The Bristol Royal Mail Part 10

(1) "Supt, Sir, I will try to be more careful in the pa.s.s. Yours obed, H. P----."

(2) "Supt, Sir, I having asked where the message was ment for and they told me to go up the road where I should see a chemist shop where I should find it about there and I having could not find it I asked, a gentleman which he said it was farther up the road and I left it with cotton the undertaker which he said it was quite right.--G. H----."

(3) "Supt, sir, I will try to be more extint in the future as this is the truth.--M. T----."

(4) "Supt, Sir, I much regret not returning my report But I left it home in my other Pocket in my overcoat which is home drying which was wet through on Sat.u.r.day last. Yours obed H. E----."

The inst.i.tute was inaugurated at a public meeting at the Colston Hall on the 1st December, 1892, which was attended by a large and influential gathering of citizens. Upon the platform were the Mayor of Bristol (Mr.

W. R. Barker), who presided, the Very Rev. the Dean of Bristol (Dr.

Pigou), Mr. Charles Townsend, M.P., Rev. R. Cornall, Mr. R. C. Tombs (the postmaster), Mrs. R. C. Tombs, Dr. Lansdown, jun., Miss Synge, Miss Pollock, Messrs. John Harvey, Arthur Baker, E. G. Clarke, H. Lewis, C.

H. Tucker, R. L. Leighton, W. H. Lindrea, J. R. Bennett, E. Sampson; also Messrs. A. J. Flewell (superintendent of the telegraph department), W. H. Gange, J. Robertson, J. S. Gover, J. J. Mackay, H. T. Carter (superintendent of the postal department).

It was explained that the telegraph messengers were engaged at from thirteen to fourteen years of age, and the lessons they had learned at school had chiefly been supplemented by a knowledge acquired in the streets. The object was to counteract street influences by providing elementary instruction, recreation, and interesting literature. There was no desire to educate the boys to such a pitch that Jack would think himself better than his master, but to take care that they should not degenerate. It was announced that the hours of labour had just been reduced from sixty-two to fifty per week, which would be a great boon to the boys. It was further stated that a private appeal had been made, not in vain, to a few of Bristol's most generous citizens, and that through their kindly aid, with subscriptions from the members of the staff and the grant which it was hoped to earn from the Education Department, the inst.i.tute would be carried on without pecuniary embarra.s.sment. The description of the inst.i.tute's work was as follows:--

1. The inst.i.tute would be open to the telegraph messengers and to junior officers of the postal and telegraph service, the charge to each member to be one penny per week.

2. The inst.i.tute would be carried on in a room at the General Post Office.

3. In connection with the inst.i.tute an evening school would be held, the educational session to last from October to May. An annual examination of the members of the cla.s.ses would be held.

4. In addition to the three elementary subjects,--reading, writing, and arithmetic,--cla.s.ses would be arranged for the study of Scripture, geography, drawing, composition, and shorthand.

5. For the purpose of recreation certain games would be provided.

6. In connection with the inst.i.tute there would be a library, which had been formed by means of books generously given by the citizens of Bristol.

7. The library would be open to any established or unestablished officer of the postal and telegraph service at a slight subscription per month.

8. A penny savings bank would also be started.

The Chairman said he gladly consented, to preside that evening, because the object of the meeting was one in which he took deep interest, and one which he felt sure would commend itself to a very large number of his fellow-citizens. He thought he might say that everything connected with the postal service was peculiarly interesting to them all, and anything they could do to ameliorate the lot of those who daily rendered them such important service they would be very glad to do. He thought it would not be well to make the movement too "goody" in its character, or too educational, so he was glad to see that there was a lighter side to the scheme.

Mr. Charles Townsend, M.P., Mr. Arthur Baker, Mr. Harold Lewis, Miss Synge, and members of the postal and telegraph, staff, also spoke.

Then, the Dean of Bristol addressed the telegraph messengers, and said he really should have been disappointed if he had not been invited to attend the meeting. It was a pleasant part of his privilege in ministering in Bristol to be asked to take a share in such an interesting gathering as they were holding that evening. One of the best features of this inst.i.tute was that it would a.s.sist them to put their leisure to the most profitable use.

The educational work has been progressing steadily ever since its inauguration, and much good has resulted from it to the messengers.

Ever ready to give their countenance to entertainments for the benefit of the community, their Graces the late lamented Duke, and the Dowager d.u.c.h.ess, of Beaufort, as their first public act after coming to reside at Stoke Park, near our city, attended a concert at the Redland Park Hall, which was held for the purpose of benefiting the funds of the Telegraph Messengers' Inst.i.tute. Later on, May 21st, 1898, they were kind enough to attend an annual meeting and a prize distribution at the Colston Hall. The late Duke, who presided on the occasion, said it was a great pleasure to him to be present. He had witnessed a good deal of the care and discipline with which the Post Office messengers were looked after. Like everybody who had a great deal of correspondence, he had the privilege of having the services of the best regulated Post Office in the world. They also had in this country the privilege of being able to use the best regulated telegraph service. They might be perfectly sure that if a man wanted to send a telegram, when once he put it into the hands of the postal officials, however ill-written or badly addressed it might be, it was very probable that the telegram would reach its destination. Those who had a good deal of correspondence were deeply indebted for the splendid organisation of the Bristol Department. They were also very much indebted to the telegraph clerks, who deciphered the scrawls handed them, and who transmitted the messages. They were deeply indebted also to the boys for the way in which they refrained from stopping to play marbles, and did their duties with great zeal, and delivered their messages at the proper places and to the proper persons.

They would understand that they were Government officers, and that they had to discharge important duties. He could personally say that those duties were thoroughly well carried out in the city of Bristol and its neighbourhood.

The d.u.c.h.ess of Beaufort then distributed the prizes, after which a telegraph messenger presented Her Grace with a basket of choice flowers.

The Bishop of Bristol addressed the lads, and urged them to do their duty thoroughly when on duty, and to enter heartily into healthy play when off duty. In doing their duty they should remember one or two things. They might be charged with the delivery of a message which was a matter of life or death; it might be one regarding which thousands of pounds depended; or it might be one of little importance. But, whatever it was, it was not for them to enquire, but to deliver the message with punctuality and promptness. Having spoken of the discipline and training telegraph boys received, he observed that of all telegraph boys, for punctuality, steadiness, courtesy, and politeness, the Bristol boys were about the best. He urged them also to live pure lives and observe complete honesty, that they might become worthy citizens of whom the country might be proud. He was glad to hear the name of the lady (Miss Pollock) who conducted the scriptural cla.s.s so cordially received, which showed that the lady and her work had taken hold of the hearts of the boys. The excellence of their work as boys, and as men, and the enjoyment of their lives, in the best sense, depended upon their becoming G.o.d-fearing. He should be pleased to give a prize in connection with the Scripture cla.s.s.

The letters of the Bishop, written with reference to the occasion, should not be left unchronicled. They ran as follows, viz.:--

"Church House, Dean's Yard, S.W., _May 10th, 1898_.

"MY DEAR POSTMASTER,--I am speaking at Bath on the afternoon of the 20th, and am engaged to stay the night. But I think your proposal so important that I am writing to my host, Mr. S., to ask if he has engaged friends to meet me. If he can excuse me, I will, if all be well, come to you and say something.

"Yours very truly, G. F. BRISTOL."

"The Athenaeum, _May 12th, 1898_.

"MY DEAR POSTMASTER,--I have arranged to return to Bristol on the evening of May 20, and if all be well can be with you. Send me a card of place and hour.

"Yours very truly, G. F. BRISTOL."

The following extract from a letter in which His Grace wrote concerning the meeting, is indicative of the interest which he took in matters affecting the postal and telegraph services of Bristol, viz.:--

"Stoke Park, Stapleton, near Bristol, _21st May, 1898_.

"DEAR MR. TOMBS,--I must write you a few lines of thanks for the very pleasant evening you gave us last night. Both the d.u.c.h.ess and I enjoyed it very much. I was remarkably struck with the appearance of your boys: such nice, clean, smart-looking youths. What a difference drill makes to lads! They have already a smart--soldierlike, I should call it--appearance, and I am sure it tends to sharpen their minds as well as to straighten their bodies.

"Believe me to remain, Yours truly, BEAUFORT."

The messengers little thought as they listened to the Duke's encouraging words, addressed to them on the occasion of the meeting, that they would before a year had pa.s.sed away be sending a modest, humble, but loving tribute, in the form of a wreath, which was thought worthy to be suspended over the pulpit in Badminton Church at the Duke's obsequies, in juxtaposition with a wreath of mammoth proportions sent by the officers of the 7th Dragoons (the Duke's old Regiment).

The Bristol telegraph messengers have cause to remember that bright Sat.u.r.day afternoon in 1895 when, preceded by their drum and fife band, they marched out to Burfield, Westbury-on-Trym, the country residence of Sir (then Mr.) R. H. Symes, the Mayor of Bristol. They were there enabled to have a few hours of recreation and pleasure, and to forget the busy hum of the city with its turmoil and heat. Following the excellent example, Mr. Arthur Baker, of Henbury, and other country gentlemen have invited the boys out on Sat.u.r.day afternoons, to encourage them to keep banded together for good purposes, and to maintain that _esprit de corps_ which is so necessary in a body of youths drawn together after the manner of the Telegraph Messengers' Cla.s.s.

A most memorable occasion was that in 1897, when the messengers were inspected by Lieutenant-Colonel MacGregor, of the 24th Middles.e.x R.V.C., London. They mustered at the Post Office, and, under the direction of Inspectors Mawditt, Appleby (late 29th Regiment and sergeant-major Scinde Volunteers), and Cook (late Royal Marines), and headed by their drum and fife band, marched to the Artillery Drill Ground in Whiteladies Road where, in presence of many visitors, military and civilian, they were put through manual exercises, physical drill to music, and then reviewed on the parade ground. In the speeches which followed the boys were complimented on their efficiency and smart appearance. It was on this occasion that it was announced the Postmaster-General had obtained the sanction of the Treasury for a grant of money in order to encourage telegraph messengers' inst.i.tutes and drill in the large towns. Under this scheme, prizes for proficiency in drill and general good conduct are awarded--a system which has since been found to work admirably.

CHAPTER XV.

LETTER DELIVERY SYSTEM. POSTMEN: THEIR DUTIES AND RECREATIONS.

The extent of the Bristol postal establishment in 1775 may be gleaned from the reply given by the Postmasters-General to a memorial complaining that there was only one letter carrier for the delivery of all the letters received in Liverpool. The answer was that only one letter carrier was maintained in any provincial town, including the premier city of Bristol, and that they did not think themselves justified in incurring for Liverpool the expense of another. An additional Bristol postman was, however, appointed between then and January, 1778. In 1792 there were four letter carriers at Bristol, but only two appear to have been allowed by the Department, the other two being employed as extras, and provided for, probably, by an extra charge on the letters delivered. The Bristol letter carriers were not supplied with uniform clothing until 1858. Then, a hat and coat once yearly, and a waterproof cape once in two years, were given to them. The uniform clothing was not supplied to the auxiliary letter carriers. Bags or pouches for the men to carry for the protection of the letters were at that time provided.

In 1859 the postmen wore scarlet uniform and issued out from the Post Office three times daily to traverse the length and breadth of the city in the distribution of letters. In 1899 the "men in blue" sally forth six times every day.

In the postmen's department there are now seven inspectors and three hundred and seventy postmen. The delivery of letters in the town district is made from the head office. There is a branch delivering office at Clifton, but those at North Street and Phippen Street were long since abandoned. In the Bristol postal district, sixty years ago, there were fewer than 20,000 letters delivered in a week, or about 1,000,000 in a year--a number now nearly reached in a week. The letters delivered annually from the Central Post Office number 31,000,000; from the Clifton Post Office, 6,250,000; from the suburban offices and rural offices, 7,300,000. It is a noteworthy fact that the letters posted in Bristol for delivery within its own limit form 27 per cent. of the total number, which percentage is only surpa.s.sed at two or three of the large cities of the Kingdom. Six deliveries of letters and five deliveries of parcels are made in the city, with ten collections. The average number of persons to whom letters are delivered by each postman in Bristol (city) is 1,800. There are 666,536 parcels delivered annually. To each of two firms are delivered more than one quarter of a million letters annually, equal to one hundredth part of the total number of letters delivered.

The distances from the head office to the extreme outward terminal City and Clifton delivery points are as follows:--Westbury Park, 2-1/2 miles; Horfield Barracks, 3 miles; Ridgeway, 2-1/2 miles; Barton Hill, 1-3/4 miles; Arno's Vale, 1-3/4 miles; Totterdown, 2 miles; Bedminster Down, 2 miles; Ashton Gate, 2 miles; and Clifton Suspension Bridge, 1-1/2 miles.

The trams are used by the postmen, and the Department pays the Tramways Company a lump sum in respect thereof. The convenience in this respect will be enhanced when the electric traction system is fully introduced.

In the sorting office the letters are sorted to the various rounds by postmen dividers, and the general body of postmen then have to arrange them at their desks seated on little revolving stools. The process adopted by the postmen in setting in their letters for delivery may be explained by the following example relating to what is technically known as the "Cotham Brow Walk." The letters are first primarily divided (upright) into streets, roads, squares, courts, etc., taken thus--viz.: (_a_) Sydenham Road, 1 to 18 (one side only); (_b_) Sydenham Hill, 45 to 11, odd numbers (one side only); (_c_) Tamworth Place 13 to 1 (one side only); (_d_) Arley Hill, 2 to 34 and 5 to 27 (cross); (_e_) Arley Park (cross); (_f_) Arley Hill, 36 and 38 and 29 to 41 (cross); (_g_) Cotham Brow, 124 to 88 and 125 to 27 (cross); (_h_) Southfield Road, 2 to 28 and 1 to 27 (cross); (_i_) Upper Sydenham Road, 38 to 19 (one side only); (_j_) Springfield Road, 47 to 85, odd numbers (one side only).

Then the letters for one of the above-named ten divisions or streets are taken one by one and placed in order of actual delivery flat on the table; then all are gathered together and stood upright, the letters for each division being treated in like manner. When the letters for any one street or road, etc., have been set in order, fresh batches of letters of, say, thirty or so, are fully sub-divided by the same process before being set in with the acc.u.mulated and finished letters. This course is necessary in order to obviate the postman having to go through a set of fifty or a hundred letters time after time as he gets a fresh batch of letters. Two hours are allowed for the morning delivery and one and a half hours for other deliveries. As those who have the longest rounds have the lightest burdens, they all contrive to finish at about the same time.

The Clifton Suspension Bridge, which was erected in 1864 at a cost of 100,000, plays a very unimportant part in postal affairs, as it serves for the pa.s.sage over the Avon of three postmen only, who cross with letters for the Leigh Woods and Failand districts. Long Ashton, which has a carriage road approached by the bridge from the Clifton side, receives its letters by a postman who crosses by a ferry lower down the river and reaches his destination more expeditiously than by crossing over the bridge.

A Bristol postman, who was well acquainted with the locality which he had to serve, met with an ugly accident through colliding with a lamp-post, recently erected and not supplied with gas for lighting up.

It had been put up during the man's interval of duty, so that he came upon it for the first time when it was shrouded in darkness. The postmen, having in the discharge of their duties to be early birds and to be first out and about in the morning, often pick up articles lost or deposited overnight. Thus it was that a postman found on one winter's morn in a Bristol suburb a parcel containing the dead body of a child, and had to const.i.tute himself a corpse-carrier for the nonce. It was in this city of Bristol that the following somewhat amusing and certainly interesting incident took place. Two rats were found in combat over a letter, which, delivered in due course by the postman, had fallen upon the floor at the entrance to a warehouse, and had been dragged thence to the spot where the rodents were engaged in their fierce encounter, the gum on the flap probably being the attraction. The letter contained a cheque for 300, and its loss for some days caused no small amount of consternation and anxiety to the gentleman who should have received it, and who, it need scarcely be said, at once gave orders for a letter-box to be attached to his warehouse door.

It was well for the Magistrates' Clerk for the Gloucesters.h.i.+re Division of Bristol that he was well known to the postman, or a.s.suredly he would never have received the letter addressed thus: "Mr. Latchem Laforegat pleace stashun," the proper address being: "Mr. Latcham, Lawford's Gate Police Station, Stapleton Road, Bristol."