] Since the above was written, a passage, though an erroneous one, in an interesting and popular work, has reminded me of another American labourer in the field of postal improvement. One of Miss Mitford’s letters would seem to show that as early as 1832, or four years before my pamphlet was written, she went to hear Mr. Elihu Burritt lecture on ocean penny postage. A letter lately received from Mr. Burritt informs me that he never visited England before 1846, and never worked in the cause of postal reform but in sequence to myself. Explanation of the error may easily be found by reference to the difficulty which must have been encountered in piecing together, with even plausible correctness, the scraps of paper on which Miss Mitford’s letters were habitually written.
[202] One curious question bearing on the letter-carriers’ position, and which occupied some little attention at this time, I must here mention, as it is connected with a popular misconception, sometimes fruitful in trouble, viz., whether public gratuities, such as Christmas-boxes, should be taken into account in estimating a letter-carrier’s emoluments or not. These Christmas-boxes, I may observe, average about £13 per letter-carrier, and amount in some cases, I am told, to as much as £50 or £60. At first sight it appears most ungenerous to include them, and yet a short statement will show that to some extent this is unavoidable. A letter-carrier, say, has attained the highest position open to him as such, and is offered admission to the class of sorters, where the minimum pay equals his present maximum, while the maximum is more than double what he is receiving. This offer he declines, because by accepting it he would cease to have direct intercourse with the public, and so lose all opportunity for gratuity. This, of course, he has a perfect right to do; but when he continues, while rejecting the higher rate, to point to the lower as ground of complaint, either the answer must explain the anomaly by referring to the addition to his salary thus made every Christmas, or a complaint really unfounded remains plausible, and obtains inconsiderate support.
[203] “Fifth Report,” p. 40. In the admonitory address from which the above quotation is made, and which was afterwards published in the Annual Report, the position of a letter-carrier is distinctly set forth.