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Soldiers' and sailors' mails. Establishment of one-penny concessionary rate (35 Geo 3, c53)

General Post-Office, May 6, 1795
Raguin Code: NEWS –9503

By an Act passed in the present Session of Parliament, intituled, "An Act for further regulating the sending and receiving Letters, free from the Duty of Postage, for allowing Non-commissioned Officers, Seamen, and Private Men, in the Navy and Army, whilst on Service, to send and receive Letters, at a low Rate of Postage, and for permitting pattern and Samples of Goods, to be transmitted by the Post, at an easier Rate than is now allowed by Law."

No Letter or Packet whatsoever, sent by the Post within Great Britain, directed by or to any Member of either House of Parliament of Great Britain, shall from and after the 5th Instant, be exempted from the Duty of Postage, if such Letter or Packet shall exceed one ounce in weight.

No Letter or Packet directed by any such Member, shall be exempted from Postage, unless the Member whose name shall be indorsed thereon, shall actually be in the Post-Town, into the Post Office of which every such Letter or Packet shall be put, or within the limits of the delivery of Letters for such Post Town, or within 20 miles of such Post Town, on the day, or on the day before the day on which such Letter or Packet shall be put into the Post-Office.

No such Member shall be entitled or allowed to send by the Post, free from Postage, superscribed or directed by him, more than 10 Letters in any one day, nor shall be entitled or allowed to receive by the Post, free from Postage, more than 15 Letters directed to him in any one day.

Provided that whenever the number of Letters or Packets, not weighing more than one ounce each, sent or received by any such Member in any one day, shall exceed the number exempted by the said Act from Postage, and the rate of Postage upon any of them shall differ, then such of the said Letters or Packets as would be chargeable with a higher rate of Postage than the remainder, shall be included in the number so exempted, in preference to any which would be chargeable with a lower rate of Postage, and the remainder shall be chargeable with the several rates of Postage respectively to which such Letters would now by law be chargeable, if sent or received by any persons not entitled to send or receive Letters or Packets free from Postage.

The several persons who by law are authorised, in right of their Offices and Employments to send and receive Letters free from Postage, and their successors in such Offices and Employments, may during their continuance in such Offices and Employments, send and receive Letters and Packets, free from Postage, as they now send and receive the same.

No printed Votes or Proceedings in Parliament, or printed Newspapers sent without covers, or in covers open at the sides, which shall be signed on the outside thereof by the hand of any Member of Parliament as heretofore practised, or which shall be directed to any such Member at any place whereof he shall have given notice in writing to the Postmaster General, or his Deputy, shall be charged with Postage.

No single Letter sent by the Post from any Non-commissioned Officer, Seaman, or Private employed in His Majesty's Navy, Army, Militia, Fencible Regiments, Artillery or Marines, shall, whilst such Non-commissioned Officer, Seaman or Private shall be employed on his Majesty's service, and not otherwise, be charged with an higher rate of Postage than the sum of one Penny for the conveyance of each such Letter, such Postage to be paid at the time of putting the same into the Post-Office of the town or place from whence such Letter is intended to be sent by the Post.

Provided, That no such Letter shall be exempted from Postage, unless there shall be written thereon, in the handwriting of and signed by the Commanding Officer for the time being of the ship or vessel, or of the corps, regiment, or detachment, to which such non-commissioned Officer, Seaman, or Private shall belong, the name of such Commanding Officer, and of the ship, vessel, corps, regiment, or detachment commanded by him.

No single Letter, directed to any such non-commissioned Officer, Seaman, or Private, upon his own private concerns, only whilst such non-commissioned Officer, Seaman, or Private shall be employed on his Majesty's service, and not otherwise, shall be charged with an higher rate of Postage than one penny for each such Letter, which penny shall be paid at the time of the delivery thereof.

Provided, that no such Letter shall be exempted from the Rates of Postage chargeable upon Letters, unless any such Letter shall be directed to such Non-commissioned Officer, Seaman, or Private, specifying the Ship, Vessel, Regiment, Troop, Corps, Company, or Detachment to which he may belong: And provided also that it shall not be lawful for the Deputy-Postmaster of the town or place to which such Letter shall be sent to be delivered, to deliver such Letter to any person, except to the Non-commissioned Officer, Seaman, or Private to whom such Letter shall be directed, or to any person appointed to receive the same by the Commanding Officer of the Ship, &c. to which the Non-commissioned Officer, Seaman, or Private to whom such Letter shall be directed shall belong.

Every Packet or Cover containing therein, or having affixed thereto, one or more paper or papers, with patterns, or one or more pattern or patterns of cloth, Silk, Stuff, or other Goods, or one or more Sample or Samples of any other sort of thing, not exceeding together one ounce in Weight, shall be charged with no higher rate of Postage that as a single Letter, so as every such Packet or Cover shall be sent open at the sides, and without any letter or writing in, upon, or with such Packet or Cover, other than the name or names of the person or persons sending the same, and the place or places of his or their abode, and the prices of the Articles contained therein, or affixed thereto, The Act may be seen at every Post Office.

ANTHONY TODD, Secretary.