The Postal Treaty with Great Britain made in 1848, the postal arrangements made in 1851 for direct and frequent postal communication with the Canadas and other British Provinces, and the postal arrangements soon after made with Prussia and other foreign countries, increased to a considerable extent the amount of postages received at the Buffalo offices on letters sent to and received from foreign countries.
In 1855 an Act was passed under which all inland postage was required to be prepaid and which fixed the single rate of inland letter postage for any distance not exceeding three thousand miles at 3 cents, and for any distance exceeding three thousand miles at 10 cents.
In 1863 the single uniform rate of inland letter postage was fixed at 3 cents, without regard to distance, and was required to be prepaid by stamps; the postage on drop letters was increased to 2 cents the half ounce; and all letters reaching their destination without prepayment of postage were to be charged with double the rate of prepaid postage chargeable thereon, thus allowing letters to be sent without prepayment and leaving the general rate of inland letter postage when prepaid as it was fixed for distances under three thousand miles by the Act of 1851, but increasing it 1 cent beyond the rate of 1851 when sent unpaid; also increasing the rate of 1851 on unsealed printed circulars from 1 to 2 cents, and on drop letters from 1 cent the letter to 2 cents the half ounce; and reducing the rates of postage to and from California and Oregon from 6 to 3 cents when prepaid and from 10 to 6 cents when not prepaid.
That the revenues of the Department have been perennially diminished by these reductions cannot be denied; but it is believed that this diminution has been slight in comparison with the public benefits which have followed the adoption of rates of postage, which (the cost of transportation consequent upon the vast extent over which our more remote settlements are scattered, the general sparseness of our population and the high prices of clerical and other labor being considered) are believed to be the cheapest which have ever been adopted by any Government of ancient or modern times.
[A] [B] Respectively Postmaster-General and Postmaster of Buffalo.--ED.
