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318
The Royal Mail: Its Curiosities and Romance
·
James Wilson Hyde
226
"A
person
complained
repeatedly
of
letters
addressed
to
him
having
been
intercepted
and
tampered
with,
and
of
drafts
having
been
stolen
from
them
and
negotiated.
There
being
ground
to
suspect
that
the
thief
was
in
the
complainant's
own
office,
he
reluctantly
consented
to
test
the
honesty
of
his
clerks;
and
the
result
showed
that
one
of
them
was
the
guilty
party,
the
man
being
subsequently
tried
and
convicted.
The
thefts
had
been
committed
by
means
of
a
duplicate
key,
which
gave
the
clerk
access
to
the
letter-box."
"Several
complaints
were
made
of
the
non-delivery
of
letters
addressed
to
the
editor
of
a
newspaper;
but
this
gentleman
afterwards
intimated
that
he
had
discovered
that
the
delinquent
was
his
own
errand-boy,
who
confessed
to
having
pilfered
his
letter-box."
"A
similar
case
occurred
at
Romsey,
where,
on
an
investigation
by
the
surveyor,
it
was
discovered
that
the
applicant's
errand-boy
had
abstracted
the
letters
from
his
private
bag,
which
it
was
found
could
be
done
even
when
the
bag
was
locked."
"Application
was
made
respecting
a
letter
containing
a
cheque
for
L79,
12s.
11d.,
which
had
been
presented
and
cashed.
The
letter
had
not
been
registered,
and
no
trace
of
it
could
be
discovered.
The
applicants,
however,
ultimately
withdrew
their
complaint
against
the
Post-office,
stating
their
belief
that
the
missing
letter
had
not
been
posted,
but
had
been
stolen
by
one
of
their
clerks,
who
had
absconded."
"A
merchant
sent
his
errand-boy
to
post
a
letter,
and
to
purchase
a
stamp
to
put
upon
it.
The
letter
contained
negotiable
bills
amounting
to
L1200;
and
as
the
merchant
did
not
receive
an
acknowledgment
from
his
correspondent,
he
cast
the
blame
on
the
Post-office.
An
inquiry
followed,
which
resulted
in
showing
that
the
errand-boy
had
met
another
boy
on
a
similar
mission,
who
undertook
to
post
the
letter
in
question.
On
further
reflection,
however,
the
latter
resolved
to
convert
the
penny
intended
for
a
postage-stamp
into
sweetmeats,
which
he
did,
and
then
destroyed
the
letter
with
its
contents,
carrying
the
fragments
into
a
field
near
the
Post-office,
where
they
were
found
hidden."
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