CONTENTS
| CHAPTER I | |
| Introduction—Master of the Posts—Posts centred in the Sovereign—Instructions | |
| for their Regulation—Travelling Post—Object of the Post | |
| Office Monopoly | [1] |
| CHAPTER II | |
| The Post through the County of Kent—This Post put under the care of De | |
| Quester—Stanhope of Harrington, as Master of the Posts, asserts his | |
| Rights—Vacillating Decisions of the Privy Council—Sir John Coke—Thomas | |
| Witherings | [8] |
| CHAPTER III | |
| Decadence of the Posts—Witherings's Plan—Introduction of Postage—Concessions | |
| to the common Carrier—Post-haste—Witherings appointed | |
| Master of the Inland as well as the Foreign Posts—His Dismissal—Philip | |
| Burlamachi—Dissensions between the Lords and Commons—Edmund | |
| Prideaux appointed Witherings's Successor | [15] |
| CHAPTER IV | |
| Prideaux's Activity—Unauthorised Post set up to Scotland—System of | |
| Farming—Prideaux ceases to be Master of the Posts—Secretary Thurloe—The | |
| Posts become the Subject of Parliamentary Enactment—Rates of | |
| Postage—Letters circulate through London—The Travelling Post not a | |
| Source of Revenue—Clement Oxenbridge | [24] |
| CHAPTER V | |
| Frequent Change of Farmers—Tediousness of the Course of Post—Existence | |
| of the Posts not a matter of common Knowledge—Dockwra's Penny | |
| Post—Introduction of Postmarks—Penny Post incorporated into the | |
| General Post—Dockwra's Dismissal | [33] |
| CHAPTER VI | |
| Posts regarded as Vehicles for the Propagation of Treason—Wildman—Cotton | |
| and Frankland—Post Office Establishment—Revenue—Building in | |
| Lombard Street—Dispersion of Letters—Salaries and Wages—Newspapers—Drink | |
| and Feast Money—Post-horses—Quartering of Soldiers—Postmasters' | |
| Emoluments—Scotland—Ireland—Bye-letters—Illicit | |
| Traffic—Treasury Control—Post Offices grouped together and let out to | |
| farm—Stephen Bigg—Expresses—Flying Packets—State of the Roads—Progress | |
| of the Penny Post—Appointment of Secretary and Solicitor—Purchase | |
| of Premises in Lombard Street | [43] |
| CHAPTER VII | |
| State of the Packet Service—Ship Letters—Special Boats built for the | |
| Harwich Station—M. Pajot, Director of the French Posts—Establishment | |
| of West India Packets—Edmund Dummer, Surveyor of the Navy—Regulations | |
| for the Management of the Packet Stations—Conditions | |
| of Employment—Smart and Bounty Money—Passes required for Passengers—and | |
| for Goods—Regulations habitually infringed—Smuggling—Packets | |
| forbidden to give Chase—Practice on Capture of a Prize—Packet | |
| Stations at Falmouth and at Harwich conducted on different Principles—Packets | |
| employed to carry Recruits—Letters not to be carried in Foreign | |
| Bottoms—Court-Post—Restoration of Packet Service with Flanders—John | |
| Macky, Packet Agent at Dover—The Postmasters-General act as | |
| Purveyors of News to the Court—Their Interview with Godolphin—Posts | |
| set up for the Army in Flanders—Packet Establishment placed on | |
| a Peace Footing—Dummer's Bankruptcy and Death | [72] |
| CHAPTER VIII | |
| American Posts—Thomas Neale—Andrew Hamilton—Ocean Penny Postage—Posts | |
| transferred to the Crown—Become self-supporting | [110] |
| CHAPTER IX | |
| Condition of the Post Office in Scotland at the time of the Union—Inaction | |
| of the English Post Office—Charles Povey—William Lowndes—Diversion | |
| of Postage from the Crown to the Public—Postage Rates increased—Electoral | |
| Disabilities—Restrictions on the common Carrier—Modification | |
| of the Penny Post—Post-horses—Franking—Illicit Traffic in Letters—Treasury | |
| Inconsistency—Post Office Farmers converted into Managers—Treaty | |
| with France—Matthew Prior—Single and Double Letters—Change | |
| of Postmasters-General—Disagreements with Merchants—Twopenny | |
| Post—Comparative Statement of Revenue—Gross and Net Revenue | |
| confounded | [117] |
| CHAPTER X | |
| Allen's Contract—General Review—The Secretary's Dismissal—Earl of Abercorn's | |
| Complaint—Sketch of Allen's Plan—His Qualifications for carrying | |
| it into effect—His local Knowledge—His Difficulties with Postmasters—Post-boys—Illegal | |
| Conveyance of Letters—Contrast between Allen's Mode | |
| of Procedure and that of the Post Office—Posts increased in Frequency—Opening | |
| of Letters—Falmouth Packets—Late Delivery of Foreign | |
| Letters—Erection of Milestones—Letters containing Patterns and Writs—Apertures | |
| to Letter-boxes—Expresses—Highwaymen—Bank Notes—Decadence—Allen's | |
| Death | [146] |
| CHAPTER XI | |
| Penny Post—Franking—Newspapers—Clerks of the Roads—Numbering of | |
| Houses—Scotch and Irish Posts—Receiving Offices—Gratuities on Delivery—Appeal | |
| to the Courts—Appointment of Letter-carriers—Attempt | |
| to curtail the Limits of the Penny Post frustrated—Benjamin Franklin—Post | |
| Office Monopoly in matter of Horses abolished—Disfranchising Act—Causes | |
| of Disquietude | [187] |
| CHAPTER XII | |
| Palmer's Plan—Objections—First Mail-coach—Post-coach—Increase in Rates | |
| of Postage—Restrictions upon Franking—Obstruction alleged—Anthony | |
| Todd—Transitional Period—Stages—Earlier Closing of the General | |
| Post Office—Emoluments from Bell Ringing—Internal Dissensions—Tankerville's | |
| Dismissal—Corruption—Surveyors—Conditions of Palmer's | |
| Appointment—Abuses—Fees and Perquisites—Expresses—Registration—Palmer's | |
| Improvements—Packet Service—Smuggling—Flagitious Expenditure—Todd's | |
| Emoluments—Pitt's Indisposition to expose Abuses—Lord | |
| Walsingham—Daniel Braithwaite—Essays in Cause of Economy—Milford | |
| Haven and Waterford Packets—Pitiable Condition of the Clerks | |
| of the Roads—The King's Coach—His Illness and Prayer for his Recovery—Strange | |
| Treatment of Official Papers—George Chalmers—Palmer's | |
| Jealousy—Mail Guards—Creation of a Newspaper Office—Walsingham | |
| attempts to check Irregularities—His inveterate Habit of Scribbling—Exposes | |
| an Attempt at Imposition—Curious Practice as regards the | |
| Delivery of Foreign Letters—Earl of Chesterfield—Insubordination on | |
| Palmer's Part—Appeal to Pitt—Charles Bonnor—Palmer's Suspension—Chesterfield's | |
| Letter—Interview with Pitt—A Second Interview—Palmer's | |
| Dismissal—Bonnor's Promotion | [208] |
| CHAPTER XIII | |
| Model of Mail coach—Patent Coaches—Thomas Hasker—His pithy Instructions—Roof-loading—The | |
| King's Interest in his Coach—General Result | |
| of Palmer's Plan—Condition of the country Post Offices—Francis Freeling—Enlargement | |
| of the General Post Office—Communication with | |
| France—Bank Notes cut in half—Letter-carriers put into Uniform—Grant | |
| to Post Office Servants—Development of the Penny Post—Edward | |
| Johnson—Excessive Absence among the Letter-carriers—By the Penny | |
| Post prepayment ceases to be compulsory—The Ten-mile Limit—Origin | |
| of the Twopenny Post—Dead Letter Office—American and West Indian | |
| Correspondence—Correspondence for the India House—Post with the | |
| Channel Islands—Further Restrictions on Franking—Bankers' Franks—Patterns | |
| and Samples—Metropolitan Cart Service—Horse and Cross | |
| Posts—Rates of Postage increased—Mysterious doings of the Packets—Brilliant | |
| Engagements—Post Office Usage—Counsels' Fees—New Years' | |
| Gifts—Todd's Indifference to Censure—His Death | [281] |
| CHAPTER XIV | |
| Ship-letter Office—Increase in Rates of Postage—Abolition of the Penny | |
| Post—Invoices and Bills of Lading—Convention Posts—Prosecutions—Auckland's | |
| Pleasantries—Repressive Powers—Guarding the Horse-mails—Recovery | |
| of stolen Mail Bag—Troubles with Contractors—Surveyors | |
| deprived of their Post Offices—Rates of Postage again increased—Threepenny | |
| Post—Post Office Revenue—William Cobbett—Early or Preferential | |
| Delivery—Treatment of Foreign Newspapers—Newspaper Summaries—The | |
| Times—Olney Post—-Death-blow to Convention Posts—Turnpike | |
| Trusts—Exemption from Toll—Roads discoached—Yet further | |
| Increase in Rates of Postage—Bewildering Complications—Want of | |
| Publicity—Exemption from Toll abolished in Scotland—Returned-letter | |
| Office—New Ship-letter Act—Mail Service to India and the Cape—Generosity | |
| of the East India Company—Eulogistic Letter | [328] |
| CHAPTER XV | |
| The Irish Post Office—British Mail Office—Earl of Clancarty—Edward Smith | |
| Lees—Abuses—Express Clerks and Clerks of the Roads—Alphabet—Provision | |
| for Soldiers' Wives—Thomas Whinnery, Postmaster of Belfast—Charles | |
| Bianconi—Holyhead Packets—Opposition Packets started by | |
| Lees—Steam Packets—Competition—Land Communication with Ireland—London | |
| and Holyhead Coach—Sir Arthur Wellesley—State of the | |
| Roads—Road between Holyhead and Shrewsbury—Thomas Telford—John | |
| London Macadam—Road between Shrewsbury and London—Postage | |
| over the Conway and Menai Bridges | [366] |
| CHAPTER XVI | |
| Appointment of Second Postmaster-General abolished—Other Economies—Transfer | |
| of the Falmouth Packets to the Admiralty—Speed of Mail-coaches—Mail-coaches | |
| the Disseminators of News—Newspapers—Sir | |
| Henry Parnell—Royal Commission—General Review—Gerrard Street—Headquarters | |
| of the General Post Office removed to St. Martin's-le-Grand—Branch | |
| Offices—Morning Delivery expedited—First Mail sent by Railway—Duke | |
| of Richmond—Incorporation of the Irish Post Office with | |
| the Post Office of Great Britain—Lord Althorp—Limits of the General | |
| Post Delivery—Packet Service put up to public Competition—Abolition | |
| of the Newspaper Privilege—Dissatisfaction with the Post Office—Money | |
| Order Office—Unsatisfactory Returns to the House of Commons—Indisposition | |
| to carry out Reforms—More unsatisfactory Returns—New Contract | |
| for Mail-coaches—Freeling's Despondency—and Death | [396] |
| APPENDIX | [429] |
| INDEX | [439] |
ERRATA
Page 324, sixth line from bottom, for 1713 read 1703.
" 339, first line, for 1892 read 1802.
HISTORY OF THE POST OFFICE
CHAPTER I
EARLY POSTS
1533-1609
The early history of the posts is involved in some obscurity. What little is known on the subject is touched upon in the first Annual Report of the Post Office, the Report for 1854; but the historical summary there given is, as it purports to be, a summary only. The object of the following pages is nothing more than to fill up the gaps and to supply some particulars for which, though not perhaps without interest, an official report would be no fitting place. The origin and progress of an institution which has so interwoven itself with the social life of the people as to have become one of the most remarkable developments of modern civilisation can hardly, we think, be considered a subject unworthy of study.