IV. ANOTHER Very confiderable branch of the revenue is levied with greater chearfulness, as, instead of being a burden, it is a manifeft advantage to the public. I mean the poft office, or duty for the carriage of letters. As we have traced the original of the excife to the parliament of 1643, fo it is but juftice to obferve that this ufeful invention owes it's first legislative establishment to the fame affembly. It is true, there existed poft-mafters in much earlier times: but I apprehend their bufinefs was confined to the furnishing of posthorfes to perfons who were defirous to travel expeditiously, and to the dispatching of extraordinary pacquets upon special occafions. King James I. originally erected a poft-office under the controll of one Matthew de Quefter or de l'Equefter for the conveyance of letters to and from foreign parts; which office was afterwards claimed by lord Stanhope, but was confirmed and continued to William Frizell and Thomas Witherings by king Charles I, A. D. 1632, for the better accommodation of the English merchants". In 1635, the fame prince erected a letter-office for England and Scotland, under the direction of the fame Thomas Witherings, and fettled certain rates of postage: but this extended only to a few of the principal roads, the times of carriage were uncertain, and the post-masters on each road were required to furnish the mail with horfes at the rate of 2d. a mile. [ 322 J Witherings was fuperfeded, for abufes in the execution of both his offices, in 1640; and they were fequeftered into the hands of Philip Burlamachy, to be exercised under the care and overfight of the king's principal fecretary of ftate'. On the breaking out of the civil war, great confufions and interruptions were neceffarily occafioned in the conduct of the letter-office. And, about that time, the outline of the prefent more extended and regular plan feems to have been conceived by Mr. Edmond Prideaux, who was appointed attorney general to the commonwealth after the murder of king Charles. He was chairman of a committee in 1642 for con • Latch. Rep. 87. 19 Rym, Feed. 385. q Ibid. 650. 20 Rym. 192. 20 Rym. 429. fidering fidering what rates should be set upon inland letters; and afterwards appointed post-master by an ordinance of both the houses, in the execution of which office he first established a weekly conveyance of letters into all parts of the nation "; thereby faving to the public the charge of maintaining postmasters to the amount of 7000l. per annum. And, his own emoluments being probably very confiderable, the common council of London endeavoured to erect another post-office in oppofition to his; till checked by a refolution of the house of commons ", declaring, that the office of post-mafter is and ought to be in the fole power and disposal of the parliament. This office was afterwards farmed by one Manley in 1654. But, in 1657, a regular poft-office was erected by the authority of the protector and his parliament (28), upon nearly the fame model as has been ever fince adopted, and with the fame rates of postage as continued till the reign of queen Anne. After the restoration a fimilar office, with fome improvements, was established by ftatute 12 Car. II. c. 35. but the rates of letters were altered, and fome farther regulations added, by the statutes 9 Ann. c. 10. 6 Geo. I. c. 21. s Com. Journ. 28 Mar. 1642. t Ibid. 7 Sept. 1644. u Ibid. 21 Mar. 1649. * Scobell. 358. y Com. Journ, 9 June 1657. Scobell. 511. w Ibid. 21 Mar. 1649. (28) The preamble of the ordinance ftates, that the establishing one general poft-office, befides the benefit to commerce, and the convenience of conveying public difpatches, " will be the beft means "to difcover and prevent many dangerous and wicked defigns "against the commonwealth." The policy of having the correspondence of the kingdom under the inspection of government is ftill continued; for, by a warrant from one of the principal secretaries of state, letters may be detained and opened; but if any perfon fhall wilfully detain or open a letter delivered to the post-office without fuch authority, he fhall forfeit 201. and be incapable of having any future employment in the poft-office. 9 Ann. c. 10. f. 40. But it has been decided, that no perfon is fubject to this penalty but those who are employed in the post-office. 5 T. R. 101. 26 Geo. II. c. 12. 5 Geo. III. c. 25. & 7 Geo. III. c. 50. and penalties were enacted, in order to confine the carriage of letters to the public office only, except in fome few cafes: a provifion which is abfolutely neceffary; for nothing but an exclusive right can fupport an office of this fort: many [323] rival independent offices would only ferve to ruin one another. The privilege of letters coming free of postage, to and from members of parliament, was claimed by the house of commons in 1660, when the firft legal fettlement of the prefent poft-office was made ; but afterwards dropped upon a private afsurance from the crown, that this privilege should be allowed the members (29). And accordingly a warrant was conftantly issued to the post-mafter-general, directing the allowance thereof, to the extent of two ounces in weight: till at length it was exprefsly confirmed by ftatute 4 Geɔ. III. c. 24; which adds many new regulations, rendered neceffary by the great abufes crept into the practice of franking (30); z Com. Journ. 17 Dec. 1660. a Ibid. 22 Dec. 1660. b Ibid. 16 Apr. 1735. (29) The following account of it in the 23 vol. Parl. Hift. p. 56. is curious, and proves what originally were the fentiments of the two houses refpecting this privilege. "Colonel Titus reported "the bill for the fettlement of the post-office, with the amendments: ** Sir Walter Carle delivered a provifo for the letters of all mem"bers of parliament to go free, during their fitting: Sir Heneage "Finch faid, It was a poor mendicant provifo, and below the honour of the house. Mr. Prynn spoke also against the provifo: Mr. "Bunckley, Mr. Bofcawen, Sir George Downing, and Serjeant "Charlton, for it; the latter faying, The council's letters went "free.' The queftion being called for, the fpeaker, Sir Har"bottle Grimstone, was unwilling to put it; faying, he was afhamed of it; nevertheless the provifo was carried, and made part of the bill, which was ordered to be ingroffed." This provifo the lords difagreed to, and left it out of the bill; and the commons agreed to their amendment. 3 Hatf. 82. (30) And that the great lofs to the public revenue by the exercife of this privilege might be farther diminished, the 24 Geo. III. feff. 2. c. 37. provides, that no letter fhall go free, unless the .. VOL. I. Ee member whereby the annual amount of franked letters had gradually increased, from 23600/. in the year 1715, to 170700 /. in the year 1763. There cannot be devised a more eligible method, than this, of raising money upon the subject: for therein both the government and the people find a mutual benefit. The government acquires a large revenue; and the people do their business with greater cafe, expedition, and cheapness, than they would be able to do if no such tax (and of course no fuch office) exifted (31). a Ibid. 28 Mar. 1764. member shall write the whole of the fuperfcription, and fhall add his own name, and that of the post-town from which the letter is intended to be fent, and the day of the month in words at length, befides the year, which may be in figures; and unless the letter fhall be put into the poft-office of the place, fo that it may be fent on the day upon which it is dated. And no letter shall go free directed to a member of either house, unless it is directed to him where he shall actually be at the delivery thereof; or to his refidence in London, or to the lobby of his houfe of parliament. And if any perfon fhall fraudulently counterfeit or alter fuch fuperfcription, he fhall be guilty of felony, and fhall be tranfported for seven years. (31) It was determined fo long ago as the 13 W. III. by three of the judges of the court of King's Bench, though contrary to the pertinacious opinion of lord C. J. Holt, that no action could be maintained against the postmaster-general, for the lofs of bills or articles fent in letters by the poft. 1 Ld. Raym. 646. Comyns, 100, &c. A fimilar action was brought against lord le Despencer and Mr. Carteret, poftmafters-general, in 1778, to recover a banknote of 100l. which had been sent by the post and was loft. Lord Mansfield delivered the opinion of the court, and proved, with fuch perfpicuity and ability, that there was no resemblance or analogy between the poftmafters and a master carrier, and that no action for any lofs in the poft-office could be brought againft any perfon, except him by whofe actual negligence the lofs accrued, that this point feems as fully established, as if it had been declared by the full authority of parliament. Cowp. 754. For this reafon it is recommended, by the fecretary of the poftoffice, to cut bank-notes, and to fend one half at a time. This is the V. A FIFTH branch of the perpetual revenue confifts in the stamp duties, which are a tax impofed upon all parchment and paper whereon any legal proceedings, or private instruments of almost any nature whatsoever, are written; and, alfo upon licenses for retailing wines, letting horfes to hire, and for certain other purpofes; and upon all almanacks, news-papers, advertisements, cards, dice, and pamphlets containing less than fix fheets of paper. These impofts are very various, according to the nature of the thing stamped, rifing gradually from a penny to ten pounds. This is also a tax, which though in some instances it may be heavily felt, by greatly increasing the expence of all mercantile as well as legal .. proceedings, yet (if moderately impofed) is of fervice to the public in general, by authenticating inftruments, and render- [ 324 ] ing it much more difficult than formerly to forge deeds of any ftanding; fince, as the officers of this branch of the revenue vary their stamps frequently, by marks perceptible to none but themselves, a man that would forge a deed of king William's time, must know and be able to counterfeit the ftamp of that date alfo. In France and fome other countries the duty is laid on the contract itself, not on the inftrument in which it is contained; (as, with us too, befides the stamps on the indentures, a tax is laid by ftatute 8 Ann. c. 9. of 6 d. in the pound, upon every apprentice-fee, if it be 50. or under; and Is, in the pound, if it be a greater fum) but this tends to draw the fubject into a thousand nice difquifitions and difputes con the only fafe mode of fending bank-notes, as the bank would never pay the holder of that half which had been fraudulently obtained. Many attempts have been made by poftmafters in country towns, to charge a halfpenny or a penny a letter upon delivery at the houses in the town above the parliamentary rates, under pretence that they were not obliged to carry the letters out of the office gratis; but it has been repeatedly decided, that fuch a demand is illegal, and that they are bound to deliver the letters to the inhabitants within the ufual and established limits of the town, without any addition to the rate of postage. 5 Burr. 2;09. 2 Bl. Rep. 906, Cowp. 182. |