The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1897-08-18
OLD POSTAL USAGES.
CURIOUS PHASES OF THE MAIL seRv-
ICE SIXTY YEARS AGO.

Rates on Ordinary Letters In England
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 well to do
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
tance, the average rate being 3D., or
half the days wage of laborer. a
"single" letter meant single piece Of
paper adhesive envelopes had not been
invented), and the addition of a second
scrap of paper made the letter "dou-
BILE" one. The postage was paid on de-
livery by the recipient and as no cred.
IL was given the incursion of postman
into poor 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 din
culty) found the required ninepence,
despite the womans remonstrances.
When the postman had gone away, she
showed Coleridge that the letter was
but blank sheet of paper. Her brother
had arranged TO send her at intervals
such "a sheet, addressed in a certain
fashion, as evidence that all was well
with him, and she as regularly, after
inspecting the address, refused to accept
it, Some humorist on one occasion sent
ont large numbers of letters, each Oh "a
sheet as large as "a tablecloth, all of
which had to be delivered as "single"
missives.
This system practically stifed written
intercourse among the working clnss and
pressed with severity upon the middle
class, but the rich and highly placed
entirely escaped postal taxation. The
privilege of franking covered the CORE
spondence not only Of ministers, peers
and members of parliament, but of
their relatives, friends and acquaint-
ances. While In one year early in the
queens reign no less than 7,40O, 900
letters were franked, single London
firm paid annually Ell, 200 for postage
and writer in The Quarterly referred
f1ippantly to $50 slight and rare an in.
cident in laborer's life as the receipt
Of letter" Among the packets"
franked was grand piano. An army
Of clerks was employed to fix the charges
10 be collected, and the postal revenue
remained stationary between 1915 and
1885, although in the same period the
population increased from 10, 500, 600 to
25,6O0,00O.
Moved by this state Of things, parlia-
ment in 1889 adopted Rowland Hills
proposal Of uniform inland penny post
age, which came into operation OH Jan.
10, 1840. The writer possesses copy of
The Quarterly Review Of 1889, in which
contributor believed TO be Croker)
aercely denounces the scheme. "Will
clerks" he says, "write only to their
fathers and girls to their mothers? Will
not letters of romance or love, intrigue
or mischief, increase in at least equal
proportions? We doubt whether social
and domestic correspondence will be
more than doubled. A gigantic exem.
plification Of the old proverb-Penny
wise and pound foolish" etc.
Macaulay says that the penny post,
when first established, was the object
Of violent invective, as q manifest con-
trivance of the pope to enslave the souls
Of Englishmen. 1t was described az
"sedition made easy" The postal au.
thorities, who il 1884 had opposed the
institution Of mail coaches, were i'm
placable enemies of penny postage. The
postmaster general of 1889, Lord Lich-
field, based his objections OH the curl
ous ground that the building at st. Mar-
tin's-le-Grand would not be large
enough. The secretary, Colonel Maber-
ly, constantly repeated, "This plan we
know will fail"
As we know, it succeeded, and the
penny rate has been generally adopted
In Europe as well as in the United
States. The number of letters rose from
$4,000. 900 in 1887 to 900. OOO,OO in
1S47, and for the year ending on March
81, 1897, about 1900, 900, 900. The
postal surplus was in 1889 G1, ,858, $40
and in 1867 aS,882, 1873. The number
Of letters, which was in 1887 about
per head and in 1854 10 per head, IL
now n per head. ad.-Fortnightly Review.