POST, a conveyance for letters or dispatches.
In the early periods of society, communication between the different parts of a country is rare and difficult, individuals at a distance having little inclination or opportunity for mutual intercourse: when such communication is at any time found necessary, a special messenger must be employed. As order and civilization advance, occasions of correspondence multiply. In particular, the sovereign finds it requisite frequently to transmit orders and laws to every part of the kingdom; and for doing so he makes use of couriers or messengers, to whom he commits the charge of forwarding his dispatches. But without stations in the way, where these couriers can be certain of finding refreshment for themselves and supplies of what may be necessary for carrying them forward, the journey, however urgent and important, must always be retarded, and in many cases altogether stopped. Experience, therefore, soon pointed out the necessity of ensuring such accommodations, by erecting upon all the great roads houses or stations at convenient intervals, where the messengers might stop, as occasion required, and where too, for the greater convenience, relays of fresh horses should always be in readiness, to enable them to pursue their journey with uninterrupted dispatch. These houses or stations were with great propriety termed posts, and the messenger who made use of them a post. Though at first, it is probable, the institution was intended solely for the sovereign, and the necessities of the state; yet by degrees individuals, seeing the benefit resulting from it, made use of the opportunity to carry on their own correspondence; for which they were willing to pay an allowance to the sovereign. Thus a post-office, of some kind or other, gradually came to be established in every civilized country. Without taking notice of the different means of carrying on correspondence said to have been attempted by pigeons, dogs, and other animals, we can at least trace with certainty the invention of something like regular posts as far back as the ancient Persians. Xenophon assures us, that they were invented by Cyrus on his Scythian expedition, about 500 years before Christ; that the houses at the several stations were sumptuously built, and large enough to contain a number of men and horses; and that every courier on his arrival was obliged to communicate his dispatches to the postmaster, by whom they were immediately forwarded. From the shore of the Aegean sea to Susa the capital, there were, according to Herodotus, 111 stages for posts, each a day's journey distant from the preceding.
In what manner posts were established and conducted among the Greeks does not clearly appear; but from the extended commerce carried on, and the frequent communications enjoyed among the different states, there can be no doubt that a regular conveyance, in some form or other, was established.
Though posts were well known among the Romans, yet
yet it is difficult to trace with certainty the period of their introduction. Some writers carry it back to the times of the republic; posts and post-offices, under the names of statores and stationes, having been then, it is said, established by the senate. Whether this was the case or not, Suetonius assures us that Augustus instituted posts along all the great roads of the empire. At first the dispatches were conveyed from post to post by young men who run on foot, and delivered the dispatch to others at the next stage. By and by Augustus substituted, in room of these, horses and chariots, both for the conveyance of dispatches and the convenience of travelling. His successors continued the same establishment; to the maintenance of which every subject of the empire was obliged to contribute. Post-horses are mentioned in the Theodosian code de cursu publico; but these were only the public messengers, who before this institution seized any that came in their way. At each post station, according to Procopius, 10 horses and as many postilions were kept, and the usual rate of their travelling was from five to eight stations a-day.
It is to be observed, however, that all these establishments of posts in ancient times were formed as much, if not more, for travelling stations, as for the mere conveyance of letters and dispatches. This latter object, it is true, was thereby secured; but the epistolary correspondence of antiquity was probably at no time so extensive as to require or maintain post-offices on the footing of modern posts, for the mere conveyance of letters. It is in later times only, when the extension of commerce and diffusion of literature give occasion to frequent communication, that these establishments are to be looked for.
The earliest institution of posts that occurs in modern history is about the year 807 by the emperor Charlemagne; who, having reduced under his dominion Italy, Germany, and a part of Spain, established three public posts at the public expence, to carry on the communication with these three provinces. The institution of posts however, like many other institutions of that emperor, dropped at his death, and for a considerable time afterwards no traces of any such establishments are to be found. We cannot indeed discover them with certainty sooner than 1464, when that restless and suspicious prince Louis XI. established posts in France, that he might be the sooner advertised of all that passed in his own or the neighbouring kingdoms. He employed in this service 230 couriers, who delivered the letters at the different stations, and in the various towns through which they passed in their course. Succeeding monarchs created at different times certain offices for the express purpose of superintending the posts; but the frequent changes to which these offices were exposed, prevented for a long time the establishment of any regular system of posts in that kingdom; insomuch that in 1619 the author of the life of the duke d'Epernon says the packet or letter office was not yet set up in France. Former establishments, it is probable, were solely for the use of the court, not for the general good of the nation. From France, the institution gradually spread through several other parts of Europe. In Germany, Lewis Hornig assures us they were first introduced by Count Taxis, who settled them at his own expence; in acknowledgement for which the emperor
Matthias, in 1616, gave as a fief the office of postmaster to him and his descendants.
In England, the establishment of posts in some form or other appears as early as the reign of Edward III. but the notices concerning them are so vague, that no account can be given of them. In the reign of Edward VI. however, some species of posts must have been set up, as an act of parliament passed in 1548, fixing the rate of post-horses at one penny per mile: The post-horses here referred to were, it is probable, chiefly for travelling, and the carriage of letters or packets only an occasional service. In 1581, we find in Camden's Annals mention made of a chief postmaster for England being appointed.—How his office was managed, does not clearly appear; the limited state of the correspondence of the country probably rendered it of trifling consequence. King James I. originally erected a post-office, under the controul of one Matthew de Quester or de l'Equester, for the conveyance of letters to and from foreign parts; which office was afterwards claimed by Lord Stanhope; but was confirmed and continued to William Frizel and Tho. Witherings, by King Charles I. in 1632. Previous to this time, it would appear that private persons were in use to convey letters to and from foreign parts; all such interference with the postmaster's office is therefore expressly prohibited. King Charles, in 1635, erected a letter office for England and Scotland, under the direction of the above Thomas Witherings. The rates of postage then established were, twopence for every single letter for a distance under 80 miles; fourpence from 80 to 140 miles; sixpence above 140 miles. The allowance to the postmasters on the road for horses employed in these posts was fixed at twopence halfpenny per mile for every single horse. All private inland posts were discharged at this time; and in 1637 all private foreign posts were in like manner prohibited. The posts thus established, however, extended only to a few of the principal roads; and the times of transmission were not in every case so certain as they ought to have been.
Witherings was superseded for abuses in the execution of his offices in 1640, and they were sequestered into the hands of Philip Burlamachy, to be exercised under the care and oversight of the king's principal secretary of state. On the breaking out of the civil war great confusions and interruptions were necessarily occasioned in the conduct of the letter-office; but it was about that time that the outline of the present more extended and regular plan seems to have been conceived by Mr Edmond Prideaux, who was afterwards appointed attorney-general to the commonwealth. He was chairman of a committee in 1642 for considering the rate of postage to be set upon inland letters; and some time after was appointed postmaster by an ordinance of both houses of parliament; in the execution of which office he first established a weekly conveyance of letters into all parts of the nation. In 1653, this revenue was farmed for 10,000l. for England, Scotland, and Ireland; and after the charge of maintaining postmasters, to the amount of 7000l. per annum was saved to the public. Prideaux's emoluments being considerable, the common council of London endeavoured to erect another post-office in opposition to his; but they were checked by a resolution of the house of commons, declaring that the office of postmaster is, and ought to be, in the sole power and
and disposal of the parliament. This office was farmed by one Maubey in 1654. In 1656 a new and regular general post-office was erected by the authority of the protector and his parliament, upon nearly the same model that has been ever since adopted, with the following rates of postage: For 80 miles distance, a single letter twopence; for a greater distance, not out of England, threepence; to Scotland, fourpence. By an act of parliament passed soon after the restoration in 1660, the regulations settled in 1656 were re-established, and a general post-office similar to the former, but with some improvements, erected. In 1663 the revenue of the post-office was found to produce 21,500l. annually. In 1685 it was made over to the king as a branch of his private income, and was then estimated at 65,000l. per annum. The year after the revolution the amount of the post-office revenue was 90,504l. 10s. 6d. At the union the produce of the English post-office was stated to be 101,101l. In 1711 the former establishments of separate post-offices for England and Scotland were abolished; and by the stat. 9. Anne, c. 10. one general post-office, and one postmaster-general, was established for the whole united kingdom; and this postmaster was empowered to erect chief letter-offices at Edinburgh, at Dublin, at New York, and other proper places in America and the West Indies. The rates of postage were also increased at this time as follows.—In England, for all distances under 80 miles 3d.; above 80 miles 4d. From London to Edinburgh 6d. In Scotland, under 50 miles 2d.; from 50 to 80 miles 3d.; above 80 miles 4d. In Ireland, under 40 miles 2d.; above 40 miles 4d.—By the above act all persons, except those employed by the postmaster, were strictly prohibited from conveying letters. That year the gross amount of the post-office was 111,461l. 17s. 10d. The nett amount, on a medium, of the three preceding years, was, in the printed report of the commissioners for the equivalent, stated to be for England, 62,000l. and for Scotland 2000l. In 1754 the gross revenue of the post-office for Great Britain amounted to 210,663l.; in 1764 to 281,533l.; and in 1774 to 345,421l.—The privilege of franking letters had been enjoyed by members of parliament from the first erection of the post-office; the original design of this exemption was, that they might correspond freely with their constituents on the business of the nation. By degrees the privilege came to be shamefully abused, and was carried so far, that it was not uncommon for the servants of members of parliament to procure a number of franks for the purpose of selling them; an abuse which was easily practised, as nothing more was required for a letter's passing free than the subscription of a member on the cover. To restrain these frauds, it was enacted, in 1764, that no letter should pass free unless the whole direction was of the member's writing, and his subscription annexed. Even this was found too great a latitude; and by a new regulation in 1784, no letter was permitted to go free unless the date was marked on the cover in the member's own hand writing, and the letter put into the post-office the same day. That year the rates of postage were raised in the following proportions: an addition of 1d. for a single stage; 1d. from London to Edinburgh; 1d. for any distance under, and 2d. for any distance above, 150 miles. An addition to the revenue of 120,000l. was estimated to arise from these regulations and additional rates. The rates now mentioned are those upon single letters: double letters pay double,
treble letters treble, an ounce weight quadruple postage; all above are charged by the weight in the same proportion. The rates of postage have since that time been again increased.
About the year 1784, a great improvement was made in the mode of conveying the mails, upon a plan first suggested in 1782 by Mr John Palmer. Diligences and stage-coaches, he observed, were established to every town of note in the kingdom: and he proposed that government, instead of sending the mails in the old mode, by a boy on horseback, should contract with the masters of these diligences to carry the mail, along with a guard for its protection. This plan, he showed, could not fail to ensure much more expeditious conveyance, the rate of travelling in diligences being far quicker than the rate of the post; and it was easy to carry it into execution with little additional expence, as the coach owners would have a strong inducement to contract at a cheap rate for conveying the mail, on account of the additional recommendation to passengers their carriages would thereby acquire in point of security, regularity, and dispatch.
Though government heartily approved of this plan, and the public at large were satisfied of its utility; yet, like all new schemes, however beneficial, it met with a strong opposition: it was represented by a number of the oldest and ablest officers in the post-office, not only as impracticable, but dangerous to commerce and the revenue. Notwithstanding of this opposition, however, it was at last established, and gradually extended to many different parts of the kingdom; and, upon a fair comparison, it appeared that the revenue was improved, and the plan itself executed for 20,000l. per annum less than the sum first estimated by Mr Palmer.
The present establishment of the general post-office for Great Britain, consists of two postmasters-general, a secretary, surveyor, comptroller-general, and upwards of 150 assistants and clerks for the head letter office in London; the number of deputy postmasters and other officers through the kingdom is very considerable, but not easy to ascertain with accuracy, as it must frequently vary with the changes made in the establishment of country posts. The total expence of this branch of the revenue in 1778 was 149,029l. 17s. 2d.; the gross produce may be reckoned at 650,000l.
The first accounts we have of the establishment of a post-office in Scotland reach no farther back than 1635, when Charles I. erected one both for Scotland and England. The post to Scotland by that appointment was to run night and day, to go from London to Edinburgh and to return in six days, taking with it all letters intended for any post-town in or near the road; the rate of postage from London to Edinburgh was 8d. for a single letter. The expedition with which the post went from London to Edinburgh at this time, is indeed surprising, considering the nature of the roads; perhaps, however, though the king made the regulation that it should go and return in six days, the journey was not always performed in the specified time. During the government of Cromwell, the public post conveyed letters to Scotland as well as England; the postage from London to Scotland was only 4d. After the Restoration, when the post-office was erected for England, mention is made in the act of parliament of the conveyance of letters to Scotland; and the postage to
Berwick is fixed at 3d. For some time after, however, we find no establishment by act of parliament of an internal post in Scotland. In 1662, a post between Ireland and Scotland was first established; and the privy council gave Robert Main, who was then postmaster-general for Scotland, an allowance of 200l. sterling to build a packet-boat for conveying the mail between Portpatrick and Donaghadee: the postage to Ireland was 6d. In 1669, a post was established to go between Edinburgh and Aberdeen twice a-week; and between Edinburgh and Inverness once a-week: the rate of postage was fixed, for 40 Scots miles 2d. and for every 20 miles farther an additional penny. These appear to have been the only public posts in Scotland at that time; but as they could not suffice for the correspondence of the country, there must have been more, either under the direction of the postmaster, or in the hands of private persons; probably there might be of both kinds. In 1690, an act for the security of the common post was passed, subjecting robbers of the mail to capital punishment. It was not till 1695 that the establishment of the post-office in Scotland received the sanction of parliament: posts were then appointed for all parts of Scotland; the rates of postage were fixed, for any place within 50 miles of Edinburgh 2d. between 50 and 100 miles 3d. all places above 100 miles 4d. By the same act, a weekly packet to Ireland was established, and 60l. sterling annually allowed for that service. Though posts were established in consequence of this act, yet such was their mode of travelling, that they hardly deserved the name. Thus, for instance, the person who set out to carry the mail from Edinburgh to Aberdeen, in place of stopping at the first intermediate stage from Edinburgh, and delivering over the mail to another to be carried forward, went on with it himself the whole journey, resting two nights by the way, first at Dundee, and next at Montrose.
In this manner the mail was conveyed thrice a-week from Edinburgh to Aberdeen; but between most parts of Scotland the post went only twice, and between some only once a-week. The post-boy generally travelled on foot. Horses were but little used in the service of the post-office.
At the Union the Scots post-office was farmed for 1194l.: in 1710, the nett amount for Scotland was reckoned to be 2000l. The epistolary correspondence of Scotland must have been small indeed, when even the rates of postage then established proved so very unproductive. This may perhaps, however, be in part accounted for, by conjecturing, that as private posts had probably prevailed pretty much before 1695, it was long before these were entirely suppressed, the people still adhering to their old conveyances, and difficulties occurring in strictly enforcing the law; the amount of the post-office revenue, therefore, at the two periods above mentioned, probably exhibits a view of only a part of the correspondence of Scotland.
In 1711, it has been already mentioned, one general post-office was established for the whole united kingdom; but the postmaster-general was authorised to erect at Edinburgh a chief letter office for Scotland.— This was accordingly done, and a postmaster-general for North Britain, with other necessary officers, appointed. All the deputy postmasters in Scotland are under his immediate direction, but he himself is under
the controul of the postmaster-general for Great Britain. From this head letter-office posts were established to the different parts of Scotland.
For many years the post-boys generally travelled on foot, or, if on horseback, without a change of horses. It was not till about 1750 that the mail began to be conveyed from stage to stage by different post-boys and fresh horses to the principal places in Scotland, and by foot runners to the rest. The communication between London and Edinburgh was at first but thrice a-week, and so slow, that the mail from London to Edinburgh was upon the road 85 hours, and from Edinburgh to London 131 hours. In 1757, upon a representation from the royal boroughs, regulations were fallen upon, by which the time was shortened to 82 hours in the one case, and 85 in the other. By the extension of Mr Palmer's plan to Scotland, the time has been still farther shortened to about 60 hours in each case.
The establishment of the Scots post-office consists at present of a postmaster-general, secretary, solicitor, and accountant, with a number of other clerks and assistants for the head office at Edinburgh; under its management are about 180 deputy postmasters for the different post-towns through Scotland.
The nett produce of the post-office for Scotland in 1733 was 5399l. in 1757 10,623l. in 1766 31,103l. In 1788 the gross produce was 55,836l. the expense 22,636l.; in 1793 the gross amount was about 64,000l. the nett produce about 40,000l.; in 1803 the gross produce was above 120,000l. the nett revenue about 97,000l.; in 1827 the gross produce was above 145,000l. the nett revenue towards 120,000l.