Page:The life and letters of Sir John Henniker Heaton bt. (IA lifelettersofsi00port).pdf/321

 a constant source of irritation and annoyance, by ordering that all official post cards shall be sold at their face value—that is, a halfpenny each, in place of three farthings. You now charge a penny for a post card; why not, therefore, a halfpenny for a halfpenny post card? The richest Post Office in the world should be above wringing farthings from the poor; and, if it must differ from other Post Offices (as it does in this matter), let it be in the direction of liberality. England is the only country in the world that charges more than face value for post cards. At Gibraltar I can buy halfpenny post cards for a halfpenny each. In that out-of-the-way country, Guatemala, post cards are sold at their face value.

Tell the correspondent I regret I cannot afford to sacrifice the halfpence.

Ever since we gave the public a halfpenny post card (the "letter of the poor") we have been badgered on the subject of the rules regarding them. What are we to say to this?

—I beg to ask whether your attention has been directed to the fines imposed on the public for affixing stamps on post cards on the back in place of the address side; whether there is any justification for your officers obliterating with stamping machines the stamps so affixed in addition to fining the receivers of the post cards; under what rule or postal regulation fines are imposed for stamps so wrongly affixed; and whether there is in the rules any penalty for affixing stamps on the backs of letters in place of the address side.