THE POSTAL ESTABLISHMENT A SOURCE OF REVENUE TO THE STATE
1633-1711
For some time there had been dissatisfaction with the services rendered
by the inland posts. It was said that letters would arrive sooner from
Spain and Italy than from remote parts of the kingdom of England.[60]
The only alternative was to send them by express and this was not only
expensive but was not looked upon with favour by the Postmaster-General.
The five great roads from London to Edinburgh, Holyhead, Bristol,
Plymouth, and Dover were in operation. From the Edinburgh Road there
were branches to York and Carlisle, from the Dover Road to Margate,
Gravesend, and Sandwich, and from the Plymouth Road to Falmouth, but the
posts were slow and the rates for private letters uncertain.[61] In
1633, a project was advanced for the new arrangement of the Post Office.
The plan was not entirely theoretical, for an attempt was made to show
that it would prove a financial success. There were about 512 market
towns in England. It was considered that each of these would send 50
letters a week to London and as many answers would be returned. At 4_d._
a day for each letter, this would amount to £426 a week. The charge for
conveyance was estimated at £37 a week, leaving a weekly profit of £389,
from which £1500 a year for the conveyance of state letters and
despatches must be deducted. Letters on the northern road were to pay
2_d._ for a single and 4_d._ for a double letter, to Yorkshire and
Northumberland 3_d._, and to Scotland 8_d._ a letter. The postmasters in
the country were not to take any charge for a letter except one penny
for carriage to the next market town.[62] It is probable that this
project originated with Witherings. At any rate it resembles closely the
plan which was introduced by him two years later. He had already
reformed the foreign post by appointing "stafetti" from London to Dover
and through France and they had proved so efficient as to disarm the
opposition even of the London merchants. His name is without doubt the
most distinguished in the annals of the British Post Office. Convinced
that the carriage of private letters must be placed upon a secure
footing, he laid the foundation for the system of postal rates and
regulations, which continued to the time of national penny postage. He
introduced the first legal provision for the carriage of private letters
at fixed rates, greatly increased the speed of the posts, and above all
made the Post Office a financial success. In order to do this he saw
that the proceeds from private letters must go to the state and not to
the deputy postmasters.
[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.
His plan was entitled "A proposition for settling of Stafetti or pacquet
posts betwixt London and all parts of His Majesty's Dominions. The
profits to go to pay the postmasters, who now are paid by His Majesty at
a cost of £3400 per annum." A general office or counting house was to be
established in London for the reception of all letters coming to or
leaving the capital. Letters leaving London on each of the great roads
were to be enclosed in a leather "portmantle" and left at the post-towns
on the way. Letters for any of the towns off the great roads were to be
placed in smaller leather bags to be carried in the large portmantle.
These leather bags were to be left at the post-towns nearest the country
towns to which they were directed. They were then to be carried to their
destination by foot-posts to a distance of six or eight miles and for
each letter these foot-posts were to charge 2d., the same price that was
charged by the country carriers. At the same time that the foot-posts
delivered their letters, they were to collect letters to be sent to
London and carry them back to the post-town from which they had started
and there meet the portmantle on its way back from Edinburgh or Bristol
or wherever the terminus of the road might be. The speed of the posts
was to be at least 120 miles in twenty-four hours and they were to
travel day and night. He concludes his proposition by saying that no
harm would result to Stanhope by his plan "for neither Lord Stanhope nor
anie other, that ever enjoyed the Postmaster's place of England, had
any benefit of the carrying and re-carrying of the subjects'
letters."[63]
[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.
The question now was, Who was to see that these reforms were carried
out? Stanhope was not the man for so important and revolutionary an
undertaking. Witherings alone, the author of the proposition, should
carry it into effect. Sir John Coke made no mistake in constituting
himself the friend of the postal reformer. Witherings was already
Foreign Postmaster-General and in 1635 he was charged with the
reformation of the inland office on the basis of his projected scheme.
In 1637 the inland and foreign offices were again united when he was
made Foreign and Inland Postmaster-General.[64] His experiment was tried
on the Northern Road first and was exceedingly successful. Letters were
sent to Edinburgh and answers returned in six days. On the Northern Road
bye-posts were established to Lincoln, Hull and other places.[65] Orders
were given to extend the same arrangement to the other great roads, and
by 1636 his reform was in full and profitable operation.
[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.
Witherings still continued to sell the positions of the postmasters, if
we are to trust the complaints of non-successful applicants. One man
said that he offered £100 for a position but Witherings sold it to
another for £40.[66] The Postmaster at Ferrybridge asserted that he had
paid Stanhope £200 and Witherings £35 and yet now fears that he will be
ousted. Complaints of a reduction in wages were also made, and this was
a serious matter, since the postmasters no longer obtained anything from
private letters.[67] The old complaint, however, of failure to pay wages
at all is not heard under Witherings' administration. He was punctual in
his payments and held his employees to equally rigid account. Their
arrears were not excused.[68] An absentee postmaster, who hired
deputies to perform his duties, was dismissed.[69] His ambition to
establish a self-supporting postal system demanded rigid economy and
strict administration, and with the then prevailing laxity of
administrative methods, this was no mean achievement. From one
occasional practice of the Post Office, that of tampering with private
letters, he cannot perhaps wholly be absolved. It is hinted that he may
have been guilty of opening letters, but the suggestion follows that
this may have happened before they reached England, for the letters so
opened were from abroad.[70]
[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.)
In June of 1637, Coke and Windebank, the two Secretaries of State, were
appointed Postmasters-General for their lives. The surviving one was to
surrender his office to the King, who would then grant it to the
Secretaries for the time being.[71] It does not appear that Witherings
was altogether dismissed from the service, for his name continued to
appear in connection with postal affairs.[72] Windebank later urged as
reasons for the withdrawal of Witherings' patent, that he was not a
sworn officer, that there was a suspicion that his patent had been
obtained surreptitiously, and that the continental postmasters disdained
to correspond with a man of his low birth. He concludes by saying that
something may be given him, but that he is said to be worth £800 a year
in land and to have enriched himself from his position.[73] At the time
of his removal, in June, 1637, the London merchants petitioned for his
continuance in office, as he had always given them satisfaction. When
they heard who had been appointed in his stead, like loyal and fearful
subjects, they hastened to add that they thought someone else was trying
for the position but they had no doubt that it would be managed best by
the Secretaries.[74] If they thought so they were mistaken, for the
commander of the English army against Scotland found that his letters
were opened,[75] the Lord High Admiral complained that his were
delayed,[76] and Windebank promised an unknown correspondent that the
delay in his letters should be seen to at once and Witherings was the
agent chosen for the investigation.[77] This, however, was not the
worst, for only a month after Witherings had been degraded, orders were
issued to the postmasters that no packets or letters were to be sent by
post but such as should be directed "For His Majesty's Special Affairs"
and were subscribed by certain officials connected with the
Government.[78] It is fair to add that this check on private
correspondence may have been a protective measure induced by the
unsettled state of the kingdom.
[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.
In 1640 both the inland and foreign offices were sequestered into the
hands of Philip Burlamachi, a wealthy London merchant who had lent money
to the king. No reasons were given except that information had been
received "of divers abuses and misdemeanours committed by Thomas
Witherings."[79] Stanhope, who had resigned his patent in 1637, now came
forward claiming that his resignation had been unfairly obtained by the
Council, and at the same time he presented his bill for £1266, the
arrears in his salary for nineteen years.[80] In reply to his demand it
was said that shortly before he resigned he had assigned his rights in
the Post Office to the Porters, father and son. The Attorney-General
gave his opinion that whatever rights Stanhope and the Porters had, they
certainly had no claim to the proceeds from the carriage of private
letters.[81] Stanhope had offered to enter an appearance in a suit
brought against him by the Porters but now he refused to do so.[82]
Windebank was also looking out for money due to him while Coke and he
were Postmasters-General.[83] The state had indeed entered upon
troublous times and it was every man for himself before it was too late.
[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.
As long as Witherings had enjoyed the King's favour, the House of
Commons had looked upon him with suspicion. They had ordered in 1640
"that a Sub-Committee of the Committee of Grievances should be made a
House Committee to consider abuses in the inland posts, to take into
consideration the rates for letters and packets together with the abuses
of Witherings and the rest of the postmasters."[84] As soon as
Witherings was finally dismissed, the Commons took him up and
resolutions were passed that the sequestration was illegal and ought to
be repealed, that the proclamation for ousting him from his position
ought not to be put into execution, and that he ought to be restored to
his old position and be paid the mean profits which had been received
since his nominal dismissal.[85] Protected by the authority of the House
of Commons, Witherings continued to act as Postmaster-General.[86]
Windebank, in Paris, was trying to collect evidence against him through
Frizell, who, he said, had been forced out of his position by Witherings
and Coke.[87] Coke himself was in disgrace and could do nothing.
Parliament was now supreme. Witherings was ordered to send to a
Committee of the Lords, acting with Sir Henry Vane, all letters coming
into or going out of the kingdom for examination and search. Frequent
orders to the same effect followed during the turbulent summer and
autumn of 1641.[88] Among other letters opened were those of the
Venetian Ambassador in England. He was so indignant that a Committee of
the Lords was sent to him to ask his pardon.[89] The two Houses of
Parliament united in condemning the sequestration to Burlamachi, but
Witherings, who had become tired of the strife, assigned his position to
the Earl of Warwick.[90] The Earl was supported by both Houses, but the
Lower House played a double part, for, while openly supporting Warwick,
they now secretly favoured Burlamachi, who had found an influential
friend in Edmund Prideaux, former chairman of the committee appointed to
investigate the condition of the posts and later Attorney-General under
the Commonwealth.[91] Prideaux was a strong Parliamentarian, but was
distrusted even by his own friends. But for the time being, as the
representative of the Commons, he was supported by them. The messenger
of the Upper House made oath that he had delivered the Commons'
resolution to Burlamachi, commanding him to hand over the Inland Letter
Office to Warwick, but James Hicks had presented an order at the place
appointed by Warwick for receiving letters, to deliver all letters to
Prideaux. Burlamachi on being summoned before the Lords for contempt
said that Prideaux had hired his house and now had charge of the mails.
The fight went merrily on. Two servants of Warwick seized the Holyhead
letters from Hicks, but were in turn stopped by five troopers, agents of
Prideaux, who took the letters from them by order of the House of
Commons. Prideaux also seized the Chester and Plymouth letters, one of
his servants calling out "that an order of the House of Commons ought to
be obeyed before an order of the House of Lords."[92] Hicks, who had
been arrested by order of the Lords, was liberated by the Commons as a
servant of a member of Parliament.[93] As between Lords and Commons,
there could be no doubt as to which side would carry the day, and by the
end of 1642 the Lower House was triumphant all along the line.
Understanding that discretion was the better part of valour, the Lords
freed Burlamachi and dropped the contest. Warwick now petitioned the
Lords again, setting forth that he was the legal successor and assignee
of Witherings. Stanhope put in a counter-petition to the effect that
Witherings never had any right to the position which Warwick now
claimed. The House of Lords felt its own weakness too much to interfere
directly, but ordered the whole matter to trial.[94] Besides Stanhope
and Warwick, the following put in claims before the Council of State:
Henry Robinson, through the Porters, to whom Stanhope had assigned; Sir
David Watkins in trust for Thomas Witherings, Jr., for the foreign
office; Moore and Jessop through Watkins and Walter Warde. Billingsley
also, the old Postmaster of the Merchant Adventurers, made a claim for
the foreign office.[95]
[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.
The confusion in postal administration which naturally resulted from the
struggle among the rival claimants was increased by the Civil War. In
1643 the Royal Court was moved to Oxford. The Secretaries of State
acting as Postmasters-General sent James Hicks, the quondam servant of
Prideaux, to collect arrears from the postmasters due to the Letter
Office. In addition to collecting the money due, he was to require all
postmasters on the road to Coventry to convey to and from the Court all
letters and packets on His Majesty's service, to establish new stages,
to forward the names of those willing to supply horses and guides, and
to report those postmasters who were disobedient or disloyal.[96] During
the most desperate period of the royal cause Hicks acted as special
messenger for the King, and apparently had some exciting experiences in
carrying the letters of his royal master. He lived to enjoy his reward
when the second Charles had come to his own. Parliament, in the
meantime, was establishing its control over the posts and reorganizing
the service. In the early period of Parliamentary government, postal
affairs were as a rule looked after by what was known as the "Committee
of Both Kingdoms," and the orders which it issued were necessarily based
upon political conditions. Later the Postmaster-General acted under the
Council of State or under Cromwell himself. In 1644 the House of Commons
issued an order that protection should be granted to the postmasters
between London and Hull, to their servants, horses and goods.[97] The
fact that it was necessary to re-settle posts on the old established
London-Berwick road shows how demoralized conditions had been during the
conflict.[98] Many of the loyal postmasters were dismissed. Their
lukewarm conduct in supplying the messengers of the Commonwealth with
horses produced a reprimand from the Committee and a sharp warning from
Prideaux.[99] Posts were settled from London to Lyme Regis for better
communication with the southwestern counties. In 1644 Edmund Prideaux
was formally appointed Postmaster-General.[100] He was allowed to use as
his office part of the building occupied by the Committee of Accounts,
formerly the house of a London alderman.[101] As long as the war
continued it was necessary that a close watch should be kept over
letters passing by post. Many of the new postmasters were military men
and in addition others were appointed in each town under the heading of
"persons to give intelligence."[102] With the return of normal
conditions after 1649 Prideaux was ordered by the Council of State to
make arrangements for establishing posts all over England as in the
peaceful days before the war.[103] His report of the same year to the
Council of State indicates the successful fulfilment of his
instructions. He said that he had established a weekly conveyance of
letters to all parts of the Commonwealth and that with the receipts from
private letters he had paid all the postmasters except those on the
Dover road.[104]
[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.
For the safety of the Commonwealth it was often found necessary to
search the letters. Sometimes the posts were stopped and all the letters
examined. When this was done, it was by order of the Council of State,
which appointed certain officials to go through the correspondence.[105]
Sir Kenelm Digby, writing to Lord Conway from Calais, asks him to direct
his letters to that place, where they would find him, "if no curious
overseer of the packets at the post break them open for the
superscription's sake."[106] The Commonwealth did openly and is
consequently blamed for what had been done more or less secretly by the
Royal Government.
[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.
In 1651 the first proposal for farming the Post Office was submitted to
the Council of State. The Council reported the question to Parliament
but there is no evidence as to their attitude on the question at that
time.[107] The next year Parliament ordered that the question of
management, whether by contract or otherwise, should be re-committed to
the Council,[108] and in 1653 it was decided that it would be better to
let the posts out to farm. Prideaux had been quietly dropped by the
Council after making, as it was reported, a large fortune. When we
remember that under his management there was an annual deficit of £600
besides the expenses of the Dover road and that in 1653 there was a net
revenue of £10,000, it seems probable that there is some truth in the
report. The conditions upon which the Post Office was farmed, were as
follows:--
The farmers must be men of stability and good credit and must be
selected from those contracting. Official letters and letters from and
to members of Parliament must be carried free. All postage rates must be
fixed by the Council and not changed without its consent. Finally all
postmasters should be approved by the Council and Lord Protector.[109]
[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.
The policy of the Commonwealth in letting the posts out to farm had much
in its favour. The evil usually resulting from farming is the temptation
and the opportunity it offers for extortion from the people. But in the
case of the posts no oppression was possible, for the farmer was limited
in his charge to the rate fixed by the Government. More than this,
private control over the post office business afforded what was most
needed at the time, greater economy and stricter supervision over the
deputy postmasters. It was upon the deputy postmasters alone that the
farming system might exercise undue pressure, but from them there was no
complaint of the withholding or reduction of wages until after
Cromwell's death.[110]
[110] _Cal. S. P. D._, 1658-59, p. 371.
John Manley was appointed "Farmer of the Posts" for two years at a
yearly rent of £10,000. There were at least four higher tenders than
his, and Manley contracted only for £8259. It was hinted that Manley and
the Council had come to a private agreement concerning the rent to be
paid.[111] In his orders to the postmasters, Manley requested them to
take particular care of government packets and to see that no one was
allowed to ride in post unless by special warrant. All letters should be
counted by them and the number certified in London. They were to keep a
sharp eye upon people, especially travellers, and report any discontent
or disaffection.[112] In 1654 Manley's title of Postmaster-General was
confirmed by act of Parliament, the first act dealing directly with
postal affairs.[113] He was unsuccessful in having his franchise
extended beyond the original two years, and by order of the Council of
State the management of the Posts was entrusted to Mr. Thurloe,
Secretary of State, for £10,000 a year, the same amount which Manley had
paid.[114]
[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.
Shortly after Thurloe had been appointed Postmaster-General, general
orders were issued by Cromwell to all the postmasters. He forbade them
to send by express any letters or packets except those sent by certain
officials on affairs of state, all others to await the regular time for
the departure of the mails. The old regulations for providing mail-bags,
registration of the time of reception, and the like were repeated. The
number of mails to and from London was increased from one to three a
week each way, and to ensure higher speed, each postmaster was to
provide a horse ready saddled and was not to detain the mail longer than
half an hour under any consideration. He was ordered to deliver all
letters in the country at or near his stage and was to collect the
postage marked on the letter unless it was postpaid. The money so
collected was to be returned to London every three months.[115]
[115] _Ibid._, 1655, pp. 285 f.
In 1657 the first act of Parliament was passed which fixed rates for the
conveyance of letters and established the system for the British
Islands. The preamble stated: "That whereas it hath been found by
experience that the writing and settling of one General Post Office ...
is the best means not only to maintain certain intercourse of trade and
commerce betwixt all the said places to the great benefit of the people
of these nations, but also to convey the public despatches and to
discover and prevent many dangerous and wicked designs, which have been
and are daily continued against the peace and welfare of this
Commonwealth," it is enacted that there shall be one General Post Office
called the Post Office of England, and one Postmaster-General nominated
and appointed by the Protector for life or for a term of years not
exceeding eleven.[116] In accordance with the terms of this act, Thurloe
was appointed by Cromwell and continued to act as Postmaster-General
until the downfall of the Commonwealth.[117]
[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.
After the Restoration most of the old claimants to the Post Office came
to the front again. Stanhope besieged King and Parliament for
restoration to his old place. He seems to have received some
compensation, which he deserved for his pertinacity if for nothing else.
The Porters were up in arms at once, for he had promised them to come to
no agreement until they were satisfied.[118] The two daughters of
Burlamachi pleaded for some mark of favour, on the ground that their
father had ruined himself for the late King. Frizell was still very much
alive, and a nephew of Witherings carried on the family feud.[119] In
the meantime James Hicks was employed by the Secretary of State to
ascertain how many of the old deputy postmasters were still eligible for
positions. He reported that many of them were dead and that many of
those who were applying for positions had been enemies of the King. For
the time being it was decided that the present officials should remain
in office until a settlement should be made.[120]
[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.
Henry Bishop was appointed by royal patent Postmaster-General of England
for seven years at a rent of £21,500 a year. The King agreed to persuade
Parliament to pass an act[121] settling the rates and terms under which
Bishop was to exercise his duties. For the time being he was to charge
the same rates as those in the "pretended Act of 1657," to defray all
postal expenses and to carry free all public letters and letters of
members of Parliament during the present session. He agreed also to
allow the Secretaries to examine letters and not to change old routes or
set up new without their consent. He was to dismiss all officials whom
they should object to on reasonable grounds. If his income should be
lessened by war or plague or if this grant should prove ineffectual, the
Secretaries agreed to allow such abatement in his farm as should seem
reasonable to them.[122] Bishop's régime does not seem to have been
popular with the postmasters, for a petition in behalf of 300 of them,
representing themselves to be "all the postmasters in England, Scotland,
and Ireland," was presented to Parliament in protest against the
Postmaster-General's actions. They describe how Cromwell had let the
Post Office out to farm. They credit him with respecting their rights
and paying their wages. Lately, however, Bishop had been appointed
farmer, and unless they submitted to his orders, they were dismissed at
once. He had decreased their wages by more than one half, made them pay
for their places again, and demanded bonds from them that they should
not disclose any of these things.[123]
[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.
In 1633, Bishop resigned his grant to Daniel O'Neale for £8000. O'Neale
offered £2000 and, in addition, promised £1000 a year, during the lease,
to Bennet, Secretary of State, if he would have the assignment
confirmed. He explained that this would not injure the Duke of York's
interest, who could expect no increase until the expiration of the
original contract, which still had four years and a quarter to run.[124]
This refers to an act of Parliament which had just been passed, settling
the £21,500 post revenue upon the Duke of York and his male heirs,[125]
with the exception of some £5000 which had been assigned by the King to
his mistresses and favourites. O'Neale having died before his lease
expired, his wife, the Countess of Chesterfield, performed his duties
until 1667.[126]
[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.
According to the grant made to O'Neale in 1663 no postmaster nor any
other person except the one to whom it was directed or returned was to
open any letter unless ordered so to do by an express warrant from one
of the Secretaries of State. If any letter was overcharged, the excess
was to be returned to the person to whom it was directed. Nothing was
said about letters which were lost or stolen in the post. A certain John
Pawlett complained that of sixteen letters which he had posted not one
was ever delivered in London although the postage was prepaid.[127]
Letters not prepaid were stamped with the postage due in the London
Office when they were sent from London. Letters sent to London were
charged by the receiving postmaster in the country and the charge
verified at the London Office. An account was kept there of the amounts
due and the postmasters were debited with them, less the sum for letters
not delivered, which had also to be returned for verification.[128] All
this meant losses to the postal revenue, but compulsory prepayment would
have been impracticable at the time. The postmasters had nothing to gain
by retaining letters not prepaid, but by neglecting to forward prepaid
letters, they could keep the whole of the postage, for stamps were
unknown. An incentive to the delivery of letters was provided by the
penny payment which it was customary to give the postmasters for each
letter delivered, over and above the regular postage. The postmasters
were required to remit the postage collected to London every month and
give bonds for the performance of their duties.[129]
[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.
The postal service was very much demoralized by the plague in 1665 and
1666 and the great fire which followed. Hicks, the clerk, said that the
gains during this time would be very small. To prevent contagion the
building was so "fumed" that they could hardly see each other.[130] The
letters were aired over vinegar or in front of large fires and Hicks
remarks that had the pestilence been carried by letters they would have
been dead long ago. While the plague was still dangerous, the King's
letters were not allowed to pass through London.[131] After the fire
the headquarters of the Post-Office in London were removed to Gresham
College.
[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.
When O'Neale's lease had expired in 1667, Lord Arlington, Secretary of
State, was appointed Postmaster-General.[132] The real head was Sir John
Bennet, with whom Hicks was entirely out of sympathy. He accused Bennet
of "scurviness" and condemned the changes initiated by him. These
changes were in the shape of reductions in wages. The postmasters'
salaries were to be reduced from £40 to £20 a year. In the London
Office, the wages of the carriers and porters were also to be
reduced.[133]
[132] _Cal. S. P. D._, 1665-66, p. 573.
[133] _Ibid._, 1667, p. 260.
At the close of the seventeenth century there were forty-nine men
employed in the Inland Department of the Post Office in London. The
Postmaster-General, or Controller as he was sometimes called, was
nominally responsible for the whole management although the accountant
and treasurer were more or less independent. Then there were eight
clerks of the roads. They had charge of the mails coming and going on
the six great roads to Holyhead, Bristol, Plymouth, Edinburgh, Yarmouth,
and Dover. The old veteran Hicks had been at their head until his
resignation in 1670. The General Post Office building was in Lombard
Street.[134] Letters might be posted there or at the receiving stations
at Westminster, Charing Cross, Pall Mall, Covent Garden, and the Inns of
Court. From these stations, letters were despatched to the General
Office twice on mail nights. For this work thirty-two letter carriers
were employed, but they did not deliver letters as their namesakes now
do. The mails left London for all parts of the country on Tuesday,
Thursday, and Saturday late at night or early the next morning. On these
days all officials had to attend at 6 P.M. and were generally at work
all night. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday when the mails arrived from
all parts of England they had to be on hand at 4 or 5 A.M. The postage
to be paid was stamped on the letters by the clerks of the roads. In
addition three sorters and three window-men were employed. The
window-men were the officials who stood at the window to receive the
letters handed in and to collect postage when it was prepaid. Then
there were an alphabet-man, who posted the names of merchants for whom
letters had arrived, a sorter of paid letters, and a clerk of undertaxed
letters.[135] In the Foreign Office, there were a controller, two
sorters, an alphabet-man, and eight letter receivers, of whom two were
women. In addition the Foreign Office had a rebate man who saw that
overcharged letters were corrected. Both offices seem to have shared the
carriers in common.[136]
[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.
Before 1680 there was no post between one part of London and another. A
Londoner having a letter for delivery had either to take it himself or
send it by a special messenger. The houses were not numbered and were
generally recognized by the signs they bore or their nearness to some
public building. Such was the condition in the metropolis when William
Dockwra organized his London Penny Post. On the first of April, 1680,
London found itself in possession of a postal system which in some
respects was superior to that of to-day. In the Penny Post Office as so
established there were employed a controller, an accountant, a receiver,
thirteen clerks in the six offices, and about a hundred messengers to
collect and deliver letters. The six offices were:--
The General Office in Star Court, Cornhill;
St. Paul's Office in Queen's Head Alley, Newgate Street;
Temple Office in Colchester Rents in Chancery Lane;
Westminster Office, St. Martin's Lane;
Southwark Office near St. Mary Overy's Church;
Hermitage Office in Swedeland Court, East Smithfield.
There were in all about 179 places in London where letters might be
posted. Shops and coffee-houses were used for this purpose in addition
to the six offices, and in almost every street a table might be seen at
some door or shop-window bearing in large letters the sign "Penny Post
Letters and Parcels are taken in here." From these places letters were
collected every hour and taken to the six main receiving-houses. There
they were sorted and stamped by the thirteen clerks. The same messengers
carried them from the receiving-houses to the people to whom they were
addressed. There were four deliveries a day to most parts of the city
and six or eight to the business centres.
The postage fee for all letters or parcels to be delivered within the
bills of mortality was one penny, payable in advance. The penny rate was
uniform for all letters and parcels up to one pound in weight, which was
the maximum allowed. Articles or money to the value of £10 might be sent
and the penny payment insured their safe delivery. There was a daily
delivery to places ten or fifteen miles from London and there was also a
daily collection for such places. The charge of one penny in such cases
paid only for conveyance to the post-house and an additional penny was
paid on delivery. From such places to London, however, only one penny
was demanded and there was no fee for delivery. The carriers in London
travelled on foot, but in some of the neighbouring towns they rode on
horseback.[137]
[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.
Dockwra is credited with being the first to make use of post-marks. All
letters were stamped at the six principal receiving-offices with the
name of the receiving-office and the hour of their reception. For
instance, we have samples of letters post-marked thus:
[Illustration]
The first figure shows that they were Penny Post letters and that they
were prepaid. The "W" in the centre is the initial letter of the
receiving-office, Westminster. The second figure shows the hour of
arrival at the Westminster office, 9 A.M. The earliest instance of these
marks is on a letter dated Dec. 9, 1681, written by the Bishop of London
to the Lord Mayor.[138]
[138] _Notes and Queries_, ser. 6, xi, p. 153; Hist. MSS. Com., _Rep._,
10, app. 4, pp. 125, 132; Joyce, p. 38.
Whenever letters came from any part of the world by the General Post,
directed to persons in London or in any of the towns where the Penny
Post carriers went, they were handed over to these carriers to be
delivered. In the same way, letters directed to any part of the world
might be left at any of the receiving-offices of the Penny Post to be
carried by its messengers to the General Office. This must have
increased greatly the number of letters carried by the General Post. In
the case of letters arriving by the General and delivered by the Penny
Post, the postage was paid on delivery.[139] Over two hundred and thirty
years ago then, London had for a time a system of postal delivery not
only unrivalled until a short time ago, but in the matter of parcel
rates and insurance not yet equalled.
[139] DeLaune, _Present State of London_, 1681, p. 345.
What was Dockwra's reward for the boon which he had conferred? He
himself says that it had been undertaken at his sole charge and had cost
him £10,000. It had not paid for the first few months, and the friends
who had associated themselves with him fell away.[140] As long as it
produced no surplus, Dockwra was left to do as he pleased, for the
General Post was gaining indirectly from it. As soon as it began to pay,
the Duke of York cast his eye on it. In 1683 an action was brought
against Dockwra for infringing upon the prerogative of His Royal
Highness, and the Duke won the case. The Penny Post was incorporated in
the General Post soon after.[141] After William and Mary had come to the
throne, Dockwra was given a pension of £500 a year for seven years. At
the end of that time he was appointed manager of the Penny Post
Department of the General Post and his pension was continued for three
years longer. In 1700 he was dismissed, charged with "forbidding the
taking in of band-boxes (unless very small) and all parcels above one
pound in weight, with stopping parcels, and opening and detaining
letters."[142] Such was Dockwra's reward and such had been Witherings'.
He who would reform the Post Office must be prepared to take his
official life in his hands.
[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.
The transition between two reigns was usually a period of unrest and
disquietude, and the Revolution which resulted in the expulsion of James
was naturally accompanied by internal disorder. For a time the posts
suffered quite severely. The Irish and Scotch mails were robbed several
times and not even the "Black Box" escaped. This was the box in which
were carried the despatches between Scotland and the Secretaries of
State, the use of which was not discontinued until after the accession
of the new King and Queen. After 1693 each Secretary was to send and
receive his own despatches separately and all expenses were to be met
from the proceeds of the London-Berwick post.[143] Major Wildman had
been appointed to the oversight of the Post Office, but held office for
a few months only, being succeeded in 1691 by Cotton and Frankland. The
Postmasters-General were henceforth to act under the Lords of the
Treasury.[144]
[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.
Important improvements in the frequency and extension of postal
communication were inaugurated under the management of Cotton and
Frankland. It was, however, for the extension of the foreign postal
service and for that to Ireland and the plantations that their
administration is most notable.
On Monday and Thursday letters went to France, Italy, and Spain, on
Monday and Friday to the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, and Denmark. On
Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, mails left for all parts of England,
Scotland, and Ireland, and there was a daily post to Kent and the Downs.
Letters arrived in London from all parts of England, Scotland, and
Ireland on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, from Wales every Monday and
from Kent and the Downs every day. Besides the establishment of the
General Post in London, there were about 200 deputy postmasters employed
in England and Scotland.[145] The Irish Post was supervised from London
and during the Irish war its headquarters in Ireland were transferred
from Dublin to Belfast. It was directly managed by a Deputy
Postmaster-General, aided by ten or a dozen officials and clerks. The
net receipts were sent to England and the books were audited by a deputy
sent over by the Auditor-General of the English Post.[146]
[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.
The Scotch Post Office was not in so good condition as the Irish. The
time when every Scotchman could read and write was yet very far distant.
The only post road of any importance was from Edinburgh to Berwick and
this had been established by the English. For many years the vast
majority of letters travelling over this road were official despatches.
After the crowns of England and Scotland were united, it was necessary
for the English Government to keep in close touch with Scotland and
"Black Box" made frequent journeys between the two countries. The canny
people in the north had discovered a rich country to the south waiting
to be exploited, and the post horses between Edinburgh and London were
kept busy carrying the lean and hungry northern folk to the land of milk
and honey. Until 1695 the English and Scotch Post Offices had been
united under the English Postmaster-General with an Edinburgh deputy;
but by the Scotch act of 1695 the Post Office of Scotland was separated
from that of England. The terms of this act were much the same as those
of the English act of 1660, although the rates established were somewhat
higher. There was to be a Postmaster-General living in Edinburgh, who
was to have the monopoly of carrying all letters and packets where posts
were settled.[147]
[147] _Acts of Parliament of Scotland_, ix., pp. 417-419 (5 Wm. III).
The first proposal for a postal establishment in the American colonies
came from New England in 1638. The reason given was that a post office
was "so useful and absolutely necessary."[148] Nothing was done by the
home government until fifty years later when a proclamation was issued,
ordering letter offices to be settled in convenient places on the North
American continent. Rates were established for the continental colonies
and Jamaica.[149] In 1691, acting upon a report of the Governors of the
Post-Office, the Lords of Trade and Plantations granted a patent to
Thomas Neale to establish post offices in North America. About the same
time an act was passed by the Colony of Massachusetts appointing Andrew
Hamilton Postmaster-General. The Lords of Trade and Plantations called
attention to the fact that this act was not subject to the patent
granted to Neale. Matters were adjusted by Neale himself, who appointed
Hamilton his deputy in North America.[150] In 1699 a report was made by
Cotton and Frankland to the Lords of the Treasury based on a memorial
from Neale and Hamilton. The latter had established a regular weekly
post between Boston and New York and from New York to Newcastle in
Pennsylvania. The receipts had increased every year and now covered all
expenses except Hamilton's own salary, £200. Postmasters had been
appointed in New York and Philadelphia, Hamilton himself being in
Boston. The New York postmaster received a salary of £20 with an
additional £90 for carrying the mail half-way to Boston. The
Philadelphia postmaster was paid £10 a year.[151]
[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.
The business of the Post Office was rapidly increasing. The same decade
that saw the establishment of the Board of Trade witnessed also the
organization of the Colonial Post. The expansion of English
commerce[152] necessarily reacted on communications both internal and
foreign, while the linking of the country posts with the general system
and the stimulus given by the London Penny Post showed itself in the
increased postal revenue.[153] The way was prepared for the great
expansion of the following century, an expansion turned to account as a
source of taxation.
[152] Macpherson, _Annals of Commerce_, ii, 707.
[153] See Appendix: Tables I, II.