. Travels and politics in the Near East. rds are exactly thesame, having no surcharge at all. The existence of theBritish Post Office, ably presided over by Mr. F. S. Cobb,dates from the Crimean war, and was originally due tothe requirements of our soldiers and sailors. Afterwards,when the peace came, it was f(nmd so useful that it wascontinued, in spite of the opposition of the TurkishGovernment. On one occasion the latter threatened tosurround it with a cordon of soldiers in order to preventany one using it, but this strong measure was neveractuallv adopted. A similar institution exists at S
. Travels and politics in the Near East. rds are exactly thesame, having no surcharge at all. The existence of theBritish Post Office, ably presided over by Mr. F. S. Cobb,dates from the Crimean war, and was originally due tothe requirements of our soldiers and sailors. Afterwards,when the peace came, it was f(nmd so useful that it wascontinued, in spite of the opposition of the TurkishGovernment. On one occasion the latter threatened tosurround it with a cordon of soldiers in order to preventany one using it, but this strong measure was neveractuallv adopted. A similar institution exists at Smyrna,and at last the British Chamber of Commerce hassucceeded in inducing the Home Government to createone at Salonica. Without these post offices all businesshere would be well-nigh impossible, especially as theTurkish post office has no money-order departnient. Asit is, there is no delivery of letters on the Bosporus andin the other suburbs of Constantinople, because somefew persons used the local post to send threatening letters 395. THE BRITISH PDST OFFICE, Travels and Politics in the Near East to the Sultan ! With characteristic logic the Ottomanauthorities abolished the local post ; so, if you live atTherapia or Buyukdereh, you have to send into town,an hour and a half by steamer, for your letters. Tele-graphing is very precarious, for no telegram can ever bedepended upon to arrive in Turkey. It thus almostinvariably happens that British ship captains leavingConstantinople, and telegraphing for coals to be ready atthe Dardanelles, arrive at the latter place only to discoverthat their messages have never been delivered. News-paper telegrams of any importance are always posted toPhilippopolis or Odessa enclosed in a letter and thentelegraphed on. Por the Censor is much more suspiciousof these messages than of anything else, and often rejectsthem on the most trivial grounds. To crown all,when the railways are under water in Servia, as usuallyhappens once a year, th
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjecteasternquestionbalka
