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P.M.G. Recognizes Railway Air Mail By W. Ward One must not criticize the British Post Office, even though it makes a ten millions surplus out of its postal revenues; which of course helps the P.M.G. of the day to present a happy face to his colleagues. A short time ago I suggested that the P.M.G. should farm out his posts to the railway companies so that the Post Office could get on with its chief work of Pensions, Insurances and Licences! I little thought that such a facetious remark turn out to have a substantial basis. One of our great railway systems, long noted for its innovations, recently inaugurated an auxiliary air service between South Devon and South Wales, across moors and Channel, instead of the tedious overland route. In connection with this there is quite an interesting little story all caused through stamp collectors and our genial friends of the Great Western! First of all, one has to go back forty years for the beginning of the story that has culminated in a too modern business railway system taking the wind out of Sir Rowland Hill's 94-year-old baby—for the present Post Office is just a year older than its first postage stamp. While the latter are now perforated, the former is impervious to innovations from outside parties or "foreign" ideas. So long ago as February, 1891, the G.P.O. sanctioned the railway companies of Great Britain and Ireland carrying letters, to which must be affixed a special letter-fee stamp ot- a design approved by the powers that be plus a postage stamp for carriage of the letter from the station or point nearest the addressee. During all those forty years, with merelv the two raisings of the fee from 2d. to 3d., and then as now to 4d, the British Railways with one exception (the Isle of Man) have carried letters under the authority of the Postmaster-General, by a more direct route than was often possible by ordinarv mail services. So! The Great Western Railway Company on April 12th last inaugurated an auxiliary air service between Plvmouth and Cardiff, shortening the time between Drake's Port and the City of the Red Dragon by three-fourths the time. Naturally, enterprising philatelists saw an opportunity to get some specially franked souvenirs of the really first British inter-island air service that could be distinguished other than by cancellations. All they had to do was address letters, fixing railwav- letter and postage stamps, and send from Cardiff, Plymouth, Teignmouth, or Torquay, to be posted on arrival at the railway termini. and cancelled by the Post Office, according to G.P.O. Regulations made in 1891. Naturally the people were only too pleased to receive and forward letters over their system, but they, as well as the Stamp collector had forgotten the inheritance oi the Stuarts—and such a terribly business-like innovation could not be allowed without first special permission. Thus came the fiat that has compelled the enterprising Great Western to announce that “at the present we are prohibited from forwarding letters bv air". And this in addition to the fact that the senders were paying the costs and the railway company the work to present a free service to the G.P.O. Since writing above, the Post Master General has authorised '"accepting of letters for conveyance bv the Great Western Railway Company's Air Service between Cardiff and Plymouth, at the same rates and on the same conditions as apply to ordinary railwav letters. (April 27th 1933.) A victory for the GWR and philatelists!