The Virginia act of 1693 was local in its scope and provincial in its character. There is a certain simplicity in the extent of its demands as compared with the paucity of its concessions. Neale, at his own cost, was to establish a postal system, comprising a general post office at a place agreed upon, and one or more subordinate offices in each county. Couriers were to be available to take letters anywhere within the colony—without postage if on public business, at rates fixed by the colony if they were private letters. But no person need employ the post office, should any other more convenient or cheaper mode of conveyance offer itself.
A post office, like other kindred accommodations, creates business for itself; but Virginia did not intend that Neale should have any assurance of the business he had brought into existence. As soon as it reached a point at which it was worth struggling for, a competitor might step in and deprive Neale of the fruits of his enterprise.
The act of 1693 seems to have been adopted before the colonies were made aware of Hamilton's connection with the American post office. When the council of Virginia were advised of Hamilton's appointment, they opened communication with him. The notes of the correspondence as they appear in the minutes of council[29] do not give much information, but they show that Hamilton's proposition when submitted to council was not found acceptable; and as subsequent communications failed to remove the difficulties, matters remained as they were until after the Neale patent had expired.
In 1710, the subject was reopened, and the governor reported to the board of trade, that for two months past he had been expecting Hamilton to visit Virginia, for the purpose of opening a post office, and connecting it with the other colonies. The governor believed that the scheme was feasible, and would do his utmost to encourage it. He foresaw a difficulty in the lack of small currency, tobacco which was the only specie, being in the governor's words "very incommodious to receive small payments in, and of very uncertain value."[30]
The line of posts established by Hamilton extended from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to Philadelphia. Over this long line, couriers travelled with the mails weekly each way.[31] The volume of correspondence carried cannot be ascertained, as the great mass of it, being on public business, would be free of postage. But the postage collected throughout North America during the first four years, from 1693 to 1697, was only £1456 18s. 3d., an average receipt of considerably less than £400 a year.
By way of comparison it may be noted that, in 1693, the revenue between London and Edinburgh was £500; and it was explained that nearly the whole of that amount was for government despatches. The expenses of the Portsmouth-Philadelphia service during those years were £3817 6s. 11d.[32] The deficit of £2360 8s. 8d. fell upon Neale. Results such as these would be sufficiently discouraging. But Neale and his deputy, Hamilton, were hopeful, and drew comfort from the fact that the revenue of New York which was quite insignificant the first year had doubled itself in the third year.
At the end of the sixth year, the revenue had increased to the point at which all the expenses were met, except Hamilton's salary.[33] In 1699, Hamilton went to England, and joined Neale in an appeal to the treasury.[34] After pointing out the benefits accruing to the colonies from the post office—the increase in the transatlantic and intercolonial trade, the rapid diffusion of intelligence in time of war, and the facilities afforded for the delivery of public letters—they declared that unless steps were taken to secure to them the transmission of the whole, and not a mere portion of the oversea correspondence, they might be compelled to abandon the undertaking.
The plan Neale and Hamilton proposed to this end, was to put a stop to the collection of letters at the English coffee houses, and to compel the shipmasters to take all their letters from the local post office, where they would be made up in sealed bags.
Besides ensuring to Neale, by this means, the postage on all the correspondence passing between the mother country and the colonies, the measure proposed would prevent certain abuses which were incident to the existing arrangement. Where the bag hung open in a coffee house, any person might examine its contents on the pretext that he wanted to get his own letter back, and when the ship had reached its destination it was the practice of some captains to delay the delivery of the letters in their hands until they are ready to sail again, and then they got rid of their letters in any way they could.
If the mails were made up in post offices, and the captains were compelled by law to deliver them to the post office at the port of destination before they broke bulk, these evils would be corrected, and a large revenue now lost to the post office would be saved.