POST-OFFICE 



347 



established in the north (probahly from York to 

 Edinburgh ) in order to provide the king with the 

 latest news in his camp. This arrangement, how- 

 ever, ceased on the restoration of peace. In 1548 

 the charge for post-horses impressed for govern- 

 ment service was fixed by statute at a penny a 

 mile. Camden mentions the office of ' Master of 

 the Postes ' as existing in 1581 ; but the duties of 

 the ' Master ' were probably confined to the supply- 

 ing of post-horses. The foreign or alien merchants 

 in London established a post-office of their own 

 from London to the outports in the year 1514, 

 appointing their own postmasters; but dissensions 

 occurred among them, and the matter was referred 

 to the government in 1568. At this time also the 

 English merchants complained of unfair treatment 

 by the foreign-post ; and the consequence was that 

 the government set up a post-office for letters to 

 foreign countries for the benefit of the English 

 merchants. The first inland ]>ost was established 

 by Charles I., who in his proclamation of 1635 

 refers to the uncertainty of communication between 

 England and Scotland. The proclamation thus 

 proceeds : ' Wherefore, he now commands his Post- 

 master of England for foreign parts to settle a 

 running post or two, to run night and day between 

 Edinburgh and London, to go thither and come 

 back again in six days, and to take with them all 

 such letters as shall be directed to any post-town 

 in or near that road.' At the same time by-posts 

 were to be connected with the principal towns 

 lying off the main line of posts. In 1637 a pro- 

 clamation prohibited any messengers or foot-posts 

 to carry letters other than the messengers or the 

 king's postmaster-general, with certain specified 

 exceptions. This inland post was placed under 

 the charge of Thomas VVitherings, who, with 

 William Frizell, had been entrusted with the 

 English post for foreign letters from the year 1632. 

 In 1640, in consequence of irregularities, Wither- 

 ings was superseded in his office, which was then 

 entrusted to Philip Burlamachi. Eight main 

 postal lines throughout England were at this 

 period set up. The rates of postage for a single 

 letter were as follows : not exceeding a distance 

 of 80 miles, 2d. ; 140 miles, 4d. ; for any greater 

 distance in England, 6d. ; to Scotland, 8d. In 

 1649, in the time of the Commonwealth, the court 

 of Common Council for London set up a post in 

 rivalry with that of the parliament ; hut the 

 Commons promptly put an end to the undertaking. 

 Material changes were effected in the post-office by 

 Cromwell ami his parliament in 1657, and an 

 ordinance l>earing on the subject furnishes a motive 

 for the establishment of posts ' that they will be 

 the best means to discover and prevent many 

 dangerous and wicked designs against the Common- 

 wealth.' At the Restoration the settlement of the 

 post-office made during the Commonwealth was 

 confirmed, and its substance was re-enacted by 

 statute 12 Carolus II. chap. 35, which act, being 

 the first strictly legal authority for the establish, 

 ment of the post-office, has always been looked 

 upon as its charter. Although in 1635 something 

 was done towards establishing posts between 

 England and Scotland, little was attempted as 

 regards internal communication in Scotland till 

 1695, when the Scotch parliament passed an act 

 for the general establishment of a letter-post. In 

 1683 an upholsterer named Robert Murray set up a 

 penny post for the conveyance of letters and small 

 parcels about London, which business was sub- 

 sequently assigned to Thomas Dockwra. This under- 

 taking was, however, seized by the government 

 a* being an infringement of it* privileges, and 

 Dockwra was granted a pension of 200 a year 

 by way of compensation. This system was the 

 niiiiniencement of the London Postal District 



service, and Dockwra was afterwards appointed 

 its controller. About the year 1700 robberies 

 of the posts were so frequent in the neigh- 

 bourhood of the Borders that acts were passed 

 by the Scotch and English parliaments making 

 robbery of the post punishable with death and con- 

 fiscation. In 1708 a Mr Povey attempted to set 

 up a halfpenny post in London ; but this was sup- 

 pressed as the result of a lawsuit at the instance of 

 the government. Bv a statute passed in 1710 the 

 post-office was remodelled, a general post-office for 

 the three kingdoms and the colonies being estab- 

 lished under 'Her Majesty's Postmaster-general.' 

 This officer was empowered to keep one chief letter- 

 office in London, one in Edinburgh, one in Dublin, 

 one in New York, and one in the West Indies. 

 The Irish parliament in 1784 passed an act, giving 

 the Irish post-office a separate existence, and 

 creating an independent postmaster-general ; but 

 the offices were again united under the British 

 postmaster-general in 1831. In the year 1776 a 

 penny post for Edinburgh and Leith was set up 

 by Peter Williamson, and carried on until about 

 1792, when it was absorbed by the General Post- 

 office. In 1720 Ralph Allen (1694-1764) obtained a 

 lease for life of the cross-posts at a rent of 6000 a 

 year ; and so greatly did he improve the revenue 

 from this source that he realised an annual profit of 

 12,000, which he lived to enjoy for forty-four 

 years. 



The institution of mail-coaches (see COACHING) 

 marks a very important period in the history of the 

 (lost-office. Their introduction is due to Mr John 

 Palmer, manager of the theatre at Bath, who sub- 

 mitted his scheme to Mr Pitt in 1783. In order 

 to carry out his plan Mr Palmer was appointed Con- 

 troller to the General Post-office, with a salary of 

 1500 a year and 2J per. cent, on any excess of 

 revenue over 240,000 a year. The running of 

 mail-coaches commenced in 1784, the plan l>eing 

 carried out, like the later great scheme of Sir Row- 

 land Hill, in the face of vehement opposition on the 

 part of officers of the post-office. The new method 

 of conveyance, however, proved most successful, 

 both on account of greater safety to the mails, and 

 acceleration of the correspondence. In 1792 Mr 

 Palmer was suspended from his office, an allowance 

 of 3000 a year lieing made to him in lieu thereof ; 

 but after a long struggle with the Treasury par- 

 liament in 1813 made him a grant of 50,000. The 

 mail-coach era may be said to have covered a 

 ]>eriod of sixty years, during which time the great 

 road engineers so improved the highways that the 

 speed of the coaches was increased from about six 

 to fully ten miles an hour. Mails were first sent 

 by railway in 1830 over the line between Liverpool 

 and Manchester. 



In order of time the next great feature in the 

 history of the post-office is the uniform penny 

 postage scheme of Mr (afterwards Sir) Rowland 

 Hill (q.v. ). He suggested his plan of reform in 

 1837. It evoked strong opposition within the post- 

 office and from a section of the public without ; 

 but it was eventually adopted by a majority of 

 100 in the House of Commons, and the scheme was 

 launched on the 10th January 1840. Immediately 

 prior to that date the inland postage rates were as 

 follows for an ordinary single letter : 



Prom any post-office to any place not exceeding 15 miles 



from such post-office 4d. 



Above 16 miles and under 20 miles 6d. 



20 



SO 



50 



80 



120 



170 



230 



50 

 80 

 120 

 170 

 230 

 300 



6d. 



7d. 



8d. 

 . 9d. 

 .10d. 

 .lid. 

 .12d. 



For every additional 100 miles Id. 



and for every letter carried over the Borders an additional id. 



