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

Bad packing, indeed, on the part of senders of parcels causes an infinity of trouble. Only three days after the establishment of the Parcel Post in 1883 the Post Office found it necessary to issue notices to the public throughout the country, warning them of the risk of damage to the contents of parcels through thoughtless and careless packing. A man sent bullion from abroad consisting of 400 sovereigns placed loosely in a light wooden box. The shaking on the journey forced the sides of the box open, and the sovereigns were scattered among the other parcels in the same sack. Umbrellas and sunshades are often sent by post wrapped up merely in brown paper. Now brown paper is just sufficient covering to be worse than none at all. In the case of an umbrella it hides the nature of the article, and without any covering at all it would stand a better chance of travelling safely. It is surprising, too, that china and glass ware are so frequently sent through the post with the barest protection. Perhaps a piece of cardboard or a small piece of corrugated paper without shavings is all that is wrapped round a breakable article. It has often been noticed that if a bottle of hair-wash or cod liver oil is broken in transit there is generally no difficulty in recovering a substantial portion of the contents to be poured into another bottle, but when a bottle of champagne or of whisky is broken none of the contents ever remain to be deposited in another vessel.