The first part of the eighteenth century saw the extension of a postal system in the colonies and an attempt on the part of the Post Office to obtain the postage on letters passing over the cross-roads of England. The increase in England's colonial possessions and her growing trade with foreign countries produced a corresponding growth in the packet service. The last part of the century saw the establishment of Palmer's mail coaches in order to meet competition from the post coaches. The great increase in revenue which accompanied the industrial revolution led to corruption among the postal officials, resulting in the reform of 1793. The period of rapid growth had passed, and the close of the eighteenth century was a period of consolidation for the new offices which had been created, and better coöperation in the work which they performed.

The first forty years of the last century saw the Post Office at its best as an instrument of taxation. But this very fact drew attention to the lack of other and more important objects. Rates had been forced so high that people resorted to legal and illegal means to evade paying them. The feeling was growing that a tax upon correspondence was not only a poor method of raising money but that its ulterior effect in restricting letter writing was producing undesirable results upon the people of England industrially and socially. A great mistake had been made by the Post Office in acquiring steam packets. They suffered severely from private competing lines and were always a loss to the Government. A partial remedy was attained by the transfer of all the packets to the Admiralty. Eventually the popular cause, championed by Hill and Wallace, forced itself upon the attention of the Government. A Parliamentary committee, after listening to the evidence of representative witnesses, declared itself in favour of low and uniform rates of postage for the United Kingdom, the result being the adoption of inland Penny Postage in 1840.

Among the numerous changes which have characterized the development of the Post Office since 1840 are the successive reductions in rates; the transfer of the packet boats from the Admiralty, followed by the resolution of the Government to revert to the old principle of depending upon private enterprise for the sea carriage of the mails; the extension in the use of the railways as a medium of conveyance; the establishment of a parcel post; and the decision of the government to provide banking and assurance facilities for the thrifty person of small means. But the greatest departure in the field of the department's activities has been the acquisition of the telegraphic system of the Kingdom. Misled by their advisers as to the capital cost and induced by popular pressure to abandon strictly business methods of administration and extension, the telegraphic experiments of the department have not been a financial success. Not only has this been the case, but, in their efforts to protect the revenue, successive Governments have hindered the development of telephonic communication. At this late date we can safely assume that in 1870 the department should either have granted the telephone companies far greater powers or should themselves have assumed the burden of providing an adequate system of telephonic communication. In 1911, the property and franchises of the telephone companies will pass to the control of the Government, thus vastly increasing the work of the department if, as seems probable, the Government should assume direct management, and greatly enlarging the number of dissatisfied members of that part of the civil service under the control of the Post Office.

APPENDIX

EXPENDITURE AND REVENUE TABLES

TABLE I

GROSS PRODUCT, EXPENDITURE, AND NET PRODUCT
OF THE POST OFFICE OF THE UNITED KINGDOM
FROM MARCH 25, 1723 TO APRIL 5, 1797

Year endingGross ProductExpensesNet Product
£ £ £
March 25, 1724178,07181,73296,339
25175,27475,40799,867
26178,06583,25394,812
27182,18481,295100,889
28183,91579,250104,665
29179,18986,88292,307
30178,81784,02794,790
31171,41279,24392,169
32176,71484,67892,036
33171,28379,13792,146
34176,33484,63391,701
35182,17183,54198,630
36188,21090,58997,621
37182,49085,40297,088
38186,57893,91492,664
39183,74785,49797,250
40194,197103,53290,665
41191,408101,32390,085
42197,721110,13787,584
43190,626102,18588,441
44194,461109,34785,114
45194,607108,85285,755
46201,460120,57080,890
47209,028123,08685,942
48217,453138,70178,752
49212,801124,47888,323
50207,490110,09397,397
51203,748104,63399,115
52207,092109,37197,721
April 5, 53206,666108,51898,148
54214,300116,93597,365
55210,663108,648102,015
56238,445144,20394,242
57242,478162,62979,849
58222,075148,34673,729
59229,879143,78486,095
60230,146146,64383,493
61240,497153,80886,689
62233,722155,92777,795
63238,999141,16697,833
64225,326109,134116,182
65262,496104,925157,571
66265,427103,484161,943
67275,230113,286161,944
68278,253112,470165,783
69284,914120,154164,760
70285,050128,988156,062
71292,782137,239155,543
72309,997144,394165,503
73310,126142,940167,176
74313,032148,965164,077
75321,943148,755173,188
76318,418150,936167,482
77329,921171,346158,575
78347,128209,124137,994
79372,817233,569139,248
80387,092250,683136,409
81417,634263,477154,157
82393,235275,910117,325
83398,624238,999159,625
84420,101223,588196,513
85463,753202,344261,409
86471,176185,201285,975
87474,347195,748278,599
88509,131212,151296,980
89514,538195,928318,610
90533,198202,019331,179
91575,079219,080355,999
92585,432218,473366,959
93627,592236,084391,508
94691,268260,606430,662
95705,319295,822409,497
96657,541191,084466,457
97691,616178,266513,350[842]

TABLE II

AVERAGE YEARLY GROSS PRODUCT, EXPENDITURE, AND NET PRODUCT
OF THE POST OFFICE OF THE UNITED KINGDOM
FROM 1725 TO 1794