Read Ebook: Her Majesty's Mails An Historical and Descriptive Account of the British Post-Office by Lewins William

Font size: 10 px 15 px 20 px 25 px 30 px 35 px

Background color: BlackWhiteGrayLight GrayDark GrayDim Gray

Text color: BlackWhiteGrayLight GrayDark GrayDim Gray

Apply/Save settings

Ebook has 379 lines and 131987 words, and 8 pages

It will be readily observed that in the arrangements of the packet-post there was nothing to prevent its being extensively used, except the important restrictions which the King put upon its use. During the reign of James nothing but the despatches of ambassadors were allowed to jostle the Government letters in the leather bags, "lined with baize or cotton," of "the post for the packet." It was not until Charles the First had succeeded his father, that this post came to be used, under certain conditions, by merchants and private persons.

It was during the reign of James the First that the Government secured, and kept for a hundred years, certain privileges with respect to the hiring of post-horses. We have seen that the royal couriers, travelling with despatches by either of the two posts, had priority of claim to sufficient horses and proper accommodation on their journeys. They also settled, by order in Council, that any person, whether travelling on the business of the Government or not, should, if furnished with warrants from the Council, have prior claim to private individuals, over post-horses and proper entertainment, demanding them in the name of the King. In a warrant of Council, for instance, dated Whitehall, May 12, 1630, we find the Privy Council ordering all postmasters to furnish Sir Cornelius Vermuyden with horses and guides to enable him to ride post from London to Boston, and thence to Hatfield, where he was engaged in draining the royal chase for the King.

About a year after the new establishment had been wrested from him, Mr. Docwray was appointed, under the Duke of York, to the office of Controller of the District-Post. This was doubtless meant as some sort of compensation for the losses he had sustained.

Earl of Rochester ?4,000 Duchess of Cleveland 4,700 Duke of Leeds 3,500 Duke of Schomberg 4,000 Earl of Bath 2,500 Lord Keeper 2,000 William Docwray, till 1698 500

Docwray's pension began in 1694, and was regarded as a further acknowledgment of his claims as founder of the "District-post," or the "Penny-post," as it was then called. He only held his pension, however, for four years, losing both his emoluments and his office in 1698, on certain charges of gross mismanagement having been brought against him. The officers and messengers under his control memorialized the Commissioners of the Treasury, alleging that the "Controller doth what in him lyes to lessen the revenue of the Penny Post-Office, that he may farm it and get it into his own hands;" also, that "he had removed the Post-Office to an inconvenient place to forward his ends." There appears to have been no limit as to the weight or size of parcels transmitted through the district-post during Docwray's time, but the memorial goes on to say that "he forbids the taking in of any band-boxes and all parcels above a pound; which, when they were taken in, did bring a considerable advantage to the Post-Office;" that these same parcels are taken by porters and watermen at a far greater charge, "which is a loss to the public," as the penny-post messengers did the work "much cheaper and more satisfactory." Nor is this all. It is further stated that "he stops, under spetious pretences, most parcells that are taken in, which is great damage to tradesmen by loosing their customers, or spoiling their goods, and many times hazard the life of the patient when physick is sent by a doctor or an apothecary." It was hinted that the parcels were not only delayed, but misappropriated; that letters were opened and otherwise tampered with: and these charges being partially substantiated, Docwray, who deserved better treatment, was removed from all connexion with the department.

FOOTNOTES:

The special messenger who informed James of Queen Elizabeth's death accomplished a great feat in those days. Sir Robert Carey rode post, with sealed lips, from Richmond in Surrey to Edinburgh in less than three days.

Journals of the House of Commons, 1644.

Journals of the House of Commons, 21st March, 1649.

SIR THOMAS WROTH said: 'This bill has bred much talk abroad since yesterday. The design is very good and specious; but I would have some few words added for general satisfaction: to know how the monies shall be disposed of; and that our letters should pass free as well in this Parliament as formerly.'

Cobbett's Parliamentary History, vol. ix.

Macaulay's History of England, vol. i. pp. 387-8.

Stowe's Survey of London.

Stark's Picture of Edinburgh, p. 144.

"Letters and Despatches relative to the taking of the Earl of Ormond, by O'More. A.D. 1600."

ON OLD ROADS AND SLOW COACHES.

If we seem in this chapter to make a divergence from the stream of postal history, it is only to make passing reference to the tributaries which helped to feed the main stream. The condition of the roads, and no less the modes of travelling, bore a most intimate relationship, at all the points in its history, to the development of the post-office system and its communications throughout the kingdom. The seventeenth century, as we have seen, was eventful in important postal improvements; the period was, comparatively speaking, very fruitful also in great changes and improvements in the internal character of the country. No question that the progress of the former depended greatly on the state of the latter. James the First, whatever might be his character in other respects, was indefatigable in his exertions to open out the resources of his kingdom. The fathers of civil engineering, such as Vermuyden and Sir Hugh Myddleton, lived during his reign, and both these eminent men were employed under his auspices, either in making roads, draining the fen country, improving the metropolis, or in some other equally useful scheme. The troubles of the succeeding reign had the effect of frustrating the development of various schemes of public utility proposed and eagerly sanctioned by James. Under the Commonwealth, and at intervals during the two succeeding reigns, many useful improvements of no ordinary moment were carried out.

In the provinces, though considerable advances had been made in this respect during the century, travelling was still exceedingly difficult. In 1640, perhaps the Dover Road, owing to the great extent of continental traffic constantly kept up, was the best in England; yet three or four days were usually taken to travel it. In that year, Queen Henrietta and household were brought "with expedition" over that short distance in four long days. Short journeys were accomplished in a reasonable time, inasmuch as little entertainment was required. It was different when a long journey was contemplated, seeing how generally wretched were the hostelries of the period. So bad, again, were some of the roads, that it was not at all uncommon, when a family intended to travel, for servants to be sent on beforehand to investigate the country and report upon the most promising track. Fuller tells us that during his time he frequently saw as many as six oxen employed in dragging slowly a single person to church. Waylen says that 800 horses were taken prisoners at one time during the civil wars by Cromwell's forces, "while sticking in the mud."

In Scotland, all the difficulties in travelling were felt to even a greater degree than in England. There were no regular posts to the extreme north of Scotland, letters going as best they could by occasional travellers and different routes. Nothing could better show the difficulties attendant on locomotion of any sort in Scotland, than the fact that an agreement was entered into in 1678 to run a coach between Edinburgh and Glasgow, to be drawn by six horses, the journey, there and back, to be performed in six days. The distance was only forty-four miles, and the coach travelled over the principal post-road in the country!

FOOTNOTES:

"The Grand Concern of England explained in several Proposals to Parliament."--Harl. MSS. 1673.

Chamberlayne's Present History of Great Britain. 1673.

Chambers' Domestic Annals.

Lord Macaulay. Vol. i. p. 388.

Amongst the more interesting items of expenditure we notice that--

The six clerks in the Foreign Office and about twenty clerks belonging to other departments received per annum 60 0 0

The salary of the Postmaster-General was 1,500 0 0

There were eight letter-receivers in London, viz. at Gray's Inn, at Temple Bar, at King Street, at Westminster, in Holborn, in Covent Garden, in Pall Mall, and in the Strand two offices, whose yearly salaries amounted in all to 110 6 8

The yearly salaries of the whole body of letter-carriers 1,338 15 0

The salaries of the deputy-postmasters 5,639 6 0

THE SETTLEMENT OF THE POST-OFFICE.

Ten years after the removal of Docwray from his office in connexion with the "Penny Post," another rival to the Government department sprung up in the shape of a "Halfpenny Post." The arrangements of the new were nearly identical with those of Docwray's post, except that the charges, instead of a penny and twopence, were a halfpenny and penny respectively. The scheme, established at considerable expense by a Mr. Povey, never had a fair trial, only existing a few months, when it was nipped in the bud by a law-suit instituted by the Post-Office authorities.

When common known carriers bear letters concerning the goods which they are conveying, and which letters are delivered with the goods without any further hire or reward, or other profit or advantage.

When merchants or master-owners of ships send letters in ships concerning the cargoes of such ships, and delivered with them under the self-same circumstances.

Letters concerning commissions or the returns thereof, affidavits, writs, process or proceeding, or returns thereof, issuing out of any court of justice.

Any letter or letters sent by any private friend or friends in their way of journey or travel.

For any single letter or piece of paper to any place in England not exceeding 80 miles 0 3

" double letter 0 6

" packet of writs, deeds, &c. per ounce 1 0

" single letter, &c. exceeding 80 miles, or as far north as the town of Berwick 0 4

" double letter 0 8

" packet, per ounces 1 4

From London to Edinburgh and all places in Scotland south of Edinburgh, per single letter 0 6

" " double letter 1 0

" " packets, per ounce 2 0

The other Scotch posts were calculated from Edinburgh, and charged according to the distance as in England.

From London to Dublin, single letter 0 6 " " double letter 1 0 " " packets, per ounce 2 0

From Dublin to any Irish town the charge was according to distance, at the English rate.

Any letter from any part of Her Majesty's dominions for London would be delivered free by the penny post, and if directed to places within a circuit of ten miles from the General Post-Office, on payment of an extra penny over and above the proper rate of postage.

The postage of a single letter to France was 0 10 " " Spain 1 6 " " Italy 1 3 " " Turkey 1 3 " " Germany, Denmark 1 0 " " Sweden 1 0 " " from London to New York 1 0

Other rates were charged to other parts of the American continent, according to the distance from New York, at something less than the English rate.

Share on: WhatsApp @Hash Facebook Tweet