The Post Office in British Guiana before 1860. 



By James Rodway, F.L.S. 



P to the time of the English conquest of the 

 three Colonies which now form British Guiana, 

 there was no Post Office. Of course people 

 wrote letters, and sent them in the best way they could, 

 but there was nothing like certainty or regularity either 

 in the departure or arrival of the mails. 



When the head-quarters of the colony of Essequebo 

 were at Kyk-over-al, the West India Company sent out 

 one or two vessels annually, to carry supplies and bring 

 back the produce of the colony. By each vessel a 

 package of letters was sent to the Commandeur. From 

 the "Articled Letter" of the Company we are able to 

 glean the regulations for this correspondence. The 

 Company was very jealous that its affairs should be kept 

 secret, and to this end provided by Articles 54 to 56 

 against information being given to those not concerned. 

 No servant of the Company was allowed to write any- 

 thing relating to the trade, commerce,. war, or conduct 

 of any other servant, to any but the Direftors or the 

 Chambers, on pain of losing three months wages. To 

 the end that this should not be infringed it was forbidden 

 to carry private letters, but they were to be delivered to 

 the highest authority in the place, and enclosed with the 

 correspondence of the Company. These letters were 

 all opened, and read and certified before delivery, or 

 might be detained if the Directors found anything which 

 they thought should not be known. Under these cir- 



