The post office and its story an interesting account of the activities of a great government department

The growth in the importance of the office of postmaster has been continuous since the earliest days of the Service, and this is of course easily explained by the story of the Post Office which I have been telling. At first, as I have already pointed out, the postmaster was usually an innkeeper. He provided horses for the King's posts, and it has to be admitted that for this purpose he selected as a rule the worst that were in his possession. The duty of receiving and despatching letters was left to a waiter or chambermaid, and frequently, as there was no separate place set apart for Post Office work, letters were sorted in the bar. A surveyor reported on one occasion that “the head ostler was often the postmaster's prime minister on matters relating to the mails.” When the mail coaches were put on the road, it was felt desirable that the innkeepers should no longer be postmasters, and a change was gradually introduced in the conditions under which the office was held. For a great number of years in most towns of the kingdom the postmastership was held by a local tradesman, and he carried on his own business at the same time, just as sub-postmasters do at the present day. The change was certainly for the benefit of the public, and the mail service was treated more seriously by the postmaster. In some ways he was a more important public servant than he is to-day. In the days before telegraphy he was also a central news agency. A circular was issued to all postmasters in 1812 in these terms:—