The History of the Post Office in British North America

Postal service on the Ottawa river,

, Daniel Sutherland, be appointed as his successor, and the appointment was made in April 1816.[167] Sutherland entere

postal service, it would be inadvisable to diminish in any way the opportunities that then existed of enlisting the good will of the governor towards the post office by the pursuit of a more tactful course than had been taken by Sutherland's predecessor. If, while relati

urred the hostility of the legislatures in both Upper and Lower Canada and its case would have been hard indee

ement of Perth. In the summer of 1815, a number of Scotch artisans and peasants sailed from Greenock, attracted by the inducements held out to settlers in British North America, and of these about sixty

ted States. By October 1816, there were over sixteen hundred settlers in the district. They were fortunate in securing the interest of Sir John S

bishop of Quebec, accompanied his father on an episcopal trip into Upper Canada in 1820. Among the places he visited was Perth. Of the road he said: "All the roads I have describ

by way of the St. Lawrence, but is notable as the first considerable body to come into Upper Canada by way of the Ottawa river. They landed on the site of the present city of Ottawa, but did not stop there longer than was necessary to break a

s interest in the settlement which bore his name in a number of ways, and shortly before his death he induced the deputy postmaster gen

lander, who had made one or two exploratory tours into the country, determined to form a settlement at Hull, on the Lowe

ch won special mention from Bouchette, the surveyor general. At that time there were about thirty families in the distric

stal service. The isolation did not last long. Little bodies of settlers were taking up land at different points, both above and below the Long

ostmaster general at first demurred on the ground of expense, but he withdrew his objections on a guarantee being given by a number of gentlemen interested in the district, that the post office should b

Lower Canada. These townships lie along the northern border of eastern New York, Vermont and New Hampshire. Owing

sts of peace would be best served by keeping the country uncultivated, that it might serve as a barrier to the restless spirits from the south. Some effort was made to give effect to this view b

e policy of the government had been disregarded in this manner, and directed the governor to do what he could

new roads were to be run into them, and advantage was to be taken of any circumstances that presented themselves o

felons escaping from justice within His Majesty's province or from the United States. Forgery, coining, and every crime is committed there with i

f a comfortable, well-settled population of about 2500. The village lay on the main stage route from Quebec into the state of Vermont. The post office

when he became deputy postmaster general, there were only ten offices in Lower Canada and nine in Upper Canada. When he retired in 1827, there were forty-nine in Lower Canada and sixty

post office was opened at Sherbrooke in 1819, replac

lled Toronto was on the list of 1819 as having been opened in 1817, with Charles Fothergill as postmaster, and another called Hamilton was opened in 1819 with James Bethune as post

s postmaster. About this time the house began to express dissatisfaction with the service provided by the post office, and to demand information as to its affairs, which the deputy postmaster

nce of the mails, had at this date almost ceased to be employed for the transmission of any but official correspondence. The interests of the governors and other officials in Bri

service was established, the vessels made monthly trips during the summer from Falmouth, in England, to Halifax and thence to Ne

g the winter, the packets should touch at Bermuda on their way to New York.[175] On the eve of the war of 1812, Prevost, the governor general, who was fearful for the safety of the mails, begged

put up with any slowness in transmission rather than have his despatches touch United States soil.

ican station asked that the packets should continue to call at Halifax during the winter, and, by way of satisfying the post office of the feasibility of his suggestion, furnished a list of some se

who happened to be in port, and asked them their opinion. They were unanimous in the belief that the only safe course to Halifax would be to go first to Bermuda, thenc

weeks, and as the voyages would be much rougher, there would be few passengers. The wear and tear on the packets would be greate

aving England in November 1821 and 1822, did not reach him until the following February, and his February despatches arrived in Quebec in May. He asked that the mails c

gent at New York, whose sole duty it was to act as intermediary for the despatch by the outgoing British packet boat, of all correspondence

s request, and pointed out how his own office might be made of much greater utility, if he were employed freely, not only for the transmission of official correspondence, but for the interchange of general correspondence between Canada and Great Britain. He declare

ate bags for Upper and Lower Canada, which on arrival at New York would be delivered to hi

g the conveyance of official despatches through their territory by British messengers, the secretary stated that the conveyance of ordinary mails by the same means was a very different matter, which would give rise to a justifiable claim on the

d would be subject to a double charge, viz:-the expenses of the messenger, and the sum which the United States might exact for the mere transit over its territory. If the British mails arri

e postage would have been lower. Since the spring of 1817, steamboats were employed to carry the mails between New York and Albany twice a we

, and a day less if the mails were carried from New York along the Moh

dvantage enjoyed by Halifax over New York on the sea trip could compensate for the disparity from which the land route between Halifax and Montreal suffered in compar

would be eightpence less postage on each letter to Quebec, if it were sent through the United States instead of through the Maritime provinces, and, besides, he was doubtful as to th

and to others, whose correspondence had to be carried by this means, they were of little moment to th

nformation they obtained must have surprised them.[181] There were three modes of sending letters to Canada from Great Britain. The fi

paper weighing less than an ounce, was two shillings and twopence sterling from London to Halifax by way of Falmouth. To this must be added the postage from Halifax to points in Canada, which

in Canada was, to Quebec ninety-two cents; to Montreal ninety-six cents; to Kingston one dollar and four cents; to York one dollar and twelve cents; and to Amherstburg one dollar and twent

the post office. A person desiring to send a letter from London to a post office in Canada would write on the c

instead of two shillings and twopence for the sea conveyance, the letter would only be charged one shilling and one penny. But the high charge

American packets, running between Liverpool and New York, which were fast sailers, and which would carry letters from E

sailing lines was illegal, as the postmaster general had the exclusive right to convey letters within the United Kingdom. There could have been no possibility of carrying on the traffic in a clandestine manner, as it was wholesale in charact

York post office, and forwarded to the Canadian border office in the United States mails, and thence

The charge on a single letter to Quebec was forty-seven cents instead of ninety-two cents, which would be due if sent by the packet route. To Montreal, Kingston, York and Amherstburg, the postage on a letter from London or

to the Canadian border office at Queenstown was made, and of the lower charges which the United States post

ents a letter. Here was a link of empire of daily utility. Communication could be kept up between the British immigrant and his friends at home without too hea

forty-one cents, and that would carry no more than one sheet of paper weighing less than an ounce. If within the folds of this sheet were found another piece of paper no larger than a po

to York would be one dollar and fifty-two cents. Finally, if this ounce letter were sent by the All-Red route, that is by the British packet to Halifax and thence ove

e of letters between Canada and Great Britain, it was anxious to put the British packet service on a better f

cket called first at Bermuda, leaving Canadian mails there, and continuing on to New York. At the beginning of the winter of 1826 a change was made.[183] The packet sailed to Bermud

it the additional disadvantage that it cut off all direct connection between

the plan originated with the admiralty, and was sanctioned by the foreign and colonial secretaries as a practical measure. The postmaster general on reviewi

ited States were not, and he exerted himself to improve these. A hardship under which Canadian merchants doing business wi

e sold a bill of goods to a customer in the United States, he was obliged to throw on the customer the burden of the postage on the correspondence relating to the goods, and the only sure way of doing this was to post the lett

eir letters as far as the nearest post office in the United States, and post them there. F

the leading mercantile houses in Canada sent hundreds

its destination, where the person addressed paid the postage on delivery of the letter. This was made possible by an arrangement between the deputy postmaster general of Canada, and the post office depa

desired was that there should be some postmaster in the United States who would act as agent for the collection of Canadian postage on

only difficulty was about the commission of twenty per cent., which would have to be paid to the postmaster as compensation. It was necessary to obtain the consent of the Britis

e on letters going to the United States, the secretary suggested to the postmaster general that it would seem inadvisable, politically, to encourage unlimited correspondence be

s of postage, said he, are distinctly specified in various acts of parliament, and the Canadian post office had no power to demand more than the sum required by the statutes. If it were thought advisable to have Can

master general, the deputy postmaster general did not discontinue the convenient, and, to him, profitabl

h mails, landed at New York, passed on to Canada without being held for the United States postage. The postage due for the conveyance of the letters through the United States

night of Kerry and Simon McGillivray, proposing to establish communication between Great Britain and the British North A

of Great Britain, United States and Canada, but nothing had up to this time been d

of paddles which could be hauled on deck at will, started from Savannah, Georgia, for Liverpool. The

lsion on the transatlantic service, and as a matter of fact the machinery was removed from the "Savannah" on her return to

the point, and this would involve a large outlay. In asking for a fourteen years' monopoly, they argued that their proposition would not produce the ordinary ill-effects of a monopoly, as any tendenc

r. The vessels would sail together between Valentia, Ireland, and Halifax, Nova Scotia. On arrival at Halifax, the vessels would separate, one going to New York and the other to Q

im and the colonial legislatures, Sutherland contrived to range himself on the side of the governors, thus making the po

e, to reconcile, were too antagonistic for complete success. On the one side was a country being settled rapidly and clamouring for postal service in all directions. O

ree years after Sutherland had taken office. A number of merchants and others in Montreal appointed a committee to wait on the deput

rements of an efficient service. The communications with the United States, Upper Canada and within the province, should be increased in frequency, and an interchange of mails should be opened wit

but what was to be done? The postmaster had only ￡300 a year salary, and out of that he had to pay office rent and stationery. It was not to be wondered at, that the postmaster endeavoured

assistance, but the petition was refused. As for the increase in the frequency of the communications it was beyond his power to authorize such an expenditure. He had done his best on two recent occasi

ral, professed his inability to understand whether this unreserved disclosure of Sutherland's proceeded merely from indiscretion or from some other motive. The postmaster genera

nd's dismissal. But, as so often happened, Freeling changed his attitude, urging a number of countervailing circumstances against this extreme measure, and the postmaster general

was thrown out. He appealed to the general post office, alleging that the reason of his non-suit was its failure to answer certain questions which he had put to the postmaster general. The appeal was not allowed. In 1

TNO

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Arch., C. 2

. Mountain, D.D., Mo

h., Br. P.O. T

d Observations respecting C

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818, and Can. Arch., Br

Gazette, Ju

Admiralty-Secretary I

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7]

Arch., Q. 1

d., C. 28

Br. P.O. Tran

ton, October 1826 (Can. Arch

st office stated that the American packet, which sailed from England every ten days, carried 4000 letters each

G.P.O., Br. P.O.

h., Br. P.O. T

h., Br. P.O. T

h., Br. P.O. T

d., Q. 17

h., Br. P.O. T

Ibid