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Her Majesty's Mails
·
William Lewins
44
Letter-franking
also
commenced
in
this
year.
A
Committee
of
the
House
of
Commons
which
sat
in
the
year
1735
reported,
"that
the
privilege
of
franking
letters
by
the
knights,
&c.
chosen
to
represent
the
Commons
in
Parliament,
began
with
the
creating
of
a
post-office
in
the
kingdom
by
Act
of
Parliament."
The
proviso
which
secured
this
privilege
to
members
cannot
now
be
regarded
otherwise
than
as
a
propitiatory
clause
to
induce
a
unanimous
approval
of
the
bill
in
general.
The
account[18]
of
the
discussion
of
the
clause
in
question
is
somewhat
amusing.
Sir
Walter
Earle
proposed
that
"members'
letters
should
come
and
go
free
during
the
time
of
their
sittings."
Sir
Heneage
Finch
(afterwards
Lord
Chancellor
Finch)
said,
indignantly,
"It
is
a
poor
mendicant
proviso,
and
below
the
honour
of
the
House."
Many
members
spoke
in
favour
of
the
clause,
Sir
George
Downing,
Mr.
Boscowen,
among
the
number,
and
Sergeant
Charlton
also
urged
"that
letters
for
counsel
went
free."
The
debate
was,
in
fact,
nearly
one-sided;
but
the
Speaker,
Sir
Harbottle
Grimstone,
on
the
question
being
called,
refused
for
a
considerable
time
to
put
it,
saying
he
"felt
ashamed
of
it."
The
proviso
was
eventually
put
and
carried
by
a
large
majority.
When
the
Post-Office
Bill,
with
its
franking
privilege,
was
sent
up
to
the
Lords,
they
threw
out
the
clause,
ostensibly
for
the
same
reasons
which
had
actuated
the
minority
in
the
Commons
in
opposing
it,
but
really,
as
it
was
confessed
some
years
afterwards,
because
there
was
no
provision
made
in
the
Bill
that
the
"Lords'
own
letters
should
pass
free."
A
few
years
later
this
important
omission
was
supplied,
and
both
Houses
had
the
privilege
guaranteed
to
them,
neither
Lords
nor
Commons
now
feeling
the
arrangement
below
their
dignity.
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