SAILING PACKETS AND FOREIGN CONNECTIONS
The Irish mail service was the first to boast a regular sailing
packet.[430] The postal expenditure for the year 1598 included £130 for
a bark to carry letters and despatches between Holyhead and Dublin, and
an additional vessel was hired occasionally for the same purpose.[431]
At the beginning of the seventeenth century, Queen Elizabeth ordered
packets to be established at Milford Haven and Falmouth to ply between
England and Ireland. This order was probably temporary, being intended
to furnish a means of communication only during Essex's expedition.[432]
In 1649 the port of departure for the Irish packets was changed from
Holyhead to Portinllain in Carnarvon and at the same time the land
stages were altered to meet the new conditions.[433] Prideaux reported
the same year that the cost of these packets averaged £600 a year.[434]
[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.
In 1653 the Council of State gave orders for the revival of the old
packet service between Milford and Waterford. At the same time Chester
was substituted for Portinllain as the point of departure on the English
side, and mails were carried weekly between the two countries by the
Milford and Chester Packets.[435] The establishment of these boats was
made one of the conditions under which the post was farmed in the same
year.[436] The situation of Holyhead, however, was so much in its favour
that in 1693 a contract was signed for the conveyance of the mails
between Holyhead and Dublin. Mr. Vickers, the contractor, agreed to
maintain three packet boats for this purpose for £450 a year. He also
undertook to provide two boats for the mail service between Portpatrick
and Donaghadee. When the Scotch was separated from the English Post
Office in 1695, three packet boats came under the control of
Scotland.[437] Upon the separation of the British and Irish Posts in
1784, it was provided that each office should receive its own proportion
of the inland postage collected on letters passing between the two
countries. The packet service between the two countries continued to be
managed by the English Postmaster-General, to whom all receipts were
forwarded. In return for this they were required to pay to the Irish
Office a sum not exceeding £4000 a year. This was to be the rule until
Ireland had established packet boats of her own.[438]
[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.
The Irish Post Office, before the Act of Union, had employed boats
called wherries for the despatch of special messengers and expresses to
England. In the course of time they lost their special character and,
after 1801, were used to carry passengers and goods in opposition to the
Holyhead packets. In 1813, Lees, the Secretary of the Irish Office,
informed the London Office that these wherries would henceforth be
employed to carry the Irish mails to Holyhead. This was actually done
for six weeks and the regular packets arrived on the English side
without the mail, which was brought by boats that, as a rule, did not
arrive until after the coach had left for London. Lees may have been
obstinate and ill advised but there was no doubt that he was acting
entirely within his rights. The question then arose, should the Irish
Office receive that part of the £4000 due them while the Holyhead
packets did not carry the mails? The Postmaster-General decided that
they should, much to Freeling's disgust. Lees had obtained his object,
for two years later Parliament passed an act increasing the amount
payable to the Irish Office to £8000 a year.[439]
[439] Joyce, pp. 380-83; 55 Geo. III, c. 145.
Shortly after the Restoration, two packet boats were employed between
Deal and the Downs. They carried letters to and from the ships of the
merchant marine and the Royal Navy lying there. They also collected
letters from vessels arriving from foreign ports and brought them to the
shore whence they were transmitted by the General Post.[440] By an act
passed in 1767 the Isle of Man was for the first time supplied with a
postal service. A packet boat was to run between Whitehaven and the
Port of Douglas in the island.[441] In 1828 sixteen packet boats were
employed in carrying mails between the coast towns and to and from the
outlying islands of the United Kingdom. All of these boats were hired by
the Post Office, except those from Weymouth to Jersey and Guernsey.[442]
[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.
Early in the sixteenth century Dover was the port of departure and
arrival for letters to and from the continent, and Calais was the
distributing point on the other side, although the royal mail was
occasionally conveyed between Rye and Dieppe.[443] From Calais the
letters were carried to their destination by the English messengers to
whom they were entrusted. They took up post horses along the way, paying
for them as they proceeded, and often grumbling at the excessive charges
which were demanded.[444] Letters from abroad directed to England were
usually carried as far as Calais by foreign messengers. The foreign
Postmaster-General would then send his bill to the English
Postmaster-General for expenses so incurred.[445] Regular sailing
packets were not used to carry the mails between Dover and Calais during
the sixteenth century, but merchant vessels were employed by the Post
Office.
[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.
Witherings' appointment as Foreign Postmaster-General in 1632 was made
the occasion for a report to Sir John Coke on the foreign postal
service. The immediate cause of the report was the fact that mails had
not arrived from Germany, the Hague and Brussels. The fault was laid
upon the messengers, who were accused of "minding their own peddling
traffic more than the service of the state or the merchants, omitting
many packages, sometimes staying for the vending of their own
commodities, many times through neglect or lying in tippling houses."
The report goes on to express confidence in Witherings and in his plan
for the reform of the foreign post.[446] In 1631, thirteen messengers
were employed to carry letters to the continent: three for France; six
for Germany, Italy and the Netherlands; and four, who travelled to Paris
and other parts of France on special occasions.[447] The service which
they gave was inadequate and slow, and in 1633 the foreign post, at
Witherings' suggestion, was ordered to be conducted on the following
principles. Packet posts were to be appointed at suitable stages to run
day and night without stopping. This was the plan which was commented
upon favourably in the report to Sir John Coke. The Foreign
Postmaster-General was to take the oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy, to
have an office in London, and to give notice at what time the public
were to bring in their letters for despatch to the continent. A register
was also to be kept, in which should be enrolled the names of all
persons bringing letters, together with the names of those to whom they
were addressed. The letters themselves were placed in a packet and
locked and sealed with the Foreign Postmaster-General's seal. Letters
from abroad for ambassadors residing in England and for the Government
were to be delivered at once, after which a table of all other letters
was to be set up for every one to see and demand his own.[448]
[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.
Witherings attempted next to come to some agreement with the postal
officials of foreign countries about the despatch of letters. In Calais
he met the Countess Taxis, secretary of the Postmaster of Ghent, and she
agreed to settle stages between Antwerp and Calais. Witherings himself
established stages between London and Dover. There had always been
trouble with the boatmen who conveyed the mail between Dover and Calais.
Witherings reported that he had found a man, who for 40s. would wait for
the packet and depart with it at once, carrying nothing else. The
messengers hitherto employed between Antwerp and Calais were
dismissed.[449] The arrangement in France for the carriage of letters to
and from England was decidedly unique. Witherings obtained the
permission of the French ambassador to settle stages in France
himself.[450]
[449] Hist. MSS. Com., _Rep._, 12, app., pt. 2, p. 6.
[450] _Cal. S. P. D._, 1634-35, p. 193.
In 1644, King Charles, from his headquarters at Oxford, ordered sailing
packets to be established at Weymouth to ply between that town and
Cherbourg. This was done ostensibly for the accommodation of the
merchants in the southwest of England. James Hicks was ordered to live
in Weymouth for the purpose of exercising a general oversight over all
letters going or coming by these packets. All dues must be paid before
they were allowed to depart and the masters were accountable to him for
passage money. Postage was charged on all letters going to or coming
from any part of England except those on His Majesty's service. No
letters were to be sent from those parts of England in the hands of the
rebels.[451]
[451] _Cal. S. P. D._, 1644, pp. 6, 29.
Until 1638, Flanders was the only country with which England had come to
an agreement concerning the mutual exchange of the correspondence of
each. In that year, a similar agreement was concluded with de Nouveau,
the French Postmaster-General. All letters between England and France
were henceforth to pass through Dover, Calais, Boulogne, Abbeville, and
Amiens. Both the French and English kings ratified this agreement, and
all others were prohibited by them from infringing upon the monopolies
enjoyed by the two Postmasters-General.[452] On special occasions, of
course, both the French and English kings sent special messengers but
they were not used so often as before.[453] In 1640, the Governor of the
Merchant Adventurers was asked to give his opinion upon the question of
foreign correspondence concerning which there was considerable
dissatisfaction, especially in the case of letters sent to Flanders and
Holland. The Governor in his reply said that complaints had hitherto
been restrained because of the connection of the state with the foreign
post. He added that some time before a letter had come from the Court of
their company at Rotterdam, complaining about the overcharging of the
Company's letters. He did not care to investigate the question alone but
proposed that it be entrusted to a committee composed of two members
from each of the great companies, the Merchant Adventurers, the Turkish,
the Eastland, and the French.[454] After the Restoration, matters were
adjusted with de Nouveau and provision was made for the transmission of
letters to England twice a week.[455] At the same time an attempt was
made to reach an understanding with the burgomaster of Amsterdam and the
Dutch ambassador for the conveyance of English letters to Germany, the
East, and Italy through Holland. Bishop, the English Postmaster-General,
was accused of accepting money for making this bargain and the proposed
agreement did not materialize.[456] In 1665, Frizell was sent abroad to
talk over postal connections with de Nouveau and the Flemish
Postmaster-General, de Taxis, between whom difficulties had arisen. De
Taxis was reminded that letters from Holland for England passing through
Flanders were not treated in accordance with the agreement made between
England and Flanders.[457] The old contract was continued, for in 1693 a
bill was presented to the English Post Office by the next in order of
the House of Thurn and Taxis, referring to the former agreement. £2711
was then due to the Flemish Postmaster-General and, as the bill was
presented in the form of a petition signed by the Prince of the House
and his brothers and sisters, there was probably some difficulty
experienced in collecting it.[458] The Dutch were not satisfied with
receiving letters through Flanders, and in 1667 we find the
Postmaster-General of Holland in Harwich, arranging for a direct service
with England, which was established in the following year.[459] Letters
to and from Holland might go via Calais through France and Flanders, or
by sailing packet to Nieuport and thence through Flanders, or directly
from Harwich to Helvoetsluys. The mail for Holland left London every
Tuesday and Thursday night. The route was along the Yarmouth road as far
as Colchester and then directly to Harwich. The Harwich boats were
stopped for a short time in 1672,[460] but after William's accession
they were in such constant service that it was necessary to hire extra
boats.[461] Orders were often given to delay them until the arrival of
an express from the King and on other occasions they were hurried off
before their regular time for departure.[462]
[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.
It was agreed by a contract signed by the French and English
Postmasters-General in 1698 that the mails, as soon as they arrived in
Dover from Calais or in Calais from Dover, should be forwarded by
"express" to London and Paris respectively. This was done in England,
but in France the foreign mail continued to be sent at the regular time
of departure and, as there was only one mail a day, English letters
might have to remain in Calais for nearly twenty-four hours, if the
packet from Dover happened to be late. Cotton and Frankland remonstrated
but Mr. Pajot, the French Postmaster-General, returned no answer. The
English Postmasters-General had agreed to pay about £2500 a year to Mr.
Pajot for the conveyance of English letters through France. One or two
instalments were paid before the war broke out.[463] Nothing further was
done until after the Treaty of Utrecht, when a commission was sent to
France to negotiate a new postal agreement. Pajot refused to accept a
lump sum and declared that each letter passing through France must pay
the ordinary postage according to the French rates. Objection was taken
to this as the French rates were higher than the English, but objections
were of no avail. Pajot, who carried matters with a high hand, gained
his point. By the act of 1711, the postage for a single letter through
France to Italy was 15_d._, and by the terms of the new treaty with
France, 21 sous would have to be paid by the English Postmasters-General
for the conveyance of a letter through France.[464]
[463] Joyce, p. 77.
[464] _Ibid._, p. 139.
The withdrawal of the sailing packets between England and France in 1689
had interrupted postal communication between England and Spain, since
the regular route lay through Calais. Accordingly, packet boats were
hired to ply between Falmouth and the Groyne.[465] After the Methuen
treaty had been signed and while England and France were struggling in
the Spanish Netherlands, it was proposed to replace the old boats
between Falmouth and Lisbon by new. In 1703 a weekly packet service,
supplied by four boats, was established between England and
Portugal.[466]
[465] _Cal. S. P. D._, 1691-92, p. 97.
[466] _Cal. T. P._, 1702-07, p. 94.
At the end of the war, Cotton and Frankland contracted with Mr. Macky to
furnish five boats to carry the mails between England, France, and
Flanders for three years. In 1701, the contract was extended to five
years for £1400 a year. Macky was to provide boats and men but not
provisions and equipment. In case war broke out, the contract would
become void at once. War did break out the next year,[467] and during
the war the packet boats from Harwich to Holland were kept very busy.
They had been large boats, well manned and formidable enough to take
care of themselves in an emergency. They seem even to have become the
aggressors at times. William, himself, as was natural, felt a warm
interest in them. A stranger in a strange land, misunderstood and
personally unpopular, they were the link between him and his home. He
thought that speedier boats should be built and that when pursued they
should attempt to escape rather than stand up to their pursuers. The
government had four narrow, low boats built for purposes of speed. The
sailors complained that the new boats were so low in the water that they
were constantly being swept by the waves and they themselves were
drenched all the time. There is no doubt that William's move was in the
right direction, and the men were placated by an increase in their
wages. This could be done the more easily since the new boats were
smaller than the old and carried fewer men.[468]
[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).
At the time of the War of the Austrian Succession, the Dover packets
were supplied by a man named Pybus. He agreed to carry mails,
passengers, and expresses from Dover to Calais and Ostend. If he could
not reach the latter place by sea he was to land the mails and have them
forwarded overland. He was to receive as pay the fares of all
passengers, but so many officers and soldiers had to be transported free
that he was paid what the Treasury considered that he lost by them.[469]
A position in one of the packets was so dangerous in time of war that a
fund was provided for the widows and children of the killed and for the
support of the wounded. This was met by deducting 10_d._ a month from
the pay of each seaman.[470]
[469] _Cal. T. B. & P._, 1742-45, p.509.
[470] _Cal. T. P._, 1708-14, p. 3.
In 1803, as a war measure, packets were established between Falmouth,
Gibraltar, and Malta.[471] It was understood that the regular service to
Portugal should be discontinued at the same time. In 1812 during
Wellington's campaign in Portugal and Spain, the Post Office announced
that sailing packets would be despatched to Corunna every
fortnight.[472] From Corunna they proceeded to Lisbon before returning
to Falmouth. There was some complaint from the mercantile interests on
account of the stop at Corunna, since the merchants were more interested
in the Lisbon markets than in keeping up communication with Wellington's
army.[473]
[471] 43 Geo. III, c. 73.
[472] London _Times_, 1812, Aug. 31, p. 2.
[473] _Ibid._, 1813, Aug. 22, p. 2.
By the end of 1813, Napoleon had lost control over Europe. The Dutch had
freed themselves from French domination. On November 26th a Dutch mail
was made up at the Post Office and despatched for Harwich. The regular
packet boats were reëstablished and were ordered to land the mails at
Scheveningen, a small fishing town three miles from the Hague.[474]
Following Napoleon's expulsion to Elba, postal communications with
France were resumed. Mails were despatched from Dover four times a week,
on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, leaving London at 11 P.M.
on Tuesday and Friday and at 7 P.M. on Wednesday and Thursday.[475]
Thirteen sailing vessels were stationed at Harwich in 1828, all of them
hired permanently. Nine sailed between Harwich and Helvoetsluys, four
between Harwich and Gothenburg.[476]
[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.
The London merchants in 1837 complained that no mails were made up in
Paris for London on Wednesday and Thursday. The mails from Spain, Italy,
and Switzerland arrived in Paris on Tuesday and Friday, and Tuesday's
mails were not despatched until Friday. An arrangement was asked for by
which a daily post might be established between Paris and London. They
pointed out that there was a daily post from Paris to Calais, a daily
packet service and a daily post from Dover to London.[477] English
letters for France arrived in Dover daily at 5 A.M., except on Wednesday
and Saturday, were despatched to Calais at once and left Calais at noon
for Boulogne and Paris. On post nights,[478] letters did not leave
London until midnight, arrived in Dover at 10 A.M., and were often not
in time for the Paris mail, which left Calais at noon.[479] The two
packets between Dover and Ostend carried the mails four times a
week.[480] By virtue of a treaty with Belgium, these packets conveyed
letters both ways and the Belgium Government paid £1000 a year as its
part of the expenses. The Dover-Calais boats on the other hand carried
letters only to Calais, and not from Calais to Dover.[481] Letters from
Belgium to Dover went first to London and this held true of any letters
from Belgium to England via Dover.[482]
[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.
It was provided in 1835 that, after the Postmaster-General had entered
into an agreement with any foreign state to collect and account for the
British postage on letters sent from the United Kingdom to any such
state, it should be optional for a person sending such a letter to pay
the whole amount of postage in advance or to pay the British postage
only, as had hitherto been the custom, or to pay neither. The entire
postage on letters from abroad might also be paid in one sum and the
part due the foreign state was then handed over by the English
Postmaster-General.[483] In the following year such a treaty was
concluded with France, the English colonies also being included in the
arrangement. It was agreed that each country should account to the other
according to the method of reckoning postage of the country to which the
payment was made, a settlement to be concluded every three months.[484]
[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.
At the beginning of the eighteenth century William Dummer entered into a
contract to supply packet boats for use between England and the West
Indies. For this service Dummer provided five boats, each one of 150
tons and carrying 50 men. Each was to make three round trips a year,
thus giving fifteen sailings every twelve months from both England and
the West Indies.[485] These boats were to make Falmouth their home port,
but they often kept on to Plymouth, probably because it was a better
place to dispose of their smuggled goods.[486] Poor Dummer was
exceedingly unfortunate with his West India boats. The first one to sail
was captured on her maiden trip. The receipts did not come up to his
expectations. He had supposed that to double the receipts he had only
to double the rates, but like other men before and after him he had to
learn the effect of higher rates on correspondence.[487] In 1706 he
wrote that it was a losing contract,[488] and in the same year the
Government released him from the agreement and paid him for two of his
lost packets.[489] From a total of fourteen boats provided for the
packet service, he had lost nine. The Postmasters-General recommended
that for the future the packets should leave and arrive at Bideford,
which was less exposed to the enemies' privateers than either Falmouth
or Plymouth.[490]
[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.
After Dummer's failure, no attempt was made by the Post Office to revive
the service until 1745. In that year the Postmasters-General reported to
the Treasury in favour of regular packets between Falmouth and some port
in the West Indies. The report was agreed to, and orders were given for
two new boats to be supplied and for the two boats between Lisbon and
Gibraltar to be transferred there.[491] The agent at Falmouth was
ordered to see that each boat sailed with its full complement of men, as
the captains were accustomed to discharge some of the crew just before
sailing and pocket their wages. He was also to make sure that each of
the boats sailing from Falmouth for Lisbon, the West Indies, or North
America was British built and navigated by British seamen. He must keep
a journal, in which should be entered the time that he received and
delivered mails and expresses, how the wind and tide served, when the
boats arrived and departed, and any delay in sailing which might occur.
The captains were ordered to make returns after each voyage of the
number of men on board. The crew while on shore should receive their
accustomed wages and "victuals" and, if any were discharged, a return
was to be made of such discharge, the money due them being turned over
to the pension fund. It had become customary for the captains not to pay
the men while they were on shore and to retain the money owing them.
Finally the agent was to see that the packet boats proceeded to the
Roads the day before the mail was expected from London.[492] Packets had
already been employed to convey mails to and from Madeira and
Brazil[493] and within the next few years others were hired to ply
between Falmouth, Buenos Ayres,[494] Colombia, Mexico, San Domingo, and
Cuba, and between the British West Indies, Colombia, and Mexico.[495]
[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.
In 1815, the Postmaster-General was given permission by Act of
Parliament to establish sailing packets between the United Kingdom, the
Cape of Good Hope, Mauritius, and that part of the East Indies embraced
within the charter of the East India Company. Packet rates were also
charged for letters carried by war vessels and by vessels of the
company, but in the former case the consent of the Lords of the
Admiralty for the use of their ships had first to be obtained. Letters
to and from China must go by vessels of the company and no others. With
the consent of the Commissioners of the Treasury or any three of them,
the Postmaster-General might allow the regular sailing packets to import
and export all goods, which might legally be imported or exported, but
in the case of tea, only enough for the use of those on board should be
carried.[496]
[496] 55 Geo. III, c. 153.
When Cotton and Frankland were appointed Postmasters-General in 1691,
the following sailing packets were in commission.[497]
{Flanders, 2 boats.
Between England and {Holland, 3
{Ireland, 3
Between Scotland and Ireland, 2
At Deal for the Downs,[498] 2
In 1689, the King had ordered the boats between Dover and Calais to be
discontinued until further notice. This was done "on account of the late
discovery of treasonable designs against the Government" and the war
with France. His Majesty "preferred that all interchange of letters with
France should cease."[499]
[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 2_d._ 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.
In 1744, the sailing packets of Great Britain and Ireland, excluding
those employed in the domestic service, were as follows: four boats
between Falmouth and Lisbon, four on the Harwich station, six between
Dover and Calais or Ostend, two between Gibraltar and Lisbon, and two on
the Minorca station. The use of sailing packets to Gibraltar and Minorca
was made necessary by the war. From twenty to twenty-six additional men
were added to each of the eighteen packets as a protection against the
enemy, and the total additional yearly charge was £7045.[500] This is
one of the items which made postal expenses run so high in time of war,
to say nothing of the packets captured by the enemy. The three boats
between Dover and Calais were sent to Harwich, Helvoetsluys, and Ostend
for the time being.[501]
[500] _Cal. T. B. and P._, 1742-45, p. 518.
[501] _Ibid._, 1742-45, p. 523.
The practice of the Post Office until 1821 had been to contract for the
supply of packet boats, paying only a nominal sum for their hire and
allowing the contractors to have the receipts from passengers. In 1818 a
private company established steamboats between Holyhead and Dublin, and
the public preferred these to the sailing packets. The number of
passengers by the government packets fell off nearly one half. Something
had to be done at once, for, as the receipts from fares decreased, the
contractors clamoured for higher pay. The steamboat company offered to
carry the mails for £4 a trip and later for nothing, but the Post Office
determined to have steam packets of its own.[502] Two, built by Boulton
and Watt, under the inspection of the Navy Board, were placed on the
Holyhead station in 1821, and these, as well as those introduced later
on the other stations, were the property of the Crown.[503]
[502] _Rep. Commrs._, 1830, xiv, p. 7.
[503] _Parl. Papers_, 1822, vi, 417, pp. 117 f.
The fares by the steam packets at Holyhead were fixed at the same rates
as those charged by the company's boats and these fares were somewhat
higher than those formerly charged by the sailing packets. For instance,
the fee for a cabin passenger had been one guinea, for a horse one
guinea, and for a coach three guineas. These were now raised to £1
5_s._, £1 10_s._, and £3 5_s._ respectively. The new rates, which were
so fixed in order not to expose the company to undue competition, had
not been long enforced before the Select Committee on Irish
Communications reported against them, and the Post Office reduced them
to the old figures.[504]
[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).
In 1822 steam packets were placed on the Dover station, in 1824 they
were introduced at Milford, in 1826 at Liverpool and Portpatrick, and in
1827 at Weymouth.[505] At Liverpool also a private company had offered
to carry the mails but the offer was refused. This refusal, as well as
the refusal to accept the Holyhead Company's offer, was condemned in a
report of the Commissioners.[506] The new Liverpool packets ran from
Liverpool to Kingstown, the Holyhead packets from Holyhead to Kingstown
and Howth.[507] In 1828 the steam packets owned by the Crown numbered
eighteen. They were distributed as follows: four at Liverpool, two of
300, one of 301 and one of 327 tons, all of 140 horse power; six at
Holyhead, varying from 230 to 237 tons, all of 80 horse power; four at
Milford, varying from 189 to 237 tons, all of 80 horse power; two at
Portpatrick of 130 tons and 40 horse power; and two at Dover of 110 tons
and 50 horse power.[508] Two years later, three steam packets were added
to the Weymouth station.[509] In 1836, the Post Office had in use
twenty-six steam packets, one having been added at Liverpool, three at
Dover, and an extra one was kept for contingencies.[510]
[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.
With the exception of the Dover service for a few years, the steam
packets were always a financial loss to the Post Office. The total
disbursements for the Holyhead, Liverpool, Milford, and Portpatrick
stations from 1821 to 1829 were £681,648, the receipts for the same
period being only £250,999.[511] From 1832 to 1837 the disbursements for
all the steam packets were £396,669, receipts £180,167.[512] The Milford
boats were the least productive of any. From 1824 to 1836, the
expenditure for that station was £220,986, the receipts only £26,592.
The Commissioners had pointed out that not only was the practice of
building and owning its own boats a mistake on the part of the Post
Office, but they were very badly managed. For example, the stores for
the Holyhead station were obtained from the postmaster at Liverpool, who
invariably charged too much for them.[513] At Portpatrick the goods were
supplied and the accounts checked in a very irregular manner.[514] At
Dover the supplies were ordered by the mates, engineers, etc., as they
were needed and the bills paid by the Post Office. There was no control
over these officers, the accounts were not examined, and the bills were
not certified by the commanders. There was no proof that the goods were
even delivered. The agent, who forwarded the bills, was not a seaman nor
had he any knowledge of ships' stores.[515] At Weymouth, where there
were three steam packets for Jersey and Guernsey, conditions were
better. The agent was a practical seaman, the demands for supplies were
examined by him before being granted, and were signed by him, by the
commander, and by the engineers or whoever needed them. The
Commissioners also protested against sending the Weymouth boats so far
for repairs as Holyhead, which was the regular repair station of the
Post Office. Apart from the steam packets stationed at Holyhead,
Liverpool, Milford, Portpatrick, Weymouth, and Dover, all the other
packets employed by the Post Office were hired permanently or
temporarily.[516]
[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.
The Post Office was at no time entirely dependent upon its regular
sailing packets for the carriage of the mails. The merchant marine of
England had been increasing with her growing commerce, and provision was
made in the acts of 1657 and 1660 for the carriages of letters by
private vessels. By the latter of these acts the conveyance of letters
to foreign countries had been restricted to English ships under a
penalty of £100 for every offence. It was decided in 1671, on the
occasion of the wreck of one of the regular Irish packets, that it would
be better to use a Dutch-built ship on account of its being much more
seaworthy in the choppy swell of the Irish sea. Accordingly an
order-in-council was issued, allowing a vessel built in Holland to be
used, and providing for its naturalization.[517] By the act of 1660,
letters arriving in private vessels were to be given to the postmaster
at the port of arrival so that they might be forwarded to London to be
despatched to their destination after being charged with the postage
due. Masters of vessels were offered no inducement to deliver the
letters to the postmaster nor was any liability incurred by neglecting
to do so. The post farmers, however, agreed to pay a penny for every
letter delivered by a captain on his arrival. This was the origin of
ship letter money.[518]
[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.
No attempt had ever been made to collect postage on letters conveyed by
private ships except for the distance which such letters might be
carried by the regular posts within the kingdom.[519] In 1799 an act was
passed under the following title: "An Act for the more sure conveyance
of ship letters and for granting to His Majesty certain rates of postage
thereon." The Postmasters-General were given authority by this act to
forward letters and packages by other vessels than the sailing packets.
On letters brought in by such vessels, 4_d._ was to be charged for a
single letter and so in proportion. This was to be in addition to the
inland postage and 2_d._ was to be paid to the master for every letter
handed over by him to the Post Office. The net revenue so arising was to
be paid into the Exchequer. No postage was charged on letters carried
out of the kingdom by private vessels[520] until 1832, when permission
was given to charge packet rates. It was forbidden to send letters by
these ships except through the Post Office unless such letters concerned
only the goods on board.[521] In 1835 that part of the act of 1711
forbidding letters to be sent out of the kingdom except in British ships
was repealed.[522]
[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.
The sailing packets were ordinarily allowed to carry passengers and
freight, for which fixed rates were charged. In case of trouble with
any foreign power, the masters were generally forbidden to allow their
packets to be used as passenger boats.[523] During King William's war,
the Harwich-Helvoetsluys packets carried recruits free to the scene of
activities.[524] They had also been guilty of bringing dutiable goods
into the country and paying no duty on them. This made the customs
officials indignant, especially as the Post Office authorities would not
allow them to search the packets on their arrival. By an act passed in
1662, no ship, vessel, or boat ordinarily employed for the carriage of
letters was allowed to import or export any goods, unless permission had
been given by the customs officials, under a penalty of £100 to be paid
by the master of the offending packet boat.[525] It had been agreed
between Dummer and the Post Office that he should carry no more than
five tons of merchandise outward bound nor more than ten tons when
homeward bound. The Commissioners of the Customs in 1708 advised the
Lord High Treasurer that if he gave licences to the packet boats to
carry goods[526] it would be necessary to comply with the law and
subject the boats to searchers, rules, and penalties as the merchantmen
were. They proposed that the agreement made with Dummer be applied to
all the packets. They pointed out that if this were done, all friction
between the customs and Post Office might be avoided.[527] In 1732, the
difficulty assumed a new form over the question as to the carriage of
dutiable goods by mail. Diamonds had recently been discovered in Brazil
and they were exported to England via Spain. It had also become
customary to send fine laces by post. We, who have become used to
intolerant customs' regulations, can hardly appreciate the indignation
aroused by the desire of the customs' authorities to search the mails.
It was the rule at that time for the Controller of the Foreign Office to
lay a tax of 1 per cent upon packages which he thought had lace or
diamonds in them. The customs officials seized twenty-one parcels of
diamonds in a mail bag, coming from Lisbon in the packet _Hanover_. The
Postmasters-General were very indignant and wrote to the Treasury that
they "would not have it left to a customs' house officer to break open
the King's mail, which has never been done before."[528] Evidently the
customs officials had exceeded their authority and the matter was
compromised by the appointment of a sub-controller of the Foreign Post
Office to act under the authority of the Customs Commissioners and
receive the duties on diamonds and other jewels and precious stones
imported in the packet boats.[529] In a report of the
Postmasters-General somewhat earlier, we are informed of a payment of
£1087 made by them to the Receiver-General of the Customs. This amount
covered four fifths of the gross duty on diamonds and laces, which had
come by the sailing packets during four years, one fifth having been
deducted for postage.[530]
[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.
By a section of the act of 1784, letters or packages from abroad
suspected of containing dutiable articles were to be taken by the
postmaster to a Justice of the Peace. He was to take an oath that he
suspected that dutiable goods were contained in the letter or packet. In
the presence of the justice he was then to cut a slit two inches long in
the parcel to permit examination of the contents. If his suspicions
seemed to be confirmed he might slit the cover entirely open and if
anything dutiable were found it must be destroyed. The letter was then
forwarded to the Commissioner of the Customs in order that proceedings
might be taken against those implicated. If nothing was found, the
letter was to be sent to the person to whom it was addressed, under the
magistrate's cover, with no extra charge for postage.[531]
[531] 24 Geo. III, session 2, c. 37.
In one respect, the packet stations in England were conducted on
divergent principles. The supplies for the Harwich packets were advanced
directly by the Government through the Postmaster-General. When the War
of the Austrian Succession broke out, a treasury warrant was issued for
the supply of military stores and eight additional men for each of the
Harwich boats.[532] At Falmouth, the agent supplied all necessaries.
Neither plan was entirely free from objection. When the agent acted as
victualler he naturally tried to make as much as possible out of his
contract, and there were frequent complaints from the men on the
Falmouth boats concerning the quality and quantity of the food. At
Harwich, the drawbacks of the other method, under which the Post Office
did its own victualling, were quite as marked. No bill for provisions
represented what they had actually cost. A percentage was habitually
added to the actual cost and this percentage went into the pockets of
those by whom the goods had been ordered.[533]
[532] _Cal. T. B. & P._, 1742-45, p. 55.
[533] Joyce, pp. 95 f.
The postal abuses which came to light in 1787 were more flagrant in
connection with the packet service than in any other department of the
Post Office. The Secretary himself was not only a large owner in the
boats, but as agent he received 2-1/2 per cent of the gross total
expenditure. From 1770 to 1787, this had amounted to £1,038,133, from
which he had received over £25,000. Besides this, his salary amounted to
£1000 a year and there was an annuity of £100 attached to his office. He
had become too old to perform his duties, but instead of being
superannuated another person was appointed to assist him.[534]
[534] _Fin. Rep._, 1797, no. 7, p. 5.
The Sailors' Pension Fund was grossly mismanaged. Each sailor's monthly
contribution had been raised from 10_d._ to 2_s._ and then 3_s._ After
twenty years' service, the man who had kept up his payments was entitled
to receive £4 or £5 a year. The names of dead people were retained on
the list of pensioners, fictitious names were added, and there seems no
doubt that the agent retained the money ostensibly paid out in their
names.[535] The agent at Falmouth had a salary of £230 a year and £160
in perquisites, £100 of which were paid to the former agent's widow. The
late agent had received £430 a year in perquisites in addition to the
regular £390 less £40 for a clerk and an assistant postmaster, making
£780 in all, certainly a comfortable salary for a packet agent at that
time. The £430 was made up by an involuntary contribution of five
guineas from each of the captains of the twenty-two packet boats and the
wages of one man from each boat. The latter sum was obtained by
dismissing the men, whose wages still continued to be paid--to the
agent. Smuggling had become by no means uncommon among the Falmouth
boats, the carriage of the mails being considered of secondary
importance. They often arrived when least expected, or they might not
arrive for days at a time, although the wind and weather were
favourable.[536]
[535] _Jo. H. C._, 1787, p. 116.
[536] _Jo. H. C._, 1787, pp. 815-16.
Fares for passengers were not always collected, but a moderate payment
to the captains would ensure a passage as they were allowed to carry
their friends free and the payment readily secured the privilege
desired. The agents also profited by the sale of passes.[537] There were
more boats on the Falmouth station than necessary, and, although they
ranged in size from 150 to 300 tons, the same number of men were
employed on each. The Secretary of the Post Office, from whose report
these facts about the packets are derived, proposed that three or four
of the boats should be taken off, thus effecting a saving of £6000 or
£8000. In case it should be considered expedient to employ regular
packet boats to Quebec and Halifax, N. S., they might be placed on those
stations. No deductions were made for the hire of boats when they were
unemployed, either when being repaired or when under seizure for
smuggling.[538]
[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.
The result of these exposures was a series of reforms started in 1793.
By 1797 the Post Office was able to report that orders had been issued
forbidding any official to own a sailing packet or have a share in any
of them. Orders were given to pay the sailors regularly throughout the
whole year. The 2-1/2 per cent on all expenditure, formerly paid to the
Secretary, was abolished. Finally all salaries were henceforth to be in
lieu of every emolument.[539]
[539] _Fin. Rep._, 1797, no. 7, pp. 52-65.
In 1793, the expenses for packet boats amounted to £45,666 a year. This
was reduced in the following year to £36,940, but from 1795 expenses
began to increase, owing to losses during the war and the necessity for
placing the boats on a war footing.[540] In time of peace, a Falmouth
packet of 179 tons carried twenty-one men, including officers, at a
total expenditure for men, interest, insurance, and wear and tear, of
£1681.[541] In time of war, she carried twenty-eight men, all of whom
were paid higher wages, and other expenses were also higher, bringing
the total expenses for each packet to £2112 a year.[542] For a packet of
seventy tons the expenses during peace and war were respectively £536
and £862.[543] It is not surprising then that the cost for all the
packet boats had risen in 1796 to £77,599. The Falmouth boats were
responsible for £60,444 of this, the rest being divided amongst the
Dover, Harwich, Donaghadee, Milford, Weymouth, and Holyhead packets and
the West India schooners.[544] The salaries paid to the agents in 1796
amounted to £3412. They were stationed at Lisbon, Falmouth, Yarmouth
(instead of Harwich and Dover), Weymouth, Jamaica, Halifax, N. S., and
Quebec. In Lisbon and the colonial towns, the agents acted also as
postmasters.[545]
[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.
In 1827, all the packets sailing out of Falmouth were transferred to the
Admiralty, in spite of Freeling's protest. The question had been
discussed again and again during the war with France but why it was
decided upon at this particular time is not clear. At the time of
transfer, thirty packets were employed at Falmouth, carrying mails to
and from Lisbon, Brazil, Buenos Ayres, the Mediterranean, America, the
Leeward Isles, Jamaica, Colombia, and Mexico. In 1828, the number of
packets at Falmouth had increased to thirty-eight brigs of war and
sailing vessels and in 1833 to forty-one.[546]
[546] _Rep. Commrs._, 1830, xiv, app., no. 78; _Acc. & P._, 1834, xlix,
p. 3; Joyce, pp. 398-99.
The Admiralty had exceedingly bad luck with the Falmouth boats for the
first seven years. During that time seven of them were lost; four were
wrecked, one was supposed to have been burned, one was smashed to pieces
by icebergs, and one was captured by pirates off Rio Janeiro.[547]
[547] _Acc. & P._, 1834, xlix, p. 49. Three of the boats wrecked were on
their way to or from Halifax, N. S.
In 1837, the charge of all the packets and the powers and authorities
then existing in the Postmaster-General under any contract for the
conveyance of mails were transferred to the Admiralty by act of
Parliament.[548] The Post Office was still to retain the discretionary
power of regulating the time of departure of the packets and of
receiving the reports of the agents when the mail was delayed.[549] In
the same year, but by a later act, the Postmaster-General was authorized
to contract for the conveyance of letters by private ships between any
places whatever, but such ships must be British. The rates were to be
the same as the packet rates, but the owners, charterers, and consignees
of vessels inward bound were allowed to receive letters free to the
weight of six ounces, or twenty ounces in the case of vessels coming
from Ceylon, the East Indies, and the Cape of Good Hope.[550] For every
letter retained by the captain or any other person there was a penalty
of £10. The captain was also liable to a penalty for refusing to take
the letter bags, even when no contract had been signed.[551]
[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.
The control of the packets by the Admiralty after 1837 failed to produce
the results anticipated. The power of authorizing contracts for the
conveyance of the mails by water was actually vested in the Lords of the
Treasury upon consultation with the Postmaster-General, the Colonial
Secretary, and the Lords of the Admiralty with reference to the postal,
colonial, or nautical questions involved, but as a matter of fact these
officials did not always work in harmony. The mails continued to be
carried by private vessels or war vessels not under contract, by packets
belonging to the Crown, and by vessels under contract. Before the use of
steam vessels the Government was able as a rule to make contracts for a
short period and at comparatively little cost. Between England and the
neighbouring countries (Ireland, France, and Belgium), government steam
packets were employed. For the longer voyages it was considered
advisable to induce commercial companies to build steam vessels by
offering large subsidies for long periods. In 1853, a Parliamentary
Committee reported in condemnation of the further use of
government-owned packets on account of their expense and also of the
payments to the owners of contract vessels in excess of the actual cost
of mail carriage. They pointed out, however, that exceptions might very
well be made when for political or social reasons it seemed necessary to
carry mails to places where commercial vessels did not go, or went very
irregularly, or where high speed was desirable.[552] This report, in so
far as it condemned the use of government-owned packets and the
excessive subsidies paid to contractors, repeated the findings of an
earlier committee published in 1849, which had in addition advised that
the rule should be observed of calling for tenders in the most public
way possible.[553] In 1852, the only service performed by the government
packets was that between Dover, Calais, and Ostend. On the French
service the night mails between Dover and Calais were conveyed by
British packets and the day mails by French. Between Dover and Ostend
there was a daily service, thrice a week by British, four times by
Belgian packets. Of the six boats employed by the Admiralty, four were
kept fully manned and two were spare steamers. The receipts did not
equal the gross expenses.[554] Again in 1860, the year in which the
control of the packets was transferred to the Post Office, we find a
third Parliamentary committee repeating the recommendations of its
predecessors so far as the subsidy question was concerned. Nothing was
said about the government steamers, for in the meantime the principle of
packet ownership had been abandoned.[555]
[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.
A general review of the packet services existing at the middle of the
nineteenth century affords a very good example of the relative
importance of these different systems of communication and of the
principles on which the payment of subsidies was based. The inland
packet service of the United Kingdom included, among others, the lines
between Holyhead and Kingstown, Liverpool and the Isle of Man, Aberdeen
and Lerwick, Southampton and the Channel Isles. This formed a necessary
part of the inland postal service, and no attempt was made to meet
expenses by levying a sea-transit postage. In the case of the Isle of
Man the postage collected covered the cost of the packets and of the
land establishment of the Post Office in the island. The expenses of the
Shetland packets by themselves exceeded the postage collected, and the
Orkney postal expenses were also greater than the revenue.
The second class consisted of the packets plying between England and the
colonies or between the colonies themselves, and included the lines to
India, Australia, the Cape, the West Indies, and British North America.
This class was and is by far the most important. Three-fourths of the
whole annual subsidies paid by the Government for the packet service
were paid to three great companies, the Peninsular and Oriental, the
Royal Mail, and the Cunard Company. The first of these connected England
with India and the Orient, the second with the West Indian colonies, and
the third with the North American Provinces. The great cost involved in
subsidizing these companies was excused on the ground of absolute
necessity for a regular and rapid mail service between the mother
country and her colonies. Of the lines furnishing communications with
foreign countries, several were connected with and subsidiary to the
colonial service, as the continuation of the Cunard line to the United
States. The service to China was the most remunerative part of the
system undertaken by the Peninsular and Oriental boats, and the same may
be said of the foreign service of the Royal Mail Company. From a
commercial point of view the Continental packets were perhaps the most
important of all.[556]
[556] _Acc. & P._, 1852-53, xcv, 1660, pp. 37-43.
The first contract with an individual steamship company was made in 1840
with the famous Cunard Company providing for the conveyance of mails
between Great Britain, the United States, and Canada. In accordance with
the recommendations of various committees, attempts were made later to
place the Atlantic packet service upon a firmer financial basis so far
as the loss to the Post Office was concerned. In 1868, the contract with
the Cunard Company, which had been renewed at various times under
somewhat different conditions, came to an end. The Conservative
Government which was just going out arranged for two services a week
with the Cunard Company for £70,000, and one a week with the Inman
Company for £35,000. There was considerable opposition to the agreement
among the Liberal majority of the new Parliament, but it could not of
course be repudiated. This contract came to an end in 1876, and a
circular was addressed to the various steamship companies informing them
that the government would hereafter send the American mails by the most
efficient ships, payment to be made at the rate of 2_s._ 4_d._ a pound
for letters and 2_d._ a pound for other mail matter, those being the
rates fixed by the Postal Union Treaty and adopted by the American
Government. The Inman and White Star Companies refused at first to have
anything to do with the new system of payment, but eventually they fell
into line. The system was in operation for a year at a cost of £28,000
in place of the old charge of £105,000. The Cunard, Inman, and White
Star Companies then demanded double the previous rates on the ground
that they were conducting the service at a loss, and an agreement with
the Government was concluded for the payment of 4_s._ a pound for
letters and 4_d._ for newspapers, etc. At the same time the old
monopolistic conditions were virtually reëstablished, for rival
steamship lines were excluded from the agreement.[557]
[557] _Parl. Deb._, 3d ser., ccxxxviii, coll., 1633-36.
In 1886, the agreement with the Cunard, Inman, and White Star Lines came
to an end. The Cunard and White Star Companies then made an offer
precluding the use of the fast boats of other lines, but this was
declined. Eventually an agreement was reached at a reduced cost, which
gave the Post Office the right to send letters so directed by any other
ships than those of the White Star or Cunard Companies. The amounts to
be paid were measured by the actual weight of mail matter carried.[558]
The payments to the Peninsular and Oriental Company were based at first
entirely upon mileage covered, and reductions were made if the packets
fell below a minimum speed agreed upon. This method was later changed to
a payment based upon the amount of mail carried, and the subsidy was
substantially reduced.[559]
[558] 3_s._ a lb. for letters; 1_s._ 8_d._ 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.
A general review of the packet service in 1907 shows us that most of
the contracts for the home packets are terminable on six months' notice,
a few only on twelve months' notice. The Holyhead and Kingstown service
is exceptional, not being terminable until 1917, or on twelve months'
notice after 31st March, 1916. This is by far the most important of any
of the home systems and costs £100,000, to be reduced to £80,000 in
1917. The contract for the conveyance of mails between Dover and Calais
is terminable on twelve months' notice and cost £25,000 for the postal
year 1906-07. The payments for the use of the other boats between the
United Kingdom and Europe are comparatively small, amounting in 1906-07
to £3780 only, and all these contracts are terminable on six months'
notice. The contracts for the conveyance of the mails to the two
Americas are as a rule terminable on six or twelve months' notice, but
an exception has been made in the case of the Cunard Company with whom
and under peculiar circumstances a twenty years' agreement was made in
1902. In 1906-07 the cost of the conveyance of the mails between the
United Kingdom and North and South America was £198,488. The African
contracts are all terminable on three, six, or twelve months' notice,
and amounted in 1906-07 to £32,988. The carriage of the mails to India,
Australasia, and China for the year ending 31st March, 1907, cost
£402,162, but this has since been diminished by a reduction in the
subsidies to the Peninsular and Oriental Company and the Canadian
Pacific Railway Company.[560]
[560] _Rep. P. G._, 1907, pp. 5-6, 52-53.
The total expenditure for packet boats increased enormously after 1840,
and this increase in cost kept down the net revenue of the Post Office
for many years after the introduction of penny postage. In 1830, the
packet expenses amounted only to £108,305, in 1846, to £723,604, and in
1860, to £869,952. They reached the maximum point of £1,056,798 in 1869,
and from that time until 1890, when they were £665,375, there has been
on the whole a gradual diminution. During the year ending 31st March,
1892, they reached the sum of £701,081, for the postal year 1900-01 they
were £764,804, and during the year 1905-06 they had diminished to
£687,109.[561]
[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.