The Post Office in British Guiana. 195 



ten stivers for each letter ; if this should not be sufficient 

 the Court would make other arrangements. 



On the 31st of January, 1804, Mr. Rapin represented 

 to the Court the material loss sustained by the Post 

 Office, from the practice of letters being distributed by 

 captains of vessels, and also the serious risks of the 

 Mails being captured by the enemy. A Publication was 

 therefore issued, ordering all persons coming from 

 abroad to deliver their letters to the Post Office, on pain 

 of a fine of 25 guilders for each letter otherwise 

 delivered. Nothing could be done, however, to protect 

 the Mail boats, so they were obliged to trust to their 

 fast sailing in escaping the enemy. 



On the 29th of May following, the Governor informed 

 the court that His Majesty had appointed Mr. TheO- 

 PHILUS Williams Receiver of Essequebo, and Post- 

 master of Essequebo, Demerary and Berbice, and that 

 Mr. Williams had arrived some days ago. Mr. Rapin 

 was thus superseded, and the Colonial Post Office again 

 gave way to the Deputy Postmaster General. 



Mr. Theophilus Williams having several other 

 offices, appointed his brother as his deputy, a sort of 

 thing not uncommon at that time, when a patentee of an 

 office had in many cases never even visited the colony. 

 The following account of an outrage on this Deputy 

 Postmaster's Deputy will be interesting : the Gazette of 

 November 22nd, 1806, says : — 



" Between one and two o'clock on Tuesday last, a young man 

 alighted from his horse at the Post Office, and went in and enquired if 

 there were any letters for him. On being answered in the negative he 

 used much abusive language, which occasioned Mr. Williams to desire 

 him to depart, and to enforce his desire by pushing him on the 

 shoulder, when the young man drew a pistol from his pocket and shot 



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