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1
435
Her Majesty's Mails
·
William Lewins
210
The
Commons'
Committee
reported
that
the
letter-opening
warrants
might
be
divided
into
two
classes--(1)
Those
issued
in
furtherance
of
criminal
justice,
usually
for
the
purpose
of
affording
some
clue
to
the
hiding-place
of
an
offender,
or
to
the
mode
or
place
of
concealment
of
property.
(2)
Those
issued
for
the
purpose
of
discovering
the
designs
of
persons
known
or
suspected
to
be
engaged
in
proceedings
dangerous
to
the
State,
or
deeply
involving
British
interests,
from
being
carried
on
in
the
United
Kingdom.
In
the
case
of
both
classes
of
warrants,
the
mode
of
proceeding
was
nearly
similar.
The
first
were
issued
on
the
application
of
the
law-officers;
the
principal
Secretary
of
State
himself
determined
when
to
issue
the
latter.
No
record
was
kept
of
the
grounds
on
which
the
second
class
of
warrants
were
issued.
"The
letters
which
have
been
detained
and
opened
are,"
according
to
the
Committee,[124]
"unless
retained
by
special
order,
as
sometimes
happens
in
criminal
cases,
closed
and
re-sealed
without
affixing
any
mark
to
indicate
that
they
have
been
so
detained
and
opened,
and
are
forwarded
by
post
according
to
their
respective
superscriptions."
They
then
classed
the
warrants
issued
during
the
present
century
in
the
following
way:--For
thefts,
murders,
and
frauds,
162;
for
treason
and
sedition,
77;
foreign
correspondence,
20;
prisoners
of
war,
13;
miscellaneous,
11;
and
for
uncertain
purposes,
89.
Undoubtedly,
with
one
class
of
letters,
the
Government
were
only
performing
a
duty
in
applying
the
law
as
laid
down
in
1
Vict.
c.
33.
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