Postmaster-General's privilege. In
December 1830 a publisher of Montreal, Mr. R. Armour, approached Sir
Francis Freeling, declaring that the subject might eventually involve a
question of high constitutional importance, viz. "to what extent the
Post Office of Great Britain is authorized by law to regulate the
internal Post Office establishments of the Colony, and to draw a Revenue
therefrom." He received no satisfaction from Sir Francis Freeling, who
replied that the charges were "the long established and authorized
perquisite of the Officer in question (the Deputy Postmaster-General)
and that all Newspapers circulated by post in British North America
otherwise than under his privilege are liable by Law to the charge of
the full rates of Postage."

Mr. Armour then petitioned the local Legislature, and towards the end of
the year a Committee of the House of Assembly was appointed to consider
the whole question of the management of the Post Office in the province
of Lower Canada. The Committee found it impossible to obtain any useful
information concerning the finances of the service from the Deputy
Postmaster-General, Mr. T. A. Stayner, whose attitude was a source of
much irritation, resulting in great intensity of feeling both against
the privilege of the Deputy and the administration of the service from
London.

In 1832 the publishers in Upper Canada, who were working in concert with
the publishers of Lower Canada, also succeeded in obtaining the
appointment of a Committee of the House of Assembly. This Committee, in
its Report, challenged the legality of any postage charge whatever
raised in the province under authority of the British
Postmaster-General.

In 1833 the publishers in Nova Scotia submitted a petition to the King,
but obtained no satisfaction.[311]

In the Lower Provinces there was a sentiment in favour of the free
transmission of newspapers, which had been encouraged, if not originally
induced, by the circumstance that for a considerable period the holder
of the office of Deputy Postmaster-General for those provinces, Mr.
Howe, took little trouble to enforce the payment of that postage which,
when paid, was his perquisite, preferring to forgo the proceeds rather
than incur the risk of odium which might attach to any attempt to
enforce his privilege.[312]

In 1842 Mr. Edmund Ward, the publisher of the _Federation Sentinel_,
petitioned the Lieutenant-Governor and House of Assembly in New
Brunswick f