[261] H. Joyce, History of the Post Office, p. 50.
[262] Tenth Report of the Commissioners on Fees and Emoluments, 1788, p. 28.
"For Post Office purposes the kingdom was divided into six roads—the North Road, the Chester or Holyhead Road, the Western Road, the Kent Road, and the Roads to Bristol and to Yarmouth; and these roads were presided over by a corresponding number of clerks in London, whose duty it was to sort the letters and to tax them with the proper amount of postage."—H. Joyce, ibid., p. 47; cf. infra, Appendix B, p. [404].
[263] Eighteenth Report of Commissioners of Revenue Inquiry, 1829, Appx., p. 486.
[264] "That the six Clerks of the Road are also allowed to frank newspapers from the London office.
"That the newspapers franked by them are not included in any of the accounts of Deductions in respect of Franks. That the profits arising from their franking newspapers may amount to £3,000 or £4,000 p. ann., and that a considerable allowance is made thereout to the Comptroller, Deputy-Comptroller, By Night Clerk and six assistants; all of whom as well as the six Clerks of the Roads would without such advantage be very insufficiently provided for."—Evidence of Anthony Todd, Secretary to the Post Office. Report of Committee appointed to enquire into the several frauds and abuses in relation to the sending or receiving of letters and parcels free from the Duty of Postage (Commons Journal, March 28, 1764).
"The Profits derived by the Clerks of the Road from the privilege of sending Newspapers into the Country free of Postage, were so considerable that they were not only able to make a good Provision for their Families but also to pay thereout an Annual Sum of £1,300 to Officers and Clerks in this Dept. in Aid of their Salaries, which on that Account were proportionately small from the Public; and this Situation of Clerk of the Roads was looked up to as the Reward of their long and arduous Labour in the subordinate Stations of the Office. Twenty years before, of the sum of £8,660 paid to the 39 Officers of the Inland Dept., £2,060 was paid by the Public and £6,600 from the profits on the circulation of newspapers."—Tenth Report of the Commissioners on Fees and Emoluments, 1788, p. 28.
[265] 4 Geo. III, cap. 24.
[266] "The Produce of this Privilege has long been decreasing, and is now reduced to one-third the above sum from the operation of an Act of 1764 by which members of both Houses were empowered to have Newspapers, Votes, and all other printed Parliamentary Papers, sent by post in their Names, free from Postage, upon a written Notice of the Direction of such Papers being sent to the Postmaster-General by the respective Members, whose names were to be used instead of the former Mode of franking Newspapers the same as Letters. The Printers, News Sellers, and others, availing themselves of this Privilege, have obtained numerous Orders, readily granted, under the Persuasion of increasing the Stamp Revenue. The present Number of Orders in the Office is 6,751, and the Number of Newspapers sent weekly by the Post in Consequence thereof is 47,017; these Dealers are enabled to supply their Customers in the Country at a cheaper Rate than the Clerks in the Office can, who are loaded with Out Payments from their Profits, and are obliged to purchase their Papers at an advanced Price from an Officer appointed by the Postmaster-General to supply them."—Tenth Report of the Commissioners on Fees and Emoluments, 1788, p. 29.
[267] A. Andrews, The History of British Journalism, London, 1859, vol. i. pp. 210-11.