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1
435
Her Majesty's Mails
·
William Lewins
268
Postmasters
of
Irish
towns
send
their
"dead
and
insolvent
letters"
to
Dublin,
and
the
residuum
of
the
local
Scotch
post-towns
are
sent
to
Edinburgh.
In
both
these
capitals,
this
particular
class
of
letters
is
dealt
with
in
exactly
the
same
manner
as
in
the
London
office.
We
are
assured
that
the
letters
themselves,
and
the
articles
found
in
the
Scotch
and
Irish
dead
letters,
illustrate
no
little
the
characters,
the
feeling,
and
habits
of
the
two
people.
The
Scotch
have,
comparatively
speaking,
the
fewest
dead
letters;
and
as
the
writers
are
generally
careful
to
give
their
addresses
inside
the
letters,
little
trouble
is
said
to
be
experienced
in
returning
them,
if
it
is
necessary.
The
Irish
dead
letters
are
more
numerous
than
either
the
English
or
the
Scotch.
This
mainly
arises
from
the
circumstance
of
the
nomadic
habits
of
a
considerable
portion
of
the
Irish
people:
owing
also
to
the
same
circumstance,
it
is
impossible
to
return
many
of
the
letters
to
the
writers.
The
Scotch
dead
letters
rarely
contain
coin
or
any
very
valuable
enclosures,
while
of
articles
of
jewellery,
such
as
usually
form
presents
or
tokens
of
affection,
we
are
told
there
is
a
"lamentable
deficiency."
The
Irish
dead
letters,
on
the
contrary,
"are
full
of
little
cadeaux
and
small
sums
of
money,"
illustrating
at
the
same
time
both
the
careless
and
the
affectionate
nature
of
the
people.
Letters
which
can
neither
be
delivered
nor
returned
through
the
Post-Office
are,
if
found
to
be
valuable
and
if
posted
in
the
United
Kingdom,
appropriated
to
the
public
revenue
after
a
certain
time;
if
received
for
delivery
from
a
foreign
State,
they
are
sent
back
to
the
chief
office
of
that
country
for
final
disposition.
Letters
posted
in
this
country
found
to
be
of
no
value,
are
kept
at
the
Post-Office
for
a
month
and
then
destroyed;
foreign
letters
under
the
same
circumstances
are
not
destroyed
for
two
months.
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