Part 9

The raising of the rate led to a large amount of fraud, and caused much public inconvenience. The revenue did, indeed, increase in the first year quite appreciably; but in the second and third years, instead of the normal yearly increase, there was a notable decrease. Complaints against the new rates were widespread, and it was alleged that the increased charges embarrassed commerce. In 1770 the rates for heavy letters, printed matter, and documents were reduced again to those of 1712. The rates had previously been based on a variety of considerations,[234] but this miscellaneous basis was now put aside and a uniform system established, the same letter rate being applied throughout the State.

The coinage edict of 1821, by which the thaler was divided into 30 silver groschen instead of 24 groschen as previously, made necessary an alteration of the postage charges, and amended rates were established on the 1st January 1822. No account was taken of a less amount than a half-groschen, and odd amounts were reckoned at the next half-groschen above, with the result that in certain cases the rate became higher than formerly.

A reduction of the rates of postage was in contemplation, but while the discussions on the proposals were in progress, the State finances became somewhat straitened. It became necessary to look about for fresh revenue, and a Commission appointed to consider the question recommended that more revenue should be obtained from the Post Office. The Postmaster-General pledged himself to bring up the surplus from 700,000 or 800,000 thalers, where it then stood, to a million, and, if possible, to 1,200,000 thalers. Accordingly, in 1824 the rates of postage were revised, and, in general, increased. In many cases the increase was as much as 20 per cent., and the tariff as a whole was the highest ever fixed in Prussia. The chief characteristics of this important change were that letter and parcel rates were reckoned according to the direct distance (_Luftlinie_) between the post offices, and not according to the distance by way of the post routes, or the time occupied on the journey, or any of the other considerations which had previously entered into the reckoning. All special rates for individual routes and places were abolished.

The new rates were, for a single letter not exceeding 3/4 loth (3/8 ounce) in weight--

Up to 2 miles 1 silver groschen From 2 miles to 4 miles 1-1/2 " " 4 " 7 " 2 " " 7 " 10 " 2-1/2 " " 10 " 15 " 3 " " 15 " 20 " 4 " " 20 " 30 " 5 " and for each 10 miles further, 1 silver groschen more.

A map of distances was prepared, and every post office was furnished with a table compiled from this map, showing the distances between that office and all other post offices in Prussia, together with the corresponding rates of postage.[235] Formerly, direct rates of postage existed only between a limited number of post offices, and letters for any other places were charged an additional rate (_Binnenporto_) in respect of the distance not covered by the ordinary rate. This charge was now abolished. Each post office could calculate the rate to any other post office by means of its table of rates. There was, however, an additional charge (_Landporto_) in the case of places at which there was no post office, but which were situated on the post routes. It was arranged that letters might be despatched to or from such places so long as the post-messenger was not thereby delayed on his journey, and for the forwarding of any such letters to or from the nearest post office the lowest rate of postage was charged, reckoned as from the nearest post office. Letters up to 1 ounce in weight were sent by riding post. Letters exceeding 1 ounce in weight were sent by parcel post (_Fahrpost_), and were charged the corresponding rate, unless the sender expressly requested transmission by riding post.

For the longer distances the rates were higher than previously. The rate for the greatest distance within the Prussian postal territory, which under the old rates was 18 silver groschen for a single letter--that is, for a letter up to 3/8 ounce in weight--was now 19 silver groschen. The reduction was greatest for letters going only short distances. The rate for the shortest distances was reduced from 1-1/2 silver groschen to 1 silver groschen. But the higher rates applied to letters passing between the great centres, and these formed the greater part of the whole number. In addition, the progression of the scale of weights was made very rapid. From the earliest days of the Post Office in Prussia the progression of weight had been by the half-ounce, and this had not been changed even in 1766. The scale was now made--

From 3/8 oz. to 1/2 oz. 1-1/2 times the rate " 1/2 " 3/4 " twice the rate " 3/4 " 1 " 2-1/2 times the rate " 1 " 1-1/4 " 3 " " 1-1/4 " 1-1/2 " 3-1/2 " " 1-1/2 " 1-3/4 " 4 " and so on for each quarter-ounce a half rate more.[236]

The year 1824 was also noteworthy for the experimental establishment in the district of the Frankfort-on-Oder post office of a rural delivery system. This was the first step towards the general extension of the rural delivery throughout Prussia. The experiment was successful, and the system was extended in the following year. For delivery by the rural letter-carriers an additional charge was made for each letter, according to the following scale:--

For distances not exceeding 1-1/2 miles 1 silver groschen " " " 2 " 2 " " " " 3 " 2-1/2 "

For the longer distances the rates of 1824 were found to be oppressive for ordinary letters, and burdensome to commerce and literature. Financially also the increase was not a success. For 1824, the last year of the old rates, the surplus was 823,229 thalers, an increase of 100,325 thalers over the surplus of 1823. The surplus for 1825, the first year of the new rates, was 1,121,616 thalers, an increase of 298,387 thalers over the surplus of 1824. Apparently, therefore, the new rates had produced an immediate increase of net revenue. This was, however, not the case. While the actual proceeds of postage in 1824 were 73,152 thalers greater than in 1823, the proceeds of postage in 1825 were only 80,890 thalers greater than in 1824.[237] The increased yield of postage was therefore quite small. And even this small increase disappeared in 1826. For that year the yield of postage was only 40,547 thalers greater than in 1825, and in 1827 there was an actual falling off of 41,942 thalers. The increase of net revenue was therefore attributable to other causes. Thus, for example, in 1825, by some means or other, a reduction of no less than 136,160 thalers was effected in the expenses of the service.

The rates were soon found to need amendment. Changes were made in the subsidiary rates, the rates for commercial papers, for magazines, etc., but the letter rate remained unchanged until 1844, when a considerable reduction was made. The following rates for a single letter (not exceeding 3/8 ounce in weight), were established:--

Not exceeding 5 miles 1 silver groschen From 5 miles to 10 miles 1-1/2 " " 10 " 15 " 2 " " 15 " 20 " 2-1/2 " " 20 " 30 " 3 " " 30 " 50 " 4 " " 50 " 100 " 5 " For each further 100 miles within the Prussian administration 6 "

These rates were applied to letters, printed matter sent under band, and letters containing samples of merchandise. It was estimated that this change would reduce the gross receipts from postage by 700,000 thalers, and the net revenue for 1845 was estimated at 700,000 thalers instead of 1,400,000 thalers. The actual decrease in 1845 in the gross receipts from postage was, however, only 302,563 thalers, and the actual falling off in net revenue only 346,208 thalers. The gross revenue soon recovered, and in 1847 exceeded that of 1844.[238]

The Prussian administration, while not prepared to introduce complete uniformity of rate irrespective of distance, were yet desirous of simplifying the rates, and of removing from them any trace of the fiscal tradition, so far as this course could be followed without involving serious sacrifice of net revenue.[239]

In September 1848 the distinction between the letter rate and the rate for printed matter and documents was abolished, and on the 1st October 1848 the following scale of weights for all letters, publications, etc., was introduced, viz.:--

Not exceeding 3/8 oz. 1 rate (i.e. 1 sgr.) From 3/8 oz. to 1/2 oz. 1-1/2 " " 1/2 " 3/4 " 2 rates " 3/4 " 1 " 2-1/2 " " 1 " 4 " 3 " " 4 " 8 " 4 "

and over 8 ounces 4 rates, until the charge was less than double parcel rate.

The rates were still based on the old theory of distance. The Prussian administration feared that a complete reform of the rates on the English model would have a disastrous effect on the postal revenue, and so upset the equilibrium of the State finance. They had, of course, the experience of England to guide them, and they had not failed to note the large reduction of net revenue which the adoption of the reform of 1840 had entailed. In the following year, however, a great step was taken in the direction of the new system. By the law of the 21st December 1849 the following simplified rates of postage, to take effect from the 1st January 1850, were established:--

For a single letter not exceeding 1/2 oz. (1 zollloth)-- Up to 10 miles 1 silver groschen 10 miles to 20 miles 2 " All other distances 3 "

For a letter weighing-- From 1/2 oz. to 1 oz. 2 rates " 1 " 1-1/2 " 3 " " 1-1/2 " 2 " 4 " " 2 " 4 " 5 " " 4 " 8 " 6 "

and so on, until the rate became less than the parcel rate (1 zollloth = 1-1/8 loth).

The reductions in Prussia were in all cases made with careful regard to the possible financial results. The desire to remove all trace of the fiscal tradition did not extend to a desire to relieve the Post Office of its revenue-producing function, and the actual loss of net revenue which resulted in Prussia from the introduction of cheap postage was much less than the loss in England.[240] The set-back to the revenue consequent on the reduction of 1844 was recovered in 1847; the set-back consequent on the reduction of the rates of value letters and parcels in 1848 (on the average some 66-2/3 per cent.) was recovered in 1852; and that occasioned by the reform of the 1st January 1850 was recovered in 1853. But the reform of 1850, which retained the three distance charges, was far from being a complete reform of the character of that in England.

No change of importance was made in the ordinary letter rate between 1850 and 1860. In the latter year the maximum weight for packets passing by letter post was fixed at half a pound (15 loth).[241] A further step towards simplicity and reduction of the letter rate was taken in 1861,[242] when the weight scale was revised and the three steps established in 1849 abolished, two only being substituted. Letters up to half an ounce in weight were to pass at the single rate, and letters exceeding that weight at double rate. The three distance zones were maintained.

The special fee for delivery which was collected from the addressee by the post office of destination was still in force. It was, of course, in effect, an increase of the normal rate of postage, and as such it lay as a heavy burden on the letter traffic. In the case of packets of printed matter not exceeding half an ounce in weight it amounted to 100 per cent. on the normal rate. It was, moreover, disproportionate to the cost of the service of delivery.[243] Since 1850 the Prussian administration had incessantly urged the abolition of the charge. Special charges for delivery had already been abolished in England, in France, and in other of the larger States. The efforts of the administration were, however, frustrated by the Minister for Finance, who was unable, from regard to the needs of the national exchequer, to abandon the revenue obtained from this source. These financial considerations delayed the abolition of the charge by at least a decade.[244] The existence of the charge was found to be especially unfortunate in regard to foreign letters, since its collection was regarded by foreign administrations as an addition to the ordinary postage and consequently an evasion of the terms of agreements under which foreign rates had been fixed. The charge was ultimately abolished in 1862.[245] In order to avoid inconvenient reduction of revenue, it was arranged that the abolition should be effected gradually: for certain classes of traffic as from the date of the coming into force of the Act, for other classes as from the 1st July 1863, and for the remainder as from the 1st July 1864.

The political events of the years 1864 and 1866 occasioned far-reaching modifications of the postal service in Germany. After the expulsion of Austria from the German league, Prussia took over the administration of the postal service in the duchies of the Elbe. Prussia had also absorbed the kingdom of Hanover. The territory of the Prussian postal administration was thus largely extended; and in addition the Prince of Thurn and Taxis relinquished in favour of the Crown of Prussia the control which he had exercised over the postal service in eighteen States.[246]

The North-German Union was established in 1867, and the postal arrangements for the whole territory of the Union were unified. Up to this time ten independent postal administrations had existed in this territory,[247] and the rates of these administrations differed in various particulars. The Prussian rates were applied temporarily to all postal traffic passing between the old and new Prussian territories, and the rates of the Union service were applied to traffic passing between the territories forming the North-German Union.

The continuance of these conditions was not consistent with a unified administration of the postal affairs of the whole North-German Union, and a reform of the rates became necessary. Germany was in 1867 almost the only one of the great States of the world which still maintained a scale of rates of postage for letters graduated according to distance. Prussia had already repeatedly endeavoured to introduce the principle of uniformity of rate irrespective of distance which had been adopted by all others, or at least to secure further simplification; but advance in this direction had always been hindered by financial considerations.[248] The political developments now opened the way for a thorough reorganization of the rates, and this was achieved by the law of the 4th November 1867. This law, which took effect from the 1st January 1868, established uniform rates for letters, irrespective of distance, of the following amounts--1 sgr. (= 10 pf.) for letters not exceeding half an ounce in weight, and 2 sgr. for all letters of greater weight.

After the refounding of the German Empire in 1870, there was fresh legislation in regard to the Post Office.[249] Among other changes, the limit of weight for the single letter was fixed at 15 grammes, and the limit of maximum weight at half a pound. This law also abolished the charge for rural delivery, a long-desired reform which had been frequently urged upon the Reichstag. In order to assist further the interests of residents in the country, it was arranged that on payment of a monthly fee of 5 sgr. letters might be handed to and delivered by the post messenger, in a closed pouch, at places on his route.

The rates established under this law have remained in operation substantially unchanged up to the present time. The most important modification was made in 1900, when the maximum limit of weight of the single letter was raised from 15 to 20 grammes. Under these rates the letter post has developed continuously. In 1872 the total number of letters passing by post within the territory of the Imperial Post Office was 422 millions, and in 1910 the number had increased to 2,026 millions. As in other countries, the letter rate has proved extremely profitable. The net revenue of the Imperial Post Office in 1872 amounted to 4.7 million Marks, and in 1910 to 88 million Marks. In Germany, however, the railways are State-owned, and the Imperial Post Office is not required to pay to the railways a full equivalent for the services performed. The value of the service performed by the railways on behalf of the Post Office for which no charge is made against the Post Office is not definitely known.[250] The newspaper traffic, the parcel post, and the Imperial Telegraph Service are carried on at heavy loss. The Post Office also performs numerous services, such as those in connection with the National Insurance schemes, for which it receives no monetary credit; and there is no doubt that taken by itself the letter traffic is largely profitable at the existing rates, even when full allowance has been made for all legitimate charges against the service.

NOTE ON RURAL DELIVERY

Until the eighteen-thirties there was no State provision for the letter traffic in country districts. Residents in the country must deliver all their letters at, or fetch them from, the nearest post office, which was done on market-day or by messengers. In 1824 a beginning was made in Prussia by the introduction experimentally of a delivery service at certain post offices. In the following years the number of rural deliverers and the number of posting-boxes in the villages were increased, and a uniform delivery fee (_Landbestellgeld_) of 1 silver groschen instituted. The delivery fee was abolished on the 1st January 1872 (law of 28th October, 1871). This meant the abandonment of a yearly revenue of 1-1/2 million Marks.

In spite of the increase in the number of post offices there were still in 1880 as many as 19 million people, the greater half of the whole nation, and 17,000 localities, outside the limits of the postal service.[251]

In 1880 a great step forward was taken. The number of rural deliverers was largely increased, and also the number of postal stations in the country (_Posth[:u]lfstellen_).[252] A daily delivery was extended to the greater number of places, the rural routes in most cases being so arranged that the deliverer returned by the same route, thereby enabling an answer to be sent the same day to letters received on the outward journey.[253]

* * * * *

II

THE RATE FOR NEWSPAPERS

NEWSPAPER POST IN ENGLAND

In England newspapers have enjoyed special privileges in regard to transmission by post since about the middle of the seventeenth century. The origin of the privilege is to be looked for in the special circumstances under which the early newspapers, and the newsletters and newsbooks from which they were derived, were issued, and the means by which the news included in them was obtained.

At that period the post was the chief means by which news could be collected or distributed. The newsletters were distributed by post,[254] and the news which they contained was for the most part obtained through the agency of the Post Office from correspondents in various parts of the country. It was, indeed, an important part of the function of the Post Office to furnish news to the Court, and to the other departments of State, as well as to the general public.[255]

In 1659 General Monck appointed Henry Muddiman, a journalist who had already issued the _Parliamentary Intelligencer_ and the _Mercurius Publicus_, to write on behalf of the Royalist cause. In consideration of his services he was, after the Restoration, given the privilege of free transmission for his letters.[256] This gave him an advantage over other journalists, and his newsletters and newsbooks became extremely popular. In 1663, however, he was supplanted by Roger L'Estrange, a Royalist who had not to that time been properly recompensed for his faithfulness. L'Estrange was an able writer, who after the passing of the Licensing Act of 1662 had been requested to draw up proposals for the regulation of the Press. As a reward for his services in that connection he was given the office of Surveyor of the Press, his remuneration being the sole privilege of writing and publishing newsbooks and advertisement. L'Estrange also secured the privilege of free postage from Lady Chesterfield, one of the farmers of the Post Office.[257]

L'Estrange's privilege put an end to Muddiman's newsbooks, but in no way interfered with his newsletters and his right to free postage. He was able, therefore, to continue his newsletters, and did so with great success. After the Restoration Muddiman had attached himself to Sir Edward Nicholas, one of the principal Secretaries of State, and his Under-Secretary, Joseph Williamson, from whom he had been in the habit of obtaining part of his news. Williamson was a grasping man, who became jealous of the success of the newswriters, and finding that L'Estrange was unpopular, conceived the idea of getting the control of the whole business into his own hands. He therefore suggested that Muddiman should go to Oxford, where the Court had removed owing to the plague, and publish a new journal in opposition to L'Estrange. While Muddiman was at Oxford, Williamson would obtain by an agent in the Post Office, James Hickes, the names of all his correspondents.[258] The plan was eminently successful, and on the 16th November 1665 the _Oxford Gazette_ appeared, to be transformed a few months later, with its twenty-fourth issue (5th February 1665-6), into the _London Gazette_. Muddiman, however, gained knowledge of Williamson's designs regarding his correspondents, and on the 8th February 1666 left the _Gazette_. Williamson thereupon took control of its publication, and, with the assistance of Hickes, continued its issue. He appointed correspondents in all the leading seaports, and in a few other English towns, and also in continental cities, who were required to furnish accounts of passing events. In return for their services the correspondents received regularly copies of the _Gazette_. Both the letters from correspondents and the _Gazettes_ which were their reward passed free of postage.[259] The regular supply of a copy of the _Gazette_ was so great a privilege that it was often regarded as sufficient wages for a post-messenger or even a deputy-postmaster.[260]