Her Majesty's Mails

By Act of Parliament, the Post-Office is not responsible for the absolute security of registered letters, though every care and attention are given to them. Each registered letter may be traced from hand to hand, from posting to delivery, with unfailing accuracy, and there can be no question as to the great security which is thus afforded. Any officer who may neglect his duty with registered letters is called to strict account, and, if the Postmaster-General should see fit, will be required to make good any loss that may be sustained. In cases where registered letters have been lost (in the proportion, it is said, of about one in ninety thousand), or some abstraction of their contents, the Department makes good the loss, if the fault is shown to rest with the Post-Office, and if the sum lost be of moderate amount and the sufferer a person not in affluent circumstances.