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318
The Royal Mail: Its Curiosities and Romance
·
James Wilson Hyde
184
In
the
year
1797
the
deputy-postmaster
of
the
Orkneys
and
his
son,
a
lad
of
about
sixteen
years
of
age,
were
tried
at
the
High
Court
of
Justiciary,
Edinburgh,
on
a
charge
of
breaking
open
certain
post-letters
while
in
their
custody
in
course
of
transit,
and
therefrom
abstracting
money.
The
indictment
contained
a
further
charge
of
forgery
against
the
elder
prisoner,
the
deputy
having
endorsed
another
person's
name
upon
a
money-order
contained
in
one
of
the
stolen
letters.
The
thefts
were
committed
at
different
times
in
1794
and
1796,
and
the
specific
cases
upon
which
evidence
was
led
were
in
respect
of
the
following
letters--viz.,
two
letters
sent
at
different
times
to
Orkney
by
a
seaman
in
the
Royal
Navy,
one
containing
a
guinea-note
and
half
a
guinea
in
gold,
the
other
containing
either
a
guinea
in
gold
or
a
note
for
that
amount;
a
letter
from
London
for
Orkney,
containing
a
money-order
for
L5
5s.;
and
a
letter
from
Perth
for
Orkney,
enclosing
a
note
for
a
guinea:
the
whole
amount
involved
being
under
L9.
In
the
course
of
the
trial
it
was
proved
that
the
deputy
was
guilty,
certain
of
the
missing
letters
having
been
found
in
his
house,
and
the
son
had
already
confessed
to
what
was
charged
against
him.
The
whole
cases
were
clearly
made
out
to
the
satisfaction
of
the
jury,
who
returned
a
verdict
accordingly
against
both
prisoners,
but
with
a
recommendation
of
mercy
towards
the
son
of
the
deputy,
on
the
score
of
his
tender
years.
Sentence
was
pronounced
on
the
5th
September,
and
the
date
of
execution
fixed
for
the
18th
October.
By
the
exercise
of
the
Royal
prerogative,
George
III.
granted
a
free
pardon
to
the
deputy's
son,
who
was
forthwith
set
at
liberty;
but
it
is
a
melancholy
reflection,
that
for
delinquencies
involving
the
loss
of
so
small
a
sum
as
L9,
the
deputy-postmaster
should,
on
the
date
fixed
for
his
execution,
have
actually
been
led
forth
to
his
doom.
In
a
report
of
the
circumstance
written
at
the
time,
it
is
stated
"that
he
was
attended
by
the
Rev.
Mr
Black
of
Lady
Yester's,
and
Mr
Struthers
of
the
Relief
congregation,
and
behaved
in
a
manner
suitable
to
his
unhappy
situation!"
God
forbid
that
there
should
be
a
standard
of
deportment
for
occasions
like
this,
where,
to
our
more
humane
notions,
the
punishment
so
fearfully
outweighs
the
offence.
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