The new system, which applied
only to the "post for the pacquet," was to be based on a definite scale
of charges. Previously, there had been no regular system of charging
letters carried for the public, and it is at this point that the modern
Post Office emerges. Up to this time the conveyance of letters for
private individuals, although it may have been a source of emolument to
the postmasters and couriers, was not recognized by the State as part of
the function of the service. Under the proposed system, a charge was to
be made for every letter or packet, varying in accordance with the
distance for which the letter or packet was conveyed, and its size. The
latter was to be graduated for light letters according to the number of
sheets, and for heavier letters and packets according to weight,
starting from the ounce. Here, therefore, is to be seen at the inception
of "postage" in the modern sense a definite distinction between the rate
charged on the ordinary letter, the weight and bulk of which are in
general insignificant, and that charged on the larger and heavier
packets of deeds, or what not, which might be forwarded by post.

The reform of the posts on these lines was carried out by Witherings in
October 1635, and constitutes a remarkable development of the Post
Office system. The rates of charge were as follow:--

-----------------------------------+--------+--------+--------
| | |
| Single | Double | Per
Distance of Transmission. | Letter.| Letter.| Ounce.
| | |
-----------------------------------+--------+--------+--------
| | |
Not exceeding 80 miles | 2d. | 4d. | 6d.
Exceeding 80 miles, not exceeding | | |
140 miles | 4d. | 8d. | 9d.
Exceeding 140 miles | 6d. | 12d. | 12d.
| | |
-----------------------------------+--------+--------+--------

The great change of 1840 modified this system only at two points, viz.
(1) uniformity of rate, that is, the elimination of the table of
distances from the rate-table, and (2) the introduction of the method of
charge according to weight for all letters and packets.

The monopoly of foreign letters was by this time well e