Posts of some kind or other appear to have been in extensive use, and
to have been held in high importance, by all civilized nations, from
an early period of history to the times we live in. Attempts were at
first made to carry on correspondence by the means of pigeons and
other birds, and though the attempt did not altogether fail, yet it
was never carried into extensive practice, and in the progress of time
was totally disused. The first establishment of Posts can be traced to
the times of the ancient Persians. The honour of their invention is
ascribed to Cyrus. It appears that on his conception of his Scythian
expedition, he caused certain Post-houses to be erected on all the
principal roads. These houses were a day's journey from each other;
and Cyrus employed horsemen to convey the intelligence from the army
to the first Post-house, and so to the second and third, till the end
of the Post-houses, which was at Susa. The news of his victories was
thus conveyed to his people in an almost incredible space of time. The
Greeks were also in the possession of regular posts, but we have no
data from which we can judge of the manner in which they were
conducted, who founded them, or where they were first established.
At Rome, Posts and Post-houses were established, and designated
_statores_ and _stationes_; they were founded by the senate at a very
early period of the Republic. They were at first very ill managed, the
delivery of the post being extremely irregular, and confined to the
great roads; but Augustus extended them throughout all parts of his
mighty empire, and issued commands which appointed certain days for
the delivery of the posts. At their first establishment the Posts were
carried by young men on foot, who were met by others at the appointed
post stations, but horses and chariots were substituted in their stead
by Augustus.
The earliest institution of Posts in modern times was about the year
807. Charlemagne after he had subjugated to his power Germany, Italy,
and a large part of Spain, seeing the inconvenience which the
Government suffered from the non-delivery of important despatches from
the governors of these distant parts of his dominion, caused Posts to
be established at the expense of the people; but like the majority of
the wise institutions of this warrior-statesman, shortly after his
decease, they were discontinued, and till a long period after no
traces are to be found of similar establishments. It is highly
probable that they were re-instituted in the year 1484, by Louis XI.
who employed in this department 230 couriers and messengers.
Succeeding kings instituted officers expressly to superintend the
Posts, as great abuses had crept in from time to time, but the
multiplicity of the new made officers, and the frequent changes in the
organization of the Post Office, kept the public from putting any
faith in it, and it had almost ceased to exist when some spirited
official men by organizing a new plan, and by giving a certainty to
the public of the delivery of their letters, saved it from
discontinuance.
From France the institution gradually spread over the other countries
of Europe. In Germany, which country was one of the first to adopt the
system of the French Posts were established through the influence and
at the expense of Count Taxis, who was denominated "the Patriot." The
wishes of the people caught the heart of the Emperor Matthias, who to
reward Taxis for his public spirit, gave him the office of
Post-master, and assigned it to his descendants for ever.
In England Posts appear to have been established as early as the reign
of Edward III.; but the records of them handed down to us are obscure
and uncertain. In the reign of Edward VI. they were however in full
vigour: an Act of Parliament passed in 1548, which we have now before
us, fixes the rate of postage at one penny per mile. The Posts here
referred to were only used on important occasions. James I. erected a
Post Office, which he placed under the control of Matthew de Questor;
the office was claimed by Lord Stanhope, whose claim, however, was
disallowed; but owing to the detection of de Questor in some
mal-practices, the office was given and confirmed to W. Frizee and
Thos. Witherings. In the year 1635, Charles I. erected a letter-office
for England and Scotland, which he placed under the direction of the
before-mentioned Thomas Witherings, who conducted it honourably, but
was afterwards superseded for _supposed_ abuses--a charge which was
never proved. The rate paid about that time was "twopence for a
letter, from 30 to 140 miles." The Posts then established were shortly
after extended to the principal roads of England, and were from time
to time increased, till they were spread over the kingdom, to the
great benefit of a commercial people.
The Post Office forms one of the chief branches of the revenue, and
the total received for the conveyance of letters during the last
quarter amounted to 33,000_l_.
The present arrangements of the Post Office, at least as far as they
are known, the certainty of the transmission of letters, the economy
with which it is conducted, are the theme of admiration by the nation
at large, and more particularly by foreigners.