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Post Office (Duties) Act 1840
(3 & 4 Vict c.96, 10th August 1840)

An Act for the Regulation of the Duties of Postage.
[ 10th August 1840 ]

WHEREAS by an Act passed in the last Session of Parliament, intituled An Act for the further Regulation of the Duties on Postage until the Fifth Day of October One thousand eight hundred and forty, Power was given to the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, or any Three of them, by Warrant under their Hands, to alter fix, reduce, or remit any of the Rates of British or Inland or other Postage payable by Law on the Transmission of Post Letters, and to subject such Letters to Rates of Postage according to the Weight thereof, and a Scale of Weight to be contained in such Warrant (without Reference to the Distance or Number of Miles the same might be conveyed), and to fix and limit the Weight of Letters to be sent by the Post, and to suspend wholly or in part any parliamentary or official Privilege of sending and receiving Letters by the Post free of Postage, or any other Franking Privilege, and also to direct that Letters written on stamped Paper or enclosed in stamped Covers, or having a Stamp affixed thereto, should (if within the Limitation of Weight to be fixed under the Provisions of the said Act, and if the Stamp should not have been used before) pass by the Post free of Postage, and also to require, in case the Stamp on which any Letter should be written, or the Stamp on the Cover in which it should be enclosed, or to which it should be affixed, should be of less Value or Amount than in such Warrant should be expressed, or should have been used before, such Letter should be charged and chargeable with such Rate of Postage as such Warrant should direct, and to order and direct the Commissioners of Stamps and Taxes from Time to Time to provide proper and sufficient Dies or other Implements for expressing and denoting the Rates or Duties which should be directed by any such Warrant as aforesaid, and to give any other Orders and make any other Regulations relative thereto they might deem expedient: And whereas the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland have, by several Warrants under their Hands, in pursuance of the Power or Authority given to them by the said Act, fixed and limited a Scale of Weight of Letters to be transmitted by the Post, and directed the Rates of Postage to be charged and taken on such Letters, and have made Regulations for the sending of Letters stamped free of Postage, and made other Regulations relative to the sending of Letters by the Post: And whereas it is expedient that such Rates and Regulations should be made permanent by Law: Be it therefore enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled and by the Authority of the same, That all Letters and Newspapers and other printed Papers, which shall be posted in any Town or Place within the United Kingdom, or shall be brought from Parts beyond the Seas to any Port or Place within the United Kingdom, or shall be sent by the Post between the United Kingdom and Places beyond the Seas, or between any of the other Places herein-after mentioned, or shall pass through the United Kingdom, shall be subject to the several Regulations and Rates herein-after contained.

II. And be it enacted, That Letters transmitted by the Post shall be charged by Weight according to the following Scale, and that the several Numbers of Rates of Postage herein-after set forth shall be charged by and be paid to Her Majesty's Postmaster General for the Use of Her Majesty, on Letters transmitted by the Post; (that is to say,)

On every Letter not exceeding Half an Ounce in Weight, One Rate of Postage:
On every Letter exceeding Half an Ounce and not exceeding One Ounce in Weight, Two Rates of Postage:
On every Letter exceeding One Ounce and not exceeding Two Ounces in Weight, Four Rates of Postage:
On every Letter exceeding Two Ounces and not exceeding Three Ounces in Weight, Six Rates of Postage:
And on every Letter exceeding Three Ounces and not exceeding Four Ounces in Weight, Eight Rates of Postage:
And for every Ounce in Weight above the Weight of Four Ounces there shall be charged and taken Two additional Rates of Postage, and every Fraction of an Ounce above the Weight of Four Ounces shall be charged as One additional Ounce.

III. And be it enacted, That no Letter exceeding Sixteen Ounces in Weight shall be forwarded by the Post between Places within the United Kingdom, except Petitions and Addresses to Her Majesty, and Petitions to either House of Parliament, and except in such other Cases and subject to such Regulations and Restrictions as the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, by Warrant under their Hands, shall from Time to Time direct.

IV. And be it enacted, That the following Rates of Postage shall be charged by and be paid to Her Majesty's Postmaster General, for the Use of Her Majesty, on Letters transmitted by the Post; (that is to say,)

INLAND LETTERS.

On all Letters not exceeding Half an Ounce in Weight, transmitted by the Post between within the United Kingdom, (not being Letters sent to or from Parts beyond the Seas,) or posted in any Post Town in the United Kingdom, addressed to Persons or Places within such or the Suburbs thereof, there shall be charged and paid One uniform Rate of One Penny, without reference to the Number of Sheets or Pieces of Paper, or Enclosures of which the same may comprised, or to the Distance or Number of Miles the same shall be conveyed; and that on such Letters, if exceeding Half an Ounce in Weight, there shall be charged and paid progressive and additional Rates of Postage (each additional Rate being estimated at One Penny), according to the Scale of Weight and Number of Rates herein-before fixed and declared; provided that such Postage of One Penny and such progressive and additional Postage be pre-paid at the Time of posting such Letters, or that such Letters be duly and properly stamped when posted as herein-after provided; but in case such Postage on any such Letters shall not be pre-paid, and such Letters shall not be duly and properly stamped, there shall be charged on such Letters the rate of Postage herein-after mentioned.

V. And be it enacted, That the Postmaster General may forward Letters between Places in the United Kingdom by Vessels not Packet Boats, and that all Letters forwarded under the Authority of the Postmaster General by private Vessels or Packet Boats, and transmitted between Places in the United Kingdom, shall be considered as forwarded by the Post between such Places, and be charged accordingly.

COLONIAL LETTERS BY PACKET BOAT.

VI. And be it enacted, That on all Letters not exceeding Half an Ounce in Weight transmitted by Packet Boat between the United Kingdom and Her Majesty's Colonies, or between any of Her Majesty's Colonies through the United Kingdom, (including Letters to and from the East Indies by any of Her Majesty's Mediterranean Packet Boats to and from the United Kingdom via Syria or Egypt, but not including Letters sent through France,) there shall be charged and paid the several Rates of British Postage herein-after mentioned and specified; (that is to say,)

Between any Place within the United Kingdom, wherever situate, and any Port in Her Majesty's Colonies, One uniform Rate of One Shilling, and between any of Her Majesty's Colonies through the United Kingdom, One uniform Rate of Two Shillings:

And on all such Letters, if exceeding Half an Ounce in Weight, there shall be charged and paid progressive and additional Rates of Postage, according to the Scale of Weight and Number of Rates herein-before contained, each additional Rate being estimated at One Shilling or Two Shillings, according as such Letter shall be chargeable under this Enactment, if not exceeding Half an Ounce in Weight.

SHIP LETTERS.

VII. And be it enacted, That the Postmaster General may collect and receive Letters to forward by Vessels not Packet Boats to Places beyond the Seas, and may forward the same accordingly, and may collect and receive Letters brought by any such Vessels from Places beyond the Seas.

VIII. And be it enacted, That on all Letters not exceeding Half an Ounce in Weight, transmitted by Vessels not Packet Boats, between the United Kingdom and any Place beyond the Seas, including Ceylon, the Mauritius, the Cape of Good Hope, and the East Indies, or between any Places beyond the Seas through the United Kingdom, there shall be charged and paid for British Postage the Rates following; (that is to say,)

Between the United Kingdom and any Place beyond the Seas, at whatever Place within the United Kingdom the Letters may be posted or delivered, One uniform Rate of Eight-pence, and between any Places beyond the Seas through the United Kingdom, One uniform Rate of One Shilling and Four-pence:

And on all such Letters, if exceeding Half an Ounce in Weight, there shall be charged and paid additional Rates of Postage, according to the Scale of Weight and Number of Rates herein-before contained, estimating and charging each additional Rate at Eight-pence or One Shilling and Four-pence, according as such Letters shall be chargeable under this Enactment, if not exceeding Half an Ounce in Weight.

FOREIGN LETTERS.

IX. And be it enacted, That on all Letters transmitted by the Post between the United Kingdom and Foreign Parts, or between any of the Places out of the United Kingdom mentioned in the Schedule to this Act annexed, there shall be charged and paid the several Rates of British Postage mentioned and specified in such Schedule.

X. And be it enacted, That all Letters brought into the United Kingdom by Packet Boats (whether in a Mail Bag or not) shall be chargeable with Packet Postage.

XI. And be it enacted, That on all printed Votes and Proceedings of the Imperial Parliament forwarded by the Post between Places in the United Kingdom, or posted in any Post Town of the United Kingdom, addressed to Persons or Places within such Town, or the Suburbs thereof, and on all printed Votes and Proceedings of the Imperial Parliament sent to any of Her Majesty's Colonies by Packet Boat, and on all printed Votes and Proceedings of the Colonial Legislatures sent to the United Kingdom from the Colonies by Packet Boat (but not through France nor to the East Indies by Her Majesty's Mediterranean Packet Boats via Syria or Egypt), there shall be charged and paid the Rates of British Postage following; (that is to say,)

If not exceeding Four Ounces in Weight, a Rate of One Penny:
If exceeding Four Ounces and not exceeding Eight Ounces in Weight, a Rate of Two-pence:
If exceeding Eight Ounces and not exceeding Twelve Ounces in Weight, a Rate of Three-pence:
And if exceeding Twelve Ounces and not exceeding Sixteen Ounces in Weight, a Rate of Four-pence:
And for every additional Four Ounces in Weight above the Weight of Sixteen Ounces there shall be charged and paid an additional Rate of One Penny: And any lesser Weight than Four Ounces shall be charged as Four Ounces:

Provided always, that it shall be lawful for the Postmaster General (if he shall see fit) to delay the Transmission of any such printed Votes or Proceedings for any Space not exceeding Twenty-four Hours from the Time at which the same would otherwise have been forwarded.

XII. And be it enacted, That all Letters posted in any Town or Place within the United Kingdom shall, if written on stamped Paper or enclosed in stamped Covers, or having a Stamp or Stamps affixed thereto, and all printed Votes and Proceedings of the Imperial Parliament, and all Newspapers which shall be liable to Postage under this Act, shall, if posted in any Town or Place within the United Kingdom and enclosed in stamped Covers, or having a Stamp or Stamps affixed thereto, (the Stamp or Stamps in every such Case being affixed or appearing on the Outside, and of the Value or Amount hereinafter expressed and specially provided under the Authority of this Act or of the said recited Act, and if the Stamp shall not have been used before,) pass by the Post free of Postage as herein-after mentioned; (that is to say,)

In case any such Letters shall be posted in and addressed to any Place within the United Kingdom, the Stamp or Stamps thereon shall be equal in Value or Amount to the Rates of Postage to which such Letters would be liable under this Act if pre-paid:

In case any such Letters shall be addressed to any-other of the British Dominions or Colonies, or to any Foreign Country, the Stamp or Stamps thereon shall be equal in Value or Amount to the Rates of British Postage to which such Letters would have been liable under this Act:

And on all such printed Votes and Proceedings of Parliament and Newspapers the Stamp or Stamps shall be equal in Value or Amount to the Rates of Postage to which such Votes or Proceedings or Newspapers would have been liable under this Act:

And that in all Cases in which the same shall be necessary, in order to place on any such Letters, printed Votes or Proceedings of Parliament, and Newspapers, the full Amount of Stamps hereby required as aforesaid, there shall be affixed thereto such a Number of adhesive Stamps as alone or in Combination with the Stamp on such Letters or Packets, or on the Envelope or Cover thereof, will be equal in Amount to the Rate of Postage to which such Letters, printed Votes or Proceedings of Parliament, and Newspapers would be liable under this Act.

XIII. And be it enacted, That in all Cases in which Letters posted in and addressed to Places within the United Kingdom shall be posted without any Stamp thereon, and without the Postage being pre-paid, there shall be charged on such Letters a Postage of Double the Amount to which such Letters would otherwise be liable under this Act; and in all Cases in which printed Votes or Proceedings of Parliament, or Newspapers liable to Postage under this Act, shall be posted without any Stamp thereon, there shall be charged on such Votes and Proceedings or Newspapers the Postage to which the same would be liable under this Act.

XIV. And whereas Letters and Packets sent by the Post are chargeable by Law on being re-directed and again forwarded by the Post with a new and distinct Rate of Postage: be it enacted, That on every Post Letter re-directed (whether posted with any Stamp thereon or not) there shall be charged for the Postage of such Letter, from the Place at which the same shall be re-directed to the Place of ultimate Delivery (in addition to all other Rates of Postage payable thereon), such a Rate of Postage only as the same would be liable to if prepaid.

XV. And be it enacted, That in all Cases in which any Letters posted in and addressed to Places within the United Kingdom shall be posted, having thereon or affixed thereto any Stamp or Stamps the Value or Amount of which shall be less than the Rate of Postage to which such Letters would be liable under this Act if pre-paid, there shall be charged on such Letters a Postage of Double the Amount of the Differences between the Value of such Stamp or Stamps and the Postage to which such Letters would be liable as aforesaid, if pre-paid.

XVI. And be it enacted, That in all Cases in which any Votes or Proceedings of Parliament, Newspapers, addressed to Places within the United Kingdom, shall be posted, having thereon or affixed thereto any Stamp or Stamps the Value or Amount of which shall be less than the Rate of Postage to which such Votes or Proceedings or Newspapers would be liable under this Act, there shall be charged on such Votes or Proceedings or Newspapers a Postage equal to the Amount of the Difference between the Value of such Stamp or Stamps and the Postage to which such Votes or Proceedings or Newspapers would be liable as aforesaid.

XVII. Provided always, and be it enacted, That it shall in all Cases be optional with the Parties sending any Letters, printed Votes or Proceedings of Parliament, or Newspapers, by the Post, to forward the same free of Postage by means of a proper Stamp or Stamps thereon or affixed thereto in manner herein-before provided, or to forward the same in like Manner as the same might otherwise have been forwarded under this Act; but, nevertheless, in case any Letters, printed Votes or Proceedings of Parliament, or Newspapers, addressed to Places out of the United Kingdom, shall have thereon or affixed thereto any Stamp or Stamps being less in Amount or Value than the Rates of Postage to which such Letters, or such Votes or Proceedings, or Newspapers, would be liable under this Act, such Letters, printed Votes or Proceedings of Parliament, or Newspapers, if the Postage thereon be required by the Postmaster General under the Provisions of this Act to be paid when posted, shall not in any Case be forwarded by the Post, but shall, so far as may be practicable, be returned to the Senders thereof through the Dead Letter Office; and if the Postage on such Letters, printed Votes or Proceedings, or Newspapers, be not so required to be paid when posted, the same may be forwarded charged with such Postage as if no Stamp had been thereon or affixed thereto.

XVIII. And be it enacted, That it shall be lawful for the Postmaster General at any Time hereafter, with the Consent of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, by Writing under his Hand, to declare that Letters enclosed in stamped Covers, or having a Stamp or Stamps affixed thereto, (such Stamps being provided under or in pursuance of the said recited Act or of this Act, and being equal in Value or Amount to the Rates of Postage to which such Letters would be liable under this Act if sent by the Post pre-paid,) may be sent, conveyed, and delivered otherwise than by the Post, under and subject nevertheless to all such Regulations and Restrictions as the Postmaster General, with such Consent as aforesaid, may think fit, which Declaration shall be inserted in the London Gazette before coming into operation; and from thenceforth, so long as the said Declaration shall continue in force (but no longer), any such stamped Letters may be sent, conveyed, and delivered otherwise than by the Post accordingly: Provided always, that it shall be lawful for the Postmaster General, with such Consent as aforesaid, at any Time, by Writing under his Hand, inserted in the London Gazette, to rescind and annul any such Declaration and the Authority thereby given, or to alter and vary any of the Regulations and Restrictions therein contained, and to make and establish any new or other Regulations and Restrictions respecting the sending, conveying, or delivering of such stamped Letters otherwise than by the Post, as the Postmaster General, with such Consent as aforesaid, shall deem expedient: Provided also, that nothing herein contained shall authorize or be construed to authorize any Person to make a Collection of stamped Letters for the Purpose of being sent or conveyed otherwise than by the Post.

XIX. And be it enacted, That the Commissioners of Stamps and Taxes shall from Time to Time provide proper and sufficient Dies or other Implements for expressing and denoting Rates or Duties of One Penny and Two-pence, or Rates or Duties of any other Value or Amount as may be directed by the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, for the Purposes herein mentioned; and it shall be lawful for the said Commissioners of Stamps and Taxes to use for the like Purposes any Dies, Plates, or other Implements which have been provided, made, or used under or in pursuance of the said recited Act of the last Session of Parliament; and all Stamps and Impressions which have been or shall be made or impressed by or from any such last-mentioned Dies, Plates, or other Implements shall be valid and available for the Purposes of this Act.

XX. And be it enacted, That the Commissioners of Stamps and Taxes shall cause a separate Account to be kept of the Stamp Duties arising under this Act; and it shall be lawful for the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, and they are hereby empowered, from Time to Time to direct the said Commissioners of Stamps and Taxes to authorize their Receiver General to pay over such Sum and Sums of Money arising from the said Stamp Duties as the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury shall think proper to the Account of the Receiver General of Her Majesty's Post Office at the Bank of England; and all such Sums of Money which shall be so paid over shall be held by the said last-mentioned Receiver General subject to all Annuities and yearly Sums now charged by Law on or payable out of the Post Office Revenue, and all other Charges, Outgoings, and Disbursements to which the Post Office Revenue is at present liable.

XXI. And be it enacted, That the Rates or Duties which shall be expressed or denoted by any such Dies as aforesaid shall be denominated and deemed to be Stamp Duties, and shall be under the Care and Management of the Commissioners of Stamps and Taxes for the Time being; and all the Powers, Provisions, Clauses, Regulations, Directions, Fines, Forfeitures, Pains, and Penalties contained in or imposed by the several Acts now in force relating to Stamp Duties shall (so far as the same may be applicable, and may be consistent with the Provisions of this Act), in all Cases not hereby expressly provided for, be of full Force and Effect with respect to the Stamps to be provided under or by virtue of this present Act, and to the Paper on which the same shall be impressed, or to which the same shall be affixed, and shall be observed, applied, enforced, and put in execution for the raising, levying, collecting,, and securing of the Rates or Duties denoted thereby, and for preventing, detecting, and punishing all Frauds, Forgeries, and other Offences relating thereto, as fully and effectually, to all Intents and Purposes, as if such Powers, Provisions, Clauses, Regulations, and Directions, Fines, Forfeitures, Pains, and Penalties, had been herein repeated and specially enacted with reference to the said last-mentioned Stamps and Rates or Duties respectively: Provided always, that the Commissioners of Stamps and Taxes shall not make or allow any Allowance or Discount on the Payment to them of any of the said Duties arising under this Act, or on the Purchase from them of any Stamps denoting the said Duties, unless they shall be directed to do so by the Lords of the Treasury.

XXII. And be it enacted, That if any Person shall forge or counterfeit, or cause or procure to be forged or counterfeited, any Die, Plate, or other Instrument, or any Part of any Die, Plate, or other Instrument, which hath been or shall or may be provided, made, or used by or under the Direction of the Commissioners of Stamps and Taxes, or by or under the Direction of any other Person or Persons legally authorized in that Behalf, for the Purpose of expressing or denoting any of the Rates or Duties which are or shall be directed to be charged under or by virtue of the Authority contained in the said recited Act of the last Session of Parliament, or under or by virtue of this Act; or if any Person shall forge, counterfeit, or imitate, or cause or procure to be forged, counterfeited, or imitated, the Stamp, Mark, or Impression, or any Part of the Stamp, Mark, or Impression, of any such Die, Plate, or other Instrument which hath been or shall or may be so provided, made, or used as aforesaid, upon any Paper or other Substance or Material whatever; or if any Person shall knowingly and without lawful Excuse (the Proof whereof shall lie on the Person accused) have in his Possession any false, forged, or counterfeit Die, Plate, or other Instrument, or Part of any such Die, Plate, or other Instrument resembling or intended to resemble either wholly or in part any Die, Plate, or other Instrument which hath been or shall or may be so provided, made, or used as aforesaid; or if any Person shall stamp or mark, or cause or procure to be stamped or marked, any Paper, or other Substance or Material whatsoever, with any such false, forged, or counterfeit Die, Plate, or other Instrument, or Part of any such Die, Plate, or other Instrument as aforesaid; or if any Person shall use, utter, sell, or expose to Sale, or shall cause or procure to be used, uttered, sold, or exposed to Sale, or shall knowingly and without lawful Excuse (the Proof whereof shall lie on the Person accused) have in his Possession any Paper, or other Substance or Material, having thereon the Impression or any Part of the Impression of any such false, forged, or counterfeit Die, Plate, or other Instrument, or Part of any such Die, Plate, or other Instrument as aforesaid, or having thereon any false, forged, or counterfeit Stamp or Impression, resembling or representing, either wholly or in part, or intended or liable to pass or be mistaken for the Stamp, Mark, or Impression of any such Die, Plate, or other Instrument, which hath been or shall or may be so provided, made. or used as aforesaid, knowing such false, forged, or counterfeit Stamp, Mark, or Impression to be false, forged, or counterfeit; or if any Person shall, with Intent to defraud Her Majesty, Her Heirs or Successors, privately or fraudulently use, or cause or procure to be privately or fraudulently used, any Die, Plate, or other Instrument so provided, made, or used, or hereafter to be provided, made, or used as aforesaid, or shall with such Intent privately or fraudulently stamp or mark, or cause or procure to be stamped or marked, any Paper or other Substance or Material whatsoever with any such Die, Plate, or other Instrument as last aforesaid; or if any Person shall knowingly and without lawful Excuse (the Proof whereof shall lie on the Person accused) have in his Possession any Paper or other Substance or Material so privately or fraudulently stamped or marked as aforesaid; then and in every such Case every Person so offending, and every Person knowingly and wilfully aiding, abetting, or assisting any Person in committing any such Offence, and being thereof lawfully convicted, shall be adjudged guilty of Felony, and shall be liable, at the Discretion of the Court, to be transported beyond the Seas for Life, or for any Term not less than Seven Years, or to be imprisoned for any Term not exceeding Four Years nor less than Two Years, as the Court shall award.

XXIII. And be it enacted, That if any Person shall fraudulently get off or remove, or cause or procure to be gotten off or removed, from any Letter or Cover, or any Paper or other Substance or Material, the Stamp or Impression of any Die, Plate, or other Instrument so provided, made, or used, or hereafter to be provided, made, or used as aforesaid, with Intent to use, join, fix, or place such Stamp or Impression for, with, or upon any other Letter, Cover, Paper, or other Substance or Material; or if any Person shall fraudulently use, join, fix, or place for, with, or upon any Letter or Cover, or any Paper or other Substance or Material, any such Stamp or Impression as aforesaid which shall have been gotten off or removed from any other Letter, Cover, Paper, or other Substance or Material; or if any Person shall fraudulently erase, cut, scrape, discharge, or get out of or from, or shall cause or procure to be so erased, cut, scraped, discharged, or gotten out of or from any Letter or Cover, or any Paper, or other Substance or Material, any Name, Date, or other Matter or Thing thereon written, printed, or expressed with Intent to use any Stamp or Mark then impressed or being upon such Letter or Cover, Paper, or other Substance or Material, or that the same may be used for the Purpose of defrauding Her Majesty, Her Heirs or Successors, of any of the Rates or Duties aforesaid; or if any Person shall make, do, or practise or be concerned in any other fraudulent Act, Contrivance, or Device whatever, not specially provided for by this or some other Act of Parliament, with Intent or Design to defraud Her Majesty, Her Heirs or Successors, of any of the Rates or Duties aforesaid; every Person so offending in any of the several Cases in this Clause mentioned shall forfeit and pay to Her Majesty, or Her Heirs and Successors, the Sum of Twenty Pounds, to be recovered with full Costs of Suit and all Expences attending the same.

XXIV. And whereas under the Laws in force it is provided that no Licence shall be granted to any Person to deal in or to retail Stamps in any Town or Place in Ireland (except within the District of the Dublin Metropolis) where a Distributor of Stamps shall have been appointed by the Commissioners of Stamps, and shall reside and act as such Distributor, and it is expedient to alter such Restriction so far as the same relates to Persons who may be licensed solely for the Purpose of dealing in or retailing Stamps denoting the Duties on the Postage of Letters; be it therefore enacted, That it shall be lawful for the Commissioners of Stamps and Taxes to grant Licence to any Person or Persons to deal in and to retail Stamps denoting the Stamp Duties on the Postage of Letters in any Town or Place in Ireland, whether a Distributor of Stamps shall have been appointed in such Town or Place, and shall reside and act as such Distributor therein, or not, any thing in any Act or Acts contained to the contrary notwithstanding.

XXV. And be it enacted, That no Licence which shall be granted by the said Commissioners to deal in and retail Stamps of the Description aforesaid only, nor any Bond to be taken on the granting of any such last-mentioned Licence, shall be subject or liable to any Stamp Duty.

XXVI. And be it enacted, That the Commissioners of Excise, or such Person or Persons as the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury shall direct, shall cause to be provided such Moulds, Frames, or Instruments, or Machinery or Parts of Machinery, as may be necessary for the making of Paper, to be used as Covers or Envelopes, or Stamps, and to receive the Impression of the Dies, Plates, or other Instruments which have been or shall be provided, made, or used by or under the Direction of the Commissioners of Stamps and Taxes, or of any other Person or Persons legally authorized in«that Behalf, for the Purpose of expressing or denoting any of the Rates or Duties of Postage which are or shall be directed to be charged under or by virtue of the Authority contained in the said recited Act of the last Session of Parliament, or under this Act, which Paper shall have such distinguishing Words, Letters, Figures, Marks, Lines, Threads, or other Devices worked into or visible in the Substance of the same as the said Commissioners of Excise, or such other Person or Persons so directed by the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, shall from Time to Time order and direct; and it shall be lawful for the said Commissioners of Excise or other Person or Persons, from Time to Time as they shall see fit, to alter or vary any such Words, Letters, Figures, Marks, Lines, Threads, or other Devices, either by the Removal of any of them, and Substitution of other Words, Letters, Figures, Marks, Lines, Threads, or other Devices, or by any Change in the Position or Arrangement thereof; and all such Moulds, Frames, or Instruments, Machinery or Parts of Machinery, shall be provided, and all such Paper shall be made and manufactured, under such Regulations, and by such Person or Persons as the said Commissioners of Excise or other Person or Persons as aforesaid shall from Time to Time appoint or contract with for that Purpose; and all the said Moulds, Frames, or Instruments, and Machinery or Parts of Machinery, shall be kept by such Officer or Officers or other Person as the said Commissioners of Excise, or other Person or Persons directed by the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, shall appoint; and all the Paper so made shall, as the same is required, be delivered over to the Commissioners of Stamps and Taxes, or to such Officer or Warehouse Keeper as such last-mentioned Commissioners shall direct to receive and take charge of the same.

XXVII. And be it enacted, That all Contracts and Agreements to be entered into by the Commissioners of Excise for or relating to the Supply of any such Paper as aforesaid shall be made in the Name of the Secretary for the Time being to the said Commissioners, and his Successors in Office, for and on behalf of Her Majesty, Her Heirs and Successors.

XXVIII. And whereas the Commissioners of Excise have, under the Orders and Directions of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, contracted with certain Persons for the Manufacture and Supply of and have supplied to the Commissioners of Stamps and Taxes, for Postage Envelopes and Covers and Stamps, certain Quantities of Paper made and manufactured with certain Words, Letters, Figures, Marks, Lines, Threads, or Devices worked into or visible in the Substance of such Paper, according to the Samples thereof annexed to such Contracts; be it enacted, That all the Paper so made and supplied, or which hereafter shall be made or supplied under any such Contract or Contracts, shall be deemed and taken to be Paper subject to and the same shall be subject to all the Enactments and Provisions of this Act, in the same Manner as if the same had been made and supplied under the Enactments and Provisions herein-before contained.

XXIX. And be it enacted, That if any Person shall make, or cause or procure to be made, or shall aid or assist in the making, or shall knowingly have in his Custody or Possession, not being legally authorized by the Commissioners of Excise, or other Person or Persons appointed by the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, and without lawful Excuse (the Proof whereof shall lie on the Person accused), any Mould or Frame or other Instrument having therein any Words, Letters, Figures, Marks, Lines, or Devices peculiar to and appearing in the Substance of any Paper heretofore or hereafter to be provided or used for Postage Covers, Envelopes, or Stamps, or any Machinery or Parts of Machinery for working any Threads into the Substance of any Paper or any such Thread, and intended to imitate or pass for such Words, Letters, Figures, Marks, Lines, Threads, or Devices; or if any Person, except as before excepted, shall make, or cause or procure to be made, or aid or assist in the making, of any Paper in the Substance of which shall be worked or shall appear visible any Words, Letters, Figures, Marks, Lines, Threads, or other Devices peculiar to and worked into or appearing visible in the Substance of any Paper heretofore or hereafter to be provided or used for Postage Covers, Envelopes, or Stamps, or any Part of such Words, Letters, Figures, Marks, Lines, Threads, or other Devices, and intended to imitate or pass for the same; or if any Person, except as before excepted, shall knowingly have in his Custody or Possession, without lawful Excuse (the Proof whereof shall lie on the Person accused), any Paper whatever, in the Substance whereof shall be worked or appear visible any such Words, Letters, Figures, Marks, Lines, Threads, or Devices as aforesaid, or any Part of such Words, Letters, Figures, Marks, Lines, Threads, or Devices, and intended to imitate or pass for the same; or if any Person, except as aforesaid, shall, by any Art, Mystery, or Contrivance, cause or procure, or aid or assist in causing or procuring, any such Words, Letters, Figures, Marks, Lines, Threads, or Devices as aforesaid, or any Part of such Words, Letters, Figures, Marks, Lines, Threads, or other Devices, and intended to imitate or pass for the same, to appear worked into or visible in the Substance of any Paper whatever, then and in every such Case every Person so offending shall for every such Offence be adjudged a Felon, and shall be transported for the Term of Seven Years, or shall be imprisoned, at the Discretion of the Court before whom such Person shall be tried, for any Period not less than Two Years.

XXX. And be it enacted, That if any Person not lawfully authorized, and without lawful Excuse (the Proof whereof shall lie on the Person accused), shall purchase or receive, or take or have in his Custody or Possession, any Paper manufactured and provided by or under the Directions of the Commissioners of Excise, or other Person or Persons appointed to and issued for provide the same by the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, for the Purpose of being used for Postage Covers, Envelopes, or Stamps, and for receiving the Impression of the Dies, Plates, or other Instruments provided, made, or used under the Directions of the Commissioners of Stamps and Taxes, or other Person or Persons legally authorized in that Behalf, before such Paper shall have been duly stamped with such Impression and issued for public Use, every such Person shall for such Offence be guilty of a Misdemeanor, and being convicted thereof shall, at the Discretion of the Court before whom such Person shall be tried, be imprisoned for any Period not more than Three Years nor less than Six Calendar Months.

XXXI. And be it enacted, That in all Cases in which there now is or shall be a Treaty between the Postmaster General and the Post Office of a Foreign Country for collecting and accounting for the British Postage on Foreign Letters sent by the Post from the United Kingdom to that Foreign Country or to any other Foreign Country, the Postmaster General may, so long as the Treaty or Agreement shall continue in force, receive upon any such Foreign Letters from the Sender the Postage, both British and Foreign, in one entire Sum, and upon Foreign Letters addressed to Places within Her Majesty's Dominions may, whether there shall be any such Treaty or not, charge the Foreign Postage in addition to the British Postage, and he may account for and pay over to the Foreign Countries entitled to receive the same the Amount of all such Foreign Postage; and it shall be optional with the Sender of a Letter addressed to any Foreign Country included in such Treaty, or to any Foreign Country to which such Treaty shall extend, either to pay the British and Foreign Postage thereof in one entire Sum, or to send the Letters without paying any Postage, either British or Foreign, or he may otherwise pay the British Postage only; and, subject to this Enactment, the Postmaster General may cause the Postage of all Letters sent out of the United Kingdom to be paid or stamped on being put into the Post Office.

XXXII. And be it enacted, That the Foreign Postage marked on any Letter or Newspaper, or other printed Paper brought into the United Kingdom, shall in all Courts of Justice and other Places be received as conclusive Evidence of the Amount of Foreign Postage payable in respect of such Letter, Newspaper, or other printed Paper in addition to the British Postage; and such Foreign Postage shall be recoverable within the United Kingdom and other Her Majesty's Dominions as Postage due to Her Majesty.

XXXIII. And be it enacted, That it shall be lawful for Her Majesty's Postmaster General to charge on all Letters conveyed by the Post between Places within any of Her Majesty's Colonies, or conveyed by Packet Boats between one Part of Her Majesty's Dominions and another Part of the same Dominions, or between Her Majesty's Dominions and Foreign Parts, or between one Port in any Foreign Country and another Port in the same or any other Foreign Country, where Post Communications shall be established, and where Rates of Postage have not hitherto been authorized by Law, and also to charge on all Letters conveyed by any Vessels to or from any of the Colonies, or between any of the Colonies, or between any of the Colonies and a Foreign Port, and on all Letters which shall be brought by the Master of any Vessel to the Post Office in any of the Colonies, such Rates of Postage as the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, by Warrant under their Hands, shall from Time to Time direct.

XXXIV. And be it enacted, That it shall be lawful for Her Majesty's Postmaster General to require the Postage from Time to Time payable for Letters transmitted by Packet Boats or private Ships between Places out of the United Kingdom to be paid by the Sender on the Tender or Delivery of such Letters at the Post Office, or other Place appointed by the Postmaster General for the Receipt of such Letters.

XXXV. And be it enacted, That the Owners, Charterers, or Consignees of Vessels inward-bound, and the Owners, Consignees, or Shippers of Goods on board Vessels inward-bound, shall have their Letters by such Vessels free from Postage (except as hereinafter mentioned) if delivered at the Port of the Ship's Arrival; and if delivered at any other Place within the United Kingdom, on Payment of the Postage, as on prepaid Inland Letters according to the Scale of Weight and Number of Rates hereinbefore mentioned, from the Port of Arrival to the Place of Delivery, and if delivered in any of Her Majesty's Colonies, on Payment of the Colonial Rates of Postage to which Letters in such Colony may be liable, on Conveyance from such Port of Arrival to the Place of Delivery, provided the Letters brought by any One Vessel to any One such Person shall not collectively exceed Six Ounces in Weight (except in the Case of Letters brought by Vessels coming from Ceylon, the Mauritius, the East Indies, or the Cape of Good Hope, into any Port of the United Kingdom, for an Owner, Charterer, or Consignee of such Vessel, in which Case they may be collectively Twenty Ounces in Weight), and the Owner, Charterer, or Consignee shall be described as such on the Address and Superscription; and in the Case of Owners, Shippers, or Consignees of Goods it shall also appear by the Ship's Manifest that they have Goods on board the Vessel; and the Persons hereby exempted shall be entitled to have their Letters which come within the above Conditions before the Master of the Vessel delivers the other Letters in his Charge to the Post Office: Provided nevertheless, that all Ship Letter Gratuities payable by Law to Masters of Vessels bringing any such Letters shall in all Cases be paid to the Post Office by the Parties to whom the same may be addressed (in addition to any Postage payable thereon) before Delivery of such Letters to the Parties entitled to receive the same, whether such Letters shall be delivered at the Port of Arrival of such Vessel or elsewhere.

XXXVI. And for encouraging Masters of Vessels, not being Post Office Packets, to undertake the Conveyance of Letters; be it enacted, That the Postmaster General may allow to Masters of Vessels, on Letters and Newspapers conveyed by them for or on behalf of the Post Office between Places within the United Kingdom, a Sum not exceeding Two Shillings and Sixpence for each and every Number of One hundred of such Letters and Newspapers, and for any less Number in the like Proportion, and may allow to the Masters of Vessels bound from the United Kingdom to the East Indies a Sum not exceeding One Penny for each Letter and One Halfpenny for each Newspaper conveyed by them for or on behalf of the Post Office, and may allow to the Masters of all other Vessels a Sum not exceeding Two-pence for each Letter conveyed by them for or on behalf of the Post Office from the United Kingdom to Places beyond Sea, and may allow to the Masters of all Vessels not exceeding Two-pence for each Letter brought into the United Kingdom, which they shall deliver at the Post Office at the first Port at which they touch or arrive, or with which they communicate, (all which Gratuities may be paid at such Times and Places, and under all such Regulations and Restrictions, as the Postmaster General shall in his Discretion think fit); and every Master of a Vessel outward-bound shall receive on board his Vessel every Post Letter Bag tendered to him for Conveyance, and having received the same shall deliver it, on his Arrival at the Port or Place of his Destination, without Delay; and every Master of a Vessel inward-bound shall cause all Letters on board his Vessel (except those belonging to the Owners of the Vessel, or of the Goods on board, which do not exceed the prescribed Weights,) to be collected and enclosed in some Bag or other Envelope, and to be sealed with his Seal, and to be addressed to any of Her Majesty's Deputy Postmasters, that they may be in readiness to send on shore by his own Boat, or by the Pilot Boat, or by any other safe or convenient Means, in order that the same may be delivered at the first regular Post Office which can be communicated with, and at the regular Port or Place where the Vessel shall report, shall sign a Declaration in the Presence of the Person authorized by the Postmaster General at such Port or Place, who shall also sign the same, and the Declaration shall be in the Form or to the Effect following; (that is to say,)

'I A.B., Commander of the [state the Name of the Ship or Vessel], arriving from [state the Place], do, as required by Law, solemnly declare, That I have, to the best of my Knowledge and Belief, delivered or caused to be delivered to the Post Office every Letter Bag, Package, or Parcel of Letters that were on board the [state the Name of the Ship], except such Letters as are exempted by Law.'

And no Collector, Comptroller, or principal Officer of the Customs shall permit such Vessel to report till such Declaration shall be made and produced; and no Vessel shall be permitted by any Officer of the Customs to break Bulk, or to make Entry in any Port of the British Dominions, until all Letters on board the same shall be delivered to the Post Office, where Posts are or hereafter may be established, and from whence such Letters may be despatched by Post, except such Letters, Commissions, and other Matters and Things as are exempted by the Post Office Acts from the exclusive Privilege of the Postmaster General, and also except all such Letters as shall be brought by a Vessel liable to the Performance of Quarantine, all which last-mentioned Letters shall be delivered by the Person having Possession thereof to the Persons appointed to superintend the Quarantine, that all proper Precautions may be by them taken before the Delivery thereof; and when due Care has been had therein, the said Letters shall be by them despatched in the usual Manner by the Post; and the principal Officer of Customs at every Port shall search every Vessel for Letters which may be on board contrary to the Post Office Acts, and may seize all such Letters and forward them to the nearest Post Office; and the Officer who shall so seize and send them shall be entitled to a Moiety of the Penalties which may be recovered for any such Offence; and in case an Officer of Her Majesty's Customs shall find a Letter superscribed as the Letter of an Owner or Charterer, or Consignee or Shipper, exceeding the Weight herein-before limited, then the Officer shall seize so many of the Letters as shall reduce the Remainder within the proper Weight, and he shall take the same to the nearest Post Office, and the Postmaster of the Place shall pay to the Officer delivering the same any Sum the Postmaster General, with the Consent of the Lords of the Treasury, may think fit, not exceeding Two Shillings and Sixpence for every Post Letter so seized; and the Postmaster General may appoint any Person to demand, from the Masters of Vessels arriving at or off a Port of the United Kingdom, all Letters on board the same not exempted by the Post Office Acts; and the Master of any such Vessel shall forthwith deliver all such Letters on board to such Person, on his demanding the same.

XXXVII. And be it enacted, That the Penalty which, by an Act passed in the First Year of the Reign of Her present Majesty, intituled An Act for consolidating the Laws relative to Offences against the Post Office of the United Kingdom, and for regulating the Judicial Administration of the Post Office Laws; and for explaining certain Terms and Expressions employed in those Laws, is imposed on every Master of a Vessel outward-bound to Ceylon, the Mauritius, the East Indies, or the Cape of Good Hope, who shall refuse to take a Post Letter Bag delivered or tendered to him by an Officer of the Post Office, shall henceforth extend and apply to the Master of every Vessel outward-bound who shall refuse to take a Post Letter Bag, delivered or tendered to him for Conveyance by an Officer of the Post Office; and that the Penalty which, by the said Act of the First Year of the Reign of Her present Majesty, is imposed on every Master of a Vessel who shall refuse or wilfully neglect to make the Declaration of having delivered his Ship Letters to the Post Office, as required by an Act passed in the First Year of the Reign of Her present Majesty, intituled An Act for the Regulation of the Duties of Postage, shall henceforth extend and apply to the Master of every Vessel who shall refuse or wilfully neglect to make the Declaration of having delivered his Ship's Letters to the Post Office, as is required by this Act, and that the Penalty by the said first-mentioned Act imposed on every Collector, Comptroller, or Officer of the Customs, who by the said last-mentioned Act is required to prohibit any Vessel reporting until the Requisites of such last-mentioned Act shall have been complied with, and who shall permit such Vessel to report before the Requisites of such Act shall have been complied with, shall henceforth extend and apply to every Collector, Comptroller, or Officer of the Customs who by this Act is required to prohibit any Vessel reporting until the Requisites of this Act have been complied with, and who shall permit such Vessel to report before the Requisites of this Act shall have been complied with.

XXXVIII. And whereas the Postmaster General hath, with the Concurrence of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, made Regulations by which the Public are enabled to remit small Sums of Money through the Post Office by means of Money Orders; be it enacted, That such Mode of transmitting Money through the Post Office may have Continuance so long as the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury shall see ?t; and the Postmaster General is hereby authorized to demand and receive for the Use of Her Majesty, in respect of such Money or Money Orders, such Rates of Poundage as, with the Consent of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, he may from Time to Time consider reasonable, which Poundage shall be applied in the same Manner as the Post Office Revenue is or shall be applicable by Law; and all such Money Orders and the Payment thereof shall be subject to such Regulations and Restrictions as the Postmaster General, with the Consent of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, may from Time to Time direct.

XXXIX. And whereas it may be expedient that certain Post Letters should be registered; be it enacted, That in case the Postmaster General shall at any Time deem it expedient that all or any Post Letters should be registered by the Post Office, the Postmaster General may, with the Consent of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, forward Letters so registered without charging any additional Rate for the Registration thereof, or he may charge for any Letter so registered such Rate of Postage, in addition to any other Rates payable under the Post Office Acts, as the Postmaster General, with the Consent of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, shall from Time to Time direct (but such Registration shall not render the Postmaster General or the Post Office Revenue in any Manner liable for the Loss of any such Post Letters, or the Contents thereof); and all registered Letters shall be delivered to the Post Office, and also be delivered by the Post Office at or between such Hours in the Day, and under all such Regulations, in every respect. as the Postmaster General shall from Time to Time appoint; and the Postmaster General may therein require such Registration Rate to be paid on the Letter being put into the Post Office.

XL. And be it enacted, That Petitions and Addresses forwarded to Her Majesty by the Post shall be exempt from Postage.

XLI. And be it enacted, That Members of each House of Parliament may receive by the Post Petitions and Addresses to Her Majesty, and Petitions addressed to either House of Parliament, not exceeding Thirty-two Ounces in Weight, exempt from Postage, provided such Petitions and Addresses be sent without Covers, or in Covers open at the Sides.

XLII. And be it enacted, That printed Newspapers may be sent free of Postage, or liable to Postage according to the Regulations and Rates herein-after set forth; (that is to say,)

PRINTED BRITISH NEWSPAPERS,

By the Post, from One Town or Place to another, within the United Kingdom (except by private Ships), free:
By the Post of a Post Town, within the United Kingdom, addressed to a Person within the Limits of that Place or its Suburbs, One Penny each:
Between Places within the United Kingdom by private Ships, One Penny each.

Between the United Kingdom and Her Majesty's Colonies, as follows:

By Packet Boats to any of Her Majesty's Colonies and Possessions beyond the Seas, (including the East Indies, by Packet Boats from the United Kingdom, vid Syria or Egypt,) free:
By private Ships, One Penny each.

PRINTED COLONIAL NEWSPAPERS,

Brought from the Colonies to the United Kingdom by Packet Boats, (including Newspapers from the East Indies, by Her Majesty's Mediterranean Packet Boats,) whether directed to a Place within the United Kingdom or to any of Her Majesty's Colonies beyond the Seas, to be forwarded from the United Kingdom by Packet Boats, free:
Brought from the Colonies to the United Kingdom by private Ships, addressed to Places within the United Kingdom, and delivered by the Master at the Post Office, One Penny each:
Sent by Packet Boat through the United Kingdom to a Foreign State, (subject to the Consent of the Lords of the Treasury,) free.

Newspapers between Foreign Countries and the United Kingdom, as follows:

PRINTED BRITISH NEWSPAPERS,

Sent from the United Kingdom to any Foreign Port, either by Packet Boats or private Ships, Two-pence each:
When British Newspapers are allowed to pass by Post in a Foreign Country free, then British Newspapers addressed to such Foreign Country may be transmitted to any Foreign Port by Packet Boats, free:
If transmitted by private Ships, One Penny each.

PRINTED FOREIGN NEWSPAPERS,

Brought into the United Kingdom by Packet Boats or private Ships, Two-pence each:
If British Newspapers are allowed to pass by Post free in a Foreign Country, Newspapers printed in that Country brought by Packet Boat to the United Kingdom, free:
If brought by private Vessels, One Penny each:
Foreign Newspapers sent by Packet Boat through the United Kingdom to the Colonies (subject to the Consent of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury), free.

XLIII. And be it enacted, That although Newspapers may be sent by the post, and thereupon are subject to the Rate of Postage set forth in the above Table, it shall not be compulsory to send them by Post.

XLIV. And be it enacted, That no printed Paper, whether Newspaper or Votes and Proceedings in Parliament, or of the Colonial Legislature, shall be sent by the Post, either free or at the aforesaid Rates of Postage, unless the following Conditions shall be observed:

First, It shall be sent without a Cover, or in a Cover open at the Sides.

Second, There shall be no Word or Communication printed on the Paper after its Publication, or upon the Cover thereof, nor any Writing or Marks upon it or upon the Cover of it, except the Name and Address of the Person to whom sent.

Third, There shall be no Paper or Thing enclosed in or with any such Paper.

Fourth, The said printed Papers shall be put into the Post Office at such Hours in the Day, and under all such Regulations, as the Postmaster General may appoint, including therein the Payment of Postage on such as are going out of the United Kingdom when put into the Post Office, if the Postmaster General shall so require.

Fifth, All Foreign Newspapers brought into the United Kingdom under this Act are to be printed in the Language of the Country from which they shall have been forwarded, unless the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury shall in any Case direct that any foreign Newspapers shall be exempted from the Restriction hereby imposed.

XLV. And be it enacted, That the Postmaster General may examine any printed Paper or any Packet which shall be sent by the Post, without a Cover or in a Cover open at the Sides, in order to discover whether it is contrary in any respect to the Conditions hereby required to be observed, or to any Regulations which the Postmaster General, with the Consent of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, may from Time to Time make in respect of any Paper or Packet of such a Description, and also, in the Case of Newspapers, to ascertain in what Language the Newspapers brought into the United Kingdom from any Foreign Country shall be printed and published; and also in order to discover whether the Newspapers printed and published in the United Kingdom (excepting those printed in Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark, or Man, which, for the Purposes of this Act, are to be considered as Part of the United Kingdom) are duly stamped; and in case any one of the required Conditions has not been fulfilled, the whole of every such Paper or Packet shall be charged with Treble the Duty of Postage to which it would have been liable as a Letter, except as to Foreign Newspapers not printed in the Language of the Country from which they shall have been forwarded, which shall be charged with full Postage as Letters; and as to every such printed Paper going out of the United Kingdom, the Postmaster General may either detain the Paper or forward the same by the Post, charged with Treble the Duty of Postage to which it would have been liable as a Letter; and in case a Newspaper printed in the United Kingdom (except as aforesaid), and transmitted by the Post under this Act, shall appear not to have been duly stamped, the same shall be stopped and sent to the Commissioners of Stamps and Taxes.

XLVI. And be it enacted, That in all Cases in which a Question shall arise whether a printed Paper is entitled to the Privilege of a Newspaper or other printed Paper hereby privileged, so far as respects the Transmission thereof by the Post under the Post Office Acts, the Question shall be referred to the Determination of the Postmaster General, whose Decision, with the Concurrence of the Lords of the Treasury, shall be final.

XLVII. And for providing for the Transmission of Newspapers between the United Kingdom and Foreign Countries free of Postage, when satisfactory Proof shall be laid before the Postmaster General that British Newspapers addressed either to a Person or to a Place within a Foreign Country, and also that Newspapers addressed to a Person or a Place in the United Kingdom from such Foreign Country, are respectively allowed to pass by the Post within that Country free of Postage; be it enacted, That the Postmaster General may, with the Consent of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, transmit by the Post British Newspapers addressed to a Person or to a Place in such Foreign Country from the United Kingdom, to any Port out of the United Kingdom, other than Her Majesty's Colonies and Possessions, free from Postage; and he may, with the like Consent, receive from such Foreign Country Foreign Newspapers free from Postage, or he may, with the like Consent, charge for every Newspaper transmitted to or received from a Foreign Country a Rate of Postage which he may consider equivalent to the Rates of Postage payable in that Country on Newspapers either transmitted from or received in that Country, but in all Cases, whether the Newspaper be transmitted free or otherwise, subject to a Sea Postage of One Penny, payable on the Newspaper being put into the Post Office, for every Newspaper delivered at the Post Office to be conveyed by Vessels not being Post Office Packets, and also to a like Postage for every Newspaper received by Vessels not Post Office Packets, addressed to a Person or to a Place within the United Kingdom.

XLVIII. And whereas by reason of the Postage which may be charged on Newspapers in Foreign Countries, or from other Circumstances, it may be expedient again to impose the Rates of Two-pence on Newspapers; be it enacted, That the Postmaster General, with the Consent of the Lords of the Treasury, may again charge and demand the said respective Rates of Two-pence on Newspapers received from and sent to any Foreign Country.

XLIX. And be it enacted, That the Postmaster General, with the Consent of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, may allow Colonial Newspapers to pass by the Post between Places within any of Her Majesty's Colonies, or by Packet Boat or private Ship, from one Colony to another Colony, whether through the United Kingdom or not; and also allow Foreign Newspapers to pass through the United Kingdom either to Her Majesty's Colonies or from one Foreign Country to another Foreign Country, by Packet Boat or private Ship; and also allow British Newspapers to be sent to the Colonies through a Foreign Country, and Colonial Newspapers to be sent through a Foreign Country to the United Kingdom, or through the United Kingdom to a Foreign Country, free of Postage, or subject to such Rates of Postage and under all such Regulations and Restrictions as the Postmaster General with such Consent as aforesaid may think fit.

L. And be it enacted, That every British Newspaper sent by the Post to Places out of the United Kingdom shall in all Cases be put into a Post Office or Receiving Office in the United Kingdom within Seven Days next after the Day on which the same shall be published, the Day of Publication to be ascertained by the Date of such Paper; and in case a Paper shall be put into a Post Office after the Expiration of such Seven Days, the Postmaster General may either detain the Paper or forward it by Post charged with full Postage as a Letter.

LI. And be it enacted, That in case any Person to whom a printed Newspaper brought into the United Kingdom shall be directed shall have removed from the Place to which it shall be directed, before the Delivery thereof at that Place, it may (provided it shall not have been opened) be re-directed and forwarded by Post to such Person at any other Place within the United Kingdom free of Charge for such extra Conveyance; but if the Newspaper shall have been opened, it shall be charged with the same Rate as if it were a Letter from the Place of Re-direction to the Place at which it shall be ultimately delivered.

LII. And be it enacted, That the Postmaster General may allow the Masters of Vessels, other than Packet Boats, a Sum not exceeding One Penny on every printed Newspaper, Foreign or Colonial, brought into the United Kingdom from a Port or Place out of the United Kingdom, and delivered by them at the Post Office of the Post Town at which they shall touch or arrive, and a Sum not exceeding One Penny on every printed Newspaper conveyed by them for or on behalf of the Post Office from the United Kingdom to any Port or Place out of the same, in respect of which no Gratuity is herein-before authorized to be allowed.

LIII. And be it enacted, That the following Classes of Persons may both send and receive Letters, not exceeding Half an Ounce in Weight, by the Post, on their own private Concerns, at a Postage of One Penny for each Letter; (namely,)

Every Seaman employed in Her Majesty's Navy, whether at home or abroad, whilst such Seaman shall be actually employed in Her Majesty's Service.
Every Serjeant, Corporal, Drummer, Trumpeter, Fifer, private Soldier in Her Majesty's Regular Forces, Fencible Regiments, Artillery, or Royal Marines, whether at home or abroad, whilst actually employed in Her Majesty's Service.
Every Serjeant, Corporal, Drummer, Trumpeter, Fifer,private Soldier in the Service of the East India Company whilst actually employed in the Service of the Company.

But the Letters of Commissioned Officers or Warrant Officers, whether in the Army or Navy, or Midshipmen, or Masters Mates of the Navy, are not included in this Provision.

And with respect to Letters sent by any such privileged Persons, the following Conditions shall be observed; (that is to say,) the Postage of each Letter (unless sent from Parts beyond the Seas, as herein-after mentioned,) shall be paid (or the Letter if posted within the United Kingdom, shall be duly and properly stamped,) on being put into a Post Office established under the Authority of the Postmaster General; and upon such Letter shall be superscribed the Name of the Writer, and his Class or Description in the Vessel, Regiment, Corps, or Detachment to which he shall belong; and upon every such Letter there shall be written in the Handwriting of and signed by the Officer having at the Time the Command of the Vessel, or of the Regiment, Corps, or Detachment to which the privileged Person belongs, the Name of such Officer and the Name of such Vessel, or of such Regiment, Corps, or Detachment.

And with respect to Letters received by the Post by any of the said privileged Persons, the following Conditions shall be observed; the Postage of each Letter (unless sent from Parts beyond the Seas as herein-after mentioned) shall be paid (or the Letter, if posted within the United Kingdom, shall be duly and properly stamped) upon putting it into a Post Office established under the Authority of the Postmaster General, and it shall be directed to the privileged Person, specifying on the Superscription thereof the Vessel, or the Regiment, Corps, or Detachment to which he shall belong; and the Deputy Postmaster of the Place to which such Letter shall be sent to be delivered shall not deliver such Letter to any Person except the Person hereby privileged to whom it shall be directed. or to some Person appointed to receive the same, by Writing under the Hand of the Officer in command.

And whenever the Letters sent or received by any such privileged Persons shall be sent from Parts beyond the Seas without the said Postage of One Penny being pre-paid, every such Letter shall be charged to the Party receiving the same with a Rate of Two-pence; and any Letters received by the Post under this Enactment by any such privileged Persons which may have been re-directed shall not be charged any Postage on or in respect of such Re-direction.

LIV. And be it enacted, That any such privileged Persons may both send and receive Letters, not exceeding Half an Ounce in Weight, by private Ships, between the United Kingdom and Places beyond the Seas, on their own private Concerns, at the like Postage for each Letter, and subject to the like Conditions and Regulations, in all respects, as arc herein-before mentioned in respect of Letters sent and received by any such privileged Persons by the Post; but whenever the Letters sent or received by any such privileged Persons shall be conveyed, or be intended to be conveyed, by private Ships, the Gratuities pa able by Law to the Masters of such Vessels in respect of such Letters shall in all Cases be paid to the Post Office in addition to such Postage.

LV. And be it enacted, That the said Privilege shall not extend to any Letters liable to any Foreign Rates of Postage.

LVI. And be it enacted, That, except in the Cases herein specified, all Privileges whatsoever of sending Letters by the Post free of Postage, or at a reduced Rate of Postage, shall wholly cease and determine.

LVII. And be it enacted, That the Postmaster General may at any Time hereafter charge, for the Use of Her Majesty, on all Letters, Newspapers, and other printed Papers sent by the Post, on which the Postage shall not be pre-paid, and which shall not be duly and properly stamped, and also on all Letters sent by the Post without being duly and properly stamped, although the Postage thereon shall be wholly or in part pre-paid, such higher Rates of Postage than would otherwise by Law be payable on such Letters, Newspapers, or other printed Papers as the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, by Warrant under their Hands, shall from Time to Time deem expedient, and may also remit any of the Rates of British Postage or Inland Postage for the Time being payable by Law on the Transmission of Post Letters, Newspapers, or other printed Papers, to such Extent as the Lords of the Treasury shall from Time to Time direct.

LVIII. And whereas Communications may from Time to Time be opened with Foreign Post Offices, which may render an Alteration in the Rates of Postage expedient; be it enacted, That it shall be lawful for the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury from Time to Time, and at any Time after the passing of this Act, by Warrant under their Hands, to alter and fix any of the Rates of British Postage or Inland Postage payable by Law on the Transmission by the Post of Foreign or Colonial Letters or Newspapers, or of any other printed Papers, and to subject the same to Rates of Postage according to the Weight thereof, and a Scale of Weight to be contained in such Warrant, and from Time to Time, by Warrant as aforesaid, to alter or repeal any such altered Rates, and make and establish any new or other Rates in lieu thereof, and from Time to Time, by Warrant as aforesaid, to appoint at what Time the Rates which may be payable are to be paid, and the Power hereby given to alter and fix Rates of Postage shall extend to any Increase or Reduction, or Remission of Postage.

LIX. And be it enacted, That the Rates of Postage from Time to Time to become payable under or by virtue of any Postages Warrant of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, under this Act, shall be charged by and be paid to Her Majesty's Postmaster General, for the Use of Her Majesty, on all Post Letters, Newspapers, or other printed Papers to which such Warrant shall extend; and that in all Cases in which any Rates of Postage shall be made payable under any such Warrant, every such Warrant shall be published in the London Gazette, and shall, within Fourteen Days after making the same, be laid before both Houses of Parliament (if then sitting), or otherwise within Fourteen Days after Parliament shall reassemble; provided, that any Rates made payable by any such Warrant may be demanded and taken immediately after they shall have been so published in the London Gazette, although the same shall not then have been laid before Parliament

LX. And be it enacted, That in all Cases in which the Postage of any unstamped Letter shall not have been paid by the Sender, it shall be paid by the Person to whom the Letter is addressed on the Delivery thereof to him; but if the Letter be refused, or the Party to whom it is addressed shall be dead, or cannot be found, the Writer or Sender shall pay the Postage; and this Enactment shall apply to every Packet, Newspaper, and Thing whatsoever chargeable with Postage which shall be transmitted by the Post.

LXI. And be it enacted, That it shall be lawful for the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury to make any Reduction or Increase or Alteration they may consider expedient in the Gratuities allowed by this Act to Masters of Vessels for Letters and Newspapers conveyed by them for or on behalf of the Post Office, or delivered by them to the Post Office, and to allow and authorize such Gratuities for the Conveyance of Letters and Newspapers to Masters of Vessels passing to or from or between any of Her Majesty's Colonies or Possessions beyond the Seas, as they shall think fit, and also to allow and authorize any Gratuities to be paid to Pilots, Seamen, or others on the Letters and Newspapers they may bring to any Post Office from any Vessel.

LXII. And be it enacted, That no Person shall post or cause to be posted, or send or cause to be sent, or tender or deliver in order to be sent by the Post, any Letter containing any explosive or other dangerous Material or Substance, and no such Letter shall be forwarded by the Post.

LXIII. And be it enacted, That all Post Letters shall be posted, forwarded, conveyed, and delivered, under and subject to all such Orders, Directions, and Regulations, and under and subject to all such Conditions, Limitations, and Restrictions as to the Form, Size, Dimensions, Enclosures, or otherwise, as the Postmaster General, with the Consent of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, shall from Time to Time direct.

LXIV. And to prevent Disputes as to the Limits of Post Towns within which Letters are to be delivered by the Post; be it enacted, That it shall be lawful for the Postmaster General from Time to Time, in all Cases in which he shall deem the same expedient, by Writing under his Hand, to fix and declare the Limits of any Post Town within the United Kingdom or other Her Majesty's Dominions, which shall be binding and conclusive on all Persons whomsoever.

LXV. And be it enacted, That it shall be lawful for the Postmaster General, or any of his Officers, to detain any Post Letter suspected to contain any contraband Goods, and forward the same to the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Customs, who, in the Presence of the Person to whom the same may be addressed, or in his Absence, in case of Nonattendance, after Notice in Writing from the said Commissioners requiring his Attendance, left at or forwarded by the Post according to the Address on the Letter, may open and examine the same, and in case on any such Examination any contraband Goods shall be discovered, the said Commissioners may detain the Letter and its Contents for the Purpose of Prosecution; and if no contraband Goods shall be discovered in such Letter, the same shall, if the Party to whom the same is addressed be present, be handed over to him on his paying the Postage (if any) charged thereon, or, if he shall not be present, the same shall be returned to the Post Office, and be forwarded to the Place of its Address.

LXVI. And for the more effectual Prosecution of Offences committed against the Post Office, be it enacted, That in any Indictment or Criminal Letters for any Offence committed upon or in respect of any Property which may be laid in or stated to belong to the. Postmaster General, it shall be sufficient to state any such Property to belong to and to lay it in "Her Majesty's Postmaster General;" and it shall not be necessary to specify the Name or Addition of any such Postmaster General; and that whenever, in any Indictment or Criminal Letters for any Offence committed against the Post Office Acts, it shall be necessary to mention for any Purpose whatever Her Majesty's Postmaster General, it shall be sufficient to describe such Postmaster General as "Her Majesty's Postmaster General," without any further or other Name, Addition, or Description whatsoever.

LXVII. And to enable the Postmaster General for the Time being to hold and take Conveyances and Leases of Messuages, General Tenements, Lands, and Hereditaments for the Service of the Post Office, and to transmit the same to his Successors, be it enacted, That for such Purpose Her Majesty's Postmaster General and his Successors shall be and is and are hereby made a Body Corporate, and shall have a Seal; and that all Messuages, Tenements, Lands, and Hereditaments, of whatsoever Nature and Tenure, now vested in Her Majesty's present Postmaster General, his Heirs, Executors, Administrators, and Assigns, in Trust for Her Majesty and Her Successors, shall immediately on the passing of this Act be and become vested in him in his Corporate Capacity, and his Successors for ever, in Trust as aforesaid.

LXVIII. And be it enacted, That so much of an Act passed in the Fifty-ninth Year of the Reign of His late Majesty King George the Third, intituled An Act to amend an Act passed in the Fifty-fifth Year of the Reign of His present Majesty, for granting to His Majesty the Sum of Twenty thousand Pounds towards repairing Roads between London and Holyhead by Chester, and between London and Bangor by Shrewsbury, and for giving additional Powers to the Commissioners therein named to build a Bridge over the Menai Straits, and to make a new Road from Bangor Ferry to Holyhead in the County of Anglesea, as authorizes and requires additional Rates of Postage to be charged and levied on Letters and Packets conveyed by Post by Way of Dublin and Holyhead; and so much of an Act passed in the First and Second Years of the Reign of His late Majesty King George the Fourth, intituled An Act for applying a certain Sum of Money out of the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for the Purpose of building a Bridge over the River Conway in the County of Carnarvon, and for imposing additional Rates of Postage on Letters and Packets conveyed over the said Bridge, as authorizes and requires additional Rates of Postage to be charged and levied on Letters and Packets conveyed by Post to and from any Part of Great Britain or Ireland by way of Conway and Chester; and so much of an Act passed in the Fourth Year of the Reign of His late Majesty King George the Fourth, intituled An Act for vesting in Commissioners the Bridges now building over the Menai Straits and the River Conway, the Harbours of Howth and Holyhead, and the Road from Dublin to Howth, and for the further Improvement of the Road from London to Holyhead, as enacts that the additional Rates of Postage granted by the said Act of the Fifty-ninth Year of the Reign of King George the Third shall be continued to be charged and received; and so much of an Act passed in the Sixth Year of the Reign of His late Majesty King William the Fourth, intituled An Act for granting an additional Rate of Postage on Letters between Great Britain and Ireland by Way of Milford and Waterford, as authorizes and requires additional Rates of Postage to be charged and levied on Letters conveyed by Post by Way of Milford and Waterford; and so much of any other Act or Acts as authorize or require any additional Rates to be charged and levied on Letters to and from Ireland by Way of Holyhead in respect of Menai Bridge, by Way of Conway and Chester in respect of Conway Bridge, and by Way of Milford and Waterford; and so much of an Act passed in the First Year of the Reign of Her present Majesty, intituled An Act for the Management of the Post Office, as directs the respective Post Office Receivers General of England and Ireland to distinguish in their Accounts the respective additional Rates of Postage granted in respect of the Menai and Conway Bridges, and on Letters conveyed by Way of Milford and Waterford, and to the Payment of the Amount thereof into the Exchequer; and so much of an Act passed in the First Year of the Reign of Her present Majesty, intituled An Act to repeal the several Laws relating to the Post Office, as repeals any Part of an Act passed in the Third Year of the Reign of King George the Fourth, intituled An Act to amend the general Laws now in being regulating Turnpike Roads in that Part of Great Britain called England, and as repeals any Part of an Act passed in the Fourth Year of the Reign of King George the Fourth, intituled An Act to explain and amend an Act passed in the Third Year of the Reign of His present Majesty, to amend the general Laws now in being for regulating Turnpike Reads in that Part of Great Britain called England; and also an Act passed in the First Year of the Reign of Her present Majesty intituled An Act for the Regulation of the Duties of Postage; and an Act passed in the same Session of Parliament, intituled An Act for regulating the sending and receiving of Letters and Packets by the Post free from the Duty of Postage; and so much of any other Act or Acts now in force as authorize the sending or receiving Letters and Packets by the Post free from the Duty of Postage; and also an Act passed in the First Year of the Reign of Her present Majesty, intituled An Act to impose Rates of Packet Postage on East India Letters, and to amend certain Acts relating to the Post Office, excepting so much thereof as authorizes the Payment out of the Revenue of the Post Office of any Deficiency in the Superannuation Fund for old and infirm Letter Carriers; and also an Act passed in the First and Second Years of the Reign of Her present Majesty, intituled An Act for imposing Rates of Postage on the Conveyance of Letters by Packet Boats between Places in the Mediterranean and other Ports; and also the hereinbefore recited Act passed in the last Session of Parliament, intituled An Act for the further Regulation of the Duties on and Postage until the Fifth Day of October One thousand eight hundred and forty, and the several Treasury Warrants issued in pursuance of the said last-mentioned Act, shall be and the same are hereby repealed and rescinded, except as to any Act done or performed, or any Appointment made, or any Power, Authority, or Consent given or granted under or by virtue of the said recited Acts, or any of them respectively, or by or in pursuance of the said Treasury Warrants, and except in respect of any Postage Duties which may have become payable under or by virtue of any of the said Acts or Treasury Warrants hereby repealed and rescinded, or any Proceedings for Recovery of such Duties, and except also as to any Offence committed against the Provisions of the said Acts hereby repealed or any other Acts, and any Fine or Penalty incurred by reason of any such Offence, or any Proceeding for Recovery of any such Fine or Penalty, or for the Punishment of any Offender.

LXIX. Provided always, and be it enacted, That it shall be lawful for the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, in their Discretion, to authorize and empower the Receiver General of the Post Office in England from Time to Time to pay to the Receipt of Her Majesty's Exchequer, out of the Revenue of the Post Office, by quarterly, half-yearly, or annual Payments, as the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury may think fit, such an annual Sum or Sums of Money as they may deem equivalent to the annual Amount of the additional Rates of Postage which were payable under the said recited Act passed in the Sixth Year of the Reign of King William the Fourth, up to the Time of the Suspension of the said Rates, which annual Sum or Sums shall be calculated and fixed on an Average of the Produce of the said additional Rates for Three Years up to the Time at which the same were suspended; and the said Sum or Sums shall be paid accordingly for and on account of the Milford Road Fund, and shall be carried to the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and be applied as the said additional Rates would have been applicable by Law if the same had not been suspended or repealed.

LXX. And be it enacted, That wherever the Warrant of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury is required by this Act, such Warrant may be under the Hands of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, or any Three of them; and that whenever the Order, Consent, Authority, or Direction of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury is prescribed by this Act, such Order, Consent, Authority, or Direction (not being by Warrant) may be signified either under the Hands of the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, or any Three of them, or under the Hand of One of their Secretaries or Assistant Secretaries.

LXXI. And be it enacted, That the following Terms and Expressions, whenever used in this or any other Post Office Act, shall have the several Interpretations herein-after respectively set forth, unless such Interpretations are repugnant to the Subject or inconsistent with the Context of the Provisions in which they may be found; (that is to say,) the Term "British Newspapers" shall mean Newspapers printed and published in the United Kingdom liable to the Stamp Duties and duly stamped, and also Newspapers printed in the Islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark, or Man, although not liable to Stamp Duties; and the Term "inward-bound" shall be held to include Vessels bound as well to any Port in the United Kingdom as to any Port in any of Her Majesty's Colonies; and the Term "outward-bound" shall be held to include Vessels bound as well from any Port in the United Kingdom as from any Port in Her Majesty's Colonies; and that the Term "United Kingdom" shall mean the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Islands of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, Sark, and Alderney; and that the Term "Her Majesty's Colonies" shall include every Port and Place within the Territorial Acquisitions now vested in the East India Company in Trust for Her Majesty, the Cape of Good Hope, the Island of Saint Helena, the Ionian Islands, and Honduras, as well as Her Majesty's other Colonies and Possessions beyond the Seas (the Islands of Man, Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, and Sark only excepted); and that the Term "by the Post" shall extend to and include the Transmission of Post Letters as well by any General or Twopenny or Penny or Convention Post as by Packet Boat; and the Term "Post Town" shall include every City, Town, and Place where a Post Office is or shall be established; and that the several other Terms and Expressions used in this Act shall be construed according to the respective Interpretations of the Terms and Expressions contained in the said Act passed in the First Year of the Reign of Her present Majesty, intituled An Act for consolidating the Laws relative to Offences against the Post Office of the United Kingdom, and for regulating the Judicial Administration of the Post Office Laws, and for explaining certain Terms and Expressions employed in those Laws, so far as those Interpretations are not repugnant to the Subject or inconsistent with the Context of such Terms and Expressions.

LXXII. And be it enacted, That this Act shall come into operation on the First Day of September One thousand eight hundred and forty.

LXXIII. And be it enacted, That this Act may be amended or repealed by any Act to be passed during the present Session of Parliament.

The SCHEDULE to which this Act refers.

On all Letters, not exceeding Half an Ounce in Weight, transmitted by the Post between the United Kingdom and Foreign Parts, or between any of the Places out of the United Kingdom herein-after mentioned, there shall be charged and taken the following Rates of British Postage; (that is to say,)

s. d.
By Packet Boat between Dover or any other Port in the United Kingdom and Calais or any other Port in France, a Packet Rate of 0 5
Between France and any Place in the United Kingdom distant from Dover or other Port in the United Kingdom not more than Eight Miles, a Rate (the Packet Rate included) of 0 5
Between France and any Place distant from Dover or other Port as aforesaid more than Eight Miles and not more than Fifteen Miles, a Rate (the Packet Rate included) of 0 6
Between France and any Place distant from Dover or other Port as aforesaid more than Fifteen Miles and not more than Twenty Miles, a Rate (the Packet Rate included) of 0 7
Between France and any Place distant from Dover or other Port as aforesaid more than Twenty Miles and not more than Thirty Miles, a Rate (the Packet Rate included) of 0 8
Between France and any Place distant from Dover or other Port as aforesaid more than Thirty Miles and not more than Fifty Miles, a Rate (the Packet Rate included) of 0 9
And between France and any Place distant from Dover or other Port as aforesaid more than Fifty Miles, or between France and London or any Place in the United Kingdom through London, an uniform Rate (the Packet Rate included) of 0 10
Between any Part of the United Kingdom and Spain, otherwise than through France, an uniform Rate of 2 2
Between any Part of the United Kingdom and the United States of America, an uniform Rate of 1 0
Between London and the following Places, by way of France; viz., Malta, the Ionian Islands, Greece, Syria, and Egypt, an uniform Rate of 0 10
Between London and Germany, by way of France 1 4
Between London and Switzerland, by way of France 1 2
Between London and Spain, by way of France 1 7
Between London and the following Places, by way of France; viz., Italy, Sicily, Venetian Lombardy, Turkey, the Levant, and the Archipelago 1 7
Between London and Holland 1 4
Between London and Belgium 1 4
Between London and Switzerland 1 8
Between London and Germany 1 8
Between London and Denmark 1 8
Between London and Sweden, and other Parts of the North of Europe 1 8
Between London and the following Countries, through Belgium, or Holland or Germany; viz. Italy, Sicily, Venetian Lombardy, Malta, the Ionian Islands, Greece, Turkey, the Levant, the Archipelago, Syria, or Egypt 1 8
Between any Part of the United Kingdom, and any Place in the East Indies, via France, in addition to the Red Sea or Persian Gulf Packet Rate herein-after mentioned 0 10

Nevertheless all Foreign Letters herein rated between London and a Place abroad (but not including Letters between France and any Port in the United Kingdom distant from Dover or any other Port in the United Kingdom not more than Fifty Miles) which shall be sent to or from any Place in the United Kingdom, without coming to or passing through London, shall be charged as if they had been sent from or to London.

And the Rates of British Postage for every Letter not exceeding Half an Ounce in Weight, transmitted by Packet Boats between the Places herein-after mentioned, shall be as follows:

s. d.
Between a Port in the United Kingdom and Lisbon or any other Port in Portugal 1 7
Between a Port in the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Greece or any Port in Syria or Egypt, but not including Letters transmitted between the United Kingdom and the East Indies 2 3
Between Suez or Bassora, or any other Port in the Red Sea or Persian Gulf, and any Port in the East Indies (Letters transmitted by Her Majesty's Mediterranean Packets to or from the United Kingdom only excepted) 1 0
Between any of the Ports or Islands or Places situate upon the Mediterranean Sea, the Adriatic Sea, the Archipelago, the Black Sea, in Turkey in Europe and Asia, in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, in the Mediterranean, and upon the Northern Coast of Africa, whether in the Mediterranean or in the Straits of Gibraltar (not having been first brought or conveyed from the United Kingdom, or not being intended to be conveyed to the United Kingdom) 0 6
Between any of the Ports or Places last aforesaid and any Port or Place in the East Indies, by way of the Red Sea or the Persian Gulf, in addition to the aforesaid Red Sea or Persian Gulf Packet Rate 0 6
Between a Port in the United Kingdom and the Island of Madeira 1 8
Between a Port in the United Kingdom and any Port in the Island of Cuba in the West Indies, or any Port in Columbia or Mexico 2 1
Between any Port in the British Possessions in the West Indies and any Port in Columbia or Mexico 1 0
Between any Port in the United Kingdom and Brazil 2 7
Between any Port in the United Kingdom and Buenos Ayres, or any other Ports on the Continent of South America (other than Columbia, Brazil, or Mexico) 2 5
Between any Port in the United Kingdom and any Ports in the Islands of Saint Domingo, Martinique, Guadaloupe, Saint Thomas, Saint Croix, Saint Martin, or any other Foreign Island in the West Indies between which and the United Kingdom no Rate is herein-before authorized 1 3

And in addition to the foregoing Rates, (except on Letters between the United Kingdom and France, and between the United Kingdom and Spain, (otherwise than by way of France,) and between the United Kingdom and the United States of America,) there shall be paid on every such Letter as aforesaid an Inland Rate of Postage of Two-pence for the Distance any such Letter shall be conveyed within the United Kingdom; and on every Letter so transmitted as herein-before mentioned, exceeding Half an Ounce in Weight, there shall be charged and taken progressive and additional Rates of British Postage, according to the Scale of Weight and Number of Rates in this Act contained as to Letters, estimating and charging each additional Rate at the Amount herein-before directed to be charged and taken on every Letter so transmitted, not exceeding Half an Ounce in Weight, and charging the Inland Rate as aforesaid, but so that Letters herein rated between London and a Place abroad shall not be charged any Inland Rate for the Distance between London and the Outport at which the Packet Boats conveying the same shall be stationed.

And on every Letter between Foreign Countries, or between any Foreign Country and any jof Her Majesty's Colonies, transmitted by the Post through the United Kingdom, there shall be charged and taken for the Distance any such Letter shall be carried within the United Kingdom (in addition to the Rates to and from the United Kingdom to which such Letter will be liable under this Act) any such Inland Rate or Rates of Postage, not exceeding One Shilling on any Letter not being more than Half an Ounce in Weight, as the Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury may, by Warrant under their Hands, direct, and on any Letter exceeding that Weight progressive and additional Rates of British Postage. according to the Scale of Weight and Number of Rates in this Act contained as to Letters, estimating and charging each additional Rate at the Sum which any such Letter would be charged with under this Act if not exceeding Half an Ounce in Weight, but so that no such Letter be transmitted through the United Kingdom unless the British Postage chargeable thereon be paid before the same be sent out of the United Kingdom, or unless there be a Treaty between the Postmaster General and the Post Office of the Foreign Country from which it shall have been forwarded, or to which it shall be addressed, for collecting and accounting for the British Postage on such Letters.