OF THE COMMISSIONERS APPOINTED TO INVESTIGATE THE QUESTION OF SUNDAY LABOUR IN THE POST OFFICE. Presented to both Bouses of Parliament by Command of Ber Majesty. LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET, FOR HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE. 1850. Page 3 REPORT APPENDIX A.-Notice to the Public, and Instructions to all Postmasters, Sub-Postmasters, and 7 APPENDIX B-Statement showing the exact amount of Sunday Post Office Labour in London on an ordinary Sunday previously to the 23rd of June, 1850 APPENDIX C.-Replies to Queries as to the effects of the late Change, issued by the Postmaster- APPENDIX D.-List of Petitions against and for the Abolition of Sunday Labour, presented to APPENDIX E.-Statement of the Number of Letters given for Six Monday Mornings and Five Saturday Evenings, and for Six Tuesday Mornings and Five Friday Evenings, before and after the 23rd June, 1850 . APPENDIX F.-Précis of the Letters on the Subject of the late Alteration in the Sunday Post Delivery 7 8 17 18 19 REPORT. TO THE LORDS COMMISSIONERS OF HER MAJESTY'S TREASURY. MY LORDS, 10th August 1850. IN compliance with the instructions contained in your Lordships' letter of the 18th ultimo, we have carefully investigated the question referred to us, viz., "whether the amount of Sunday labour in the Post Office might not be "reduced, without completely putting an end to the collection and delivery of "letters, &c., on Sundays," and we have the honour to report as follows. Your Lordships are aware that this question has arisen out of a change in the Post Office arrangements, which was made by the Postmaster-General on the 23rd of June last, in consequence of an assurance given by Her Majesty, in answer to an address of the House of Commons, agreed to on the 30th May last, representing the great desire which exists in all parts of the United Kingdom, for an extension of that rest on the Lord's day, which is afforded in the London Post Office, to the Post Offices of the provincial towns, and praying Her Majesty to direct that the collection and delivery of letters shall in future entirely cease on Sunday in all parts of the kingdom. The nature and extent of this change will be best seen by referring to the "Notice" issued by the Postmaster-General for carrying it into effect; but we may state briefly, that it involved the suspension of the delivery, collection, and despatch of letters on the Sunday, throughout the United Kingdom. We understand that, by the reduction of Sunday labour referred to in your Lordships' instruction, is meant a reduction in the Sunday labour as it existed before the 23rd of June. Prior to that date the state of the Post Office, as regards Sunday labour, was as follows. During the previous two years and a half, the PostmasterGeneral had been engaged in carrying into effect a series of carefully-considered measures, with the view "of affording to all connected with the Post Office "the utmost amount of rest on the Sunday," which, in the opinion of his Lordship, "is consistent with a due regard to public convenience." Appendix A. These measures are fully described in a Report to the Postmaster-General, of 28th January last, by Mr. Rowland Hill, which has been laid before Parlia- Return to the ment; and a statement is there given of the amount of Sunday relief which House of Commons, had at that time been afforded. At the date of this Report, the relief was, for the most part, confined to England and Wales; but before the address of the 30th of May, it had been extended to Ireland and Scotland, and some other important improvements, described in the same Report as then in progress, had been completed. We find that by these several measures, 8,424 persons had been relieved on Sunday to an average extent of nearly six hours each; that the Sunday transmission of numerous mails had been altogether stopped; that the ordinary rule in the provincial offices was for the office to close finally (except for the receipt and despatch of certain mails) at 10 A.M.; and that the Sunday deliveries had in all cases been reduced to one; while in the London office, by a transfer of duty to two travelling corps of 5 clerks each, working in the railway carriages--the one during Saturday night, and the other during Sunday night-the ordinary Sunday force, which was originally 27 men, and which, in October last, was temporarily increased to 52, had been reduced to 4, viz., 1 clerk and 3 messengers. These arrangements, we may add, by reducing to a minimum the letters for London itself brought in on the Sunday, are wholly inconsistent with the possibility of a Sunday delivery in London; a measure indeed, which, as your Lordships are aware, was never even contemplated. With the view of ascertaining the effects of the late change, which first came into operation on the 23rd June, the Postmaster-General, at our request, called for certain information from the Superintending President of the Inland Office, 1850, No. 185. Appendix B. |