Tilley to Rogers (Permanent Under-Secretary)
General Post Office
19th February 1869
Sir,
With reference to your letter of the 26th September last, and to that part of my reply of the 11th November, in which I stated that the Postmaster General would at once place himself in communication with the United States' Post Office, in order to obtain, if possible, better terms for the Colony of British Columbia in dividing the postage upon correspondence transmitted between that Colony and the United States, I am directed by the Marquis of Hartington to transmit to you, to be laid before Earl Granville,copyManuscript image copy of a correspondence which has taken place between this Department and the United States' Post Office upon the subject.
By the letter from Washington dated 29th January, it would appear that the Government of British Columbia is mistaken in supposing that the United States' Post Office pays nothing towards the maintenance of Mail Packet communication with the Colony.
The terms proposed by the United States' Post Office for the exchange of Mails with British Columbia are as follows:
1. The single rate of inter-national postage on letters exchanged in either direction to be 6 cents per half ounceorManuscript image or under if prepaid, and 10 cents if unpaid.
2. Newspapers and printed matter of all kinds despatched from either side to the other to be subject to the regular domestic rates of postage to and from the frontier in the United States and in the Colonies respectively.
3. No postage accounts to be kept between the respective Offices on the correspondence exchanged; each Office retaining to its exclusive use all the postage it collects both upon prepaid matter sent and unpaid matter received.
I am to request that Earl Granville will be good enough to communicate these proposals to the Governor of British Columbia, instructing him to state whetherheManuscript image he agrees to them, and, if so, on what date he will be prepared to carry them into effect.
Sufficient time, say three months at least, should be allowed to enable this Department to communicate to the United States' Post Office the date fixed upon and also to enable that Office to issue the necessary instructions on the subject.
I am,
Sir,
Your obedient
humble Servant
John Tilley
Minutes by CO staff
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Sir F. Sandford
Copy to Governor of B. Columbia accordingly.
CC 21/2
FRS 22/2
WM 22/2
G 22/2
Documents enclosed with the main document (not transcribed)
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Tilley to Postmaster General, Washington, 19 November 1869, respecting postal arrangments between British Columbia and the U.S.
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Joseph H. Blackfan, Superintendent of Foreign Mails, U.S. Post Office Department, to Postmaster General, London, 14 December 1869, respecting postal arrangements.
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Tilley to Postmaster General, Washington, 4 January 1869, respecting postal arrangements.
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Blackfan to Postmaster General, London, 29 January 1869, respecting postal arrangments.
Other documents included in the file
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Draft reply, Granville to Seymour, No. 16, 26 February 1869 transmitting the Post Office’s letter containing correspondence with the Postmaster General of the United States, regarding postage between British Columbia and the US, and requesting Seymour to respond to the US Post Office’s proposal.