so the steamer was
"Verona was half an hour late in leaving the office and that
delayed in sailing for half an hour, & beg most respectfully to state
that on that occasion I was
the senior officer in charge of the Post Office, that as such I had to attend to arrivals, open mail bags, distribute work among my juniors and take a part so far as possible, in the practical work of preparing and closing the outgoing mail, that
Dr Silva and Mr Allen were
absent from duty; that the Post Office staff is barely sufficient at any time for the work imposed
on it and that the absence of two efficient members makes a very great difference in the
performance
of the work I beg further to
point out that there were three separate mails to be made up by that steamer, for Nagasaki, Kobe, and Yokohama and that a different officer was at work at each. Nagasaki and Kobe were ready in good time. Yokohama was delayed. I have lastly to state that although registered letters for three places
were received at the Post Office until
only one book in which all these letters can be entered and this book cannot be used by all the three clerks at the same time, this necessarily involving confusion and delay. The Acting Postmaster General does not in his letter charge me
with any
deliberate or
neglect of duty in this respect,
or any
carelessness or
specific
negligence.
There is
only the fact that the