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1
435
Her Majesty's Mails
·
William Lewins
73
The
statute
of
Queen
Anne
provided
that
a
weekly
payment
of
700l.
should
be
made
to
the
Exchequer
from
the
Post-Office
for
a
period
of
thirty-two
years.
This
term
having
expired
in
1743,
an
Act
was
passed
in
that
year
making
the
payment
perpetual,
and
all
clauses,
powers,
&c.
in
the
Act
of
1711
were
also
made
perpetual.
In
order
to
keep
up
this
source
of
revenue,
which
was
too
good
to
relinquish,
the
rates
of
postage,
instead
of
being
lowered
again
as
stipulated,
were
kept
up,
and
several
times
during
subsequent
years,
as
we
shall
see,
fresh
additions
were
made
to
the
burdens
of
letter-writers.
While
on
this
subject,
we
may
simply
state
the
clause
of
Queen
Anne's
Act
relating
to
the
disposal
of
the
surplus
revenue.
All
pensions
were
to
be
paid
out
of
it,
and
the
remainder
retained
by
the
Queen
"for
the
better
support
of
Her
Majesty's
household,
and
for
the
honour
and
dignity
of
the
Crown
of
Great
Britain."
On
the
accession
of
George
I.
a
bill,
granting
the
same
rights
and
privileges
during
the
King's
lifetime,
was
passed
in
the
first
session
of
Parliament.
In
the
first
year
of
the
reign
of
George
II.
and
his
grandson
George
III.
the
same
rights
and
privileges
were
obtained
under
the
self-same
conditions.
Though
the
conditions
of
the
following
Act
were,
in
reality,
carried
out
several
years
previously,
when
a
salary
of
700,000l.
a-year
was
granted
to
the
King
for
the
support
of
his
household,
section
48
of
27
George
III.
enacts
that,
for
the
King's
lifetime,
"the
entire
net
revenue
of
the
Post-Office
shall
be
carried
to
and
made
part
of
the
fund,
to
be
called
'the
Consolidated
Fund.'"
It
is
scarcely
needful
to
say
that
this
arrangement
has
existed
from
1787
to
the
present
time.
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