United Kingdom

In England, letters containing samples and patterns were from the first establishment of the Post Office charged with double postage. In 1753, arising out of the general dissatisfaction with the Post Office felt at that time by the trading public, the legality of the double charge was contested. Merchants, while admitting that any letter containing a pattern or sample which should weigh as much as an ounce must pay at the ounce rate, contended that, if weighing less than an ounce, the letter should be charged according to the number of sheets of paper, and that the pattern which was enclosed should be ignored.[492] The Act of the 9th of Anne prescribed the postage on "every single letter or piece of paper" not of the weight of one ounce, and prescribed that "a double letter" should pay double

rate.[493] The contention of the merchants was that the enclosure of a pattern or sample did not convert a single letter into a double letter, and that to constitute a double letter there must be a second sheet of paper—a contention which is sound enough if postage be regarded as a tax on communications and not as a mere charge for the conveyance of a packet. At Bristol, Manchester, and Gloucester, legal proceedings were taken against local postmasters for demanding and receiving more than the legal postage. In each case a special verdict, in almost identical terms, was given, and the Postmasters-General were advised by the Attorney-General that the decision was likely to go against the Crown if they brought up one of the verdicts for argument. In their difficulty they resorted to Parliament, and obtained specific statutory authority for an additional charge in respect of patterns and samples.[494]

This state of affairs continued until 1795, when samples were given a definite statutory privilege. Under an Act of that year it was provided that a packet of patterns or samples might pass as a single letter on condition that it did not exceed 1 ounce in weight, that it was open at the sides, and that it contained no writing other than the name and address of the sender and the price.[495] This privilege was continued by the Act of 1801.[496] In 1805 an additional penny was charged on all such packets.[497] In 1812 a further addition to the postage was made, viz. an addition of 2d. for every "letter, packet, or cover not exceeding an ounce in weight" and containing a pattern or sample, if "closed or not open at the sides," or an addition of 1d. if

open at the sides.[498] By the consolidating Act of 1837 it was provided that packets or covers containing patterns or samples and not exceeding an ounce in weight, if open at the sides and without any "letter or writing in, upon, or within such packet or cover," other than the name and address of the sender and the price, should be charged as single letters, but "letters not open at the sides containing patterns or samples and not exceeding 1 ounce in weight" were to be charged as double letters.[499] In 1839 the Treasury were empowered to fix rates of postage for all letters by weight,[500] and in 1840 rates of postage, charged according to weight alone, "without reference to the number of sheets or pieces of paper, or enclosures," were legalized.[501] This Act contained no special provision in respect of packets containing samples or patterns.

On the 1st October 1863, with the declared object of benefiting trade and commerce by affording facilities for the cheap transmission of bona fide trade patterns and samples of merchandise throughout the country, an "Inland Pattern and Sample Post" was established. Since the Post Office, and the Post Office alone, had the means of conveying such articles at a moderate rate of charge to and from all parts of the country, including even the most remote, it was thought some special concession ought to be made. The privilege was, however, restricted within narrow limits, as it was feared that a large increase in the number of moderately heavy packets would impede the work of the Post Office. It would, moreover, seriously affect the amount of the payments to railway companies for the conveyance of mails, a matter of grave anxiety to the Post Office at that time.[502] The privilege was therefore restricted to genuine samples, and no article of intrinsic value might be sent at the reduced rate.

The original rates were:—

Under4ounces3d.
"8"6d.
"16"1s. 0d.
"24"1s. 6d.

The computations of the financial effects of the rates were made—as was usual in such cases—by estimating the effect on the gross revenue, taking into account the probable increase in the number of packets, and estimating also what additional expense would be incurred in dealing with the additional traffic.[503] The main financial principle seems to have been that as the letter rate was enormously profitable, a reduced rate for a comparatively small volume of traffic could be given without involving actual loss, and without any serious result on the net revenue.

In 1864 the rates were reduced by one-third. In 1865 the exclusion of articles of intrinsic value was abandoned; but there was no relaxation of the essential condition that the articles must be bona fide samples. In 1866 there was a further slight modification of the rates. The number of packets sent at the privileged rate increased from half a million in 1864 to a million in 1865, and by 1868 the number had reached three millions.

The facilities afforded by this post were taken advantage of to a large extent for the forwarding of small packets of goods on sale or in execution of an order. It was estimated that at least half the packets were not genuine samples at all, but contained goods of this kind; and the definite restriction of the post to its original purpose of carrying trade samples and patterns was deemed necessary. This was provided for in the Act of 1870, the rate of postage being at the same time reduced to ½d. for every 2 ounces.

The enforcement of the restriction gave rise to considerable public dissatisfaction. It was apparent that fairly general use had been made of the sample post for the transmission of small parcels of all kinds of goods. Many persons living in remote parts of the country were in the habit of obtaining supplies of goods of various kinds by this means; and it was alleged that by the facilities afforded by this post some industries, such as lace-making, were actually created in certain districts, or at any rate were greatly helped. The post was also much used for the sending of small personal gifts.

Public agitation against the restriction became so strong

that the postal authorities, although apparently holding the view that a general parcel post was indefensible in principle, became fearful that, unless the public were given some concession on this point, an attack might be made on the 1d. rate for ordinary letters. Such an attack, if successful, would of course have been fatal to Post Office revenue. It was proposed, therefore, to make definite provision for the transmission by post at low rates of postage of small packets containing articles other than samples. A rate for small parcels, whatever the contents, would at the same time remove the difficult and unsatisfactory task of deciding what was or was not a sample or pattern. These objects might be secured by a general reduction of the rates for inland letters; and this course was ultimately adopted, after some hesitation from fear of the effect on the revenue. The rates on the heavier inland letters were accordingly reduced by Treasury Warrant of 16th August 1871, and the sample post at the same time abolished.[504]

In the early 'eighties there was a strong demand from the public for the re-establishment of the sample post. The advantage to trade was emphasized, and attention was called to the existence of a privileged rate for samples on the Continent and in the international service. The existence of a low sample rate in the international service led, indeed, to a curious development. As samples which, if posted in this country, would be charged 2d., could be posted on the Continent for foreign transmission at a charge of 1d., several firms in England were in the habit of sending large numbers of sample packets in bulk to Belgium, where they were posted at the 1d. rate addressed to places in England. The result of this manœuvre was that, instead of receiving the inland postage of 2d. for these packets, the British Post Office performed practically the same service in respect of

them as if they had been posted in England, but received nothing, since under the Postal Convention the whole of the postage on foreign letters is retained by the country of origin. It was estimated that there was in this way a loss to revenue of £1,000 a year.

It was in great part the existence of this anomaly which led to the re-establishment of the sample post in 1887. No exact estimate was made of the cost of dealing with sample packets, but the authorities stated that the rates proposed, viz. under 4 ounces 1d., over 4 ounces and under 6 ounces 1½d., and over 6 ounces and under 8 ounces 2d. (8 ounces to be the maximum weight), would be remunerative, and that any immediate loss to revenue in consequence of the reduction in rates would therefore be likely soon to be made up. This statement must, however, have been based on general considerations and estimates. In the following year the Secretary to the Post Office (Sir Arthur Blackwood) told a Select Committee of the House of Commons that the Post Office had not any return of the cost per million letters, or any return of that kind by quantity, and that the Post Office could not give the actual cost per million letters.[505]

The post, which was re-established in the interests of trade and could only be used by traders, was continued until 1897, when the Jubilee reductions brought down the postage on ordinary letters to the level of the sample rate.

The sample post was never more than a very minor part of the Post Office business. In 1865, when the total number of letters passing by post was some 700 millions, the number of samples was one million. In 1870 the number of samples was four millions. In 1896, the last year of its existence as a special rate, the number of samples was nine millions. In that year the number of letters, etc., was some 3,000 millions.

As a result of the increase of letter postage on the heavier

letters, as a war measure, it has been deemed necessary to re-establish the inland sample post. On the 1st November 1915 the post was accordingly re-established substantially as it existed prior to 1897. The rates of postage are the same, and the regulations practically unaltered.