* * * * *

THE DEVELOPMENT OF
RATES OF POSTAGE

AN HISTORICAL AND
ANALYTICAL STUDY

BY

A. D. SMITH, B.Sc. (ECON.)

OF THE SECRETARY'S OFFICE,
GENERAL POST OFFICE, LONDON

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY

THE RIGHT HON. HERBERT SAMUEL, M.P.
POSTMASTER-GENERAL 1910-14 AND 1915-16

LONDON: GEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN LTD.
RUSKIN HOUSE 40 MUSEUM STREET, W.C. 1

[_Thesis approved for the Degree of Doctor of Science_ (Economics) _in
the University of London_]

_First published in 1917_

(_All rights reserved_)

PREFACE

This study, which was prepared primarily as a Research Studentship
Report for the University of London, is intended to be a contribution to
the history of rates of postage, and an attempt to ascertain the
principles, economic or otherwise, on which they are and have been
based.

The Postmaster-General accorded me permission to consult the official
records at the General Post Office, London, and through this courtesy I
have been enabled to include a detailed examination of the economic
aspect of the rates in the inland service in this country, and to place
in the Appendix copies of some original documents which have not before
been printed. Without this permission, which I desire here to
acknowledge, it would, indeed, scarcely have been possible to undertake
the inquiry. It must be made clear, however, that the work is of
entirely private character, and cannot be taken as in any way expressing
the views of the British Postal Administration.

In 1912, as the holder of the Mitchell Studentship in Economics at the
University of London, I visited Ottawa and Washington; in 1913 I visited
Paris and the International Bureau at Berne; and in 1914, Berlin. I am
much indebted to the various postal administrations visited, to whom, by
the courtesy of the Postmaster-General, I carried official letters of
introduction in addition to my letters from the University, for
facilities to consult official papers relating to the subject of
investigation, and for assistance from members of the staff with whom I
was brought into contact.

The work was all but completed at the outbreak of war, but publication
has been unavoidably delayed. The overpowering necessities created by
the war have caused Governments