The Conference was able to arrive at an agreement only as regards the admission of British India and the French Colonies in Asia, Africa, America and the Pacific. The entry of these territories was fixed for the 1st July 1876, and the general international rates of postage and transit rates, fixed under the Convention of 1874, were made applicable to the new territories of the Union, except that for transit by sea for distances exceeding 300 nautical miles a surtax equal to the full postage rates (32 centimes and 11 centimes) was authorized, instead of a surtax of half rates fixed under the original treaty; and the transit rates in respect of mails for or from these territories for distances of more than 300 nautical miles were made 25 fr. per kilogramme for letters and postcards, and 1 fr. per kilogramme for printed matter, samples, and commercial papers.
The later Congresses have added numerous services to those provided under the original scheme, such as, e.g., reply-paid postcards. For the most part, however, these additional services are of minor importance, and concern only a small part of the international traffic,[591] the bulk of which still passes under the main divisions established at the first Congress.
In connection with the rates applied to those classes of the traffic there are three chief points of importance—the initial charge, the scale of weights, and the transit rates. The question of modifying the international letter rate, which had remained unchanged since the foundation of the Union, was raised at the Washington Congress in 1897. The Austrian delegate proposed, not indeed that the initial charge should be reduced below 25 centimes, but that the maximum weight allowed for the single letter should be increased from 15 grammes to 20 grammes. The British and
French delegates opposed the proposal.[592] The French delegates said it would involve a loss of more than a million francs to their administration. In some cases, e.g., Italy, the raising of the limit would have had the effect of rendering the international service cheaper than the internal service. In the end the proposal was rejected.
The subject of transit rates, which had not been seriously considered since the first Congress, was also raised at the Congress of Washington (1897), two proposals in regard to it, by Germany and by Austria-Hungary respectively, being under discussion. In the original project of the Union, gratuitous transit had been proposed, with the reservation that remuneration should be paid in cases of special expenses occasioned to an intermediary by the transit of foreign mails. The new German proposal was for the abolition of all transit payments except in those cases where, according to the statistics of the international service, a payment of more than 50,000 fr. a year was due, and in those cases the actual amount due to be reduced by 25 per cent., or at least by 50,000 fr.; to make the amount payable only by those countries whose share exceeded 10,000 fr.; and the reduction of the maritime transit rate from 15 fr. to 10 fr. This proposal was avowedly a step towards completely gratuitous territorial transit. The Austrian proposal was for gratuitous transit for all correspondence sent à découvert, and a reduction of the transit rates for closed mails. Gratuitous transit, to which, as already stated, the German proposal admittedly tended, was advocated by the delegates of the South American countries, but was opposed by several other countries, especially by Belgium, France, and Italy. As at the first Congress, the delegates of
the latter countries called attention to the great expense to which they were put in providing transport for transit mails, and rejected altogether the idea of gratuitous transit. In face of this opposition, the proposals could not be carried in their entirety. The transit rates were, however, considerably reduced, and simplifications in the method of ascertaining the amounts payable in respect of transit were introduced. The land rates were reduced from 2 fr. per kilogramme for letters and postcards and 25 centimes per kilogramme for other articles, to 1 fr. 90 and to 23¾ centimes for the years 1899 and 1900, to 1 fr. 80 and to 22½ centimes for the years 1901 and 1902, and to 1 fr. 70 and to 21¼ centimes for and after 1903. The maritime transit rates were similarly reduced. Countries whose expenses for the transit of foreign mails exceeded the receipts, and those whose combined receipts and expenses for that purpose did not exceed 5,000 fr. per year, were excused all payment under this head.
At the next Congress, held at Rome in 1906, the question of reducing the letter rate and transit rates was again discussed. Proposals to raise the limit of weight for single letters from 15 grammes to 20 grammes were submitted by several States. It was pointed out that, although in general sufficient, the limit of 15 grammes was often exceeded, and frequently the weight of letters required to be tested, causing inconvenience both to the public and the postal administrations. The German delegate expressed the opinion that the public were anticipating some concession, and that as reduction of the initial rate of 25 centimes was impossible, an increased limit of weight would no doubt be appreciated.[593] The British delegates pointed out that the equivalent of 20 grammes in British weight was ⅔ or ¾ ounce, a unit which would be highly inconvenient and could not be adopted. They would have accepted a limit of 30 grammes; but in many countries the existing limit of weight for the initial letter rate in the inland service was 20 grammes, and the introduction of a higher initial weight in the international service might lead to difficulties in the case of those administrations which desired to retain the lower limit in the inland service. On these grounds they inclined to the
maintenance of the status quo. The delegates of the United States, Italy, and Turkey supported the British view. The Italian delegates pointed out that the result would in effect be to compel those countries in which the limit was 15 grammes to introduce modifications into their internal service—a position which it was obviously undesirable for the Congress to take up. Japan advocated the maintenance of the existing limit, because the effect of raising it would be to render further reduction of transit rates still more difficult. In the end the proposal was adopted by thirteen votes against twelve.[594] Countries using the avoirdupois system were to regard 1 ounce as the initial weight limit.
Gratuitous transit was still unacceptable to the majority,[595] but both land and sea charges were reduced. The land transit rates were reduced to 1 fr. 50 per kilogramme for letters and postcards and 20 centimes per kilogramme for other articles, for distances not exceeding 3,000 kilometres; to 3 fr. per kilogramme for letters and postcards and 40 centimes per kilogramme for other articles, for distances between 3,000 and 6,000 kilometres; to 4 fr. 50 per kilogramme for letters and postcards and 60 centimes per kilogramme for other articles, for distances between 6,000 kilometres and 9,000 kilometres; and to 6 fr. per kilogramme for letters and postcards and 80 centimes per kilogramme for other articles, for distances exceeding 9,000 kilometres.
The sea transit rates were reduced to 1 fr. 50 per kilogramme for letters and postcards and to 20 centimes for other articles, for distances not exceeding 300 nautical miles; to 4 fr. per kilogramme for letters and postcards and to 50 centimes for other articles, for distances exceeding 300 nautical miles, between countries of Europe, between parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia on the Mediterranean and Black Seas, and between Europe and North America; to 8 fr. per kilogramme for letters and postcards and to 1 fr. for other articles, for all routes not falling under the above headings.