CURIOSITIES OF THE POST OFFICE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1016, 4 January 1911, Page 6

CURIOSITIES OF THE POST OFFICE.

. Sir,—New Zealand is nothing if not-ad-vanced, and sometimes Zth,e ; effort to be up to, date produces rather..absurd results. In,tlie casepf.pur post', office the'higher officials ate very'anxious to eiuulate England;' America, and Germany; but often ambition overleaps itself, and falls'.on the other'/side.' Wo will take first, tho' Prohibited List.. It is a post office rule-that if the 'Postmaster-General-.has."reasonable ground to suppose", that any person-is'-"carrying .on'.aiiy fraudulent- or nnlawl'ul business" ho may forbid his. receiving letters.. Accordingly,, on. page 70 of the . current Postal G.uide there is a list of such people. Among them I find the firm of.Freeman and Wallace, Sydney. They are' carefully ' dissected. No letter is to be, delivered. cither to Freeman or Wallace, to'- Freeman Howard, or to Howard 'Freeman. .To see. whether, this extraordinary, boycott was serious I wrote to the Postmaster-General arid asked what .Would happen if Howard .Freeman's daughter ,;was. staying 7 .hers, and .met: with a buggy accident, and I telegraphed to her father. He did not reply.,' How. could he? What reasonable answer ■ could lie give? .He Would not reply,. "Thctelegram would be returned to .'trio : 6chdor"'because had I got a member..to Tead such a letter in the' Hpuso it would have made; him look silly. The prohibition applies to "postal packets,". and . that term includes telegrams.' It.must.be clear that thisprohibited list will have to be abandoned; or worked differently. '■■■ Surely, common' sense tells one that "if' "Herr .Rassmussen, 91 Lambton QiiSy; Welllngtbu," is/really such a bad lot' : tfiatj'hojj m/iist not ;,Tec*iv,e letters, the proper cdurto'Ts : to charge: him with his offence, in the Police Court.

To test the method employed iri: putting a. man'.bh,tho .prohibited, list,. I sent'the Postmaster-General a circular. I, received •from' orio 'M'Clufe, who is.Howard Freeman's, successor in business. He. was'nut ori the prohibited list at once! . So if this M'Clure owes- money . to'- tradesmen. ,nrid i'tbjyi^Sdh'>K^lh'Ul3Kiffiifede>iverc'd! One .would irila'gine,these.considerations w.ould havo-pecuffed/to/ the' officials.- Another matter/which;is.very.obvious' is that heoh,tli'o list ho should be.';bitel'-:-;ta: ap'pear.Jbefpre' a judge:, and show'"cause-, why.-'he -should not'be put on the',/ list;""- Take, for instance, Mr. Alfred .Bennett,"-P:0.,-Too.rak. ■ Tho name is-so ebnimoh and", the address '60 vague that unlessyou'.actually you can hardly, avoid the chance of a,mistake.. As ' a jp'attieri! of .actual irfnen,' I. have to ',acquaintaTiCO of:that:name, 1 an:awfully.decent fellow! who'ke'ep/s'an hotel....Suppose h"ei;visits.To"di'ak;-and- naturally tells.:his wife to addrcss;him : at'tho P. 0., ,Her letters,all- ar,e'/!seh't,to'our./Dead Letter Qffice;/.and/come back,,'to-her iri'/a month' with:an' officialdritimation-,that- her huS-. baridis'carrying on an immoral business! It;is .true : that the.Y'ankeesJhave fi pro-, hibited list, but lexpect it is worked very: .differently:/ ~.'.'.',, .'',"','•' My suggestions—(l)-That New. Zealand,: .whom, : the.. Postmaster-. .General:.susp'e'cts:ofj carrying.- on an iriimoral' business should .be ■ treated exactly -as'if'the police suspected-him'of •theft: He .should'be'watched;'and; -if detected,; .sued.V/lilere;snspiciori'.does not justify, a boycott;'. : ln/tho;case:of'.a man in.Sydney or Chicago being suspected; /lib should be left-.tb:- the .local.-.police.;'. ; generally,-'that if.a'man/can/carry ; bri-a large: businessVih .Chicago, and, defy the police, ,our, puriy/ efforts /will riot; affect, him. ■■:, Either,- his:business,.• is, riot really, criminal; or else; he is'.subtle: .enough to, liave- aliases- that defy thbratherclums'y deviceiof a prohibited' list.- The official's sa'y-,,f'W«s kn6w.that.Mf../Blank,: bf;Lbtidon,v.:advei:tisesrin. ri Ncw. fi Zoalarid' a gold watch:- for.', five shillings; l '''and, does riot; serid' any'watch/ ,Wb, therefore, prohibit him.''.' My reply- is that/if they "know" .it'.thcy:-cari'.prove .it, /arid they Should send,their, evidence to the police.:iii Lpn'don.:'':Finally,'you"ivili:ask.why the prohibited ■ list'' hasrhpt-''been>already abolished,: if.it is as ridiculous as I make l ;First, the schemo-| is-ncw;-an(rvery'!few : ,are .oh -tlie list who are' not.'abominable scoundrels. -Neither :they,nor any .of their friends-daro.speak. Secondly,' I. .expect, - ; many,'. arc. ephemeral-swindlers -who have "left." .Thirdly, I'belie've,therwhole',thing;is a farce." I-wrote to Dr.- -M'Clure two-,months ago,"'and as the lettbr has not come backI suppose he got .it. Also, early in November I sent Dost-cards to twelve prohibitedpers'o'ns.'/takeri at..random, and not one was stopped: in New, Zealand. ~I got only three teplies, and: conclude, the rest have goriVbnt of business. 'One card,, addressed/ to ."George Adariis," was.stopped: in Tasmania. ■'■ All, the other, eleven'got through. be. made, that if. a prohibited'list exist?, at all it should:.be.:iri-.every-,-post office.vin, big red letters,''anil would.then be instructive to the,- public:/ It would compel them to recognise that there are" hundreds of men at. large, ; plying businessesi.sb. disgraceful that they, do riot, dare' to' resent /being boycotteti,. and vet the;police'.do. riot molest -them.,. Are'the. police; bribed,, or: simply stupid?": .-.:.'■■ - '*• '.' -..:■'. ''■ . -.. I think that .the device'of. a.prphibited list peculiarly .out,.of place iin.a young and democratic country. It. is opposed, to 'all bur: traditions • that-.a'man. should be "accused-secretly,: judged secretly/.-and way, that-favours more :of' medieval 1 tyranny 'than modem' j ■ When' , 'Dr!/M'Clure's'.circular' was sent,,to tlie. officials'/it -'was: possible , there was .some.other '.It-is quite: clear; that unless'the accused person is "cited to Appear in';.court, : ' any/ innocent person, might be" got on, the;, list by = the device. of an '.enemy. «Jfi. the .'.list-, is,: .continued,'.there wi!l'sOme"''day;:.bftia-'great / .scandal.—l ain, ;: F:aHOWLETT.'