[688] Act of 39 Geo. III., cap. 76, §§ 1 and 2; H. Joyce, ibid.; J. C. Hemmeon, History of the British Post Office, p. 124.
[689] H. Joyce, ibid., p. 330.
[690] 54 Geo. III, cap. 169.
[691] H. Joyce, ibid., p. 362.
[692] Ibid., p. 363; 55 Geo. III, cap. 153.
[693] The Marquis of Clanricarde.
[694] "The principle upon which the postal communication between England and the Australian colonies has latterly been conducted is, that a postage of 6d. for a single letter has been charged, of which 4d. was understood to represent the sea rate, 1d. for collecting or delivering a single letter in any part of the United Kingdom, and the same in any part of the colonies; so that the whole cost of sending a letter from any part of the United Kingdom to any part of the Australian colonies, or vice versâ, should not exceed 6d.
"As the whole cost of the packet service has hitherto been borne by the Imperial Government, the portion of the postage which represented the sea service has been accounted for to the Home Post Office, so that of the 6d. charged, 5d. has been appropriated to England, and 1d. to the colony receiving or despatching the letter, as the case might be."—Second Report of the Postmaster-General, London, 1856, p. 66.
[695] Cf. H. Joyce, ibid., pp. 138-9.
[696] Cf. note 1, opposite.