to
undertake also the transportation of inland parcels upon their railways
and the delivery of inland parcels in localities adjoining their lines
under the same conditions and for the same remuneration as in the case
of parcels in the international service. A difficulty existed in the
fact that small parcel traffic (_l'envois par messagerie_) was subject
to special taxation.[428] These taxes frequently exceeded the charge for
transmission, and in some cases the value of the parcel itself. In order
to encourage the use of the service, these taxes were reduced or
modified by a series of laws at a sacrifice of revenue exceeding two and
a half million francs a year. The service, which was established on the
1st May 1881, did not include the whole of France, but extended only to
localities served by the State railways, the six contracting companies,
and certain subsidiary companies which contracted for the business with
the larger companies. The maximum limit of weight was fixed at 3
kilogrammes, and the rates of postage were 60 centimes for parcels
transported from railway station to railway station, and 85 centimes for
parcels delivered at the residence of the addressee. The service became
immediately popular, the number of parcels posted during 1881 being at
the rate of over half a million a month.

Soon after its establishment the service was extended to the smaller
subsidiary lines, and to districts not served by railway. The latter
extension, which it was not found easy to arrange, was provided for by
introducing into the contracts for the conveyance of the ordinary mails
in those districts a clause empowering the administration to require the
contractor to convey post parcels for a remuneration of 15 centimes per
parcel--the amount to be increased to 25 centimes for parcels delivered
at residence.

The Lisbon Congress (1885) raised the limit of weight in the
international service from 3 kilogrammes to 5 kilogrammes, but a
corresponding increase was not made in the internal French service until
1892. The maximum limit of weight was raised to 10 kilogrammes in 1897,
and the following rates of postage are now in operation:--

----------------------------------------------------------
Weight. | Delivered at | Delivered at
| Railway Station. | Residence or
| | Poste Restante.
--------------------+------------------+-----------------