The post office and its story : $b an interesting account of the activities of a great government departmentBennett, Edward
History
The post office and its story : $b an interesting account of the activities of a great government department
Bennett, Edward
Postal service -- Great Britain -- History
In 1859 a Money Order Convention was arranged with Canada. The
Postmaster-General reported on this as follows: “The enlargement of the
Money Order system has worked very satisfactorily, and will, I hope,
lead to the extension to other Colonies. Such an extension would, I am
convinced, be productive of much good, would save much money that now
probably runs to waste, would afford great relief to many weak and aged
persons, separated by the broad ocean from the younger and more vigorous
members of the family, and would materially promote self-supporting
immigration.”
The Money Order system was extended in 1862 and 1863 to Cape Colony, to
the Australian and several of the West Indian Colonies. The rest of the
Colonies soon followed the example.
Switzerland began to exchange Orders with us in 1869. Six months later
Belgium followed, and then Germany came into the system in 1871. The
United States and France followed suit a few years later. Spain and some
of the States of Central and South America are now the only countries of
importance with which this country does not exchange Money Orders.
The Foreign and Colonial Branch of the Office conducts a most
complicated business. It is supposed to have the world's geography at
its fingers' ends, to be able to find the whereabouts of every remote
hamlet in South Africa or North America, to read half-a-dozen foreign
languages, and to understand a score of systems of currency. The clerks
are expected to be able to pacify hungry and ill-looking Poles and
Italians, whose ignorance of the English language is only equal to their
inability to grasp our system.
Some years ago, in a discussion on the attitude of the Church of Rome
towards the Church of England, Mr. Gladstone wrote a letter to the
_Times_ on the subject which was very much quoted in other journals.
Several poor foreigners from the East End called at the Money Order
Office in great distress. They had sent money abroad in postal notes and
orders, and inquired anxiously as to their safety, as they had been
alarmed by hearing that the Roman Catholic Archbishop had denied in the
papers “the validity of Anglican orders.” This is a good story even if
it is not true.
I am reminded of a joint application to the Department by a clergyman
and an official of the Bank of England. The occupations of the two were
described as “Clerks in Holy Orders and in Bank of England.” In justice
to the clergyman, the description is in the writing of the Bank of
England clerk.
Telegraph Money Orders were first introduced in 1889, and several years
later the system was extended to most of the European countries.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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