CHAPTER II

THE POSTAL ESTABLISHMENT A SOURCE OF REVENUE TO THE STATE--1635-1711 13

Condition of the postal establishment at the beginning of the seventeenth century. Witherings' project adopted. Disturbance produced in the Post Office by the struggle between the two Houses of Parliament. Rival claimants for the office of Postmaster-General. The Civil War and its effects upon the Post Office. The Post Office during the Commonwealth. Farming of the Post Office. Complaints about the delivery of letters after the Restoration. Condition of the postal establishment at the close of the seventeenth century. Dockwra's London Penny Post. Extension of the foreign postal service. Conditions in Ireland, Scotland, and the American Colonies.