148 



POST-OFFICE 



The extra half|M-niiy was charged an an indemnity 

 fur toll due* fnun wliii-li, liy tin- Act 53 of (ieu. III., 

 ISI.'J, mail conveyance* in S<-oilaml having more 

 titan two wheeU were not exempt. Time were 

 ili>- initial rate* payable fur single letters Le. 

 Icttcm written upon -in.-li- sheets. If a letter 

 contained an enclosure tlie letter Ittcame a double 

 lettci, iiml iloiibl(> |>tage wa claimed. For a 

 letter weighing an ounce the charge wag quad- 

 rupled, and each quarter of an ounce in addition 

 added an additional rate to the charge. Under 

 i In- uniform penny postage scheme tlie postage 

 was levied according to weight, oommencwg with 

 a penny for a letter not exceeding half an ounce, 

 and a* penny for every additional hall" ounce, 

 irrespective of distance within the kingdom which 

 the letter had to lie conveyed. The uniformity 

 of rate as regards distance has been maintained 

 till the present day, though the Rowland Hill 

 scale has oeen altere<i. Thus, in 1871 the initial 

 half ounce letter ceased (as regards inland letters), 

 and the scale became as follows : Not exceeding 

 1 o/.. Id.; not exceeding 2 o/., Hd. ; not exceed- 

 ing 4 or., 2d., and Jd. for every 2 oz. up to 12 

 oz. ; Id. being charged for each additional ounce. 

 In 1885 this comparatively heavy charge over 12 oz. 

 was removed. The privilege of Franking Letters 

 ( q. v. ) en joyed by members of parliament till 1840, 

 which was a great loss to the revenue, ceased on 

 the introduction of the uniform |>enny pontage. 

 Knvelo|>e8 were introduced, bearing a revenue 

 stamp or mark for postage, mid known OK the 

 Mil I ready envelope-, from the name of the artist 

 who prepared the design ; hut the public would 

 not take to them, and their issue was discontinued. 

 Postage-stamps were, however, introduced at this 

 time, and have since continued to be used. The 

 following figures show to what extent cheap postage 

 has stimulated the correspondence of the country. 

 In 1839 the imiiilicr of letters passing through the 

 post, including franked letters, was 82,500,000; 

 in 1840 the number at once rose to 169,000,000; 

 and in 1890 the number was no less than 

 1,650,200,000. In addition to this mass of written 

 matter, besides 217,100,000 (lost-cards, the follow- 

 ing articles passed through the post in 1890 : Book- 

 packets and circulars, 441,900,000; newspapers, 

 159,300,000. For some years after the introduction 

 of Rowland Hill's scheme there was a deficit in the 

 post-office revenue, but this was soon covered by 

 the rapid growth of business, and for many years 

 the post-office has paid in large yearly profits to 

 the Treasury. In 1M!HI the gross revenue from nil 

 branches of post-oflirc lm-inc-- was 12,211,614; 

 the expenditure, 8,865,527 ; and the net revenue. 

 3,346,087. Halfpenny post-cards were introduced 

 in October 1870, and the JN-IIIIV postage u|H>n n> -w- 

 iiapers was reduced to Jd. in 18088,018,800,000 

 letters were posted; |>,-t ran!-, MV 1,40(1,000; book 

 packets and circulars, 727,300,000; newspapers, 

 l.Vi.'JMI.OOU; parcels, 67,823,000. The revenue for 

 the year was 12,420,376, and the exiicnditure 

 8.689,713, giving a profit of 3,918,614. In the i -ml 

 of IH'IS pennv |N>Magc was introduced throughout 

 tin- British F.mpirc, except Australasia and the 

 Cape, and one or two minor (Hisses-inn-. 



From 1891 the railway com|>anics were etn- 

 iiowered to convey single letters for the public, 

 between their stations, on Ix-lialf of the post-ollicc, 

 provided the letters do not exceed 1 <>/.. in weight. 

 Sucli letters must liear a |>ostage-Ntamp of die 

 value of Id., which goes to the revenue, anil a 

 railway stamp of the value of 3d., which goes to 

 the citiiipamux as payment for conveyance. 



In March 1891 a system of express delivery for 

 letter* and parcels was established in London and 

 certain of the more ini|>ortant towns in the king- 

 dom ; and shortly thereafter it was made general 



throughout the country. The delivery is effected 

 by means of the messenger force employed in the 

 telegraph service. When railway, omnibus, or 

 tiamcar conveyance only is used by the messenger, 

 the fee, in addition to tlie ordinary postage, is tw 

 l>ence for the first mile, and threepence for each 

 additional mile. Higher fees are charged for cab 

 conveyance. 



Postal Union. Under the terms of a treaty con- 

 cluded at Berne on the 9th Octolier Is7-i. tin- 

 object of which was to secure uniformity in tin- 

 treatment of correspondence, and the simplification 

 of accounts, as well as the reduction of rates within 

 certain limits, and whose provisions were carried 

 into operation generally on the 1st July IHT.V the 

 whole of Europe, the United States of America, 

 Egypt, British India, and all the colonies of 

 France were at the outset, or shortly thereafter, 

 included in the Union, and many other count M. . 

 and colonies have since joined it. The rates of 

 postage to the several states concerned will be 

 found set forth in the British J'ost -ujfii-r 1,'aide. 

 The international account* in respect of |K .stages 

 are based upon a month's return of correspondence 

 taken every third year. The rates of postage to 

 1. 1. at Britain are not always the same as those 

 from (ireat Britain, each country having a certain 

 limited discretion in lixing rates. 



Registered Letters. In 1779 the postmaster- 

 general issued an order that postmasters should 

 dissuade the iiublic from sending letters by post 

 containing cash in gold or silver, rings, or bracelets, 

 &c. ; but this order was rescinded in 1792. At the 

 same time postmasters were again authorised to 

 accept such tetters ; but before placing them in the 

 mail-bags they were required to copy the addresses 

 of the letters on the front of the letter bill and to 

 tie the letters up with the bill. This mode of 

 giving greater security to letters of value seems to 

 nave been the initial stage in the development of 

 the registered letter system. The modern plan of 

 registration is based on the principle that every 

 registered letter must be signed for in passing from 

 hand to hand; and, although the postmaster L-Mn-i.il 

 gives guarantee (under special conditions) to but a 

 comparatively small amount, the system alloids 

 almost absolute security of transmission. The 

 number of letters registered in the United King- 

 dom in 1890 was 11,357,935. The fee for inland 

 registration, in addition to the ordinary postage, 

 had for many years been fixed at twopence; but 

 on the 1st June 1891 a combined system of regi- 

 t rat ion and insurance was introduced for li : 

 and parcels, with fees ranging from twopence to 

 sixpence, and a maximum insurance of 25. 



Miinri/ Orders. In the year 1792, by permission 

 of the postmaster-general, some half-dozen clerks 

 who had charge of the 'country roads, 1 or despatch 

 ing divisions, in the London (icneral Post-office, 

 set up a system of remittances for the public to and 

 from the post -offices in Knglainl and the chief po-t 

 ollices in Kdinburgh and Dublin, the postmasters 

 at these places acting as agents in the scheme. 

 This was the origin of the money-order system, 

 which for a long period was carried on by the clerks 

 on their own account. It was not till the year 1838 

 thai it became a recognised branch of the post 

 office establishment In the earlier years the rates 

 of commission were very high, thus preventing any 

 extensive development of the business, but for 

 many years the charges have been, especially for 

 small amounts, on a very moderate scale. In the 

 period from 1859 till the' present time the money- 

 order system has l>cen extended to a great many of 

 the colonies and to foreign countries, and every year 

 further extensions are being made. In 1S!M) the 

 mimlicr of money -order ollices in the United King- 

 dom was 9437. 'The amount of business done in 



