The Kansas herald of freedom., 1859-10-08
d. O,Cmneu.

Here, it will be noticed, the date is
written in words, not in numerals. This
is to prevent any alteration of date. For.
merly there inevitably prevailed the abuse
of writing franks to be used by other peo-
ple. At that time, the average rate of
postage in Great Britain was twenty cents
per letter, with an extra single postage
charged for every separate enclosure. So
strictly was this interpreted that letter
enclosed in an envelope was always con-
sidered double and charged with double
postage. As a frank would cover an
ounce weight, it was capable of taking
half dozen letters or notes written upon
thin paper. Thus the franking privilege
took great deal out of the Post Office
revenue, even though it never sent shirts
to the laundress OF received them back,
as the owner of the "willa" on Washing
ton Heights has had the impudence to
say. -..f IL s,leT. a.r.,." f
There were some checks, it will be
seen, on any gross abuse of the franking
privilege. Until pretty far advanced
period in William Pitts Ministry, the
frank of a British peer or member of Par
lament was simply his name, written by
himself, on the -left-hand corner of the
letter, which carried as large packet as
the sheet of paper could hold. Mr.. Pitt
introduced the check of also having in-
scribed on the letter the address of the
party receiving it, with the place and date
all in the holograph of the party frank
ing. He also limited the weight to one
ounce, and, curtailing the privilege of a
franker's sending and receiving through
the post each day as many letters as he
pleased, cut the number down to the
sending ten and receiving of fifteen free
letters daily. al .. 81. -..G.
| Having the place whence the letter was
to be sent written by the franker on the
address, was what Mr.. Fagin would call
ian artful dodge" For example, man
might write frank, to oblige friend or
constituent at Leeds, dating it from thence.
If this were not posted at Leeds, where it
was dated, it was null and void as frank,
and would be charged full postage.
Again, as to the date Suppose that the
letter whose address we have given above,
as dated September mine, were to be posted
before or after that date, it would not then
be a-frank, but would be, charged full
postage. If a member, having written q
letter on the 9th, which he had failed to
post, wished to send it on without writing
another frank, (envelopes being scarcely
used then,) he should erase the word nine,
subjoin his initials to the correction.
In January 1910, when the Penny Pos.
tage put an end to the franking privilege,
it was ascertained that of 81 100000 let.
ters which annually passed through the
British post Offices, Z, 100000 were franked
letters. OF these 1918 448 were Parlia-
mentary, and 2, 109, ,o1O were official franks
The entire weight of British Parliamen.
tary franked letters, by over I, 100 legisls
tors, Get an average weight of nearly hal
an ounce for each letter. was about l, ,20(
tons, in thelast year of franking, or littl,
more than three tons per diem.
This of course takes into account no
only letters sent direct through the Gen
eral Post Offices in London, Edinburgh
and Dublin, but heaps of letters from
country places which never eutereb thos
great establishments. lIt.is the whole, il
| fact, of all franked letters in all parts o
! the country.
2 The number of franks was actual,
] 135, 600 per week, distributed thus--Lon
: don, 81 900; English post Offices, 5000
= Ireland, 21,0OO; and Scotland, $500 o
!, the average, each peer and member g
9 Parliament received fifty, and sent ava
}, thirty four letters per week, and no docu
It ments whatever.
There was DO such thing, in the day
of British franking, as sending "docu
ments' through post A few public stai
utes were sent, but those generally by o.
n ficials; and only 1882 were sent in 1S3'
e If a, member made 3 speech which
y desired his constituents to read, the
% would find it in the Gfmes, or other Lor
Ie don papers, among the Prliamentsl
d Debates; If he wished this to be give
d more fully than the London reporte
y deemed it worth giving, they had a II
p, port of what they said, or wished to ha,
d said, printed IN the newspaper or newsp
y pers in their interest in the district wi
which they were connected as heredita
or Legislative representatives. OF eourz
Or leading mems speeches, in OF out of Pa
: lament, are published, for their own ir
r portance, in most of the newspapers,
e, over the country, holding opinions Ii
Of those thus expressed.
A calculation was made, when the Br