Part 31

Wee have Considered of the severall rates mentioned in Mr. Hamiltons Memoriall for the Inland Post of letters between one place & an other in America and are humbly of opinion some of them are too high. It having been found by Experience in this Office That y^{e} easy and cheap Corresponding doth encourage people to write letters and that this Revenue was but little in proportion to what it now is till the postage was reduced from sixpence to 3d.

Wee have advised with Mr. Hamilton who hath settled and managed this Post under Mr. Neale and is recomended to Us by the Governor of Virginia to be well acquainted with that Country about enlarging the Post through Virginia & Maryland and by his Competation hereunto annexed do find that it will require 1200^{d}. further Charge than w^{t} has already been expended to Establish and bring the whole to perfection there.

Upon the whole it appears to Us that as the Establishing this American Post whereby the several Colonys have a regular way of Corresponding with each other is of great advantage to the Trade of his Maj^{tys}. Subjects in those parts so it may in few years bring in a cleare proffit over and above what may be required to defray y^{e} necessary Charges but it is to be apprehended that considering the same is in the hands of a private person the severall Governors will not give that encouragem^{t}. to it they would do if the profit and advantage arrising thereby were to accrew to his Maj^{ty}. All which is humbly submitted to your Lordsps. Consideration. Gen^{l}. Post Office 27th April 1699.

R: COTTON THO: FRANKLAND.

No. 1 (_e_).

To the Right Honble &c^{a}.

The humble Memoriall of Tho: Neale Esq^{r}.

May it please your Lordsps.

Though after Strugling with many difficultys in the first settling the American Post I have now at last at a great Charge made it a regular Post and brought it to such a pass that where settled it supports it self and will in a very few yeares bring in a fair Revenue, Yet since the Postm^{r}. Gen^{l}. in their Report to your Lordsps Conserning y^{e} Post have declared their opinion that it will not receive so due encouragement nor so soon attain to perfection in the hands of a private person for the good of the publick, as it would, were it in the hands of the King; I humbly offer to lay my Pattent of that Post office at his Majestys feet rather then an undertaking so usefull & beneficiall to his Majestys subjects in America and to those that trade thither should want the least advantage for its support and to leave my selfe to his Maj^{tys} Justice and goodness for a Recompence of my risque and disbursments by a yearly Pention or otherwise.

And Whereas in y^{e} Memoriall annexed to the Report, the abuses hitherto practiced in Conveying letters to America and the method for preventing them for the future are set forth I humbly beseech yo^{r} Lordsps. y^{t} the said Method if approved of by your Lordps. or such other as your Lordsps. shall think more proper may be put in Execusion for the benefit of the Publick and mine till his Maj^{ty}. shall declare his pleasure conserning the surrender of my Patent.

All which is most humbly submitted to yo^{r}. Lordsps. Great Wisdom &c^{a}. by My Lords Your ever obedient THO: NEALE.

_April 28, 1699._

No. 1 (_f_).

To the Kings most Excellent Ma^{ty}.

The humble Petition of Andrew Hamilton, and Robert West.

SHEWETH

That your Maj^{tie}. and the late Queen of Blessed Memory in the fourth Year of your Raigne, by Letters Patent granted to Thomas Neale Esq^{r}. full power and Authority to Erect a Post, and Post office in North America, To hold for one and Twenty yeares without any Account, And by the same Letters Patent directed the Post Master Generall of England to Issue Deputations from time to time to such Persons as Mr. Neale or his Assignes should Nominate, to Execute the same power.

In pursuance of which Grant, the Post Master Generall at Mr. Neales nomination, Deputed Your Peticoner Hamilton, who hath Setled a Post from New Yorke Southward as far as Virginia, and Eastward Seventy Miles beyond Boston in New England, which proves of great Advantage to the Trade of those Coloneys, and of no lesse Service to your Maj^{tys}. Governm^{t}. there.

In the Setling and Supporting w^{ch} Post, your Pet^{r}. West, above seven yeares agoe upon the request and Credit of Mr. Neale, advanced Two hundred pounds, and your Petitioner Hamilton hath since disbursed Eleven Hundred Pounds more, and brought it to such Perfection, that it allready defrays Its own Charge, and will in time be a Considerable Revenue.

That Mr. Neale being unable to pay your Pet^{rs}. or to give them other Satisfaction, in August 1699 Assigned all his Interest in the said Post to your Petitioner West for secureing all the Monys due to both your Petitioners and all such other sumes as your Pet^{r}. Hamilton should expend in further enlarging the said Post, with Common Interest for the whole Moneys.

That Mr. Neale Dying before payment of any part of the said Debts, and all persons declining to Act either as his Executor, or Administrator, Your Pet^{rs}. will be necessitated to dispose of the said Post for Satisfaction of their Debts, but being Sensible It is more for your Maj^{ties}. Interest and Service, to have such Post Under the management and Controll of some Officer to be appointed by your Ma^{tys}. than of any Private Person.

Your Petitioners humbly tender the same to your Maj^{tie}. and if your Maj^{tie}. shall not thinke fit to Accept It, They humbly pray that your Maj^{tie}. will Gratiously encourage the Continuance and Enlargement of the said Post, by granting them a further terme of years therein, and such additional Priviledges as are necessary for the Improvement of it.

And your Petitioners shall ever pray &c^{a}.

At the Court.

No. 2.

LONDON _Feb^{ry}. 8th 1779._

SIR,

My present disagreable Situation as an Officer under the Crown without Employment, and without a Salary, occasioned by the Rebellion in America, induces me to give you the Trouble of this Adress, and to request your advice and Assistance in procuring that Relief which my present Circumstances require.

You are not a Stranger to my Appointment to the Office of Deputy Postmaster of Philadelphia in the year 1776 by the Deputy postmasters General of North America, and that I continued to act in that Office, and as I trust to the entire Satisfaction of all concerned, until the Confusion and Sedition in that Country rendered it impossible for me to be of any kind of service.

In the Spring 1775 having good Reason to believe from a variety of Information that there was a Danger of breaking up the Post Office at Philadelphia under the Crown, and seizing upon all the Monies in my Custody, I immediately made up my Accounts, and remitted the Balance in my Hands to the Comptroller in New York up to the 5^{th} April of the same year.

About this time the disaffected Merchants in Philadelphia set up by Subscription a post Office in opposition to Government, appointed William Bradford Postmaster and compelled many of the well effected Merchants and others to send their Letters to it for Conveyance; and in May following the Mail was seized in New England under a public Avowel of the Rebels.

Under these Circumstances finding not only my person was in danger, but that I could be of no further service to the Crown by my continuing in Philadelphia, I left it and came into New York where my Conduct being approved, I procured leave of Absence, and returned to London in order to represent the true State of the Offices in America, which on my arrival I did. You will also recollect that as soon as possible after hearing that the City of Philadelphia was in possession of the Kings Troops I again embarked under an Expectation that the War would be settled by the Commissioners, and to take care of the post Office Affairs in that City. But on my arrival finding that All Letters by the packets &c^{a}. were taken up by the Commander in Chief, and delivered not only to the Army and Navy but even to the Merchants, the City being evacuated soon after, I was obliged to return again to this place for safety. When in the Execution of my Office my Salary amounted to Two Hundred and Twenty five pounds Sterl^{g}. p. Ann. out of which I paid Clerks Wages and Office Rent. This I received up to the 5 of April 1775. Since that time I have subsisted on my own means (except Two Hundred pounds at the Post Office by Warrant from the Treasury) without receiving any other part of my Salary from Government.

In these Circumstances it is with reluctance I find myself under the necessity of applying for the same Allowance from the Crown, which has been made to other persons in Office under it, in the like Situation.

I am Sir &^{ca}.

THOS. FOXCROFT.

Anth. Todd, Esq^{r}.

Treasury authorized [L]100 a year from 5th April, 1775, "until he may be reinstated in the office or otherwise provided for."

No. 3.

GENERAL POST OFFICE, _February 15th, 1793._

SIR,

In your letter dated the 1st instant which we did not receive till the 8th, We have the honor to inform you that after much difficulty We have but lately obtained Mr. Finlay's accounts as Deputy Post Master General in America the first Statement of which was for the period between the 5th of April 1786 and the 10th of October 1790 and exhibited a balance due to the Office up to that date of [L]1809.19.4 Sterling but the Account was inadmissible in point of form for reasons hereafter mentioned.

We are satisfied Sir that you will form no Opinion without having read the full state of the question on both sides and the proofs and documents by which Our Conduct towards Mr. Finlay may be judged and that you will form no hasty conclusion from his statement of his own case, which you will find to be greatly misrepresented.

In support of this assertion We have ordered Copies of the letters that We have lately written to Mr. Finlay upon the Subject of his Debt to be laid before you, And We shall if you will permit us Order our Deputy Accountant General and desire Mr. Callender to wait upon you and to explain the particulars of all that have passed.

Mr. Callender is Mr. Finlay's Agent without whose knowledge and concurrence, We have taken no one step of late in this business, nor sent out any dispatch to Mr. Finlay that Mr. Callender has not previously seen and approved.

He will be able to satisfy you Sir, whether our conduct towards Mr. Finlay has been grounded upon severity or upon forbearance, more than perhaps our duty strictly speaking, would justify.

In the mean time that we may do away any erroneous impression, which Mr. Finlay's letters may have made upon your mind, as well as upon Gov^{r}: Clarke's, We shall shortly put together the points which Our correspondence will prove, and We shall rely upon your justice to transmit copy of that correspondence to Gov^{r}: Clarke, that He may have full and correct information upon the subject.

There is and has long been a considerable balance due from Mr. Finlay, to this Revenue, for the payment of which he has given no security, which balance We have repeatedly but in Vain called upon him to pay.

He is in possession from us not as He tells Governor Clarke, of a Salary of [L]300 per Annum, but of a Pension of [L]150 p. Annum, a Salary of [L]150 more, and a Commission of [L]20 per Cent on the net produce of letters within the province of Canada, which he assured us in May 1789 produced to Him a nett receipt of [L]130 p. Annum, but previous to his receiving any net produce, all charges, dead letters, under Deputies Salaries, and other allowances are by the Words of his Commission, to be first deducted.

Instead of this he has charged the Office [L]20 per Cent upon the Gross, the dead letters only deducted, and not upon the net produce and claimed to be allowed for sundry of those Articles of Management, which by His Commission on the Articles which are to be deducted before the Net Produce is paid to him.

He also charges his Pension for several quarters, which he must know, was paid to his Agent in this Country during a part of the time he claims it in Canada.

In an account amounting to several Thousand Pounds and for several Years, He has sent us home the particulars of no one Article of expenditure whatever, & one Voucher only which is but for [L]27.

His accounts from the length of time and the manner in which they have at different periods been stated, are in a confused and contradictory state, and radically wrong, from his having taken considerable credit for Money received by his Agent here on Account of his Pension, and the whole of the Articles of his disbursements being destitute of Vouchers, up to the Period of the 10th of October 1792, without which they cannot pass this, or the Auditors' Office, together with his having taken a Credit for his [L]20 p. Cent on false principles, and contrary to the words of His Commission, which says it shall be on the Net and not on the Gross Produce. The Accountant General therefore thought it more adviseable, and Mr. Finlay's own Agent strongly recommended the measure, of Mr. Finlay's coming to England to adjust in person, the whole, and render an Account capable of being incorporated in the Annual Accounts of this Office, for the Auditors in which the true balance must be ascertained.

As far as depends upon us We have given him the option to come or not, just as He pleases, provided We have an intelligible Account and his Balance paid.

His letter to Governor Clarke of 28th October contains one misrepresentation which is too strong not to be observed upon; For He says We are about to reduce his Income from [L]500 a year to [L]200, though We have often told him that We would allow him, and our proposal for doing so is now before the Privy Council, an income of [L]400 p. Annum net, besides [L]50 per Annum for his Clerk. He will also receive [L]100 p. Year from the Province as Ma[^i]tre des Postes, but which in fact is paid ultimately by this Country, being allowed in the Governor General's Accounts: however independent of that [L]100 p. Annum, he will then be in the receipt of [L]400 p. Annum from us net Money, free of all deductions for managing an Internal Revenue in America which will not produce to this Country at the end of the Year a single shilling after paying the expence of the Post between Halifax, through the King's Colonies, and Quebec, besides which this Office pays the expence of four Packet boats which cost upon the present Peace Establishment about [L]8000 p. Annum, though the correspondence between Great Britain and America does not yield above [L]3000 per Annum.

The Commissioners of Enquiry recommend that Mr. Finlay's pension of [L]150 a Year should cease, which however We have continued to Him, And that his Salary only of [L]150 p. Annum should remain and they do not appear to have known that exclusive of this Pension and Salary he enjoyed a former Commission from the Year 1774 of [L]20 per Cent upon the net postage of all Money received in Canada, for which however in our calculation We had allowed Him [L]150 per Annum though He in his own dispatches assured us it produced him only [L]130 per Annum.

We have shewn this letter to Mr. Church and Mr. Callender before it was copied out fair, they have altered and approved of it, So that We are now Sir communicating to you, not only our own sentiments, but those of the deputy Accountant General and Mr. Finlay's own Agent.

We are, Sir, WALSINGHAM, CHESTERFIELD.

The Right Hon^{le}. Henry Dundass.

(viii) THE CLERKS OF THE ROAD AND THE TRANSMISSION OF NEWSPAPERS.[762]

No. 1.

To the R^{t}. Hono^{ble}. the Lord Com^{rs}. of his Maj^{tie}. Treasury.

May it please your Lordshipps

The Postmaster Generall Representation for Increasing the Clarks Salaries.

Wee humbly lay before your Lo^{r}pps that upon some Information given the last summer to the then Lords Justices as if his Majesties Revenue of the Post office was lessened by a practice which had been long used of the Clarks of the Roads sending great quantitys of Gazetts and other Prints free of postage. Their Exellancyes thought fitt to lay the same before his Maj^{tie}. who was thereupon pleased to signifie his pleasure to us by the Lord Keeper (now Lord Chancellor) in a Comittee of Councell that his Majes^{tie}. did not think it reasonable that Practice should for the future be continued but we acquainting their Lordshipps that this having been a perquisite constantly allowed to the six Clarks of the Roades on consideration of the smalness of their Sallarys it would be reasonable upon the taking of it away to allow them a compensation for the same whereupon they told us wee should lay that matter before your Lordshipps of the Treasury as wee now doe and upon the strictest enquiry wee can make the Case appears to be as followes.

Upon the first Establishing of the Post office England was divided into six Roades and a Clark appointed to each Road and their Sallaryes being but small they were constantly allowed even by the farmers themselves the privilidge of sending Gazetts and some other prints free, as the business and Revenue of the office increased by petting up new posts soe likewise did their perquisites In soe much that complaint was made thereof to the late King James when Duke of York who upon a full examination into the matter thought it more adviseable to continue it as an Incouragement to them than to compensate them by an addition of Sallary and besides that the office hath considerably increased since wee came into it the present Juncture of affairs by the frequent and long sessions of Parliament and the War wherein the greatest part of this side of the world is engaged hath occationed peoples being more desirous of News then formerly soe as wee believe the postage of prints sent by the six Clarkes may now amount to about ... tho att the same time the Clarkes does not receive soe great an advantage by them they paying the first cost for them and susteyne frequent losses by their Customers failing in their paym^{t}. Now upon the takeing this perquisite from them wee are humbly of opinion it will be reasonable to give them such an equivolent as is conteyned in the skeme hereonto annexed for wee must observe to your Lordshipps that not only the improvement of the Revenue but all the letters being duely accounted for doth in a great measure depend upon those officers they being the persons who make the charges upon all the Postmasters of England and the very nature of the office requires such despatch that its scarce possible to contrive such Cheque but y^{t} these officers being in combination with the Postmasters may defraud his Majestie and therefore it does not seem adviseable that men should be under such a temtation for want of a due Incouragement.

The attendance is alsoe soe great and at those unseasonable times and houres as renders them uncapable of applyeing themselves to any other business whereby to helpe to support themselves and familys though the Addition of Sallary which we have proposed doth not amount to halfe so much as the Postage of Prints now sent by the severall Clarkes yet we cannot say his Majesty will be a gainer thereby for it must be considered y^{t} many persons who are now furnished with them from the Clarkes for Two pence a peice will scarce have them if they must pay a groat or six pence a peice beside the troubling some friend in Towne to send them and whether they may not find out some otherways of being furnished with them then by the Post as by Flyeing Coaches &c^{t}. or whether those officers or persons who have the privelidge of franking their letters may not hereafter supply those with such Prints as they are now furnished with from this office.

Whereas the business of the office is soe much increased that for the regular and due dispatch of the letters wee have been forced to appoint a Sortor to each Clarke of the Road for an assistant whereby their trouble and attendance is very much greater then it was and being taken from sorting the burden and trouble of the rest is proportianably increased as there are fuer hands to perform it nether they or the assistant having any other advantage or perquisites besides theire bare sallary of forty pounds a yeare which is soe poor a subsistance that such as have dyed since wee came into the office have scarce left enough to bury them wee are humbly of opinion this may deserve your Lordshipps Consideration and soe upon the whole matter though we must acknowledge it an unseasonable time to propose an increase of Sallaryes which has made us defer it thus long we could not omit this oppertunity of doeing it and humbly hope if your Lordshipps shall think fitt to give these poor men the Incouragement proposed it will tend very much to his Majesty Service in this office.

No. 2.

The Right Honorable Lord Walsingham, and the Earl of Chesterfield, His Majesty's Post Master General.

The undersigned the Clerks of the Roads gratefully considering the Report made by your Lordships to Government which recommends for them a Salary of Three Hundred Pounds p. Annum with their present privilege of franking Newspapers unimpaired ask permission to submit to your Lordships Notice the following plan for increasing the circulation of Newspapers and in consequence the Revenue arising from the Stamp duty probably to the Amount of Eight thousand pounds p. Annum though attended by no additional expence to Government but entirely at their own risque and which they have determined immediately to execute should your Lordships arrangement take place.

They would first premise that when they were relieved by your Lordships from the payment they formerly made to the officers in this Department and from the Office which was filled by Mr. Tamineau, they reduced their charge from forty Pounds per Centum to Twenty & Twenty five Pounds per Centum on the prime cost of the papers which latter sum is the additional charge now made on the prime cost by all the Stationers Printers & Dealers who serve the Country with papers, and if in some cases it be less, it is on account of payment being made in advance.

They now propose upon the Establishment of your Lordships Arrangement to reduce the general charge on the prime cost from twenty and twenty five per Centum to ten and fifteen pounds per Centum, and as all the circulators of Newspapers will now regulate their charge for Newspapers sold in the Country by that of the Clerks of the Roads, the charge fixed by the Clerks will be the general one in the course of Six Months from its commencement.

This reduction will cause a greater demand for Newspapers in the Country many who now take a Weekly paper will then take a three day paper & many who now take a three day paper will then take a six day paper and two Persons who now join the expence of a Weekly or a three day paper may be induced by the reasonable charge to take each a paper or increase the number as above, and as the reduction becomes generally known which by the means of their Agents the Post Masters and other correspondents throughout Great Britain & Ireland it can be in fourteen days, the Stationers Printers and Dealers must likewise lessen their charge or risk the loss of their Customers.