The Washington herald., 1910-05-01

voluntary remuneration Of a privilege
which it had enjoyed from the days OF
oliver Cromwell until the third year or
the reign Of Queen Victoria.
There are two classes Of letters that
continue, however. 70 retain the right
Of free carriage through the mails in
Europe. These are the communications
sent out from the national government
departments. on purely official business.
and the letters sent by or 10 the sovereign.
In both cases the immunity is restricted
70 the country concerned, and while a
letter despatched by. for instance, the
English war department. by the King.
or his private secretary, would be car
ried free Of cost to any point within
the British empire. II would have 20
bear postage stamps 70 secure transmits
sion through the foreign mails.
Communications sent out by the vari-
Gus government departments in Great
Britain, in order 10 secure free trans
mission through the domestic mails, bear
a printed superscription on the envelope
10 the effect that the letters in question
L
addition thereto the envelopes are en-
bossed with the royal arms and the name
Of the Office, besides which one OF thu
responsible heads Of the latter IS re-
quired TO sign his name in the lower
left hand corner Of the face OF the en-
veIope
Sometimes the mystic words ION His
/ Majesty's Service are missing. and there
( is merely the embossed stamp Of the
department on the flap, and the sigma
ture Of one OF its responsible officials on
the face. This happens with letters that
are sent out from some great government
department such as, for instance. the
foreign Office, In special bags. the con-
tents Of which on reaching the post
office. are impressed there with a circu-
lar stamp in red. bearing the date. the
hour, and the words Official Paid
Sovereigns all over Europe have the
privilege Of sending letters 10 any part
Of their own dominious free Of cost.
. But some Of them decline to avail them
selves Of this pre-ogaJive.
( Thus. I have. while writing this. been
/ led thereby 20 hunt up q number OF
] letters addressed 70 me a quarter Of a
century ago by my old frien5 the late
Gen. Sir Henry Ponsonby, privy purse
and principal private secretary Of tho
Queen. and her confidential German
secretary, Hermann Sahl. Who. in spite
OF the fact that his name was known 10
but few outside the royal household.
and Of these Continental Courts allied
20 the British reigning ho-se by ties
Of blood. was nevertheless a man OF I'm
mense influence. owing 10 the unb0unded
1 confidence bestowed upon him by his
royal mistress.
Their letters. written on her business.
and relating 20 Official matters. are all
OF them contained in envelopes which
bear the ordinary postage stamps, IN
spite Of their signature in the lower left
hand corner Of the face Of the envelope.
and the royal seal on the flap. which
would have been sufficient 20 pass them
through the mails unpaid. King Edward
has followed the practice inaugurated
by his revered mother, and which IS quite
in keeping with his enlightened and
broad-minded policy, in declining TO avail
himself OF his immunity from customs
Na-tA00 anu ---rASA-A4b fL- paying same
tax as the remainder Of his fellow
cOUntrymen. on all the vines. the liquors.
the cigars. &c, that are imported for the
use OF the royal household. representing
a very large sum annually.
The freedom Of the mails enjoyed by
the monarchs Of Europe for their letters.
Is sometimes put 20 queer uses. Thus.
the late sovereign Grandduke Of OIdeu-
burg. much 70 the disgust OF his brother
rulers OF the confederation. known as
the German empire and 10 the annoy
ance and OF te Iron Chancellor enter
tanned a remarkable sympathy for Social
ism and for Socialists. He was through
out the closing years of his life a sub
scriber 10 the various Socialist pubIlca-
lions that are printed and issued at
Zurich, IN order 10 evade the inevitable
interference Of the police IN other coun-
tries
Finding that all these Socialist. papers
and reviews when forwarded 20 him
from Switzerland 10 Oldenburg by means
OF the ordinary newspaper mail were
mercilessly confscated and DESTROYED by
the German postal authorities. he was
led thereby 20 provide his Socialist
friends at Zurich with a large number Of
big envelopes. bearing his frank on the
face, and his armOrial bearings on the
flap, and which were mailed 10 him from
the German-Swiss frontier at Basic. filed
with Socialistic literature that in this
fashion reached him IN safety.
Until the beginning Of this year the
chief Of the princely and ducal German
house Of Thurn and Taxis, one OF the
rediatzed families that up 10 the close
Of the eighteenth century exercised petty
sovereignty, retained the right TO tree
use Of the mails in Germany.
This was due 70 the fact that until
Napoleon put an end to the holy Roman
empire. little over a hundred years ago.
the head Of the house Of Thurn and
TaXis enjoyed the title OF its postmaster
general and the monopoly Of the postal
service.
This monopoly was afterward re-
stricted 10 the kingdom Of Bavaria. but
has long been abolished the head OF tbe
house retaining the title Of hereditary
postmaster general and the frankiug
privilege. Owing 10 the abuse Of this
ranking privilege, the postal depart-
ment OF the German empire and tina
Bavarian government succeeded by Ieeis-
lative means, in depriving his last winter
Of any further f~ao &C. - -