in column F, as attendant on the receipt and delivery of letters. A reference to the table shows that they consist almost entirely of salaries to the officers and servants of the Post Office.
These persons, with a few exceptions, may be arranged in three classes; namely, Superintendents, (including Post-masters and Keepers of Receiving-houses,) Clerks (including Messengers), and Letter Carriers. In a Parliamentary Return (1835, No. 442) is a detailed statement of the salaries paid in the London, Dublin, and Edinburgh post offices, which amount to more than one-half of such salaries for the whole of the British Isles. Assuming that the remaining part is divided among the three classes in the same relative proportions as in these places, the account will stand thus:
Actual cost in London, Edinburgh, and Dublin, per annum. | Estimated cost for the United Kingdom per annum. | Per centage on the whole cost of primary distribution, as deduced at p. 14, viz., £426,517. | |
£ | £ | ||
Superintendents, including Post-masters and Keepers of Receiving-houses | 22,400 | 38,300 | |
Clerks, including Messengers | 61,500 | 105,400 | 25 |
Letter Carriers | 46,000 | 78,800 | 18 |
Total | 129,900 | 222,500 | 52 |
1. Superintendents.—The expense of superintendence in every establishment depends chiefly on