The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1839-12-10 00:00:00

THE POSTAGE SCHEME.

The remarks which we had . occasion to make upon the
' Fourpenny Postage Scheme we find still continue to attract
attention. On the 23rd ult. we said (writing then under the
old scheme.)—" Letters of one ounce weight or under are
now conveyed between Manchester and this town for six-
pence; and between Leeds and here for fivepence. By the
new regulations (an abstract bf which we gave last week) the
postage of a letter above half an ounce weight to either
of these towns will be eightpence ; being an Irish sort of
reduction, that is, an extra charge of twopence to Manches-
ter and threepence to Leeds !!! Letters not exceeding half
an ounce weight will be charged only fourpence."
The new system has now commenced, and we can already
point to instances where parties have paid eightpence fur the
postage of letters from Leeds, upon which under the old
system they were accustomed to pay only fivepence. We
ourselves were in the receipt of letters this week for which
we paid fivepence each ; which had they been posted on
Thursday, would have cost us eightpence each.—Halifax
Guardian, a conservative paper.
THE NEW PosTAGE.—It is really quite amusing to wit-
ness the undisguised ill-humour with which many of the
principal post-office agents receive, weigh, and charge the
numerous letters which pasS through their hands under the
new regulation. We speak advisedly in asserting that the
receiving houses in all the large thoroughfares have a quite
clerks expressly to superintend the post-office department.
Yet the receivers are to have no additional allowance for
extra labour in the shape of commission. They are, actually,
each and all of them, necessitated to provide their own
" scales " for weighing letters, a gratuitous duty performed
almost without intermission throughout every minute of the
day ! " Surely," observed one of the receivers to the writer,
on the sth, " the post-office should at least provide us with
scales;" It is ludicrous to notice one's enveloped corre-
spondence—one's billet doux, poked, as is the case at grocers'
shops and such places, into ugly-looking circular copper
scales, to the imminent risk of increasing their weight (a
serious matter !) by the adhesion of some treacly substance,
Seriously, it is palpable that the present arrangement cannol
last long. [We are assured by those who have every oppor-
tunity of knowing the truth, that, although the number of
letters yesterday was considerably increased, the diminution
for that day in the actual money charges was upwards of
£7OO !! o—Correspondent of Morning Herald.
ILLtSTRATION OF THE BENEFITS OF THE NEW POST-
AGE.—In one respect we have felt the new postage to be an
additional tax upon us—namely, as regards those towns in
the West Riding, Bradford, Huddersfield, Wakefield, &c.,
with which our correspondence chiefly lies. For example,
our Bradford letter, instead of the usual charge offourpence,
was this morning charged eefelpenee postage. This arises
from the weight of the sheet on which it is written exceeding
the half ounce prescribed. Formerly a single sheet, under
ode ounce, was only charged fourpence. In many other cases
we expect the postage to be doubled ; but, of course, in the
larger proportion of instances, we shall profit by the change.
Still the new measure is but a pitiful instalment of the UNI-
FORM PENNY POSTAGE, so much lauded by.the whigs as the
" BooN" of the past session. After all, we very much sus-
pect that this measure, of which so many great things were
anticipated, has now got its quietus, and that, after all our
agitation, we arc to be deceived into a fourpenny and eight-
penny postage, by no means such a decided improvement as
we were led to anticipate from the radical change which the
people with so unanimous a voice demanded.—(Leeds. Times,
a whig-radical paper.)
It is yet too soon to form any estimate of the increase of
the number of letters through the post-office, or of the
amount of revenue from the now nearly universally uniform
charge, as compared with the old system of charging accord-
ing to distance. For the first two or three days there will
probably be a larger number of letters sent through the post,
than may be the case for a short period afterwards ; and we
may expect that, as a knowledge of the nature and benefit of
the change becomes gradually extended to the less informed
Of our large towns, and especially of the agricultural districts,
there will be a steady and progressive increase.—Pfanehes-
ter Guardian, a whig paper.

THE NEW POSTAGE.

The new postage regulations came into operation on Thurs-
day, the sth instant.

All lettere are now charged with the new rates, which ap-
ply to letters addressed not only to all places in England,
but to Ireland, Scotland, and all parts of the United King-
dom.

The new rates of postage are the following—
On letters not exceeding halt an ounce, fourpence.
On letters above half an ounce, and not exceeding one
ounce, eightpence.
On letters above one ounce, and not exceeding two ounces,
one and fourpene, if pie-paid ; if not 2s. 6d.
On letters above two ounces, and not exceeding four
ounces, two and eightpenee, if pre-paid; if not pre-paid ss. 4d.
And so on in proportion.
It must be borne in mind, that after the first ounce in the
preceding scale, no distinction is made between the ounce
and the fraction of an ounce. A letter, for instance, which
turns the ounce weight, is liable to four postages, and a letter
weighing a fraction above two ounces is liable to six postages,
and so on.

As all postages are charged by weight, the number of pieces
of paper of which a letter may consist will be of no import-
ance. Letters may therefore be enclosed in envelopes, with-
out additional charge, provided the letter and the envelope
do not exceed half an ounce in weight.

In all cases where the postage was less than fourpence the
prefient charges will continue, except the charges will be by
weight ; half an ounce being charged as a single letter, and so
on.

All letters exceeding an ounce in weight must have the
postage paid in advance, or they will become liable to double
the sum that would otherwise have to be paid on them.
Foreign letters will continue to be charged with the pre-
sent rates of postage.

MR. ROBY'S SPEECH AT ASHTON.

The Standard publishes the following copy of a letter ad-
dressed by Mr. Roby to one of the officers at the Ashton
dinner :

Rochdale, Nov. 12.
"My Dear Sir,—l hasten to reply to yours of yesterday,
and can only say how truly sorry I an to find that what I
said about her majesty's ministers only should have been
tortured, no doubt intentionally, to your disadvantage, and
that of the officers of the 20th regiment. You are perfectly
correct in stating that nothing in my speech could or was
meant to apply in any way to her majesty, except sentiments
of loyalty and devotion. In fact, I was particularly careful,
in consequence of Mr. Bradshaw's previous speech, to ex-
onerate the queen from participation in the anti-protestant
measures of the ministry. Garbled extracts may of course
be made to say anything, but you will find in the report suf-
ficient to warrant these assertions. For instance, .' In my
opinion there is a wide distinction between these times and
our own. Popish measures then emanated directly from the
sovereign himself. Now, these predilections, I would fain
hope, stop in the ascending line with her majesty's ministers,
and consequently the danger will be past when they are dis-
missed.' Other passages, for instance, May sho long live
to distinguish who are her real friends,' &c., are not reported.
No doubt the ruse at present is to throw the odium in which
ministers are held on the queen, and to escape under cover
of this diversion. Hoping sincerely this letter may be satis-
factory, and that you may escape from whig radical rancour
until their. expulsion from office, an event, I trust, not far
distant, I have the honour to be,-sir, yours, very truly,

'‘‘ JOHN AO' BY."