The late Mr. Wood, who filled the office of postmaster of Cornwall for many years, thus describes the condition of the department in the Upper Canada Province about the year 1807:—
"When I first took charge of the post office in this place the mail was carried from Quebec to Amherstburg on the back of an old Canadian pedestrian; he performed his trip once in three months, and his arrival was hailed with joy by the then contented and loyal inhabitants throughout the country."
The following is a copy of a somewhat curious advertisement which appears in the Upper Canada Gazette, published in the year 1807:—
"The mail for Upper Canada will be despatched from the post office at Montreal, on the following days, to wit:
| "Monday, 14th January. |
| "Monday, 12th February. |
| "Monday, 10th March. |
| "Monday, 7th April—the last trip. |
"A courier from Kingston may be looked for here in 14 or 15 days from the above periods, where he will remain 2 or 3 days, and then return to Kingston.
"Another courier will proceed from this with the Niagara mail, viâ Messrs. Hatts, where the Sandwich letters will be left, both from Niagara and this 'till the courier comes from there to return with them.
"Letters put into the post office will be forwarded at any time by
"W. ALLAN,
"Acting Deputy Postmaster."
There are in existence several commissions issued by Mr. Heriot to postmasters in Nova Scotia, in which he signs himself Deputy Postmaster General for the Province of Upper and Lower Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, and their dependencies. It would appear therefore, at all events, that during a portion of his term of office he had supervision of all the posts in those colonies.
Mr. Heriot was succeeded in the year 1816 by Mr. Daniel Sutherland, who, on his accession to office, found Nova Scotia and Prince Edward's Island wholly withdrawn from the Canada charge. New Brunswick, however, continued to be included in it. The postmasters in that Province being commissioned at Quebec and accounting to the Deputy Postmaster General there.
In the year 1817 Lower Canada had 13 post offices; Upper Canada, 12; Nova Scotia, 6; New Brunswick, 3; Prince Edward's Island, 1. In this year the mails were running between Quebec and Halifax once a fortnight, all the year round; between Quebec and Kingston, once a week; between Kingston and Toronto, once a week; and between Toronto and Amherstburg, once a fortnight.