204 TiMEHRI. 



foreign letters, four pence a single letter for British 

 Colonies, and two pence for newspapers. The Steamers 

 were very irregular at first and it was many years before 

 there was any certainty of the Mail arriving when due. 



The want of facilities for transmission of printed matter 

 (other than newspapers) was very much felt. When the 

 Royal Agricultural and Commercial Society was formed 

 in 1844 a hundred copies of the Prospe6lus were sent in 

 a parcel to a corrrespondent in London, for the purpose 

 of being posted there. On opening the parcel at South- 

 ampton, the Custom HouSe authorities, finding each 

 Prospe6lus wrapped and addressed, put the lot in the 

 Post Office, with the result that each addressee had to 

 pay two shillings postage. The Society petitioned Lord 

 St.'^NLEY to have the postage reduced on such packages, 

 but nothing was done for a long time afterwards. 



During the struggle between the Combined Court and 

 the Governor in 1849, ^^^ local Mail service came to 

 grief. The Court having stopped the supplies, the 

 police were almost disbanded and the Mails ceased to 

 run. In the following year however arose the nucleus 

 of our present Post Office System, and with it the intro- 

 duftion of Postage Stamps. The " Notice" was dated 

 June 15th 1850, and was published in the " Gazette" of 

 the same day. After the first of July, Mails would be 

 made up every afternoon (Sundays excepted) for Plai- 

 sance, Beterverwagting and Buxton, to return the fol- 

 lowing morning and be delivered at 10 a.m. in Water 

 Street and Main Street. This delivery was apparently 

 an innovation, and, with an exception to be presently 

 noted, did not get beyond the two principal streets 

 for many years. Every Tuesday and Friday, a mail 



