The History of the British Post Office

FOOTNOTES:

Joseph Clarence Hemmeon

[1] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 21.

[2] Notes and Queries, 1st series, iii, p. 266.

[3] These letters were sent principally between London and different places in Norfolk.

[4] The Paston Letters, ed. J. Gairdner, 1872, nos. 34, 305, 435, 609, 624, 663, 905.

[5] Ibid., nos. 540, 688, 723, 727.

[6] Ibid., nos. 656, 905.

[7] Ibid., nos. 688, 723, 745.

[8] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 96 (68).

[9] Cely Papers, ed. H. E. Malden, 1900, nos. 41, 72, 123, 124, 129, 132.

[10] L. & P. Hen. VIII, ii, pt. 2, p. 1454.

[11] Rep. Com. 1844, xiv, app., p. 21 (8).

[12] Ibid., 1844, xiv, app., p. 32 (7).

[13] L. & P. Hen. VIII, 1515-18, 64; ibid., 1526-28, 4359, 4406; ibid., 1540-41, 540.

[14] A. P. C., 1542-47, p. 20

[15] L. & P. Hen. VIII, 1535, p. 27.

[16] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 32 (7). A. P. C., 1542-47, p. 20.

[17] A. de Rothschild, Histoire de la poste aux lettres, Paris, 1873, pp. 95-97, 114-15.

[18] L. & P. Hen. VIII, xiii, 226; A. P. C., 1547-50, pp. 111, 278, 307, 319, 413.

[19] L. & P. Hen. VIII, x, 33, 136; xvi, 202, 236, 284; P. & O. P. C., vii, p. 72; A. P. C., 1550-52, pp. 56, 79, 108, 225, 270, 298.

[20] L. & P. Hen. VIII, xvi, p. 540; P. & 0. P. C., vii, p. 133; A. P. C., 1558-70, p. 238.

[21] L. & P. Hen. VIII, xi, 726; A. P. C., 1547-50, p. 360; ibid., 1592, pp. 128, 150; Cal. S. P. D., 1547-80, pp. 599, 637, 677.

[22] A.P.C., 1558-70, pp. 39, 58, 111, 207, 216, 257, 258.

[23] L. & P. Hen. VII, xvi, 540; A.P.C. 1556-58, pp. 248, 309.

[24] A.P.C., 1556-58, pp. 136, 188, 385. For instance, in 1557 the Council issued orders to increase the wages of the London-Berwick posts from 12d. to 16d. and eventually to 20d. a day; but as soon as their work had again become normal, their wages were reduced to the old rate.

[25] W. Cunningham, Growth of English Industry and Commerce, 1896, i, pp. 305-306.

[26] J. A. Froude, History of England, 1862, i, p. 127.

[27] Cunningham, i, p. 430.

[28] Stow, London, 1720, bk. v, p. 401. Cal. S.P.D., 1547-80, pp. 312, 321, 432. There was considerable rivalry between them concerning those nominated for Postmaster-General. See Cal. S.P.D., 1547-80, pp. 312, 314.

[29] Stow, London, bk. v, p. 401.

[30] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 36 (14).

[31] A. P. C., 1542-47, p. 267; Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 21 (8).

[32] Ibid., 1844, xiv, app., p. 21 (11).

[33] A. P. C., 1547-50, p. 360.

[34] Cal. S. P. D., 1547-80, p. 306.

[35] Cal. B. P., 1560-94, p. 299.

[36] Cal. S. P. D., Add., 1580-1625, pp. 75-76.

[37] Cal. S. P. D., 1581-90, p. 676; Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 22 (13).

[38] Cal. S. P. D., 1619-23, pp. 238, 404.

[39] Ibid., pp. 568, 572. A postmaster's salary at this time was about 5s. a day. (Ibid., 1623-25, p. 130.)

[40] Ibid., 1623-25, pp. 117, 130, 153.

[41] Ibid., 1619-23, pp. 567-68.

[42] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 38 (18).

[43] Cal. S. P. D., 1611-18, p. 601.

[44] Hist. MSS. Com., Rep. 15, app., pt. 7, p. 63.

[45] Cal. S. P. D., 1629-31, pp. 71, 247.

[46] Ibid., 1625-26, p. 231.

[47] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 48 (26).

[48] Ibid., 1844, xiv, app., p. 49 (27); Cal. S. P. D., 1625-26, p. 478; Hist. MSS. Com., Rep. 12, app. 1, p. 295; Cal. S. P. D., 1627-28, p. 405.

[49] Cal. S. P. D., 1627-28, pp. 436, 591.

[50] Ibid., 1625-49, p. 332; 1628-29, pp. 46, 427, 558; 1631-33, p. 384.

[51] Cal. S. P. D., 1603-10, pp. 162, 397, 426, 491, 512, 521, 545, 576, 583, 588, 611.

[52] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 45 (23).

[53] Ibid., 1844, xiv, app., p. 45 (23).

[54] Cal. S. P. D., 1623-25, p. 131.

[55] Ibid., 1625-26, p. 30; Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 48 (25).

[56] Cal. S. P. D., 1634-35, pp. 11, 38, 48, 389.

[57] Ibid., 1625-49, p. 489.

[58] Ibid., 1635-36, p. 32; 1634-35, p. 48.

[59] See chapter IX.

[60] Cal. S. P. D., 1580-1625, p. 360.

[61] Ibid., 1580-1625, p. 630.

[62] Ibid., 1625-26, p. 366. A single letter consisted of one sheet of paper, a double letter of two, and a triple letter of three sheets.

[63] Rep. Com., xiv, app., p. 55 (35). Cal. S. P. D., 1635, p. 166. Letters were to be carried to and from important places at some distance from the main roads by post-horses. See Cal. S. P. D., above.

[64] Rep. Com., xiv, p. 5; app., p. 57 (36); Cal. S. P. D., 1635-36, p. 32.

[65] Cal. S. P. D., 1635, p. 299.

[66] Ibid., 1637, p. 527; ibid., 1636-37, p. 524.

[67] Ibid., 1638-39, p. 119.

[68] Ibid., 1637-38, pp. 52, 53, 394.

[69] Cal. S.P.D., 1637-38, p. 238.

[70] Ibid., 1640-41, p. 340. As early as 1639 persons were not allowed to have letters back when once posted. (Ibid., 1639, p. 279.)

[71] Ibid., 1637, p. 255.

[72] Ibid., 1639, p. 279; Rep. Com., xiv, app., p. 58 (37).

[73] Cal. S.P.D., 1637-38, p. 51.

[74] Ibid., 1637-38, p. 52.

[75] Ibid., 1639, p. 295.

[76] Ibid., 1639-40, p. 116.

[77] Hist. MSS. Com., Rep. 12, app., pt. 2, p. 236.

[78] Cal. S. P. D., 1637, p. 338.

[79] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 59 (39).

[80] Ibid., 1844, xiv, app., p. 22 (19); Cal. S. P. D., 1636-37, p. 534; ibid., 1637-38, p. 51.

[81] Ibid., 1636-37, p. 530.

[82] Hist. MSS. Com., Rep. 7, p. 154.

[83] Cal. S. P. D., 1640-41, p. 315.

[84] Jo. H. C., 1640-42, p. 81.

[85] Cal. S. P. D., 1640-41, p. 453; Jo. H. C., ii, p. 500; Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 60 (40).

[86] Cal. S. P. D., 1640-41, p. 557.

[87] Ibid., 1640-41, p. 536.

[88] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 101 (74).

[89] Ibid., 1844, xiv, app., p. 101 (74).

[90] Jo. H. C., 1640-42, p. 722; Jo. H. L., 1642-43, p. 343.

[91] Jo. H. C., 1640-42, p. 500.

[92] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 10 (40); Jo. H. C., 1642-43, pp. 387, 388, 469, 470, 471, 473-74, 508, 512; ibid., 1640-42, p. 899.

[93] Ibid., 1640-42, p. 899.

[94] Cal. S. P. D., 1645-47, p. 461; Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 68 (43); Jo. H. L., 1645-46, pp. 579, 588, 637.

[95] Cal. S. P. D., 1652-53, pp. 159, 367; ibid., 1653-54, pp. 21, 22, 297; Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 69 (44); Jo. H. C., 1651-59, p. 192.

[96] Cal. S. P. D., 1641-43, p. 501; ibid., 1644, pp. 6, 29.

[97] Jo. H. C., 1642-44, p. 426.

[98] Cal. S. P. D., 1644, p. 400.

[99] Ibid., 1644-45, p. 503; ibid., 1644, pp. 25, 144, 447.

[100] Jo. H. C., 1642-44, p. 477; Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 67 (41).

[101] Cal. S. P. D., 1644, p. 477.

[102] Ibid., 1644-45, p. 170.

[103] Ibid., 1649-50, pp. 13, 147.

[104] Jo. H. C., 1648-51, p. 385.

[105] Ibid., 1648-51, p. 126; Cal. S. P. D., 1649-50, pp. 56, 533, 535, 541; 1650, pp. 7, 223; 1651-52, p. 216.

[106] Ibid., 1649-50, p. 381.

[107] Ibid., 1651-52.

[108] Ibid., 1651-59, p. 192.

[109] Cal. S. P. D., 1652-53, p. 449. The following is a list of the contractors, with the yearly amounts offered by each:

Ben Andrews for Inland Office	£3600
Ben Andrews for Foreign Office	3500
Henry Robinson for both offices	8041
Ben Andrews for both offices	9100
John Goldsmith for both offices	8500
Ralph Kendall for both offices	10103
John Manley, with good security	8259
Rich. Hicks	9120
Rich. Hill	8160

—Cal. S. P. D., 1652-53, p. 450.

[110] Cal. S. P. D., 1658-59, p. 371.

[111] Ibid., 1653-54, pp. 27, 328.

[112] Cal. S. P. D., 1653-54, p. 328.

[113] Scobell's Collect., p. 358.

[114] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 71 (48); Cal. S. P. D., 1655, p. 138.

[115] Ibid., 1655, pp. 285 f.

[116] Scobell, Collect., pp. 511-13 (1656, c. 30).

[117] Cal. S. P. D., 1657-58, p. 81. In January of 1660 the Council took the Post Office under its own control for a short time. Jo. H. C., 1651-59, p. 81; Cal. S. P. D., 1659-60, p. 303.

[118] Cal. S. P. D., 1660-61, p. 178; Hist. MSS. Com., Rep. 7, p. 109.

[119] Cal. S. P. D., 1660-61, pp. 93-100, 301.

[120] Ibid., 1660-61, pp. 37, 82.

[121] The act of 1660 (12 Ch. II, c. 35) passed in pursuance of this agreement added nothing of importance to the act of 1657, except on the question of rates. See below, chapter VIII.

[122] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., pp. 75, 76 (52, 53).

[123] Hist. MSS. Com., Rep., 7, p. 140.

[124] Cal. S. P. D., 1663-64, p. 122; Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., pp. 86, 91 (60, 64).

[125] Ibid., 1844, xiv, app., p. 91 (64). Confirmed in 1685 (Hist. MSS. Com., Rep., 11, app., 2, p. 315; 1 Jas. ii, c. 12).

[126] Cal. S. P. D., 1664-65, p. 376; 1666-67, p. 567.

[127] Cal. S. P. D., 1664-65, p. 457. Although letters might be prepaid, it was not compulsory that they should be, and the vast majority were not.

[128] Joyce, p. 46.

[129] Cal. S. P. D., 1667, p. 80.

[130] Ibid., 1664-65, p. 51.

[131] Hist. MSS. Com., Rep., 12, app., pt. 7, pp. 14, 93; Cal. S. P. D., 1665-66, p. 14. Cal. S. P. D. Add., 1600-70, p. 713.

[132] Cal. S. P. D., 1665-66, p. 573.

[133] Ibid., 1667, p. 260.

[134] Stow, London, bk. ii, p. 163.

[135] Notes and Queries, series 9, i, p. 122; Hist. MSS. Com., Rep., 15, app., pt. 2, p. 19; Cal. S. P. D., 1670, p. 578.

[136] Hist. MSS. Com., Rep., 15, app., pt. 2, p. 19.

[137] Stow, London, bk. v, pp. 403-04; Thos. DeLaune, Present State of London, 1681, pp. 346-47; W. Thornbury, Old and New London, ii, p. 209; Noorthouck, Hist. of London, 1773, p. 252. Noorthouck is mistaken in making Murray the promoter of the London Penny Post, although the idea may have originated with him.

[138] Notes and Queries, ser. 6, xi, p. 153; Hist. MSS. Com., Rep., 10, app. 4, pp. 125, 132; Joyce, p. 38.

[139] DeLaune, Present State of London, 1681, p. 345.

[140] Cal. B. P., 1697-1702, xliv, 56.

[141] Two men living in Limerick and Tipperary claimed in 1692 that they had organized a Penny Post in Ireland (Cal. S. P. D., 1691-92, p. 449). In 1704 the Countess Dowager of Thanet petitioned to be allowed to establish a Penny Post in Dublin, but nothing was done (Cal. T. P., 1702-07, lxxxix, 305).

[142] Cal. T. P., 1697-1702, lxxi, 40; Charles Knight, London, 1842, iii, p. 282.

[143] Hist. MSS. Com., Rep., 12, app., pt. 7, p. 262; Cal. S. P. D., 1690-91, p. 50; Hist. MSS. Com., Rep.,15, app., pt. 9, pp. 144, 180; Cal. T. P., 1557-1696, p. 284.

[144] Cal. S. P. D., 1689-90, pp. 59, 74; Cal. T. P., 1557-1696, p. 203.

[145] Stow, London, bk. v, p. 401; DeLaune, Present State of England, ed. 1690, p. 343.

[146] Cal. T. P., 1557-1696, pp. 369, 461.

[147] Acts of Parliament of Scotland, ix., pp. 417-419 (5 Wm. III).

[148] Cal. S. P. D., 1574-1660, p. 273.

[149] Joyce, pp. 196, 300.

[150] Cal. S. P. Am. and W. I., 1693-96, p. 637.

[151] Cal. T. P., 1697-1702, lx, 77.

[152] Macpherson, Annals of Commerce, ii, 707.

[153] See Appendix: Tables I, II.

[154] In 1765 the maximum weight for articles passing wholly by the Penny Post was lowered from 16 to 4 ounces (5 Geo. III, c. 25).

[155] 9 Anne, c. 11.

[156] A bye-letter was the name given to a letter carried over one of the great roads but not passing to, from or through London. A cross post letter passed not over the great roads, but over subsidiary or minor roads.

[157] Joyce, p. 136.

[158] Cal. T. P., 1714-19, cxc, 26; ccvi, 29.

[159] Joyce, p. 146.

[160] Cal. T. B. & P., 1731-34, p. 539; W. Thornbury, Old and New London, ii, p. 209; W. Lewins, Her Majesty's Mails, ed. 1865, pp. 104-12.

[161] Joyce, pp. 155, 162.

[162] Cal. T. B. & P., 1730-41, pp. 449-450.

[163] Country letters were those sent through London. Cal. T. B. & P., 1739-41, p. 450.

[164] Cal. T. B. & P., 1734-41, pp. 445, 450; W. Thornbury, Old and New London, ii, p. 209.

[165] He is the man to whom Pope alluded in the couplet,

"Let humble Allen, with an honest shame,
Do good by stealth and blush to find it fame."

Allen and the poet had a falling out just before the death of the latter. In his will, Pope left his quondam friend £150 to pay a "few little debts." Allen is said to have remarked that if Pope had added another figure, it would have represented better the "few little debts." W. Lewins, Her Majesty's Mails, pp. 104-12.

[166] Cal. T. B. & P., 1742-45, pp. 102-235; Maitland, Survey of London, p. 998; Noorthouck, Hist. of London, 1773, p. 658.

[167] J. Latimer, Annals of Bristol, 1893, p. 235; London and its Environs, 1761, v, pp. 209-222.

[168] Cal. T. B., 1697-1702, lxiv, 17; ibid., 1702-07, lxxxvi, 134.

[169] E. Green, Bibliotheca Somersetensis, 1902, i, p. 108; Joyce, pp. 107-108; Latimer, Annals of Bristol, p. 416.

[170] D. N. B., xliii, p. 140; Knight, London, 1842, iii, p. 280.

[171] Parl. Papers, 1812-13, Rep. Com., ii, pp. 4, 36, 37, 98; Fin. Rep., 1797, no. 7, p. 114; D. N. B., xliii, p. 140.

[172] Fin. Rep., 1797, no. 7, pp. 82-83; Joyce, pp. 251, 275.

[173] Fin. Rep., 1797, no. 7, p. 127; Jo. H. C., 1796-97, p. 581.

[174] Cal. T. B. & P., 1739-41, p. 234; 5 Geo. III, c. 25. The Post Office occasionally made good the loss of valuables from theft or robbery, but as a rule refused to do so. Cal. T. P., 1729-30, p. 75; Cal. T. B. & P., 1731-34, p. 74.

[175] Jo. H. C., 1787, p. 800.

[176] Ibid., 1787, p. 800.

[177] Jo. H. C., 1787, p. 800.

[178] Fin. Rep., 1797, no. 7, pp. 82-83; Jo. H. C., 1787, p. 817.

[179] Fin. Rep., 1797, no. 7, pp. 3, 66-83.

[180] Ibid., no. 7, pp. 52-65.

[181] Ibid., no. 7, pp. 52-65.

[182] Ibid., no. 7, pp. 8, 52-65.

[183] Fin. Rep., no. 7, p. 130.

[184] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, pp. 9-11; app., p. 105 (78); app., p. 107 (79); app., p. 111 (83).

[185] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 112 (84); Cal. T. B. & P., 1742-45, p. 669.

[186] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 112 (85); Howell, State Trials, xix, col. 1369. This was in 1758.

[187] Joyce is of opinion that such practices were very common. So also is May (T. E. May, Constitutional History of England, 1882, iii, pp. 44-49; D. B. Eaton, Civil Service in Great Britain, New York, 1880, p. 115).

[188] 35 Geo. III, c. 62.

[189] Rep. Commrs., 1829, xi, pp. 215-222.

[190] London Times, 1829, Oct. 6, p. 2; ibid., 1832, March 14, p. 1.

[191] Parl. Deb., 3d ser., xxiv, col. 875.

[192] Acc. & P., 1817, pp. 4-16; Rep. Commrs., 1837, xxxiv, 8th rep. app., nos. 12, 13, 14.

[193] Ibid., 1837, xxxiv, 8th rep., app., no. 12.

[194] Acc. & P., 1837-38, xlv, 265, p. 5.

[195] Rep. Commrs., 1837, xxxiv, 8th rep., app., no. 3.

[196] Rep. Commrs., 1829, xi, p. 214.

[197] Parl. Papers, 1812-13, Rep. Com., ii, p. 87.

[198] Fin. Rep., 1797, no. 7, pp. 82-83.

[199] W. Thornbury, Old and New London, ii, p. 212.

[200] Rep. Commrs., 1837, xxxiv, 8th rep., app., no. 3.

[201] London Times, 1832, Apr. 27, p. 3; 5 and 6 Wm. IV, c. 25; 3 and 4 Vict., c. 96.

[202] London Times, 1837, Jan. 26, p. 5; Dec. 13, p. 4; Acc. & P., 1841, xxvi, 221, no. 6.

[203] Joyce, p. 302; Fin. Rep., 1797, no. 7, p. 83.

[204] 34 Geo. III, c. 17.

[205] Parl. Papers, 1812-13, Rep. Com., ii, p. 94.

[206] Joyce, pp. 196, 300.

[207] 41 Geo. III, c. 7.

[208] 45 Geo. III, c. 11.

[209] Acc. & P., 1817, pp. 15, 16; Rep. Commrs., 1829, xi, pp. 10, 136.

[210] Rep. Commrs., 1837, xxxiv, 9th rep., app., no. 1; ibid., 1829, xi, pp. 310-311; London Times, 1825, Dec. 6, p. 2.

[211] London Times, 1835, Jan. 24, p. 3.

[212] Rep. Commrs., 1837, xxxiv, 9th rep., app., nos. 30, 63, 64.

[213] Ibid., 1837, xxxiv, 9th rep., app., no. 1; London Times, 1835, Jan. 24, p. 3.

[214] Rep. Commrs., 1829, xi, p. 50; Parl. Deb., 1st ser., xxxi, col. 943; Acc. & P., 1826-27, xx, p. 397.

[215] Ibid., 1837-38, xlv, 265, p. 6.

[216] Rep. Commrs., 1837, xxxiv, 9th rep., app., no. 1.

[217] Ibid., 1829, xii, p. 73; 7 Wm. IV, and 1 Vict., c. 34.

[218] Rep. Com., 1837-38, xx, 2d rep., app. E, no. 31.

[219] Rep. Commrs., 1837, xxxiv, 9th rep., app., no. 14.

[220] Ibid., 1837, xxxiv, 7th rep., p. 7, and app., nos. 46, 47, 48.

[221] Acc. & P., 1837, l. 316.

[222] Ibid., 1837, xlvi, 176.

[223] Parl. Deb., 1st ser., xlvi, coll. 206, 332.

[224] London Times, 1839, June 1, p. 7.

[225] Parl. Papers, 1811, Rep. Com., p. 9; Rep. Commrs., 1837, xxxiv, 7th rep., apps. 5, 7, 26, p. 71; London Times, 1832, Apr. 27, p. 2; Acc. & P., 1837-38, xlv, 265, p. 3: 265, p. 4; Rep. Commrs., 1829, xi, p. 294.

[226] Parl. Papers, 1811, Rep. Com., pp. 10, 32, 50, 51.

[227] Ibid., 1811, Rep. Com., p. 1; Parl. Deb., 1st ser., xix, col. 683; Wm. IV and I Vict., c. 33.

[228] Rep. Commrs., 1829, xi, p. 34; ibid., 1837, xxxiv, 7th rep., app., nos. 30, 31.

[229] Parl. Papers, 1811, Rep. Com., p. 1; 43 Geo. III, c. 28; Rep. Com., 1831-32, xvii, pp. 336, 338, 339; Rep. Commrs., 1837, xxxiv, 7th rep., app., no. 31.

[230] Ibid., 1837, xxxiv, 7th rep., app., nos. 12, 13. The first day coach left London in 1837, connecting at Birmingham with the railway to Hartford, Cheshire. (London Times, 1837, Sept. 5, p. 4; Rep. Com., 1837-38, xx, pts. 1 and 2, 2d rep., app. E, No. 48; pt. 1, p. 469, no. 17.)

[231] Acc. & P., 1841, xxvi, 221, no. 5.

[232] Parl. Papers, 1813-14, Rep. Com., p. 35; Acc. & P., 1817, pp. 4-16; Rep. Commrs., 1829, xi, p. 137.

[233] Parl. Papers, 1813-14, Rep. Com., pp. 11-16.

[234] 24 Geo. III, c. 6.

[235] Rep. Commrs., 1829, xii, 253, pp. 7, 8, 15-84; ibid., 1837, 7th rep., app. nos. 22, 68; 7 and 8 Geo. IV, c. 21.

[236] Rep. Commrs., 1829, xii, 253, pp. 7, 8; 1831-32, xvii, p. 325.

[237] 48 Geo. III, c. 48; Parl. Papers, 1821, xix, 286.

[238] Rep. Commrs., 1829, xii, 353, p. 8; Parl. Papers, 1821, xxi, 423.

[239] Rep. Com., 1837-38, xx, pts. 1 and 2, 2d rep., app. E, no. 42; 4 and 5 Wm. IV, c. 7.

[240] Since 1823 there had been only one Postmaster-General, as the dual system was abolished in that year.

[241] Rep. Com., 1837-38, xx, pt. 1, 3d rep., 708, p. 3.

[242] Ibid., 1837-38, xx, pt. 1, p. 13; xx, questions 113, 128, 129, 548.

[243] Ibid., 1837-38, xx, pt. 1, p. 13; ibid., xx, qs. 113, 128, 129, 548.

[244] Ibid., 1837-38, xx, qs. 750-59, 890-92.

[245] Ibid., 1837-38, xx, qs. 114, 11092-97; pt. 1, 3d rep., 708, p. 5; pts. 1 and 2, 2d rep., app. E, no. 58.

[246] Ibid., 1837-38, xx, qs. 3116, 4599, 8137, 9770; 3d rep., p. 44.

[247] Ibid., 1837-38, xx, 3d rep., pp. 35, 38; qs. 113, 620, 621.

[248] Ibid., 1837-38, xx, pt. 1, pp. 48, 59, 424; pts. 1 and 2, 1st rep., no. 25, p. 508.

[249] Rep. Com., 1837-38, xx, qs. 6682, 7093.

[250] Ibid., q. 7668.

[251] Ibid., qs. 7671, 7721.

[252] Ibid., q. 10,059.

[253] Ibid., qs. 6951, 10,305.

[254] Ibid., qs. 2923, 5522-54, 5443-54, 6703, 7961.

[255] Ibid., qs. 7991, 9840-42.

[256] Ibid., qs. 8126, 8130 (Lord Ashburton).

[257] Ibid., pt. 1, pp. 9, 434; ibid., pt. 2, pp. 59, 658; app., p. 58; ibid., pts. 1 and 2, 3d rep., p. 19.

[258] Ibid., 1837-38, xx, pt. 1, 3d rep., p. 10.

[259] Rep. Com., 1837-38, xx, 2d rep., app., p. 3; Parl. Deb., 3d series, xlvii, col. 1231.

[260] Ibid., 3d series, xlvii, coll. 278-84, 293.

[261] Acc. & P., 1841, xxvi, p. 53; 1839, xlvi, p. 568.

[262] Parl. Deb., 3d series, li, col. 227; 3 and 4 Vict., c. 96.

[263] The Rt. Hon. Thomas Spring Rice.

[264] Joyce, pp. 427-28.

[265] Rep. P. G., 1855, p. 65; 1881, app., p. 11; 1891, app., p. 16; 1901, app., p. 25.

[266] Colonial legislatures were given the power in 1849 to establish posts of their own and to fix the inland postal rates (12 and 13 Vict., c. 26).

[267] Rep. P. G., 1892, p. 7.

[268] Ibid., 1899, pp. 4, 6-7.

[269] 10 and 11 Vict., c. 85; Rep. Com., 1852, xv, 386, p. 150; Rep. P. G., 1859, p. 25.

[270] Rep. Com., 1852, xv, 386, pp. iii-iv.

[271] 4 Edw. VII, c. 14.

[272] Established by agreements between the Postmaster-General and the inhabitants of small towns and villages.

[273] Rep. P. G., 1898, pp. 32-39; 1860, pp. 9 f.; 1864, p. 15.

[274] Their extended licence will expire in 1922 (Rep. P. G., 1901, p. 2).

[275] Parl. Deb., 3d series, cccli, col. 1751; Rep. P. G., 1901, p. 2; 1892, p. 7; 1891, pp. 4 f.; 1893, p. 7; 1894, p. 6; 1899, pp. 2, 3.

[276] Ibid., 1894, p. 5.

[277] Ibid., 1891, p. 5.

[278] Rep. P. G., 1893, p. 10; 1897, p. 3; 1901, app., p. 28.

[279] Free newspapers also included those coming from abroad on which no charge was made in the United Kingdom.

[280] Rep. P. G., 1896, p. 2; 1859, pp. 28 f.; 1881, app., p. 12; 1891, app., p. 17; 1901, app., p. 27.

[281] Rep. P. G., 1896, p. 2; 1903, p. 5; 1904, p. 5; 1881, app., p. 12; 1891, app., p. 17; 1901, app., p. 27.

[282] Ibid., 1864, p. 29; 1896, p. 2; Acct. & P., 1871, xxxvii (pp. 1-2).

[283] Charge on unpaid inland post cards reduced to 1d. each in 1896.

[284] They increased from 248 millions for the postal year 1893-94 to 312 millions during the ensuing year.

[285] Rep. P. G., 1896, p. 2; 1882, p. 4; 1895, p. 18; 1900, p. 1.

[286] Rep. P. G., 1897, p. 5.

[287] Ibid., 1881, app., p. 12; 1891, app., p. 17; 1901, app., p. 27.

[288] Ibid., 1881, p. 4; 1885, p. 4; 1886, p. 5; 1895, p. 21; 1905, p. 7; The Economist, 1881, Nov. 5, p. 1369; 1882, July 29, p. 939.

[289] Rep. P. G., 1904, pp. 4-5.

[290] Ibid., 1855, p. 12; 1856, p. 9; 1860, p. 8.

[291] Ibid., 1855, p. 21.

[292] Ibid., 1855-59.

[293] Rep. Commrs., 1829, ii, p. 137; Rep. P. G., 1855, p. 20; 1881, app., p. 16; 1891, app., pp. 34-35; 1901, app., p. 50.

[294] Rep. P. G., 1896, pp. 28-32; 1897, pp. 10-11; 1881, app., p. 37; 1891, app., p. 53; 1901, app., p. 69; 1907, p. 74.

[295] Rep. P. G., 1891, app., p. 59; 1901, app., p. 77; 1907, p. 84.

[296] Ibid., 1891, app., pp. 52-53; 1892, p. 12.

[297] 24 Vict., c. 14.

[298] Rep. P. G., 1897, app., pp. 32-36.

[299] Rep. P. G., 1897, app., pp. 32-38. The insurance and annuity business of the Post Office has been described by the Economist as a practical failure because of the government's refusal to solicit business (Economist 1881, Nov. 5, p. 1369).

[300] Rep. P. G., 1897, app., pp. 32-36; 1906, pp. 12-13; 56 and 57 Vict., c. 59.

[301] Ibid., 1881, app., pp. 32-33; 1891, app., p. 46; 1901, p. 60; 1907, p. 67.

[302] Ibid., 1891, app., p. 47; 1901, app., p. 62.

[303] Rep. P. G., 1891, app., p. 48; 1901, app., p. 63.

[304] Rep. Com., 1854, xi, 411, pp. 370-371.

[305] Ibid., 411, p. 14.

[306] Rep. Com., 411, p. 280; 1 and 2 Vict., c. 98.

[307] 56 and 57 Vict., c. 38.

[308] 56 and 57 Vict., c. 38; Rep. P. G., 1898, pp. 9 f.; 1907, p. 3.

[309] Parl. Papers, 1852-53, xcv, p. 3; Rep. P. G., 1861, p. 20; 1872, pp. 26-27; 1884, p. 56; 1893, p. 78; 1896, p. 86; 1906, p. 92.

[310] Less than £120 in England, less than £100 in Scotland and Ireland.

[311] D. B. Eaton, Civil Service in Great Britain, New York, 1880, pp. 75, 307, 308; Parl. Deb., 3d ser., ccxxxix, col. 211; cclv, col. 1575; ibid., 4th ser., clix, col. 397; clxx, col. 641.

[312] Acct. & P., 1872, xxxvi, 337, pp. 1-2; Rep. Commrs., 1872, xviii [c. 485], pp. 1-5; Rep. P. G., 1872, p. 6; Parl. Deb., 4th ser., xciv, coll. 1358-60, 1364-65.

[313] Rep. P. G., 1859, pp. 40-43; Parl. Deb., 3d ser., clix, coll. 211-214; clxviii, coll. 675-82.

[314] Rep. P. G., 1895, pp. 9-11; 1891, p. 3; Parl. Deb., 3d ser., cccxviii, coll. 537, 1549; cccxlix, col. 213.

[315] Rep. P. G., 1895, pp. 9-11.

[316] Rep. P. G., 1897, pp. 27 f.

[317] Parl. Deb., 4th ser., viii, col. 673; xxix, col. 117; lxxxii, coll. 199 f.; xciv, coll. 1357 f.; cvi, coll. 660-683, 715, 747; cxxi, coll. 1021-64; cxlviii, coll. 1367-69, 1382.

[318] Rep. Commrs., 1904, xxxiii, 171, pp. 5-26.

[319] Acc. & P., 1905, xliv, 98, pp. 3-6; Parl. Deb., 4th ser., cxlviii, col. 1363.

[320] In connection with such appeals both sides of the House as represented by their leaders had in 1892 advised that members should pay no attention to them (Parl. Deb., 4th ser., v, coll. 1123 f.).

[321] Parl. Deb., 4th ser., cxxxix, coll. 1633-34; cxlviii, coll. 1350, 1357-61, 1365; the London Times, 1904, Oct. 11, p. 4; Oct. 18, p. 4; Oct. 22, p. 10; 1905, Jan. 16, p. 7; Apr. 7, p. 11.

[322] The Postmen's Federation was established in 1891 and a journal, the Postman's Gazette, representing their views, was started in the following year (Postman's Gazette, May 28, 1892; Post Office Circular, no. 1702).

[323] Parl. Deb., 4th ser., cliv, col. 202; clix, col. 396; clxxiv, col. 387; the London Times, 1906, June 9, p. 9.

[324] Parl. Deb., 4th ser., cliii, coll. 323-38, 354-58; Rep. Com., 1907, 266.

[325] Parl. Deb., 4th ser., clxxxiv, coll. 1058-59, 1061-66, 1080; cxcii, coll. 1175, 1173; the London Times, 1907, Aug. 19, p. 17; Aug. 20, p. 2; Oct. 16, p. 12.

[326] Parl. Deb., 4th ser., clxxxiv, coll. 1058-70; cxcii, coll. 1120-21. It has been estimated that the recommendations adopted by the Postmaster-General will entail upon the country an additional cost of about £600,000, rising to £1,000,000 (Parl. Deb., 4th ser., cxcii, col. 1156).

[327] Hist. MSS. Com. Rep., 14, app., pt. 8, p. 35; P. & O. P. C., vii, p. 350.

[328] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 32 (7).

[329] L. & P. Hen. VIII, xvii (1542), p. 484.

[330] A. P. C., 1542-47, pp. 164, 333, 465, 469, 527; 1547-50, p. 505.

[331] Ibid., 1550-52, p. 452; 1542-47, p. 384.

[332] Ibid., 1558-70, p. 326.

[333] Cal. S. P. D., 1547-80, p. 612.

[334] Ibid., 1547-80, p. 362.

[335] F. Blomefield, Norfolk, 1806, iii, p. 294.

[336] A. P. C., 1571-75, p. 181.

[337] A. P. C., 1577-78, p. 219. A particularly violent man roused the ire of the Mayor of Guildford, who wrote to Walsingham asking for damages to a gelding killed by a Mr. Wynckfeld, riding post from Guildford to Kingston. The gelding stumbled and fell on the road and Wynckfeld thrust his dagger into him, beat the guide and threatened to kill the constables on his return (Cal. S. P. D., ii, p. 529).

[338] A. P. C., 1577-78, p. 219.

[339] Ibid., 1588-89, p. 206.

[340] Ibid., 1577-78, p. 62; 1580-81, p. 203.

[341] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., pp. 38, 39, 40 (18).

[342] Macaulay, Hist. of England, 1849, i, p. 387.

[343] Cal. S. P. D., 1629-31, p. 193.

[344] 19 Geo. III, c. 51.

[345] Cal. S. P. D., 1581-90, p. 131.

[346] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 42 (20).

[347] Cal. S. P. D., 1619-23, p. 517.

[348] Ibid., 1619-23, p. 86; 1635, p. 18; 1631-33, p. 257.

[349] Ibid., 1635, p. 299.

[350] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 57 (36); Cal. S. P. D., 1637, p. 338.

[351] Scobell, Collect., 1656, c. 30.

[352] 12 Ch. II, c. 35.

[353] 9 Anne, c. 11.

[354] Jo. H. C., 1745-50, p. 830.

[355] 22 Geo. II, c. 25.

[356] 19 Geo. III, c. 51.

[357] 20 Geo. III, c. 51.

[358] 25 Geo. III, c. 51.

[359] 27 Geo. III, c. 26.

[360] 48 Geo. III, c. 98.

[361] 4 Geo. IV, c. 62:—

For every horse let to hire by the mile at the ordinary rate, 1½d.

For no greater distance than eight miles, one fifth part of the sum charged or 1s. 9d.

For no greater distance than eight miles and when the horse or horses shall not bring back any person nor deviate from the regular road, 1s.

For every horse let for a period less than twenty-eight successive days and not let according to the terms given above, one fifth part of the sum charged or 2s. 6d. for each day not exceeding three days and 1s. 9d. for each day exceeding three days but not exceeding thirteen days and 1s. 3d. for each day exceeding thirteen but not exceeding twenty-eight days.

For every horse let for twenty-eight successive days or for a longer period, one fifth of the sum charged or 2s. 6d. for each day not exceeding three and 1s. 9d. for each day exceeding three days but not exceeding thirteen days and 1s. 3d. for each day exceeding thirteen and less than twenty-one days.

[362] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 32 (7).

[363] L.& P. Hen. VIII, vii, pt. 2, p. 1444.

[364] A. P. C., 1556-58, pp. 249-309.

[365] Ibid., 1571, 75, p. 201; Cal. S. P. D., 1547-80, p. 265.

[366] Cal. S. P. Ire., 1574-85, p. 176; A. P. C., 1580-81, p. 131.

[367] Hist. MSS. Com., Rep., 13, app., pt. 4, p. 89.

[368] A. P. C., 1580-81, p. 211.

[369] Cal. S. P. D., 1581-90, p. 712; Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 43 (21).

[370] Hist. MSS. Com., Rep., 14, app., pt. 8, p. 35.

[371] L. & P. Hen. VIII, 1543, p. 4.

[372] Cal. S. P. D., 1547-65, p. 360.

[373] Ibid., 1566-79, p. 109.

[374] Ibid., 1580-1625, p. 278.

[375] Hist. MSS. Com., Hatfield House, pt. 7, pp. 174, 168, 332, 358.

[376] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., pp. 38-40 (28).

[377] Six days from London to Holyrood House (Cal. S. P. D., 1611-18, p. 44). Five hours from Sittingbourne to Canterbury (12 miles) (ibid., 1619-23, p. 610). Nine hours from Sittingbourne to Dover (ibid., 1625-26, p. 256).

[378] Cal. S. P. D., 1619-23, p. 564.

[379] Ibid., 1625-26, pp. 43, 168.

[380] Ibid., 1627-28, p. 307.

[381] Ibid., 1623-25, p. 141; 1627-28, p. 307.

[382] Ibid., 1628-29, p. 184.

[383] Ibid., 1629-31, p. 379.

[384] Ibid., 1652-53, p. 312.

[385] Cal. S. P. D., 1652-53, p. 449.

[386] Ibid., 1655, pp. 285-86.

[387] Ibid., 1661-62, p. 385.

[388] Ibid., 1665-66, p. 19.

[389] Ibid., 1666-67, p. 384.

[390] Ibid., 1667-68, p. 116. From copies of these labels made out in 1666 and 1667 we know exactly how long it took to convey the mails between London and the important cities of the kingdom although the time varied more or less at different trips and different seasons.

Between		Hours
London and	Yarmouth	From 29	to 32
	Plymouth	50	58
	York	39	42
	Chester	30	56
	Bristol	25	30
	Gloucester	20	26
	Portsmouth	15	23
	Edinburgh	73	103*
	Newcastle	57	81
	Manchester	32	48
	Preston	47	58
	Dover	19	22
	Southampton	18	23

(Cal. S. P. D., 1667-68, pp. 117, 118, 120, 121; 1666-67, pp. 388, 389.)

* Reproved for slowness.

[391] Cal. S. P. D., 1673-75, p. 494.

[392] John Ogilby, Itinerarium Angliae, 1675.

[393] Cal. S. P. D., 1667-68, p. 543.

[394] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 91 (64).

[395] Joyce, p. 53.

[396] Cal. T. B. & P., 1739-41, p. 240; Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 94 (67); Acts of the Parl. of Scotland, ix, p. 417 (5 Wm. III).

[397] Cal. T. P., 1697-1702, p. 280.

[398] Ibid., 1657-96, p. 55.

[399] Latimer, Annals of Bristol, p. 488.

[400] Cal. T. P., 1697-1702, pp. 21-22.

[401] Ibid., 1697-1702, p. 56.

[402] Ibid., 1702-07, p. 26.

[403] Ibid., 1702-07, p. 134.

[404] 9 Anne, c. 11.

[405] 45 Geo. III, c. 43.

[406] 46 Geo. III, c. 134.

[407] 53 Geo. III, c. 146.

[408] London Times, 1817, Aug. 28, p. 2.

[409] Rep. Commrs., 1830, xiv, p. 347; 1831-32, xvii, p. 7.

[410] London Times, 1819, July 17, p. 2. Yarmouth is distant from London 124 miles.

[411] Ibid., 1821, Aug. 23, p. 3.

[412] Acc. & P., 1836, xlv, 364, pp. 2 f. The following times are given in Rep. Commrs., 1830, xiv:—

p. 348	London to Liverpool	22 hrs.	7 min.,	distance	202 miles
p. 349	London to Bristol	13	14		122
p. 350	Bristol to Milford	19	38		149
p. 351	London to Carlisle (via Leeds)	34	7		311
p. 352	Carlisle to Portpatrick	11	32		85
p. 353	Bristol to Birmingham	10	29		87

[413]Acc. & P., 1836, xlv, 364, p. 4. The following times are given in Rep. Commrs., 1830 xiv:—

p. 354	Dublin via Cashell to Cork	22 hrs.		distance	126 miles
p. 355	Cork to Waterford	12 hrs.	4 min.		72 miles
p. 356	Dublin to Belfast	13	15		80 miles
p. 356	Donaghadee to Belfast	22	24		14 miles

[414] Acc. & P., 1836, xlv, 364, p. 7.

[415] Ibid., 1836, xlv, 364, p. 5.

[416] Rep. Commrs., 1831-32, xvii, pp. 7, 373-74.

[417] Ibid., 1831-32, xvii, pp. 373-74.

[418] Rep. Commrs., 1837, xxxiv, 7th rep., app., nos. 40-45.

[419] Ibid., 1837, xxxiv, 7th rep., app., no. 11. The packet leaving Holyhead at 6.30 p.m. carried letters from Birmingham, brought by the coach from that place, but took no London letters (Acc. & P., 1841, ix, p. 9).

[420] Rep. Commrs., 1831-32, xvii, p. 325.

[421] Ibid., 1837, xxxiv, 7th rep., app., no. 11.

[422] Ibid., 1831-32, xvii, pp. 5-9; Acc. & P., 1841, xix.

[423] Rep. Commrs., 1831-32, xvii, pp. 5-9.

[424] Sometimes the packet left Dunmore. See Rep. Commrs., 1831-32, xvii, pp. 373-4.

[425] Ibid., 1831-32, xvii, pp. 5-9, 373-74.

[426] Ibid., p. 325.

[427] Rep. Com., 1837-38, xx, pt. 1, p. 469, no. 17.

[428] Rep. Commrs., 1837, xxxiv, 7th rep., app., no. 13.

[429] 1 and 2 Vict., c. 98; 7 and 8 Vict., c. 85; Rep. Com., 1854, xi, 411, p. xiii; Rep. P. G., 1857, p. 7.

[430] Cal. S. P. Ire., 1574-85, p. 401.

[431] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 37 (15).

[432] Cal. S. P. D., 1598-1601, p. 107.

[433] Ibid., 1648-49, p. 210.

[434] Jo. H. C., 1648-51, p. 385.

[435] Cal. S. P. D., 1644, pp. 6, 29; 1641-43, p. 501.

[436] Cal. S. P. D., 1652-53, pp. 312, 449.

[437] Cal. T. P., 1557-1696, p. 308.

[438] 24 Geo. III, c. 6.

[439] Joyce, pp. 380-83; 55 Geo. III, c. 145.

[440] Cal. S. P. D., 1667-68, pp. 248, 249; Joyce, p. 46.

[441] 7 Geo. III, c. 50.

[442] Rep. Commrs., 1830, xiv, app., nos. 78, 80.

[443] Cal. S. P. D., 1581-90, p. 485.

[444] Cal. S. P. For., 1553-58, pp. 239, 341.

[445] Cal. S P. D., 1580-1625, p. 188; 1581-90, p. 84; L. & P. Hen. VIII, i, 3639.

[446] Hist. MSS. Com., Rep., 12, app., pt. 1, p. 478.

[447] Cal. S. P. D., 1631-33, p. 242; Hist. MSS. Com., Rep., 12, app., pt. 2, p. 103.

[448] Cal. S. P. D., 1631-33, p. 522.

[449] Hist. MSS. Com., Rep., 12, app., pt. 2, p. 6.

[450] Cal. S. P. D., 1634-35, p. 193.

[451] Cal. S. P. D., 1644, pp. 6, 29.

[452] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 58 (37).

[453] Cal. S. P. D., 1639-40, p. 457.

[454] Ibid., 1640, p. 163.

[455] Ibid., 1660-61, p. 82.

[456] Cal. S. P. D., 1661-62, p. 56.

[457] Ibid., 1664-65, p. 489.

[458] Ibid., 1693, p. 57.

[459] Ibid., 1667, p. 440.

[460] Ibid., 1667-68, p. 428; 1672, p. 189.

[461] Ibid., 1690-91, p. 119.

[462] Ibid., 1690-91, p. 552.

[463] Joyce, p. 77.

[464] Ibid., p. 139.

[465] Cal. S. P. D., 1691-92, p. 97.

[466] Cal. T. P., 1702-07, p. 94.

[467] Ibid., 1702-07, p. 145.

[468] Joyce, pp. 75, 76. Mr. Vanderpoel, postmaster at the Brill, was appointed by the king to take charge of all letters and despatches sent by or to their Majesties by the Harwich boats (Cal. S. P. D., 1691-92, p. 404; Cal. T. P., 1702-07, pp. 19, 33).

[469] Cal. T. B. & P., 1742-45, p.509.

[470] Cal. T. P., 1708-14, p. 3.

[471] 43 Geo. III, c. 73.

[472] London Times, 1812, Aug. 31, p. 2.

[473] Ibid., 1813, Aug. 22, p. 2.

[474] Ibid., 1813, Nov. 29, p. 3.

[475] Rep. Commrs., 1829, xi, p. 232; Acc. & P., 1817, p. 11; London Times, 1814, April 18, p. 3.

[476] Rep. Commrs., 1830, xiv, app., no. 78.

[477] London Times, 1830, May 21, p. 3.

[478] Post nights were probably on Wednesday and Saturday nights.

[479] London Times, 1837, Jan. 14, p. 7.

[480] Rep. Commrs., 1836, xxviii, 6th rep., p. 5.

[481] Ibid., 1836, xxviii, 6th rep., p. 5.

[482] Ibid., 1836, xxviii, 6th rep., p. 7.

[483] 5 and 6 Wm. IV., c. 25.

[484] London Times, 1836, June 20, p. 5. In accounting to France for letters sent there postpaid, England agreed to consider as a single letter any enclosure or enclosures weighing not more than a quarter of an ounce, according to the French method.

[485] Cal. T. P., 1702-07, p. 64.

[486] Ibid., p.57.

[487] Joyce, pp. 79, 81.

[488] Cal. T. P., 1702-07, p. 105.

[489] Ibid., 1702-07, p. 29.

[490] Ibid., 1708-14, p. 45.

[491] Cal. T. B. and P., 1742-45, pp. 705, 707.

[492] Jo. H. C., 1787, pp. 816, 817.

[493] 48 Geo. III, c. 116.

[494] 5 Geo. IV, c. 10.

[495] 6 Geo. IV, c. 44.

[496] 55 Geo. III, c. 153.

[497] Letters were sent to the colonies by private vessels. The method used for sending letters to America was as follows. Masters of vessels bound for America used to hang up a bag in the coffee-houses, in which letters were placed. A fee of one penny was charged for a single letter and 2d. for a double letter or parcel in excess of a single letter (Cal. T. P., 1697-1702, p. 77).

[498] Thos. DeLaune, Present State of London, 1681, p. 343.

[499] Cal. S. P. D., 1689-90, p. 301.

[500] Cal. T. B. and P., 1742-45, p. 518.

[501] Ibid., 1742-45, p. 523.

[502] Rep. Commrs., 1830, xiv, p. 7.

[503] Parl. Papers, 1822, vi, 417, pp. 117 f.

[504] Joyce, pp. 384-85. In a debate in the House on the Holyhead rates, Parnell said that they limited the use of the steamboats to the rich (Parl. Deb., 3d ser., x, coll. 684-85).

[505] Acc. & P., 1834, xlix, pp. 1, 156.

[506] Rep. Commrs., 1830, pp. 22, 36, 40.

[507] Acc. & P., 1826-27, xx, p. 6.

[508] Rep. Commrs., 1830, xiv, app., no. 78.

[509] Ibid., 1830, xiv, p. 72.

[510] Ibid., 1836, xxviii, 6th rep., app., p. 28.

[511] Acc. & P., 1834, xlix, p. 1; Rep. Commrs., 1831-32, xvii, pp. 358-60.

[512] Acc. & P., xlvi, 281.

[513] Rep. Commrs., 1836, xxviii, pp. 14-16.

[514] Ibid., 1836, xxviii, 6th rep., p. 18.

[515] Ibid., 1836, xxviii, 6th rep., p. 6.

[516] Ibid., 1836, xxviii, 6th rep., p. 8.

[517] Cal. S. P. D., 1671, p. 203. In 1793, owing to a scarcity of English vessels and as a war measure, permission was given to send English letters to Spain and Portugal by means of Spanish ships (33 Geo. III, c. 60).

[518] Joyce, p. 73.

[519] It is true that by the act of 1711, a penny was to be charged for every ship letter; but this was to go to the master of the ship.

[520] 39 Geo. III, c. 76.

[521] 2 Wm. IV, c. 15.

[522] 5 and 6 Wm. IV, c. 25.

[523] Cal. S. P. D., 1650, p. 540.

[524] Ibid., 1691-92, pp. 29, 137.

[525] 13 and 14 Chas. II, c. 11.

[526] Goods were not supposed to be carried unless such a licence had been obtained. Some Jews, coming from Calais on the packet boat, had brought a few spectacles with them, on the sale of which they said that their support depended. The spectacles were confiscated (Cal. T. B. and P., 1739-41, p. 61).

[527] Cal. T. P., 1708-14, p. 74.

[528] Cal. T. B. & P., 1731-34, p. 223.

[529] Ibid., 1731-34, p. 242.

[530] Ibid., 1731-34, p. 234.

[531] 24 Geo. III, session 2, c. 37.

[532] Cal. T. B. & P., 1742-45, p. 55.

[533] Joyce, pp. 95 f.

[534] Fin. Rep., 1797, no. 7, p. 5.

[535] Jo. H. C., 1787, p. 116.

[536] Jo. H. C., 1787, pp. 815-16.

[537] Ibid., 1787, pp. 815-16. Anthony Todd, Secretary of the Post Office, writing to Charles Cox in Harwich said that "several persons going from Helvoetsluys to Harwich, who are well able to pay full fare, have given money for half, free and poor passes, and larger sums have been taken for passes than are allowed by the Postmaster-General" (Jo. H. C., 1787, p. 805).

[538] Ibid., 1787, p. 205.

[539] Fin. Rep., 1797, no. 7, pp. 52-65.

[540] Ibid., no. 7, p. 131.

[541] Fin. Rep., no. 7, p. 119.

[542] Ibid., no. 7, p. 118.

[543] Ibid., no. 7, pp. 122-23.

[544] Ibid., no. 7, p. 117.

[545] Ibid., no. 7, p. 116.

[546] Rep. Commrs., 1830, xiv, app., no. 78; Acc. & P., 1834, xlix, p. 3; Joyce, pp. 398-99.

[547] Acc. & P., 1834, xlix, p. 49. Three of the boats wrecked were on their way to or from Halifax, N. S.

[548] 7 Wm. IV and I Vict., c. 3.

[549] Acc. & P., 1837-38, xlv, pp. 1, 2.

[550] 7 Wm. IV and I Vict., c. 34.

[551] 7 Wm. IV and I Vict., c. 36.

[552] Rep. Com., 1860, xiv; Acc. & P., 1852-53, xcv, 1660, pp. 1-7.

[553] Rep. Com., 1849, xii, p. iii.

[554] Acc. & P., 1852-53, xcv, 1660, p. 37.

[555] Rep. Com., 1860, xiv, p. 17; 23 Vict., c. 46; Parl. Deb., 3d ser., clxi, col. 830; cxciv, col. 1281; cxcvii, col. 1818.

[556] Acc. & P., 1852-53, xcv, 1660, pp. 37-43.

[557] Parl. Deb., 3d ser., ccxxxviii, coll., 1633-36.

[558] 3s. a lb. for letters; 1s. 8d. when carried by other lines (Rep. Com., 1860, xiv, p. 5; 1868-69, vi, pp. iii-v; Rep. P. G., 1887, pp. 4-5; Acc. & P., 1887, xlix, 34, pp. 3-4; Parl. Deb., 4th ser., cxxii, coll. 385-401).

[559] Acc. & P., 1852-53, xcv, 1660, p. 59; 1887, xlix, 34, p. 7; Rep. P. G., 1907, pp. 5-6.

[560] Rep. P. G., 1907, pp. 5-6, 52-53.

[561] Rep. Commrs., 1830, xiv, app., p. 376; 1847, lxii, pp. 5-6; Rep. P. G., 1868, p. 28; 1875, p. 39; 1901, app., p. 82; 1907, p. 95.

[562] The rate from Venice had been 16d. By a single letter is meant one piece of paper.

[563] Cal. S. P. D., 1625-26, p. 523.

[564] Ibid., 1628-29, p. 538.

[565] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 48 (25).

[566] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 57 (36).

[567] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 58 (37).

[568] Joyce, p. 29.

[569] Cal. S. P. D., 1651-52, p. 507.

[570] Cal. S. P. D., 1652-53, p. 449.

[571] Scobell, Collect., pt. ii, pp. 511-13. Inland letters containing more than two enclosures but weighing less than an ounce were charged according to the number of enclosures.

[572] Scobell, Collect., pt. ii, pp. 511-13.

[573] 12 Chas. II, c. 35.

[574] One shilling Scotch was equal to one penny English.

[575] Wm. III, 1st parl., 5th session (Scotland), c. 31.

[576] Cal. T. P., 1697-1702, 48; 1702-1707, 101.

[577] Joyce, p. 78.

[578] Cal. T. P., 1702-07, 46.

	Single letter	Double letter	Per ounce
Rates to the islands were	9d.	18d.	32d.
In 1705 increased to	15d.	30d.	72d.
Rates from the islands in 1705	18d.	36d.	72d.

—Stow's London, bk. v, p. 400.

[579] Joyce, p. 111.

[580] Joyce, p. 113; Cal. T. P., 1697-1702, 77.

[581] Joyce, p. 128.

[582] Double letters were charged twice as much as single letters.

[583] When the rates for single letters only are given it is understood that double and triple letters paid two and three times as much respectively. Letters weighing an ounce or more paid a single letter rate for each quarter of an ounce.

[584] Joyce, p. 145.

[585] 9 Anne, c. 11.

[586] Jo. H. C., 1745-50, pp. 751-2.

[587] 26 Geo. III, c. 13, secs. 7, 8.

[588] 5 Geo. III, c. 25. The principle of payment in advance was not popular. A man in England writing to his brother in Virginia in 1764 says, "Very often of late I have been so foolish, I should say unfortunate previously to pay for the letters coming to you.... To my great concern I have been since assured that such letters never go forward but are immediately thrown aside and neglected. I believe I wrote to you three or four times this last winter by this method and am since informed of this their fate. You may form a great guess of the truth of it by or by not receiving them" (Notes and Queries, 4th ser., xii, p. 125).

[589] 24 Geo. III, sess. 2, c. 37.

[590] 27 Geo. III, c. 9. In 1767 a rate of 2d. for a single letter was established between Whitehaven (Cumberland) and the Port of Douglas (Isle of Man) (7 Geo. III, c. 50).

[591] 37 Geo. III, c. 18.

[592] 33 Geo. III, c. 60.

[593] 39 Geo. III, c. 76.

[594] When the temporary peace of Amiens was concluded in 1802, the rates for single letters from London to France were reduced to 10d., from London to the Batavian Republic to 12d. (42 Geo. II, c. 101).

[595] 41 Geo. III, c. 7.

[596] The Irish penny was of the same value as the English penny.

[597] 43 Geo. III, c. 28.

[598] Parl. Deb., 1st ser., iii, col. 550.

[599] 45 Geo. III, c. 11.

[600] 45 Geo. III, c. 21.

[601] Single letters written by or to non-commissioned officers, privates, and seamen must be on their own business, and if sent by them must bear their own signatures and the signature of their superior officer with the name of their regiment or ship (46 Geo. III, c. 92).

[602] 52 Geo. III, c. 88.

In 1806, the rate for a single letter between Falmouth and Gibraltar was fixed at 21d., between Falmouth and Malta 25d., between Gibraltar and Malta 6d. (46 Geo. III, c. 73).

In 1808, the rate for a single letter between Falmouth and Madeira was fixed at 18d., between Falmouth and Brazil 29d. (48 Geo. III, c. 116).

[603] 50 Geo. III, c. 74.

[604] 53 Geo. III, c. 58.

[605] 54 Geo. III, c. 119.

[606] 54 Geo. III, c. 169. Enacted for Ireland the following year (55 Geo. III, c. 103).

[607] 55 Geo. III, c. 153. This act, although repealed for Great Britain by 59 Geo. III, c. 111, still remained in force in Ireland (5 and 6 Wm. IV, c. 25).

[608] London Times, 1814, Oct. 8, p. 3; 1815, Jan. 19, p. 3.

[609] Parl. Deb., 1st ser., xxx, col. 766; xxxi, col. 220.

[610] Joyce, p. 363.

[611] The Calcutta Monthly complained that the new rates had rendered correspondence less frequent. "The so-called packet boats are often two or three months slower than private vessels" (London Times, 1818, Oct. 30, p. 3).

[612] 59 Geo. III, c. 111; London Times, 1820, Jan. 24, p. 3.

[613] 7 and 8 Geo. IV, c. 21. The postage between Liverpool and Dublin for a single letter was 13d., made up as follows:—

Inland postage to Holyhead	9d.
For the Conway Bridge	1d.
""Menai"	1d.
Sea postage	2d.

In 1820, the sea rate between Portpatrick and Donaghadee had been raised by 2d. for a single letter, between Liverpool and the Port of Douglas by 4d. (1 Geo. IV, c. 89; 3 Geo. IV, c. 105).

[614] 7 and 8 Geo. IV, c. 21; 1 and 2 Geo. IV, c. 35, secs. 19-20; 6 Geo. IV, c. 28.

[615] 6 and 7 Wm. IV, c. 5.

[616] Acc. & P., 1837, l. 106. Rates on foreign letters before, and after the French treaty:—

Between England and		Before	After
France		14d.	10d.
Italy	}
Turkey	}	23	19
Ionian Isles	}
Spain		26	19
by packet		26	26
Portugal via France		26	19
by packet		30	30
Germany via France		20	14
Switzerland		20	14
Holland		16	16
Belgium		16	16
Russia	}
Prussia	}
Norway	}	20	20
Sweden	}
Denmark	}
Germany	}
Gibraltar		34	34
Malta	}
Ionian Isles	}	38	38
Greece	}
Egypt	}
Brazil		42	42
Buenos Ayres		42	41
Madeira		31	31
Mexico	}
Havana	}	36	27
Colombia	}
San Domingo		26	27
United States and foreign West Indies		26	26

[617] This followed to a certain extent the French system of charging postage, which depended more upon weight and less upon the number of enclosures than the English method.

[618] 7 Wm. IV and 1 Vict., c. 34.

[619] In 1838, it was enacted that the postage on a single letter (not from the United Kingdom or going there) between any two Mediterranean ports or from a Mediterranean port to the East Indies should be 6d. via the Red Sea or Persian Gulf. The Gibraltar rate remained the same (1 and 2 Vict., c. 97).

[620] 7 Wm. IV and 1 Vict., c. 34.

[621] 7 Wm. IV and I Vict., c. 34.

[622] 2 and 3 Vict., c. 52.

[623] Acc. & P., 1841, xxvi, 53, pp. 1-7.

[624] Additional exceptions were made later in the case of

1. Reissuable country bank notes delivered at the General Post Office in London.
2. Deeds, legal proceedings and papers.
3. Letters to and from places beyond the seas.
4. Letters to and from any government office or department (or to and from any person having the franking privilege by virtue of his office).
Acc. & P. 1841, xxvi, 53, p. 4.

[625] Double rates were charged when the postage was paid on delivery.

[626] 3 and 4 Vict., c. 96.

[627] Cal. S. P. D., 1651-52, p. 507.

[628] Cal. S. P. D., 1652-53, p. 449.

[629] Parliamentary History of England, iv (1660-88), col. 163.

[630] Cal. T. P., 1557-1696, p. 281.

[631] Cal. T. B. & P., 1731-34, pp. 208, 210, 218, 268.

[632] Cal. S. P. D., 1667, p. 248.

[633] Cal. S. P. D., 1666-67, p.386.

[634] Jo. H. C., 1714-18, p. 303.

[635] Cal. T. P., 1714-19, p. 287.

[636] Cal. T. P., 1720-28, p. 77.

[637] Jo. H. C., 1732-37, p. 393.

[638] Ibid., 1732-37.

[639] Jo. H. C., 1732-37, p. 476.

[640] Jo. H. L., 1736-41, p. 259.

[641] Ibid., p. 529.

[642] One man in five months counterfeited 14,400 franks of members of Parliament. Counterfeits of names of 27 members were shown. A regular trade in buying and selling them had sprung up (Jo. H. C., 1761-64, p. 998). Several Lords certified that their names had been counterfeited. Lord Dacre's name had been counterfeited 504 times (Jo. H. L., 1760-64, p. 534).

[643] Cal. T. B. & P., 1739-41, p. 450.

[644] Joyce, p. 189.

[645] 4 Geo. III, c. 24.

[646] Jo. H. C., 1761-64, pp. 1000-1001.

[647] Ibid., p. 999.

[648] Jo. H. C., p. 999.

[649] Ibid., 1761-64, p. 1001.

[650] Ibid., 1780-82, p. 537.

[651] 22 Geo. III, c. 70; 23 Geo. III, c. 69.

[652] Jo. H. C., 1790-91, p. 468.

[653] Ibid., 1784-85, p. 383. The Lords also agreed to this resolution (ibid., p.411; 24 Geo. III, sess. 2, c. 37).

[654] For the years 1783 and 1784, the number of free letters arriving in London, exclusive of the state's letters, averaged over 800,000 a year and those sent from London averaged over 1,000,000. In 1785, they had fallen to 514,000 and 713,000 respectively (Parl. Papers, 1812-13, Rep. Com., ii, 222, p. 95).

[655] 24 Geo. III, c. 6; Jo. H. C., 1795-96, p. 588.

[656] 35 Geo. III, c. 53. After 1786 the number of franked letters had gradually increased until checked by this act. In 1795 the number of franked letters delivered in London was 1,045,000, the number sent from London 1,195,000. In 1796, the inward and outward free letters amounted to 737,000 and 787,000 respectively. In 1797 the numbers were 696,000 and 721,000. These restricting acts of 1784 and 1795 had a more important effect than Joyce leads us to suppose (Parl. Papers, 1812-13, Rep. Com., ii, 222, p. 95).

[657] Those officials in the General Post Office who had no franking privilege were reimbursed the amount of postage paid by them on inland single letters (Rep. Commrs., 1837, xxxiv, 8th rep., app., no. 2).

[658] 42 Geo. III, c. 63.

[659] 43 Geo. III, c. 28.

[660] Parl. Deb., 1st ser., iii, col. 570. The following are a few of the statutes enacted which extended franking: 46 Geo. III, c. 61; 50 Geo. III, c. 65, sec. 19; c. 66; 51 Geo. III, c. 16, sec. 17; 52 Geo. III, c. 132, sec. 16; c. 146, sec. 11; 53 Geo. III, c. 13; 54 Geo. III, c. 169; 55 Geo. III, c. 1, sec. 10; c. 60, secs. 41-42; 56 Geo. III, c. 98, sec. 24.

[661] 6 Geo. IV, c. 68, sec. 10.

[662] 6 Geo. IV, c. 68; London Times, 1825, June 11, p. 3; July 29, p. 2.

[663] 7 and 8 Geo. IV, c. 21.

[664] 5 and 6 Wm. IV, c. 25. Before the passage of this act newspapers passed free by the packets and posts to and from Hamburg, Bremen, and Cuxhaven (London Times, 1834, Oct. 30, p. 2).

[665] 6 and 7 Wm. IV, c. 25.

[666] In Great Britain re-issuable notes of country banks paid in London were conveyed by the post to the issuing bank at one quarter the regular rates for letters, but parcels of notes had to exceed six ounces in weight and contain no other matter (5 Geo. IV, c. 20).

[667] 7 Wm. IV and 1 Vict., c. 34.

[668] 7 Wm. IV. and 1 Vict., c. 36.

[669] 5 and 6 Wm. IV, c. 25.

[670] 7 Wm. IV and 1 Vict., c. 34. Maximum increased to thirty ounces by 7 Wm. IV and 1 Vict., c. 25.

[671] 53 Geo. III, c. 89; 7 Wm. IV and 1 Vict., c. 32.

[672] Wallace, the postal reformer, declared that other members had been in the habit of receiving more than fifteen free letters in a day and that, too, with Freeling's consent (Parl. Deb., 3d series, xxiv, col. 1001).

[673] 7 Wm. IV. and 1 Vict., c. 35.

[674] Rep. Com., 1837-38, xx, 2d rep., app., p. 109.

[675] Ibid., xx, 3d rep., p. 62.

[676] 3 and 4 Vict., c. 96. Recent attempts by certain members of Parliament to revive the franking privilege have fortunately been unsuccessful (Parl. Deb., 4th ser., lxxxi, col. 1407; civ, col. 360).

[677] But in 1861 the registration fee was reduced from 6d. to 4d. and a double fee charged for compulsory registration (Rep. P. G., 1862, pp. 9-10).

[678] Rep. P. G., 1866, p. 12.

[679] Ibid., 1870, pp. 3-5; 1897, p. 5; 1896, p. 2; 1898, pp. 1-2.

[680] 3 and 4 Vict., c. 96; 10 and 11 Vict., c. 85; 23 and 24 Vict., c. 65.

[681] Rep. P. G., 1892, p. 8; 1894, p.2; 1895, p. 4; 1901, p. 4.

[682] Rep. P. G., 1862, pp. 9-10; 1879, p. 13; 1897, p. 5.

[683] Ibid., 1896, p. 3; 1882, p. 3; 1906, p. 1.

[684] Ibid., 1896, p. 2; 1889, p. 2; 1897, p. 5; 1895, p. 18.

[685] Ibid., 1903, p. 5.

[686] Rep. P. G., 1885, p. 14; 1898, pp. 1-2.

[687] Even at this time (1850) the shilling rate was the rule.

[688] Acc. & P., 1852-53, xcv., 204, pp. 2-3; Rep. P. G., 1855, pp. 36-37; 1858, p. 20; Rep. Com., 1868-69, vi, p. iv; Rep. P. G., 1871, app., p. 29; 1870, pp. 6-7.

[689] Ibid., 1891, p. 6; app., p. 39.

[690] Ibid., 1899, p. 7; 1906, p. 1.

[691] Rep. P. G., 1907, pp. 4-5.

[692] Ibid., 1864, p. 21; 1859, pp. 19-20.

[693] Ibid., 1875, p. 13.

[694] Ibid., 1892, p. 8; 1906, pp. 1-2.

[695] Rep. P. G., 1896, pp. 26-32; 1897, pp. 10-11; 1904, pp. 11-12; 1906, p. 1.

[696] Ibid., 1897, pp. 10-11.

[697] Rep. P. G., 1896, pp. 30-32.

[698] Rep. P. G., 1896, pp. 28-30; 1897, pp. 10-11; 1904, p. 11; 1906, p. 1.

[699] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 48 (25).

[700] L. & P. Hen. VIII, ii, pp. 1444-51-53-57-58-60-62-63-66-72; A. P. C., 1547-50, pp. 111, 278, 307, 319, 413; 1552-54, pp. 74, 137, 402.

[701] Cal. S. P. D., 1623-25, pp. 55, 285; 1628-29, p. 184; 1629-31, pp. 379, 440.

[702] The proceeds from de Quester's rates, which went into effect from this year, may possibly have gone to the Post Office. After Witherings' rates were announced in 1635, they certainly did.

[703] Cal. S. P. D., 1603-10, p. 9.

[704] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 43 (21).

[705] Hist. MSS. Com., Rep., 12, app., pt. 4, p. 472.

[706] Cal. T. P., 1697-1702, p. 289.

[707] Cal. S. P. D., 1641-43, p. 213.

[708] Jo. H. C., 1648-51, p. 385.

[709] Cal. S. P. D., 1653-54, p. 365.

[710] Hist. MSS. Com., Rep., 15, app., pt. 1, p. 97.

[711] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 76 (53).

[712] Cal. S. P. D., 1661-62, pp. 122, 245.

[713] 15 Chas. II, c. 14.

[714] Cal. S. P. D., 1663-64, p. 598.

[715] Hist. MSS. Com., Rep., 13, app., pt. 5, p. 81.

[716] Hist. MSS. Com., Rep., 13, app., pt. 5, p. 362.

[717] Hist. MSS. Com., Rep., 13, app., pt. 5, p. 406.

[718] Hist. MSS. Com., House of Lords, i, pp. 84-87.

[719] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, app., p. 93 (66).

[720] Cal. T. P., 1708-14, p. 20.

[721] For the gross product, net product, and expenses for each year, see Appendix, pp. 243, 244, 245, Tables I, II.

[722] Rates were increased in 1784.

[723] Hist. MSS. Com., Dropmore, i, p. 179.

[724] Parl. Papers, 1812-13, Rep. Com., ii, 222, p. 93.

[725] Parl. Papers, 1812-13, Rep. Com., ii, 222, p. 91.

[726] See Appendix, p. 246, Table III; p. 247, Table IV.

[727] See Appendix, p. 248, Table V.

[728] Ireland had paid for mail coach tolls from the first and this partly explains the relatively high expenditure.

[729] See Appendix, p. 248, Table V.

[730] See Appendix, pp. 249, 250, 251, Table VI; p. 252, Table VII.

[731] G. Roberts, Social History of the Southern Counties of England, 1856, p. 508; Joyce, p. 4.

[732] Cal. S. P. D., 1581-90, p. 131.

[733] Cal. S. P. D., 1581-90, p. 228; 1598-1601, p. 427; Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, 601, p. 4.

[734] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, 601, p. 4; app., p. 36 (14).

[735] By "Posts for the Queen's immediate service" was probably meant the special messengers attached to the Court.

[736] Cal. S. P. D., 1547-65, pp. 215-77; Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, 601, app., p. 42 (20).

[737] Letters carried by a friend or special messenger or a common carrier were excepted.

[738] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, 601, app., p. 42 (20).

[739] Ibid., 1591-94, p. 401.

[740] Ibid., 1627-28, pp. 511-22.

[741] The House had already shown its interest in postal affairs by summoning postmasters before the Committee of Grievances in 1624 (Jo. H. C., 1547-1628, pp. 689-774).

[742] Cal. S. P. D., 1628-29, p. 177.

[743] Ibid., 1625-49, p. 367; 1629-31, p. 200.

[744] Cal. S. P. D., 1633-34, p. 39.

[745] Ibid., 1637-38, pp. 22, 171, 177, 183.

[746] Ibid., 1637-38, p. 193; Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, 601, app., p. 58 (37).

[747] Jo. H. C., 1640-42, p. 722.

[748] These were the same judges who had decided in favour of Stanhope's patent in Stanhope v. Witherings.

[749] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, 601, app., p. 67 (42).

[750] Chas. Knight, London, 1842, iii, p. 276; R. R. Sharpe, London and the Kingdom, 1894, pp. 322-23.

[751] Joyce, p. 29.

[752] Cal. S. P. D., 1653-54, pp. 22-24, 372. See p. 33, note.

[753] Cal. S. P. D., 1652-53, p. 456.

[754] Ibid., 1653-54, p. 372.

[755] Ibid., 1653-54, p. 177.

[756] Ibid., 1653-54, p. 25.

[757] Ibid., 1652-53, pp. 109-110.

[758] Scobell, Collect., pt. ii, pp. 511-13.

[759] 12 Ch. II, c. 35.

[760] Cal. S. P. D., 1660-61, p. 475.

[761] In 1659 a book was published by John Hill, entitled A Penny Post—A vindication of the Liberty of every Englishman in carrying merchants' and other men's letters against any restraints of farmers of such employments (Notes and Queries, 6th ser., xi, p. 37).

[762] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, 601, app., p. 82 (57).

[763] Cal. S. P. D., 1663-64, pp. 8, 18.

[764] Ibid., 1663-64, p. 145.

[765] Ibid., 1663-64, p. 402.

[766] Rep. Com., 1844, xiv, 601, app., p. 88 (61).

[767] Cal. S. P. D., 1668-69, p. 285.

[768] Cal. S. P. D., 1668-69, p. 376.

[769] Ibid., 1672-73, p. 64.

[770] Knight, London, 1842, iii, p. 282; Joyce, pp. 121-23.

[771] Joyce, p. 329.

[772] 9 Anne, c. 10; 42 Geo. III, c. 81; 46 Geo. III, c. 92; 53 Geo. III, c. 58; 5 Geo. IV, c. 20.

[773] 7 Wm. IV and 1 Vict., c. 33.

[774] 7 Wm. IV and 1 Vict., c. 36.

[775] Acc. & P., 1834, xlix, 19, pp. 2-7.

[776] Rep. Com., 1837-38, xx, pt. 1, pp. 17, 23.

[777] Ibid., 1837-38, xx, questions 234, 2883, 4692, 10870-74; rep. 1, app., pp. 427, 431, 433; rep. 2, p. 32.

[778] Rep. Com., 1837-38, xx, qs. 3452, 3754-56, 4330-33, 4152, 6059, 6204, 6971, 8051, 9122-30, 10481, 5486-92-95, 4934-45, 5536, 3953, 6174-87. By this means Dr. Dionysius Lardner sent and received the greater part of an extensive literary correspondence (qs. 5487-96).

[779] Ibid., 1837-38, xx, qs. 3206-07, 3368-69, 3516-45, 3872, 4080, 4116-17, 4906, 5434, 6895, 7740, 7742-50, 7242-48.

[780] Ibid., 1837-38, xx, qs. 3923, 6683, 7419-23.

[781] Ibid., qs. 3212-13, 3924-28, 3377-81, 3879-82, 4504, 6928, 7867-82, 5613-18, 4074, 4873-90, 3520, 7327.

[782] Ibid., rep. 1, 9, p. 427.

[783] Ibid., qs. 2265, 2279.

[784] Ibid., 1837-38, xx, qs. 2697, 2699, 2703.

[785] Ibid., qs. 4229

[786] Ibid., qs. 5125-26. In Walsall not 1-50 part of the letters sent to and from neighbouring places went by post (qs. 5681-5789).

[787] Rep. Com., 1837-38, xx, qs. 4195-96, 4205.

[788] Ibid., qs. 3550, 4065, 4194, 6947.

[789] Ibid., qs. 5257-59.

[790] Ibid., qs. 5265.

[791] Ibid., qs. 6716, 10371.

[792] Ibid., qs. 6514.

[793] Ibid., qs. 497, 3008, 5525-26, 5329, 5186-88, 5983, 8962, 10,021; app. to part 2, p. 34.

[794] Ibid., pt. 1, pp. 195-99, 204-30, 346, 351, 431.

[795] Ibid., pt. 1, pp. 195-99.

[796] Ibid., pt. 1, p. 364.

[797] Acc. & P., 1867-68, xli, 202, pp. 43, 73, 74.

[798] Acc. & P., 1867-68, xli, 202, pp. 87-88, 126; Rep. Com., 1867-68, xi, 435, pp. 31, 68.

[799] Receiver and Accountant-General of the Post-Office.

[800] Rep. Com., 1867-68, xi, 435, p. 108; Acc. & P., 1867-68, xli, 202, p. 7.

[801] In another place his estimate for gross revenue was £608,000; annual charge £105,000 on a purchase price of £3,000,000 with expenses for improvement; working expenses £425,000, and surplus £77,750 (Acc. & P., 1867-68, xli, 202, pp. 145-47).

[802] Ibid., pp. 7-39.

[803] Parl. Deb., 3d ser., ccxxviii, col. 215; cxcii, coll. 747-751.

[804] Acc. & P., 1867-68, xli, 202, p. 131.

[805] 31 and 32 Vict., c. 110.

[806] 32 and 33 Vict., c. 75.

[807] Rep. Com., 1867-68, xi, 435, p. 162; 1868-69, vi, 348, p. 11; 1867-68, xi, 435, p. 217; 1873, xxxix, 316, pp. 762-64; 1873, vii, 290, p. 95; Parl. Deb., 3d ser., cxcii, coll. 747-751, 1303-04. According to figures furnished by Mr. Fowler in a speech in the House of Commons in 1868, the value of the capital and the debentures of the Electric and International at that time was £1,240,000 while the capital value of the British and Irish Magnetic was £534,000; of Reuter's Company, £266,000; of the United Kingdom Electric, £350,000, and of the London and Provincial, £65,000 (Parl. Deb. 3d ser., cxcv, coll. 747-751).

[808] Rep. P. G., 1876, p. 10; ibid., 1883, p. 9.

[809] 31 and 32 Vict., c. 110.

[810] Rep. P. G., 1895, app., pp. 33-35; 1889, p. 13.

[811] Ibid., 1890, p. 7.

[812] Rep. P. G., 1892, p. 20; 54 and 55 Vict., c. 46.

[813] Rep. P. G., 1900, p. 15; 1898, p. 19; 1906, pp. 1, 15.

[814] Ibid., 1900, p. 15; 1902, p. 13; 1905, app., p. 99; 1906, p. 16.

[815] Acc. & P., 1876, lxxxiv [c. 1418], pp. 116-119.

[816] Rep. P. G., 1904, pp. 15-22.

[817] Rep. P. G., 1897, pp. 40-42; 1879, p. 21; 1886, p. 10; 1892, p. 19; 1900, p. 10.

[818] Rep. P. G., 1893, pp. 19-22; 1903, pp. 15-18; 1905, pp. 16-18; 4 Edw. VII, c. 24; 6 Edw. VII, c. 13.

[819] Parl. Deb., 4th ser., clxxix, coll. 841-858; cxcii, col. 1116, London Times, 1906, Nov. 5, p. 5; 1907, July 1, p. 14.

[820] Parl. Deb., 3d ser., ccxxviii, coll. 172 f.; Rep. Com., 1876, xiii, 357, pp. i-xiii, 147, 240.

[821] Rep. P. G., 1891, app., p. 40; 1901, app., p. 57; 1907, app., p. 61.

[822] Ibid., 1881, app., p. 53; 1891, app., p. 66; 1901, app., p. 83; 1905, app., p. 99.

[823] Between 1870, when the telegraphs were taken over by the state, and 1873, the number of employees was more than doubled, although, during the same period, the number of messages—not including news messages—increased only from ten to fifteen millions (Rep. Com., 1876, xiii, 357, pp. 18, 90, 232, 240).

[824] Rep. P. G., 1895, pp. 37-38.

The proportion of the amount spent on salaries and wages which in 1881, before Mr. Fawcett's revision, stood at about 55 per cent, increased, as a result of that revision and Mr. Raikes' revision in 1890, to about 65 per cent.

[825] Parl. Deb., 4th ser., clix, col. 389; Economist, Sept. 21, 1907, p. 1576.

[826] Rep. Com., 1895, xiii, 350, pp. 1-6; Law Reports, Queen's Bench Division, vi, p. 244; Parl. Deb., 3d ser., cclxxxviii, col. 1053.

[827] Rep. P. G., 1883, p. 6; 1885, p. 9; 1886, p. 10; Rep. Com., 1898, xii, 383, pp. 3, 57; 1895, xiii, 350, pp. 1-6; Parl. Deb., 3d ser., cclxxii, col. 712; cclxxxviii, coll. 1056-57, 1060-61; cclxxxix, coll. 82.

[828] Rep. Com., 1884-85, xii, p. 63; 1892, xvii, 278, sess. 1, pp. 3-5; 1895, xiii, 350, pp. 1-6, 92, 188-93; 1898, xii, 383, p. 12; Parl. Deb., 3d ser., cclxxxviii, coll. 1052 f.; cccxxxvi, col. 1809; cccxxxvii, col. 1435; cccxlvi, col. 908.

[829] Only five years before, Mr. Raikes, the Postmaster-General, said in the House of Commons: "I am inclined to think that it is extremely doubtful whether there would be much public advantage in establishing telephonic communication generally between those [the principal] towns" (Parl. Deb., 3d ser., cccxix, col. 664).

[830] Rep. Com., 1892, xvii, 278, sess. 1, pp. 17-18; 1895, xiii, 350, pp. 8, 34; Rep. P. G., 1896, pp. 16, 17; Rep. Com., 1898, xii, 383, pp. 35-37, 40; 1905, vii, 271, pp. 233-235; 55 and 56 Vict., c. 59, 59 and 60 Vict., c. 40; Parl. Deb., 4th ser., iii, coll. 168, 186, 196.

[831] Ibid., 4th ser., iii, coll. 166 f.

[832] Rep. Com., 1895, xiii, 350, pp. iii, 25-27, 60-62, 87, 90-91, 163, 176, 221, 223, 275, 281-82, 321-22; Parl. Deb., 4th ser., xxxi, coll. 207 f.; xlviii, coll. 463-66.

[833] Rep. Com., 1898, xii, 383, pp. iii-xiii.

[834] 62 and 63 Vict., c. 38.

[835] Parl. Deb., 4th ser., cxxiv, coll. 781-82; cxv, col. 841; cxvi, coll. 915-17.

[836] Parl. Deb., 4th ser., lxxxii, coll. 168-186; cliv, coll. 1067-68; clxiv, col. 87; London Times, 1906, July 6, p. 10; 1907, Jan. 3, p. 8; Feb. 9, p. 3; Mar. 22, p. 4.

[837] Rep. Com., 1905, vii, 271, pp. 10, 76, 79, 233-235.

[838] Acc. & P., 1902, lv, 25, pp. 4-10; Rep. Com., 1905, vii, 271, pp. 1-3, 53-54, 233-235; Parl. Deb., 4th ser., lxxxii, coll. 183; ci, coll. 1002-03; cxxxii, coll. 422.

[839] Ibid., 4th ser., ci, coll. 976-993.

[840] Acc. & P., 1905, xliv, 16, pp. 3-23; Rep. Com., 1905, vii, 271, pp. iii-xi.

[841] Rep. P. G., 1905, app., pp. 90-92; 1907, pp. 21-23, 93.

[842] Parl. Papers, 1812-13, Reports from Committees, ii, pp. 60-61.

[843] Reports from Com., 1837-38, xx, pt. r. p. 509. Before 1797, the loss on returned letters seems to have been included in the Charges of Management.

[844] First payment of tolls amounting from £16,000 to £20,000 a year. 2d Rep., app. no. 39, Rep. Com., 1837-38, xx.

[845] Three quarters only. 1st Rep., app. no. 28.

[846] 1st Rep. P. G., 1855, p. 68. 20th Rep. P. G., 1874, app., p. 46.

[847] Expenditure for sailing packets in 1858 was £935,883.

[848] Postage ceased to be charged on government departments early in 1868.

[849] 10th Rep. P. G., 1864, pp. 32-38; 18th Rep. P. G., 1872, pp. 26-27. Until 1858 revenue does not include revenue from impressed newspaper stamps nor does expenditure include cost of packet service until 1861.

[850] In 1876 the beginning of the financial year of the Post Office was changed from 1st January to 1st April.

[851] 27th Rep. P. G., 1881, app., p. 52.

[852] 37th Rep. P. G., 1891, app., p. 64.

[853] Including estimated value of services to other departments from 1891-1892 on.

[854] 47th Rep. P. G., 1901, app., p. 82.

[855] 53d Rep. P. G., 1907, p. 95.

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