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THE POSTAL ESTABLISHMENT SUPPORTED DIRECTLY BY THE STATE--PRIOR TO 1635 3

Methods of postal communication in vogue before the establishment of the Post Office. The first Postmaster-General and his duties. Alternative systems. The posts in Elizabeth's reign. Appointment of a Foreign Postmaster-General. Rivalry between the two Postmasters-General. Witherings as Foreign Postmaster-General.

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.

THE POSTAL ESTABLISHMENT AN INSTRUMENT OF TAXATION--1711-1840 34

The Post Office Act of 1711. The Post Office as a whole ceases to be farmed. Allen undertakes the farm of the bye and cross posts. Improvements in postal communications during the first half of the eighteenth century. Controversy over the delivery of letters. Competition from post coaches. Establishment of mail coaches by Palmer. Abuses in the Post Office and their reform. Opening and detention of letters. Franking of newspapers in certain cases and other privileges abolished. The Newspaper and Dead Letter Offices. Registration of letters. Money Order Office. Changes in the London Penny Post. Consolidation of different branches of the Post Office in London. Dublin and Edinburgh Penny Posts. Question of Sunday posts. Conditions under which mail coaches were supplied. Conveyance of mails by railways. Condition of the postal establishment during the first half of the nineteenth century. Irish Post Office and postal rates. Scotch Post Office. Sir Rowland Hill's plan. Investigation of postal affairs by a committee. Report of committee. Adoption of inland penny postage.

THE POSTAL ESTABLISHMENT AN INSTRUMENT OF POPULAR COMMUNICATION--SINCE 1840 63

Reductions in rates of postage, inland, colonial and foreign; and resultant increase in postal matter. Insurance and registration of letters. Failure of attempt to introduce compulsory prepayment of postage. Perforated postage stamps. Free and guaranteed delivery of letters in rural districts. Express or special delivery of letters. Newspaper postage rates. Book or Halfpenny Post. Pattern and Sample Post. Use of postcards. Parcel Post. Question of "cash on delivery." Postal notes. Their effect upon the number of money orders. Savings banks. Assurance and annuity privileges. Reform in these offices by Mr. Fawcett. Methods of conveyance of the mails. Condition of postal employees. Sunday labour. Dissatisfaction of employees with committee of 1858. Mr. Fawcett's reforms in 1881 and 1882. Mr. Raikes' concessions in 1888, 1890, and 1891. Appointment of Tweedmouth Committee in 1895 gives little satisfaction to the men. Appointment of a departmental committee. Grievances of the men. Report of committee accepted only in part by the Postmaster-General. Continued demand of the men for a select committee. Concessions granted to the men by Mr. Buxton, the Postmaster-General. Select committee appointed. Their report adopted by Mr. Buxton. Continued dissatisfaction among the men.

THE TRAVELLERS' POST AND POST HORSES 89

Horses provided by the postmasters. Complaints concerning the letting of horses. Monopoly in letting horses granted to the postmasters. Reforms during Witherings' administration. Fees charged. Postmasters' monopoly abridged. Licences required and duties levied. These duties let out to farm. Licences and fees re-adjusted.

ROADS AND SPEED 97

Post roads in the sixteenth century. Speed at which mails were carried in the sixteenth century. Abuses during first part of the seventeenth century. New roads opened. Roads in Ireland and Scotland. First cross post road established in 1698. Improvement in speed. Delays in connection with Irish packet boats. Increased speed obtained from use of railways.

SAILING PACKETS AND FOREIGN CONNECTIONS 109

Establishment of first regular sailing packets. Sailing packets in the seventeenth century. Difficulty with the Irish Office. Postal communications with the continent during the sixteenth century. Witherings improves the foreign service. Agreements with foreign postmasters-general. Expressions of dissatisfaction. Treaties with France. King William's interest in the Harwich sailing packets. Effect of the war with France. Postal communications with France improved. Dummer's West Indian packet boats. Other lines. Increase in number of sailing packets. Steam packets introduced by the Post Office. They are badly managed and prove a financial loss. Report against government ownership of the steam packets. Ship letter money. Question of carriage of goods. Trouble with custom's department adjusted. Methods of furnishing supplies for the packet boats. Abuses in the sailing packet service reformed. Expenses. Sailing packets transferred to the Admiralty. Committee reports against principle of government ownership of packet boats and payment of excessive sums to contractors. Abandonment of principle of government ownership. General view of packet services in existence at middle of the nineteenth century. Contracts with steamship companies. Controversy with the companies. General view of the packet service in 1907 with principles adopted in concluding contracts. Expenses of sailing packets.

RATES AND FINANCE 135

Foreign rates, 1626. First inland rates, 1635. Rates prescribed by Council of State, 1652. Rates collected by the Farmers of the Posts. First rates established by act of Parliament, 1657. Slightly amended, 1660. Separate rates for Scotland, 1660. Scotch rates, 1695. Rates to and within Jamaica. In American Colonies, 1698. Increased rates, inland, colonial and foreign, 1711. Controversy over rates on enclosures. Slight reductions in rates, 1765. Increases in 1784, 1796, 1801. In Ireland, 1803. For United Kingdom a further increase, 1805. Culminating point of high rates, 1812. Changes in Irish rates, 1810, 1813, 1814. Rates on "ships' letters," 1814. Irish rates to be collected in British currency, 1827. Reduction in rates between England and France, 1836. Consolidating act of 1837. Rates by contractors' packet boats, 1837. Rates charged according to weight in certain cases, 1839. Inland penny postage adopted and basis of rate-charging changed to weight, 1840. Franking privilege, 1652. Abused. Attempt to curtail the use of franks only partially successful. Curtailment so far as members of Parliament are concerned. Estimated loss from franking. Enquiry into question of franking. Further attempts to control the abuse prove fruitless. Extension of franking privilege especially on newspapers. Abolition of franking privilege, 1840. Reductions in letter, newspaper, and book post rates. Re-directed letter and registration fees. Inland parcel post established. Postcards introduced. Concessions of 1884 and Jubilee concessions. Foreign and colonial rates reduced. Reductions in money order and postal note rates. Telegraph money order rates.

Finances of the Post Office before the seventeenth century. From beginning of seventeenth century to Witherings' reforms. From 1635 to 1711. During the remainder of the eighteenth century. Finances of Scotch and Irish Posts. Of the London Penny Post. From bye and cross post letters. Finances of the Post Office from the beginning of the nineteenth century to 1840. Since the introduction of inland penny postage.

THE QUESTION OF MONOPOLY 189

Rival methods available for the conveyance of letters. Government's monopolistic proclamation the result of an attempt to discover treasonable correspondence. Competition diminishes under Witherings' efficient management. House of Commons declares itself favourable to competition. Changes its attitude when in control of the posts. Monopoly of government enforced more rigorously. Carriers' posts largely curtailed. London's illegal Half-penny Post. Attempts to evade the payment of postage very numerous during the first half of the nineteenth century. Different methods of evasion outlined.

THE TELEGRAPH SYSTEM AS A BRANCH OF THE POSTAL DEPARTMENT 202

The telegraph companies under private management. Proposals for government ownership and Mr. Scudamore's report. Conditions under which the telegraph companies were acquired. Public telegraph business of the railways. Cost of acquisition. Rates charged by the government. Reduction in rates in 1885. Guarantee obligations reduced. Underground lines constructed. Telegraphic relations with the continent. Position of the government with reference to the wireless telegraph companies. Attempts to place the government telegraphs on a paying basis do not prove a success. Financial aspect of the question. Reasons given for the lack of financial success.

THE POST OFFICE AND THE TELEPHONE COMPANIES 219

Telephones introduced into England. Judicial decision in favour of the department. Restricted licences granted the companies. Feeble attempt on the part of the department to establish exchanges. Difficulties encountered by the companies. Popular discontent with the policy of the department leads to granting of unrestricted licences. Way-leave difficulties restrict efficiency of the companies. Agreement with National Telephone Company and acquisition of the trunk lines by the department. Demand for competition from some municipalities leads to granting of licences to a few cities and towns. The department itself establishes a competing exchange in London. History of the exchanges owned and operated by the municipalities. Struggle between the London County Council and the company's exchange in London. Relation between the company's and the department's London exchanges. Agreement with the company for the purchase of its exchanges in 1911. Financial aspect of the department's system.

CONCLUSION 237

EXPENDITURE AND REVENUE TABLES 241

BIBLIOGRAPHY 253

INDEX 259

TABLE OF ABBREVIATIONS

THE HISTORY OF THE BRITISH POST OFFICE

THE POSTAL ESTABLISHMENT SUPPORTED DIRECTLY BY THE STATE

The history of the British Post Office starts with the beginning of the sixteenth century. Long before this, however, a system of communication had been established both for the personal use of the King and for the conveyance of official letters and documents. These continued to be the principal functions of the royal posts until well on in the seventeenth century.

From an early period private letters were conveyed by carriers and travellers both within the kingdom and between it and the Continent. The Paston letters, containing the correspondence of the different members of the Paston family, throw some light upon the manner in which letters were conveyed during the latter half of the fifteenth century. Judging from such references as we find in the letters themselves, they were generally carried by a servant, a messenger, or a friend. The later letters of this series, written towards the close of the fifteenth century, show that regular messengers and carriers, who carried letters and parcels, travelled between London and Norwich and other parts of Norfolk. From the fourteenth century down, we have instances of writs being issued to mayors, sheriffs, and bailiffs for the apprehension and examination of travellers, who were suspected of conveying treasonable correspondence between England and the Continent. For the most part these letters were carried by servants, messengers, and merchants.

These letters were sent principally between London and different places in Norfolk.

In addition to his other duties Sir Brian was supposed to have a general supervision over the horses used for the conveyance of letters and of travellers riding on affairs of state. Of course on the regular roads there were always horses in readiness, provided by the postmen. Where there were no regular post roads, the townships were supposed to provide the necessary horses, and it was part of the Postmaster-General's duties to see that the townships were kept up to the mark. It was largely on account of the fact that the same horses were used for conveying travellers and mails that the systems of postal and personal communication were so closely interwoven as well in England as in continental countries.

The postmen along the old established routes and on the routes temporarily established for some definite purpose received a fixed daily wage. These men were called the ordinary posts. If, however, letters should arrive in Dover after the ordinary post had left for London, they were generally sent on at once by a messenger hired for the occasion only. He was called a special post and was paid only for the work which he actually performed. Those regular posts, who carried the royal and state letters between London and the place where the Court might be, were called "Court Posts." During the sovereign's tours, posts were always stationed between him and London to carry his and the state's letters backward and forward. These were called extraordinary posts and received regular wages while so employed. In addition there were always messengers employed to carry important despatches to foreign sovereigns. These received no fixed wages, but were paid according to the distance travelled and the expenses incurred on the road.

Apart from his regular duties as outlined above, the Postmaster-General had little initiative power. He could not on his own responsibility order new posts to be laid. Such decisions always originated with the King or the Council and Tuke simply executed their orders. Any increase in the wages of the posts also required the consent of the King or Council.

Cunningham, i, p. 430.

Sir Brian Tuke died in 1545 and was succeeded by Sir John Mason and Mr. Paget, who acted as joint Postmasters-General. Mr. Paget was the sleeping partner, and what little was done was by Mason. They were succeeded in 1568 by Thomas Randolph. He was occasionally sent as special ambassador to France and during his absence Gascoyne, a former court post, performed his duties. From Sir Brian's death until the end of Elizabeth's reign was a period of little advance in postal matters. The regular posts, and it is with them that our chief interest lies, appear to have fallen into disuse. The payments for special messengers are much larger than they had been during Henry's reign. In 1549, a warrant was issued empowering Sir John Mason to pay ?400 to the special messengers used during the summer. If anything was left, he was instructed to use it in paying arrears due the ordinary posts. Elizabeth is generally credited with being economical to the extreme of parsimony so far as state expenses were concerned. However this may be, she is responsible for an order to discharge all the regular posts unless they would serve for half of their old wages. The postmen did not receive their wages at all regularly. Randolph was accused by the Governor of Berwick of withholding all of their first year's wages, of receiving every year thereafter a percentage of their salaries, and of demanding certain fees from them, all for his personal use. The Governor considered that Randolph's extortions were largely the cause of the general inefficiency in the posts, but the accusation may have been due to personal grudge. At any rate one measure of postal reform may be credited to Randolph. In 1582, orders were issued to all the London-Berwick posts to the following effect. Every post on the arrival of letters to or from the Queen or Council was to fasten a label to the packet. On this label he was to write the day and hour when the packet came into his hands and he was to make the same entry in a book kept for the purpose. He was also to keep two or three good horses in his stable for the speedier conveyance of such packets.

In 1590, John Lord Stanhope was appointed Postmaster-General by order of the Queen. The office was given to him for his life and then was to go to his son for his son's life. Both the Stanhopes were men of action, but they looked upon their position rather as a means of enriching themselves than as a trust for the good of the state. They proved a stumbling block to the advancement of better men and it was not for sixty years that they were finally swept away to make room for men of greater ability. In 1621, the elder Stanhope was succeeded by his son Charles according to the terms of the original patent. It had been the custom for the Postmasters-General to demand fees and percentages from their appointees. So lucrative were many of their positions from the monopoly in letting horses and the receipts from private letters that many applicants were willing to pay for appointments as deputy postmasters. The ordinary payments when Lord Charles was at the head of the posts amounted to 2s. in the pound as poundage and a fee of ?2 from each man. These payments were considered so exorbitant that the Council ordered them to be reduced. One, Hutchins, entered the lists as the champion of the postmasters. He himself was one of them and acted as their solicitor in the contest. Stanhope was glad to compound the case by the payment of ?30. Hutchins gave the Council so much trouble that they gave orders that "turbulent Hutchins" should cease to act as the postmasters' solicitor and leave them in peace. His object, however, seems to have been accomplished so far as Stanhope was concerned. The struggle with the Paymasters of the Posts was not so successful, for, supported by a report of the Treasurer, they continued to receive their shilling in the pound.

It is doubtful how far the postmasters were held responsible for the delivery of letters to the persons to whom they were addressed. This did not become a burning question, however, until after the recognition of the fact that the letters of private individuals should receive as good treatment at the hands of the postmen as the letters of the state officials. Lord Stanhope in 1618 issued an order to the Justices of the Peace in Southwark to aid the postmaster of that place in the delivery of letters within six miles. This was followed two years later by a general order to establish two or three foot-posts in every parish for the conveyance of letters.

During the early part of the seventeenth century, Stanhope had employed a foreigner, de Quester, as one of the King's posts "beyond seas." He commended himself to the notice of his superiors by his promptitude in dealing with the foreign letters. In 1619 James appointed him Postmaster-General for "foreign parts" and henceforth he was his own master. This was followed four years later by a formal proclamation, confirming to de Quester and his son the position already granted to the father. He was to have the sole monopoly of carrying foreign letters and was to appoint the necessary officials. All persons were formally prohibited from entrenching upon the privileges granted him in 1619. From this time until 1635, the foreign and inland posts were under separate management and the accounts were kept separate until long after the latter date. Stanhope was unwilling to submit to the curtailment of his profits, which necessarily followed the appointment of de Quester. There was much to be said for Stanhope's contention that the patent of 1623 was illegal for, ever since there had been a Postmaster-General, his duties had extended to the foreign as well as to the inland office. The question was referred to a committee, composed of the Lord Chamberlain, one of the Secretaries of State and the Attorney-General, who decided that Stanhope's patent extended only to the inland office. The whole question was finally brought before the Court of King's Bench, which decided the case in favour of Stanhope. This was in 1625, but de Quester seems to have paid no attention to the decision for it is certain that he continued to act as Foreign Postmaster until 1629 and in 1632 he resigned his patent to Frizell and Witherings. It can be imagined what must have been the chaotic condition of the foreign post while this struggle was going on. The Merchant Adventurers established posts of their own between London and the Continent under Billingsley. The Council issued the most perplexing orders. First they forbade Billingsley from having anything to do with foreign letters. Then they decided that the Adventurers might establish posts of their own and choose a Postmaster. Then they extended the same privilege to all merchants. Next this was withdrawn and the Adventurers were allowed to send letters only to Antwerp, Delft and Hamburg or wherever the staple of cloth might be. These orders do not seem to have been passed in full council for, in 1628, Secretary Coke in writing to Secretary Conway said that "Billingsley, a broker by trade, strives to draw over to the merchants that power over foreign letters which in all states is a branch of royal authority. The merchant's purse has swayed much in other matters but he has never heard that it encroached upon the King's prerogative until now." He adds "I confess it troubleth me to see the audacity of men in these times and especially that Billingsley." He enclosed a copy of an order "made at a full Council and under the Broad Seal," which in effect was a supersedeas of the place which de Quester enjoyed. When de Quester resigned in favour of Frizell and Witherings, the resignation and new appointments were confirmed by the King. Of these men Witherings was far the abler. He had a plan in view, which was eventually to place the foreign and inland systems on a basis unchanged until the time of penny postage. In the meantime he had to overcome the prejudices of the King and get rid of Frizell. In order to raise money for the promotion of his plan, Witherings mortgaged his place. Capital was obtained from the Earl of Arundel and others through John Hall, who held the mortgage. The King heard of this and ordered the office to be sequestered to his old servant de Quester and commanded Hall to make over his interest to the same person. There were now three claimants for the place, Frizell, Witherings, and de Quester. Frizell rushed off to Court, where he offered to pay off his part of the mortgage and asked to have sole charge of the Foreign Post. "Witherings," he said, "proposes to take charge of all packets of State if he may have the office, but being a home-bred shopkeeper, without languages, tainted of delinquency and in dislike with the foreign correspondents, he is no fit person to carry a trust of such secrecy and importance." Coke knew better than this, however, and through his influence Witherings, who had in the meantime paid off the mortgage and satisfied Frizell's interest, was made sole Postmaster-General for Foreign Parts.

With Witherings' advent a new period of English postal history begins. His dominant idea was to make the posts self-supporting and no longer a charge to the state. It had been established as a service for the royal household and continued as an official necessity. The letters of private individuals had been carried by its messengers but the state had derived no revenue for their conveyance. The convenient activity of other agencies for the carriage of private letters was not only tolerated but officially recognized. The change to a revenue-paying basis tended naturally to emphasize the monopolistic character of the government service.

THE POSTAL ESTABLISHMENT A SOURCE OF REVENUE TO THE STATE

His plan was entitled "A proposition for settling of Stafetti or pacquet posts betwixt London and all parts of His Majesty's Dominions. The profits to go to pay the postmasters, who now are paid by His Majesty at a cost of ?3400 per annum." A general office or counting house was to be established in London for the reception of all letters coming to or leaving the capital. Letters leaving London on each of the great roads were to be enclosed in a leather "portmantle" and left at the post-towns on the way. Letters for any of the towns off the great roads were to be placed in smaller leather bags to be carried in the large portmantle. These leather bags were to be left at the post-towns nearest the country towns to which they were directed. They were then to be carried to their destination by foot-posts to a distance of six or eight miles and for each letter these foot-posts were to charge 2d., the same price that was charged by the country carriers. At the same time that the foot-posts delivered their letters, they were to collect letters to be sent to London and carry them back to the post-town from which they had started and there meet the portmantle on its way back from Edinburgh or Bristol or wherever the terminus of the road might be. The speed of the posts was to be at least 120 miles in twenty-four hours and they were to travel day and night. He concludes his proposition by saying that no harm would result to Stanhope by his plan "for neither Lord Stanhope nor anie other, that ever enjoyed the Postmaster's place of England, had any benefit of the carrying and re-carrying of the subjects' letters."

The question now was, Who was to see that these reforms were carried out? Stanhope was not the man for so important and revolutionary an undertaking. Witherings alone, the author of the proposition, should carry it into effect. Sir John Coke made no mistake in constituting himself the friend of the postal reformer. Witherings was already Foreign Postmaster-General and in 1635 he was charged with the reformation of the inland office on the basis of his projected scheme. In 1637 the inland and foreign offices were again united when he was made Foreign and Inland Postmaster-General. His experiment was tried on the Northern Road first and was exceedingly successful. Letters were sent to Edinburgh and answers returned in six days. On the Northern Road bye-posts were established to Lincoln, Hull and other places. Orders were given to extend the same arrangement to the other great roads, and by 1636 his reform was in full and profitable operation.

Witherings still continued to sell the positions of the postmasters, if we are to trust the complaints of non-successful applicants. One man said that he offered ?100 for a position but Witherings sold it to another for ?40. The Postmaster at Ferrybridge asserted that he had paid Stanhope ?200 and Witherings ?35 and yet now fears that he will be ousted. Complaints of a reduction in wages were also made, and this was a serious matter, since the postmasters no longer obtained anything from private letters. The old complaint, however, of failure to pay wages at all is not heard under Witherings' administration. He was punctual in his payments and held his employees to equally rigid account. Their arrears were not excused. An absentee postmaster, who hired deputies to perform his duties, was dismissed. His ambition to establish a self-supporting postal system demanded rigid economy and strict administration, and with the then prevailing laxity of administrative methods, this was no mean achievement. From one occasional practice of the Post Office, that of tampering with private letters, he cannot perhaps wholly be absolved. It is hinted that he may have been guilty of opening letters, but the suggestion follows that this may have happened before they reached England, for the letters so opened were from abroad.

In June of 1637, Coke and Windebank, the two Secretaries of State, were appointed Postmasters-General for their lives. The surviving one was to surrender his office to the King, who would then grant it to the Secretaries for the time being. It does not appear that Witherings was altogether dismissed from the service, for his name continued to appear in connection with postal affairs. Windebank later urged as reasons for the withdrawal of Witherings' patent, that he was not a sworn officer, that there was a suspicion that his patent had been obtained surreptitiously, and that the continental postmasters disdained to correspond with a man of his low birth. He concludes by saying that something may be given him, but that he is said to be worth ?800 a year in land and to have enriched himself from his position. At the time of his removal, in June, 1637, the London merchants petitioned for his continuance in office, as he had always given them satisfaction. When they heard who had been appointed in his stead, like loyal and fearful subjects, they hastened to add that they thought someone else was trying for the position but they had no doubt that it would be managed best by the Secretaries. If they thought so they were mistaken, for the commander of the English army against Scotland found that his letters were opened, the Lord High Admiral complained that his were delayed, and Windebank promised an unknown correspondent that the delay in his letters should be seen to at once and Witherings was the agent chosen for the investigation. This, however, was not the worst, for only a month after Witherings had been degraded, orders were issued to the postmasters that no packets or letters were to be sent by post but such as should be directed "For His Majesty's Special Affairs" and were subscribed by certain officials connected with the Government. It is fair to add that this check on private correspondence may have been a protective measure induced by the unsettled state of the kingdom.

In 1640 both the inland and foreign offices were sequestered into the hands of Philip Burlamachi, a wealthy London merchant who had lent money to the king. No reasons were given except that information had been received "of divers abuses and misdemeanours committed by Thomas Witherings." Stanhope, who had resigned his patent in 1637, now came forward claiming that his resignation had been unfairly obtained by the Council, and at the same time he presented his bill for ?1266, the arrears in his salary for nineteen years. In reply to his demand it was said that shortly before he resigned he had assigned his rights in the Post Office to the Porters, father and son. The Attorney-General gave his opinion that whatever rights Stanhope and the Porters had, they certainly had no claim to the proceeds from the carriage of private letters. Stanhope had offered to enter an appearance in a suit brought against him by the Porters but now he refused to do so. Windebank was also looking out for money due to him while Coke and he were Postmasters-General. The state had indeed entered upon troublous times and it was every man for himself before it was too late.

As long as Witherings had enjoyed the King's favour, the House of Commons had looked upon him with suspicion. They had ordered in 1640 "that a Sub-Committee of the Committee of Grievances should be made a House Committee to consider abuses in the inland posts, to take into consideration the rates for letters and packets together with the abuses of Witherings and the rest of the postmasters." As soon as Witherings was finally dismissed, the Commons took him up and resolutions were passed that the sequestration was illegal and ought to be repealed, that the proclamation for ousting him from his position ought not to be put into execution, and that he ought to be restored to his old position and be paid the mean profits which had been received since his nominal dismissal. Protected by the authority of the House of Commons, Witherings continued to act as Postmaster-General. Windebank, in Paris, was trying to collect evidence against him through Frizell, who, he said, had been forced out of his position by Witherings and Coke. Coke himself was in disgrace and could do nothing. Parliament was now supreme. Witherings was ordered to send to a Committee of the Lords, acting with Sir Henry Vane, all letters coming into or going out of the kingdom for examination and search. Frequent orders to the same effect followed during the turbulent summer and autumn of 1641. Among other letters opened were those of the Venetian Ambassador in England. He was so indignant that a Committee of the Lords was sent to him to ask his pardon. The two Houses of Parliament united in condemning the sequestration to Burlamachi, but Witherings, who had become tired of the strife, assigned his position to the Earl of Warwick. The Earl was supported by both Houses, but the Lower House played a double part, for, while openly supporting Warwick, they now secretly favoured Burlamachi, who had found an influential friend in Edmund Prideaux, former chairman of the committee appointed to investigate the condition of the posts and later Attorney-General under the Commonwealth. Prideaux was a strong Parliamentarian, but was distrusted even by his own friends. But for the time being, as the representative of the Commons, he was supported by them. The messenger of the Upper House made oath that he had delivered the Commons' resolution to Burlamachi, commanding him to hand over the Inland Letter Office to Warwick, but James Hicks had presented an order at the place appointed by Warwick for receiving letters, to deliver all letters to Prideaux. Burlamachi on being summoned before the Lords for contempt said that Prideaux had hired his house and now had charge of the mails. The fight went merrily on. Two servants of Warwick seized the Holyhead letters from Hicks, but were in turn stopped by five troopers, agents of Prideaux, who took the letters from them by order of the House of Commons. Prideaux also seized the Chester and Plymouth letters, one of his servants calling out "that an order of the House of Commons ought to be obeyed before an order of the House of Lords." Hicks, who had been arrested by order of the Lords, was liberated by the Commons as a servant of a member of Parliament. As between Lords and Commons, there could be no doubt as to which side would carry the day, and by the end of 1642 the Lower House was triumphant all along the line. Understanding that discretion was the better part of valour, the Lords freed Burlamachi and dropped the contest. Warwick now petitioned the Lords again, setting forth that he was the legal successor and assignee of Witherings. Stanhope put in a counter-petition to the effect that Witherings never had any right to the position which Warwick now claimed. The House of Lords felt its own weakness too much to interfere directly, but ordered the whole matter to trial. Besides Stanhope and Warwick, the following put in claims before the Council of State: Henry Robinson, through the Porters, to whom Stanhope had assigned; Sir David Watkins in trust for Thomas Witherings, Jr., for the foreign office; Moore and Jessop through Watkins and Walter Warde. Billingsley also, the old Postmaster of the Merchant Adventurers, made a claim for the foreign office.

The confusion in postal administration which naturally resulted from the struggle among the rival claimants was increased by the Civil War. In 1643 the Royal Court was moved to Oxford. The Secretaries of State acting as Postmasters-General sent James Hicks, the quondam servant of Prideaux, to collect arrears from the postmasters due to the Letter Office. In addition to collecting the money due, he was to require all postmasters on the road to Coventry to convey to and from the Court all letters and packets on His Majesty's service, to establish new stages, to forward the names of those willing to supply horses and guides, and to report those postmasters who were disobedient or disloyal. During the most desperate period of the royal cause Hicks acted as special messenger for the King, and apparently had some exciting experiences in carrying the letters of his royal master. He lived to enjoy his reward when the second Charles had come to his own. Parliament, in the meantime, was establishing its control over the posts and reorganizing the service. In the early period of Parliamentary government, postal affairs were as a rule looked after by what was known as the "Committee of Both Kingdoms," and the orders which it issued were necessarily based upon political conditions. Later the Postmaster-General acted under the Council of State or under Cromwell himself. In 1644 the House of Commons issued an order that protection should be granted to the postmasters between London and Hull, to their servants, horses and goods. The fact that it was necessary to re-settle posts on the old established London-Berwick road shows how demoralized conditions had been during the conflict. Many of the loyal postmasters were dismissed. Their lukewarm conduct in supplying the messengers of the Commonwealth with horses produced a reprimand from the Committee and a sharp warning from Prideaux. Posts were settled from London to Lyme Regis for better communication with the southwestern counties. In 1644 Edmund Prideaux was formally appointed Postmaster-General. He was allowed to use as his office part of the building occupied by the Committee of Accounts, formerly the house of a London alderman. As long as the war continued it was necessary that a close watch should be kept over letters passing by post. Many of the new postmasters were military men and in addition others were appointed in each town under the heading of "persons to give intelligence." With the return of normal conditions after 1649 Prideaux was ordered by the Council of State to make arrangements for establishing posts all over England as in the peaceful days before the war. His report of the same year to the Council of State indicates the successful fulfilment of his instructions. He said that he had established a weekly conveyance of letters to all parts of the Commonwealth and that with the receipts from private letters he had paid all the postmasters except those on the Dover road.

For the safety of the Commonwealth it was often found necessary to search the letters. Sometimes the posts were stopped and all the letters examined. When this was done, it was by order of the Council of State, which appointed certain officials to go through the correspondence. Sir Kenelm Digby, writing to Lord Conway from Calais, asks him to direct his letters to that place, where they would find him, "if no curious overseer of the packets at the post break them open for the superscription's sake." The Commonwealth did openly and is consequently blamed for what had been done more or less secretly by the Royal Government.

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