The select committee of the House of Commons, in 1833 and 1839, which investigated 31r. Rowland Hill'. plan, reported the following to be the average rates of postage:— frankirig.—As early as a post-office was established, certain exemptions from the rates of postage were made. Parliamentary franking existed in 1666. An entry is registered on the Journals of the Howie of Commons on 19th October 1666, "That Edward Roberts be sent for in custody of the serjeant-at-arms, or his deputy, to answer his abuse and bluish of privilege in exacting money of the members of this House for post-letters." In the paper bill which granted the Post office revenue to Charles II., a clause provided that all the members of the House of Commons should have their lettere free, which clause was left out by the herds, because no similar provision was made for tho passing of their letters ; but a compromise was made on the assurance that their letters should pass free.
In 1735 the House of Commons prosecuted some investigations into the subject, which appear on the Journals. Again, in 1764 (4 Goo. 111.), a committee was appointed "to inquire into the several frauds and abuses in relation to the sending or receiving of letters and parcels free from the duty of postage." Among varione abuses proved to exist, it is related that " one man had in the course of five months counter feited 1200 dozen of franks of members of parliament, and that a regular trade of buying and selling franks had been actually established with several persons in the country." Resolutions restricting and regu lating the privilege were passed. From time to time the privilege was extended, until it was finally abolished, with a very few exceptions, on 10th January, 1840.
Seven millions of franks, out of sixty-three millions of general-post letters, including franks, were estimated in 1833 to pass through the Post-Office annually. The relative quantities of these several docu ments are given in the ' Third Report of the Commons Committee,' as follows :— The privileged letters, therefore, reduced to the standard of single letters, amounted to above 30 per cent. of the whole number of letters transmitted by the general post.
The average weight of a single chargeable letter was about 3.10tha of an ounce ; the average weight of a parliamentary frank about 48-100ths of an ounce; that of an official frank, 1'9376 oz., or nearly two ounces; and that of a copy of a public statute, oz. Had they been liable to the then existing rates, they would have contributed in the following proportions to the revenue :— Newspapers, with a few exceptions, passed free of postage. All
franking is now altogether abolished, except petitions forwarded to peers and members of parliament.
statistics of the Post-Office revenue are ..far from complete. In the early period of the Post-Office establishment, and before 1716, only a few scattered accounts can be collected. In 1653 the annual revenue was farmed for 10,000/., and in 1659 for /4,000/. (Journals of the Commons.) In 1663 it was farmed for 21,500/. annually, and the amount settled on the Duke of York. In 1674 the farming of the revenue yielded 43,000/. In 1635 it produced 65,000/. Parliament resumed the grant after 1638, though the king continued to receive the revenue. In 1711 the gross revenue was reckoned at 111,426/. From 1716 to 1733 the average yearly net revenue was 97,540/., founded upon "a certain account, and not an estimate." (Commons Journals, April 16, 1735.) In the Postage Reports of 1833 (vol. App., p. 176; vol. i., p. 511) are accounts showing the gross receipt, charge of management, net receipt, and rate per cent. of collection in Great Britain from 1753 to 1837, and in Scotland and Ireland from 1800 to 1837. The accounts for a few years will serve to show its progress:— weigh only 7 per cent. of the whole weight of those mails. The total weight of the chargeable letters and franks carried by the thirty-two mails leaving London was only 2912 lbs. Deducting one-half as the weight of the franks and franked documents, the weight of all the chargeable letters was only 1456 lbs., being 224 lbs. less than the weight which a single mail is able to carry.
The management of the conveyance of the mails by sea and land was subject, of course, to those constant changes which arise out of the improvements daily taking place in the various modes of transit. Certain packets were exclusively controlled by the Admiralty, to whose charge they were removed in 1837 ; others remained with the Post-Office ; but the whole are now placed under the Post-Office man agement. The parliamentary returns and reports of various com missioners on the subject of the packet-service are numerous. The most important are= The Twenty-second Report of the Commissioners of Revenue Inquiry,' part 5, printed 1830, and the Sixth Report of the Poet-Office Commissioners on the Packet Establishments,' printed in 1836. Contracts for the conveyance of the mail-bags to the Con tinent are made between the Post-Office and the'proprietors of certain steam-vessels. The Post-Office moreover has power of sending a bag of letters in any private ship.