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- 168 REMINISCENCES OF OLD VICTORIA
building now stands, still in wood, and in no more pretentious a building than the former ones. From there it was moved again up Government Street to the old site, opposite the C. P. R. telegraph office, until that place got too small, and a final move was made to its present location, and a large addition is soon to be made to keep pace with the rapid growth of the city. Letters were an expensive luxury in the early days, as this table of rates will show : To send a half ounce letter to Great Britain cost 34c., British North American provinces 20c., France 50c., Germany 40c., Holland 57c., Norway 56c., Portugal 68c., Sweden 52c., and San Francisco 15c. Most of the letters from the latter place were received by Wells Fargo's express, and cost, I think, 3c., and special charge of 25c. on each letter. I have already described the receipt of Wells Fargo's express from Esquimalt in the early times, and how John Parker, now of Metchosin, used to meet the steamer at Esquimalt. When she was expected their messenger, whose name was Miller, and a colored man, used to watch from Church Hill, and on her being sighted at Race Rocks the express flag was hoisted in front of their office on Yates Street to let the citizens know the fact. Before the steamer made a landing the letter-bags were thrown ashore to John Parker, and fastened on his horse, then off he galloped to Victoria, the horse being covered with sweat on arrival at the express office, where the letters were called off by Colonel Pendergast, or Major Gillingham, to a crowded audience.
On the death of Mr. Wootton, I believe Mr. Robert Wallace was the next to fill the position, which he did for some years. When he retired he went to his former home in Scotland. On his retirement the position was offered to the present incumbent, Mr. Noah Shake-
VICTORIA POST OFFICE 169
speare, who so ably fills it. I might say, to show the growth of the post-office in this city since Mr. Wootton's time, when he with two assistants carried on the work, that to-day the staff, including letter-carriers, numbers forty-eight.
The registered parcels and letters for last year were just twice the year before, with a large increase in money orders, and to show the large increase in letters in one evening at Christmas, twelve thousand were received and cancelled in the post-office.
In conclusion I would ask, were not letters which cost 34c. postage in those days more appreciated than a lot of letters now at 2c. each? It is the old story over again, that a thing easy to get is thought little of.
I might say this article was written in May, 1908, and at the present writing, December, 1911, the volume of business of the Victoria post-office has increased nearly fifty per cent.?that is, in three years. It might be interesting to note that of the present staff Mr. Thomas Chadwick, in charge of the money order office, is senior in years of service, having joined the staff in 1880. Next comes Mr. Charles Finlaison, 1882, and Mr. James Smith, 1887. The deputy postmaster, Mr. T. A. Cairns, joined the staff in Winnipeg in 1880, and the Victoria staff in 1882. Mr. Shakespeare, post-master, has been head of the department here since 1888.
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