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1
435
Her Majesty's Mails
·
William Lewins
83
Whilst
referring
to
the
subject
of
letter-franking,
we
may
as
well
notice
here,
that
before
the
control
of
the
packet-service
passed
out
of
the
hands
of
the
Post-Office
authorities,
and
when
the
right
of
franking
letters
became
the
subject
of
legislative
enactments,
we
hear
no
more
of
these
curious
consignments
of
goods.
The
franking
system
was
henceforth
confined
to
passing
free
through
the
post
any
letter
which
should
be
indorsed
on
the
cover
with
the
signature
of
a
member
of
either
House
of
Parliament.
As
it
was
not
then
made
a
rule
absolute
that
Parliament
should
be
in
session,
or
that
the
correspondence
should
necessarily
be
on
the
affairs
of
the
nation
in
order
to
insure
immunity
from
postage,
this
arrangement
led
to
various
forms
of
abuse.
Members
signed
huge
packets
of
covers
at
once,
and
supplied
them
to
friends
and
adherents
in
large
quantities.
Sometimes
they
were
sold.
They
have
been
known
to
have
been
given
to
servants
in
lieu
of
wages,
the
servants
selling
them
again
in
the
ordinary
way
of
business.
Nor
was
this
all.
So
little
precaution
seems
to
have
been
used,
that
thousands
of
letters
passed
through
the
Post-Office
with
forged
signatures
of
members.[44]
To
such
an
extent
did
this
and
kindred
abuses
accumulate,
that,
in
1763,
the
worth
of
franked
correspondence
passing
through
the
post
was
estimated
at
170,000l.
During
the
next
year--viz.
in
1764--Parliament
enacted
that
no
letter
should
pass
free
through
the
Post-Office
unless
the
whole
address
was
in
the
member's
own
handwriting
and
his
signature
attached
likewise.
Even
these
precautions,
though
lessening
the
frauds,
were
not
sufficient
to
meet
the
evil,
for
fresh
regulations
were
thought
necessary
in
1784.
This
time
it
was
ordered
that
all
franks
should
be
dated,
the
month
to
be
given
in
full;
and
further,
that
all
such
letters
should
be
put
into
the
post
on
the
day
they
were
dated.
From
1784
to
the
date
of
penny
postage
no
further
regulations
were
made
concerning
the
franked
correspondence,
the
estimated
value
of
which
during
these
years
was
80,000l.
annually.
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