Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1897-07-29
OLD POSTAL JSAGES.
CURIOUS PHASES OF THE MAIL SERv-
ICE SIXTY YEARS AGO.


ICE SIXTY YEARS AGO.
Rates on Ordinary Letters In En8AAno
Were Almost Prohibitive-Adoption Of
the Penny Post and the Queer Argu-
ments Against It.
When Queen Victoria assembled the
throne, there were no telegraphs In this
country and few railways The mails
were forwarded by coach, and the post
age rates were to all but the we'll to do
prohibitive. 1t cost from i'd. to Is. Sd.
to send "single" letter under an
ounce in weight from one part of the
kingdom to another. There were some
40 charges. varying according to dis
tanoe, the average rate being 3d.. o.
half the days wage Of laborer. A
"dnple" letter meant single piece OF
paper adhesive envelopes had not been
inyented), and the addition of second
scrap Of paper made the letter "doo-
BILE" one. The postage was paid on de-
livery by the recipient. and A. no cred
IL was given the incursion Of postman
into a Door neighborhood was watched
on all sides with fear rather than hope.
Coleridge, the poet, saw poor wom-
an declining to accept letter on the
score of inability to pay. The good
natured bard doubtless with some-dim-
oulty) found the required ninepenoe,
DESPITE the woman's remonstrances.
| When the postman had gone away, abe
showed Coleridge that the letter wa
but a blank sheet Of paper. Her brother
| had arranged to send her at intervals
! such a sheet, addressed in certain
fashion, as evidence that all was vel.
with him, and she as regularly, afte1
inspecting the address, refused to accept
1t. Some humorist on one occasion SEN
out large numbers Of letters, each on
sheet as large as a tableoloth. all 0:
| which had to be delivered as "single'
missiveA
This system practically stif!ed write,
intercourse among thu working class ant
pressed with severity upon the middl
class, but the rich and highly places
entirely escaped postal taxation. Tn
privilege Of franking covered the CORE
spondence not only Of ministers, peer
and members of parliament, but Q
their relatives, friends and acqua1nt
anoes. While in one year early IN tn
queens reign no less than 7,40o, 90
letters were franked, single Londo
firm paid annually eli, 900 for postag
and writer in The Quarterly referre
flippantly to $50 slight and rare an II
cident in laborer's life as the receiI
of a letter." Among the packets
franked was a grand piano. An arm
of clerks was employed to fix the charge
to be collected, and the postal revenu
remained stationary between 1915 an
| 1885, although in the same period tt
population increased from 10, 500, 600
25, 100000.
Moved by this state of things, parli'
ment in 1889 adopted Rowland Hill
proposal of uniform inland penny pos
age, which came into operation on Jal
10, 1910. The writer possesses copy
q The Quarterly Review of 1889, In while
2 contributor believed to be Oroke
q fiercely denounces the scheme. "Wi
- CLERKS he says, write only to the
y fathers and girls to their mothers3 WI
# not letters of romance or love, intr1g1
c. or mischief, increase in at least equ
~ proportions? We doubt whether soci
d and domestic correspondence will
n more than doubled A gigantic exer
plifioation Of the old proyerb-Pen1
: wise and pound foolish, etc.
Maoaulay says that the penny pos
h when first established, was the obje
y of violent invective, as manifest CO
Z trivance of the pope to enslave the sou
8 Of Englishmen. It was described
= "sedition made easy" The postal a
& thorities, who Is 1884 had opposed t
: institution of mail coaches, were u
3 Pplacable enemies Of penny postage. T
Q postmaster general of 1889, Lord Lie
= field, based his objections on the c1u
:. GUS ground that the building at St. Ms
tin's-ls- Grand would not be lar
enough. The secretary, Colonel Mabt
", constantly repeated, "This plan +,
Y know will fail"
ot As we know, 1t succeeded, and {
& penny rate has been generally adopt
= In Europe as well a. In the Unit
u Statea The number Of letters rose fre
4 80, 900, 900 In 1887 to 800, 600, 600
I 1847, and for the year ending ON Mar
4 81, 1897, about 1000, 900, 900 T
Il postal surplus was in 1889 81, $50, D
= and In 1867 IS, $50. 1873. The numt
x of letters, which was In 1887 about
u per head and in 1864 10 per head.
IN now ~ per head.-Fortnightly Revue