General, proposed a re-modification of the post office throughout British North America. An Act was prepared with this object, but the attempt to pass it through the several Legislatures failed, and of all the plans that had been contemplated only two were carried into effect, namely, the establishment of an Accountant's Office and the appointment of Local Inspectors.

The attention of the Legislature of Upper Canada was, about this time, frequently turned to the post office, which still continued under the Imperial control. Committees were appointed and reports made, in which the transfer of the management of the department to the Colonial Government was strongly urged.

In the year 1837 a joint address from the Legislative Council and Assembly was adopted, praying that the revenue produced by the post office in the Colonies should no longer be remitted to England. This address was referred to the Lords of the Treasury, and by them referred to Lord Durham, on the ground that some general measure was required to carry its prayer into effect. Nothing, however, was done until some years afterwards towards the accomplishment of this end.

A large and steady increase continued to take place yearly in the business and revenue of the post office. In 1838 there were 380 post offices, and 5486 miles

of established post route. The annual transportation of the mail was 1,345,000 miles; the estimated number of letters carried, 1,000,000; the estimated number of newspapers, 1,250,000; and the gross revenue, $146,000.

The following extract from the Quebec Mercury, published on the 18th July, 1829, conveys some idea of the postal communication with England at that period:—

"No later advices have been received from Europe since our last. Some further extracts from the London papers, to 31st May inclusive, brought to New York by the 'Corinthian,' will be found in another part of this number."

The following extract from the Montreal Courant, of September 2, 1829, describes the improvement which had at that date been effected in the postal communication between that city and Prescott:—

"Expeditious Travelling.—On Saturday last the Upper Canada line of stages performed the journey from Prescott to this city in about 17 hours, leaving the former place at a little before 3 A.M., and arriving here a few minutes before 8 in the evening. Not many years ago this journey occupied two and sometimes three days, but owing to the great improvements made by Mr. Dickinson, the enterprising proprietor, by putting steam boats on the Lakes St. Francis and St. Louis, and keeping his horses in excellent condition, it is now performed in little more than one-third of the time."

The following advertisement, which appeared in the year 1833 in the Colonial Advocate, published at Queenston by the late Mr. W. L. Mackenzie, will give some idea of the postal facilities in the Upper Province at that period:—

"The proprietor of this newspaper wishes to contract with a steady man (who can find and uphold his own horse), to deliver it to the subscribers once a week during the winter, on the route between York and Niagara viâ Ancaster."

Regular steam communication was established across the Atlantic in the year 1841, and about that time the rate of postage on letters between any part of Canada and any part of the United Kingdom was, on the recommendation of Mr. Stayner, reduced to a uniform charge of 1s. 2d. sterling, per half ounce. Thus, it is believed, was first recognized the principle of a uniform rate of postage—irrespective of distance—which has since been so universally adopted.

In 1848 there were 539 post offices and 6895 miles of post route; the annual transportation of the mail was 2,225,000 miles; the estimated number of letters carried in a year 2,000,000; and the gross revenue $260,000.

On the 6th April, 1851, was effected the transfer of the post office in Canada from the control of the Imperial authorities, to the Colonial Government. Mr. Stayner retired from office, and the Hon. James Morris, the first Canadian Postmaster General, assumed charge of the department.

In 1851 postage, which had previously been charged according to the distance the letter was carried, which it was computed averaged 15 cents on each letter, was reduced to a uniform charge of 5 cents per ½ oz., the decrease being equivalent to 2/3 or 66-2/3 per cent. on the former rate. A very considerable reduction was also effected in the rate of postage on newspapers. The increase in the number of letters transmitted through the post, within a year after the reduction of the rate, was 75 per cent. Several improvements, including the introduction of postage stamps, were effected in this year, and the operations of the department greatly extended.

On the 31st March, 1853, the Hon. James Morris was succeeded as Postmaster General by the Hon. Malcolm Cameron. At the latter end of this year and the beginning of the year following the conveyance of the mails was transferred to the Northern Railway between Toronto and Bradford, and to the Great Western Railway between Suspension Bridge and Windsor. The Hon. Malcolm Cameron was succeeded by the Hon. Robert Spence, who assumed charge of the department on the 11th September, 1854. In February, 1855, the money order system was first introduced into Canada. The system was at first confined to 84 post offices: it now embraces within its operations 229 offices. The month of May, 1856, was marked by the first voyage to the St. Lawrence of the line of Canadian Steamers, under contract with Hugh Allan, Esq., of Montreal, for the conveyance of the mails between Quebec and Liverpool in summer, and Portland and Liverpool in winter. In October, 1856, the Grand Trunk Railway, which had previously been completed as far westward as Brockville, was opened from the latter point to Toronto, and, in connection with the Great Western Railway, an unbroken line of postal communication established between Quebec in the east, and Windsor in the west. The following statement of the time occupied in the transit of a letter in winter between Quebec and the principal cities and towns in Western Canada, in 1853 and in 1857, will give some idea of the improvement effected:—