The History of the Post Office in British North America

by William Smith

The Nova Scotian assembly did not, however, rest at this point. Though they had acquiesced quite contentedly in the arrangements made by Howe, the deputy postmaster general, and had shown no disposition to join the Canadas in their agitation, the implied admission of the home government that the surplus post office revenues belonged of right to the colonies, put a different face on the subject.

The post office committee called the deputy postmaster general before them, and on going over the accounts with his assistance, they discovered that there was a considerable amount remitted annually to England, as profit from their inland posts, and satisfied themselves that if this amount were retained by the deputy postmaster general, and devoted to paying for the unremunerative services, the sum contributed by the province for the maintenance of these services would be much reduced, if not wiped out altogether.

The legislature, thereupon, with a boldness which seemed to betoken ignorance of the course of events in Canada, resolved to take over the control of the provincial post office. A bill for that purpose was adopted in 1838,[242] and received the assent of the lieutenant governor. By it, the deputy postmaster general was directed to pay into the provincial treasury any surplus revenue, and the legislature on its part undertook to make good any deficiency, if such should arise.

The position of matters as regards the inland service of Nova Scotia was complicated by the geographical situation of the province with reference to the other provinces. The British packets, by which mails were exchanged between Great Britain and the North American colonies, landed at Halifax, and it was essential that the conveyance of the mails across Nova Scotia between Halifax and the inland provinces should be maintained unimpeded.

The legislature recognized this fact, and agreed to provide for this through service at its own cost, on condition that the British post office should pay the salaries of the deputy postmaster general and his staff at Halifax, from the revenues of the packet service.

The home government disallowed the Nova Scotia bill as being inconsistent with the objects sought to be accomplished by the imperial act of 1834. The aim of that act was to secure a uniform code of laws for the regulation of the posts in British North America. Any partial legislation would be unacceptable, and this was particularly the case with legislation on the part of Nova Scotia, the key to British North America. By obtaining control over the expenditure for the mail service through the province, the legislature of Nova Scotia would have the entire power over the postal communications with the interior, and they might not only object to defray the expense of particular services, but might interdict them altogether, as, in their opinion, unnecessary.

The colonial secretary added another consideration to this argument of the postmaster general. One of the chief advantages which the government hoped to derive from the mission of Lord Durham, who was then in Canada, was that of devising some plan for the regulation of questions, which, like that of post office communications, was the subject of common interest to the colonies collectively.

The assembly showed some resentment at the rejection of their bill. The despatch informing the governor that the measure had been disallowed, also contained notice of the refusal of the home government to sanction several other acts adopted by the Nova Scotia legislature. In the resolution expressing regret that the measures in question had not been allowed to go into operation, the assembly were careful to intimate their confidence in the disposition of Her Majesty to meet the reasonable expectations of the assembly, and attributed the several disallowances to a want of correct information on the part of the home government due to its not going to the proper sources therefor.

In order to remove the misunderstanding which the assembly conceived to exist between themselves and the home government, William Young and Herbert Huntingdon were sent as delegates to confer with the colonial secretary on this and other subjects lying open. In London the delegates were brought into communication with the treasury.[243]

As the chief objection to the Nova Scotia bill for the regulation of the post office was that it would give the government of that province control over the posts to the provinces in the interior, the delegates lost no time in disclaiming any desire to exercise control over any but their own inland service. They were willing that the great through lines should remain within the jurisdiction of the postmaster general of Great Britain, and that the provincial authority should be confined to the management of the side or cross posts. This proposed dual control was, of course, obviously impracticable, as the whole provincial service, with its main lines and cross lines, was so blended together, that any attempt to treat them as under two different administrations could not fail to lead to unfortunate results.