

POST-OFFICE. 



POST-OFKIt i: 



, 



carrying ktton oeotin in IftSS, in the proclamation already <U xribed. 

 The mtc* were fixed at follows : 



I'nder *0 milM 



Between 10 mile* nd MO mile* 



Abort MO mite 



On the borders and In Scotland 



Srf. Jingle Irttt r. 



" Two, three, four, or five letters in one packet, or more, to pay 

 according to the bigness of the said packet." 



The rate*, both inland and foreign, fixed by the ordinance of the 

 Commonwealth in 1656, are thervin fully detailed. Letters above 

 two sheets were charged by weight In most cases, the rates vary 

 but little from those fixed in the 12 Cor. I., the principal of which 

 were as follows : 



Letter not exceeding one sheet, to or from any place not exceeding 

 80 miles, 2rf. ; above 80 miles, 3d. From London to Berwick, Sd. ; to 

 Dublin, 6rf. Letters of two sheets were charged double. By the 9 

 Anne, c. 11, a penny was added to several of the rates previously 

 established; a letter from London to Edinburgh was charged 6a. 

 Additions were subsequently made ; but the principle of the rating 

 was to charge according to the distance which the conveyance travelled, 

 until the year 1839, when the direct distance only was charged. A 

 single letter was interpreted to mean a single piece of paper, provided 

 it did not exceed an ounce in weight A second piece of paper, how- 

 ever small, 'or any inclosure, constituted a double letter. A single 

 sheet above an ounce was charged with fourfold postage. After a 

 fourfold charge, the additional charges advanced by weight. 



In Scotland, letters, when conveyed by mail-ooachee only, were 

 subject to an additional halfpenny. Letters passing between Great 

 Britain and Ireland were subject to the rates of postage charged in 

 Great Britain, besides packet rates, and Menai, Conway Bridge, or 

 Hilford rates. 



Between 1814 and 1839, the rates in Ireland were as follows : 



DM a* - i 



IrUh Miles. 



7 



II 



IS 



35 



45 



II 



85 



Bates for 



Single Letters. 



ML 

 s 



4 

 5 

 6 

 7 

 8 



Distances in 



Irish Miles. 



35 



120 



150 



200 



250 



800 



Rates for 

 Single Letter*. 



9</. 

 10 

 11 

 12 

 IS 

 14 



The postmaster-general had authority to establish penny posts for 

 letters not exceeding in weight four ounces, in, from, or to, any city, 

 town, or place in the United Kingdom (other than London or Dublin), 

 without any reference to the distance to which the letters are con- 



\'\: '. 



The principle which guided the department in establishing penny 

 posts was, to select small towns and populous neighbourhoods, not 

 situated in the direct lines of general-post conveyances, and desirous of 

 obtaining that facility, wherever such penny poet did not afford the 

 means of evading the general post, and promised to yield a return that 

 would pay for its maintenance. The rule was to consider whether the 

 receipts on the first setting up of the post would pay about two-thirds 

 of the charge. The Post-Office took its chance of the remainder being 

 made good. 



The London Twopenny Post extended to all letters transmitted by 

 the said post in the limits of a circle of three miles' radius, the centre 

 being the General Post-Office in St. Martin's-le-Grand, which limits 

 the postmaster-general had authority to alter. The London Three- 

 penny Post extended to all letters transmitted by the said poet beyond 

 tho circle of three miles' radius, and within the limits of a circle of 

 twelve miles' radius, the centre being the General Post-Office. 



The select committee of the House of Commons, in 1838 and 1839, 

 which investigated Mr. Rowland Hill's plan, reported the following to 

 be the average rates of postage : 



ATIUOI BATH, XVLTtrU LrrrnJ BUXO IKCLCDID AXD COCSTID AS Si NO I.I. 



i. i. 



Packet and ihlp letters 2S-15M = nearly 23j 



Ditto, and Inland funeral-port letters . . ' 

 Ditto, ditto, and London !rf. and Sd. pott letters 

 Ditto, ditto, ditto, sad country !</. post letters 



Inland (rtneraUport letters onljr . 



Ditto, sad London Id. and Id. post letters . . 



Ditto, ditto, and country Irf. post letters 



9-7065 = nearly 



8-4006 = nearly 



7-6074 = little more 



than 7} 



8-6502 = nearly 8] 

 7-4688 = nearly 7 1 

 6-7414 = nearly 6J 



ATOMS suns, IfciTiru Lrmta sxmo XXCLVDKD. 

 inland ftaeraUpost letters . . . 7-7441 = nearly 71 

 Ditto, and London M. and Id. post letter* . 6-8203 = little more 



than 6* 

 Ditto, ditto, and country Irf. port letter* . . 6-Jiqo = nearly 6] 



PranJany. As early as a post-office was established, certain 

 exemptions from the rates of postage were made. Parliamentary 

 franking existed in 1666. An entry is registered on the Journals of 

 the House of Commons on 19th October 1066, "That Edward Roberts 



be seat for in custody of the serjeant-at-arms, or his deputy, to answer 

 his abuse and breach of privilege in exacting money of the members of 

 this House for pout-letters." In the paper bill which granted the Post- 

 office revenue to Charles II., a clause provided that all the members of 

 the House of Commons should have their letters free, which clause 

 was left out by the Lords, because no similar provision was made for 

 the passing of their letters; but a compromise was made on the 

 assurance that their letters should pass free. 



In 1735 the House of Commons prosecuted some investigations into 

 the subject, which appear on the Journals. Again, in 1 764 ( 4 Geu. III.'. 

 a committee was ap|>ointed " to inquire into the several frauds and 

 abuses in relation to the sending or receiving of letters and parcels free 

 from the duty of postage." Among various abuses proved to exist, it 

 is related that " one man had in the course of five months counter- 

 feited 1200 dozen of franks of members of parliament, and that a 

 regular trade of buying and selling franks had been actually established 

 with several persons in the country.'' Resolutions restricting and regu- 

 lating the privilege were passed. From time to time the privilege was 

 extended, until it was finally abolished, with a very few exceptions, 

 on 10th January, 1840. 



Seven millions of franks, out of sixty-three millions of general-post 

 letters, including franks, were estimated in 1838 to pass through the 

 Post-Office annually. The relative quantities of these several docu- 

 ments are given in the ' Third Report of the Commons' Committee,' as 

 follows : 



Single Letters. 

 56,000,000 of general-post chargeable letters, 



equivalent at . . . . 1| to 63,000,000 



4,813,448 parliamentary franks . . . 2 to 9,626,896 



2,109,010 official franks . . . . 8 to 16,872,080 



77,542 copies of the statutes . . . IS to 1,008,046 



6S,000,000 



90,507,022 



The privileged letters, therefore, reduced to the standard of single 

 letters, amounted to above 30 per cent, of the whole number of letters 

 transmitted by the general post. 



The average weight of a single chargeable letter was about 3-1 Oths 

 of an ounce ; the average weight of a parliamentary frank about 

 48-lOOths of an ounce ; that of an official frank, 1-9876 oz., or nearly 

 two ounces; and that of a copy of a public statute, S'1129 oz. Had 

 they been liable to the then existing rates, they would have contributed 

 in the following proportions to the revenue : 



Parliamentary franks 

 Official franks . 

 Statutes distributed 



Tnt.,]. 



Number. 



, 4,813,448 



2,109,010 



77,542 



7,000,000 



Bate per 

 Letter. 



rf. 



17-392 

 70-209 



112-795 



Revenue. 





 114,114 



616,965 

 S6.44S 



1,002,222 



Newspapers, with a few exceptions, passed free of postage. All 

 franking is now altogether abolished, except petitions forwarded to 

 peers and members of parliament. 



Bevrnue. The statistics of the Post-Office revenue are .far from 

 complete. In the early period of the Post-Office establishment, and 

 before 1716, only a few scattered accounts can be collected. In 1653 

 the annual revenue was farmed for 10,000?., and in 1659 for 14,00. 

 (Journals of the Commons.) In 1663 it was farmed for 'Ji 

 annually, and the amount settled on the Duke of York. In ll>7 1 tin 1 

 fanning of the revenue yielded 43.000J. In 1685 it produced 65.000/. 

 Parliament resumed the grant after 1688, though the king continued 

 to receive the revenue. In 1711 the gross revenue was reckoned at 

 111.426/. From 1716 to 1738 the average yearly net revenue was 

 97.640/., founded upon "a certain account, and not an estimate." 

 (Commons Journals, April 16, 1735.) In the Postage Reports of 1838 

 (vol. ii., App., p. 176; vol. i., p. 611) are accounts showing the gross 

 receipt, charge of management, net receipt, and rate per cent, of 

 collection in Great Britain from 1758 to 1837, and in Scotland and 

 Ireland from 1800 to 1837. The accounts for a few years will serve to 

 show its progress : 



GREAT BRITAIN. 



Years ended 

 April 5. 



1758 

 1769 

 1779 

 1786 

 1799 

 1816 

 1837 



Orosa 

 Receipt*. 







222,075 



105,059 



402,918 



506,600 



1,012,781 



1,198,741 



2,206,786 



Charges of Net Rece'pt Rate per cent. 



Management, (returns deducted), of Collection. 



Tears. Gros* Receipts. 



. d. 



1800 100,651 14 4 

 1837 220,758 18 10 







148,845 

 140,298 

 263,670 

 220,525 

 124,787 

 594,015 

 609,220 



SCOTLAND. 



Charges of 

 Collection. 



i. d. 

 16,896 8 

 59,945 7 1 







73,730 

 164,760 

 139,248 

 285,975 

 657,888 

 1,526,527 

 1,511,026 



>. d. 



66 15 11 



45 19 9 



65 8 9 



43 10 9 



82 1 4 



27 1 6 



27 12 1 



Rate per cent. 

 'Net Income, of Collection. 



. rf. ,. d. 



83,755 4 16 15 



160,813 69 27 



