stablished, and
the reason for its existence well defined. A further proclamation of the
11th February 1637-8 again declared this monopoly, and proceeded to
declare a monopoly of letters between persons within the realm, the
second monopoly being justified, not on the ground of necessity in
order to guard the safety of the State, but on the ground that commerce
and correspondence within the realm would benefit.[27] The real
explanation of the new prohibition for inland letters was no doubt the
fact that Witherings had been appointed Master of the Inland Letter
Office for the purpose of bringing into operation his scheme for
reorganizing the posts, and it was essential to the success of the
scheme that he should have the sole right of carrying letters. There
was, of course, the political reason of danger to the State from free
and uncontrolled transmission of letters, but the feeling in that
respect seems not to have been so strong regarding the inland letters as
regarding the foreign letters. It developed later, however.[28]

In 1640 Witherings was displaced on some charge of maladministration,
and the office was given to Philip Burlamachi, a merchant of the City of
London. Witherings did not give up the office without a struggle. For
two years he strove to retain it, but without much success; and in 1642
he assigned his patent to the Earl of Warwick, who continued the
struggle. Burlamachi was backed by Edmund Prideaux, afterwards
Attorney-General. Into the merits or progress of the contest it is
unnecessary to enter. It will be sufficient to record that the Lords
espoused the cause of the Earl of Warwick and the Commons that of
Burlamachi; that the contest continued some two years; and that in the
end the Lords gave way, and Burlamachi continued Master of the Posts.

The office fell vacant in 1644, and Parliament appointed Prideaux to the
charge of the posts.[29] This task he entered upon with some
seriousness, and with considerable success. He extended the service, but
raised the minimum postage to 6d. From a report submitted by him to the
Council of State in 1649, it appears that he had established "a weekly
conveyance of letters into all parts of the nation," and that with the
moneys received as postage he had been able to defray the whole cost of
the postmasters of England with the exception of those on the Dover
Road.[30] At the time of his appointment the posts involved a charge to
the State of some [L]7,000 a y