The Development of Rates of Postage Part 8

The Marquess of Hartington asked that the motion should not be pressed.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer told the House that he had not got 300,000 to give away. Mr. Gladstone also emphasized the seriousness of the financial aspect of the proposals, and a.s.sured the House that the Government honestly intended to investigate the question, however much their suggestion for deferring a vote upon it might look like a pretext for evading it altogether. But when the Chancellor of the Exchequer moved the previous question, the motion was lost by a large majority. A main contention of the advocates of the reduction of rate was that in many foreign countries--in France, in Belgium, in Switzerland, in the United States--extremely low rates of postage for newspapers were in operation, and what was possible in those countries ought to be possible in England.

Following this vote in the House of Commons the matter was further considered at the Post Office, and in the next session an Act was pa.s.sed providing that any newspaper conforming to certain conditions, the chief of which were that it should be issued at intervals of not more than seven days and should consist wholly or in great part of political or other news or of articles relating thereto or to other current topics, should be ent.i.tled to transmission by post at the rate of 1/2d. per copy irrespective of weight. The privilege of retransmission was withdrawn.[302]

The statutory basis of the newspaper post has remained unchanged since 1870, and the provisions of the Act of 1870 were included in the Post Office Act of 1908, which contains the present authority for the privilege. There has been some necessary interpretation by the Post Office of the definition of a newspaper as given in the Act. The chief points on which difficulty has arisen are (1) as to the amount of news-matter required in a publication, and (2) as to the character of the matter which can be accepted as news-matter. The Act provides that the publication should consist "wholly or in great part of political or other news or of articles relating thereto, or to other current topics."

This requirement is considered to be satisfied if as much as one-third of the publication consists of matter accepted as news. The proportion, when fixed, was based on an examination of the proportion of news-matter contained in the average newspaper, and represents the actual proportion then generally met with. There is no provision regarding the proportion to be maintained between the size of a newspaper within the meaning of the Act and its supplement, but, under the accepted interpretation of the statute, a newspaper may contain a supplement of equal size, and that supplement may consist wholly of advertis.e.m.e.nts. The result of this is that publications containing a proportion of only one-sixth of news-matter may pa.s.s at the newspaper rate of postage. As to the second requirement, a strict interpretation of the regulation is not insisted on, and, in general, articles, pictures, or drawings relating to any matters of current or topical interest are accepted.

This lack of precision in the provisions of the Act, and the consequent difficulty of framing or enforcing regulations restricting the privilege within even reasonable limits, have been largely taken advantage of, especially in recent years, by the publishers of trade and fas.h.i.+on papers, with the result that publications weighing in some cases as much as 3 pounds are sent through the post at the usual newspaper rate of a halfpenny. Nor are the enormous weight of these papers, and the large proportion of advertis.e.m.e.nt matter, the only objections. The news-matter on which they rely as ent.i.tling them to the newspaper privilege is often of the most doubtful character, consisting largely of accounts of shop sales or of commercial exhibitions, with lengthy descriptions of the articles displayed.

This abuse of the privilege is, however, confined to a comparatively small proportion of the newspapers ent.i.tled to transmission at the newspaper rate. With the fall in the price of paper, and the improvements in printing methods and machinery, all newspapers have tended to increase in size. But in general the increase has been small.

In 1855 the average weight of newspapers pa.s.sing by post was 31 ounces,[303] and in 1913 it had increased to 41 ounces. The number of papers ent.i.tled to the privilege which could be regarded as excessively heavy is not more than about 50 (out of a total of some 2,200),[304] and although practically all these papers are published in London, and are largely distributed through the post, they do not form more than a small proportion of the total number of packets pa.s.sing by newspaper post. But such of these publications of vast bulk and weight as are sent at the newspaper rate derive a great advantage--an advantage measured by the heavy loss incurred by the Post Office in respect of each such publication.[305]

Many of the moderately heavy papers, such as the ordinary sixpenny London newspapers, are for the most part in compliance both with the letter and the spirit of the regulations, and their transmission at the 1/2d. rate is not, perhaps, open to serious objection. But there can be little doubt that if the possibility of developments in the publication of trade journals such as have occurred, had been foreseen, some provision would have been made for the prevention of the transmission at heavy loss to the Post Office of large numbers of publications which are, in effect, trade catalogues. While the newspaper post involves a very considerable loss, it affords the public a useful facility, and one which is largely availed of for the purpose the Act of 1870 was intended to a.s.sist, viz. the dissemination of intelligence.[306]

The rate has proved too high to secure a large postal traffic in newspapers. The total number pa.s.sing by post within the United Kingdom in 1913 was some 200 millions, which, in days when individual daily newspapers publish as many as a million copies of every issue, is only an insignificant portion of the newspaper traffic of the country. It is also only a small portion of the total postal traffic, which in the same year amounted to some 6,000 millions. In this respect there has been a great transformation. Under the old conditions newspapers were distributed almost exclusively by post, and formed a large proportion of the total number of postal packets and by far the greater bulk of all the mails,[307] while now they form only an inconsiderable proportion both in bulk and number. The Post Office has no monopoly of the distribution of newspapers, and for the most part newspaper publishers themselves provide for the distribution of by far the larger part of their issues. In all the large towns this is the case.[308] Private enterprise can of course compete wherever the traffic would be profitable, and private agencies provide satisfactorily for the distribution of the vast proportion of newspapers, it being found practicable throughout a large part of the country to place newspapers on sale at the published price; and in all such cases payment of postage, which in the days of the halfpenny newspaper represents an additional charge of 100 per cent. on the published price, is out of the question. Only those for the more remote towns and country districts are left to the Post Office; but the newspaper traffic by post, although conducted at a loss, comprises so small a part of the whole postal traffic, that the result on the finances of the Post Office is not serious. If, however, such an unremunerative rate were applied to a cla.s.s of traffic likely to a.s.sume large proportions the result would be financially disastrous, and this is the answer to such suggestions as those of Mr. Wells to extend the newspaper rate to other cla.s.ses of printed matter.[309]

In 1913 the privilege of transmission at the 1/2d. rate was extended to colonial newspapers, registered for the purpose in this country.

NOTE.--On the 1st November 1915, as part of the war increases of postage, the rate on newspapers was altered to 1/2d. for every 6 ounces or part of 6 ounces.

NEWSPAPER POST IN CANADA

No special provision for the transmission of newspapers had been made in the Act of 1765 which first prescribed rates of postage for the Canadian territories. Consequently, if sent in the mails, they were, in strictness, liable to postage at the ordinary rates for letters and packets. Those rates would generally have amounted to at least a s.h.i.+lling a copy, and would therefore have prevented altogether the distribution of newspapers by post. Postage was in practice waived, newspapers being allowed to pa.s.s by post on payment of a small charge quarterly to the Deputy Postmaster-General, who retained the proceeds as a perquisite of his office. The amount was at first a mere trifle; but in later days it formed the greater part of his emoluments. The precise date at which this arrangement was established is uncertain. It certainly existed in Nova Scotia in 1770, and probably commenced on the first publication of a newspaper in Canada.[310] The rates charged were low, and were varied from time to time at the will of the Deputy Postmaster-General. The following, which were charged in Canada in 1840, may, however, be regarded as typical:--

For a weekly paper 1s. 0d. currency a quarter " " bi-weekly " 1s. 3d. " " "

" " tri-weekly " 1s. 6d. " " "

" " daily " 2s. 3d. " " "

In the Maritime Provinces the rates were somewhat lower, the charge for a weekly paper being only 2s. 6d. a year.

These amounts were payable by the proprietor of the paper, and were accepted only in respect of papers sent regularly. Papers mailed casually by persons other than publishers, and denominated "transients,"

were charged 1d. currency each. The publishers thought even these moderate charges objectionable, and the feeling against them was increased when it became known that they rested on no legal authority, but solely on the custom of the office and the sanction of Sir Francis Freeling; and that the proceeds, instead of being accounted for as part of the general Post Office revenue, were appropriated by the Deputy Postmaster-General. They were also objected to as arbitrary and inequitable, since papers were charged the same rate whether they were conveyed 20 miles or 200 miles. As letters were at that time charged on a scale of rates graduated according to distance, the application of the principle of uniformity to the newspapers was naturally not appreciated; and in view of the heavy charges incurred for transportation it could not have been justified on economic grounds.

The resentment against the charge first took definite form in the Lower Provinces. In 1830 a Mr. Ward, a publisher, pet.i.tioned the Nova Scotian House of a.s.sembly to be relieved from the charges on his newspapers. A Committee of the House, which considered the matter, found that under the Imperial Acts it was no part of the duty of the Deputy Postmaster-General to receive or transmit newspapers, other than those received from Great Britain, and that the Deputy was therefore justified in making the charge complained of. They found also that sixty years earlier the Deputy made a yearly charge of 2s. 6d. on each newspaper sent by post, and that at that time all editors acquiesced in the charge. At the same time the Committee regarded the charge as so undesirable that they recommended the House should grant a sum to remunerate the Deputy for his services in transmitting newspapers, in order that the charges might be abolished.

The Deputy Postmaster-General in the Lower Provinces was himself a publisher, and it was alleged that he was interested directly or indirectly in every newspaper published in Nova Scotia, with the exception of two, with the result that, while all the newspapers in which he was interested pa.s.sed free of postage, the two outsiders were made to pay. The Deputy Postmaster-General himself seemed to think the arrangement was best kept in the background. When questioned by the House of a.s.sembly, he adopted a reticent att.i.tude and made equivocating statements. He gave particulars purporting to show the amounts paid as postage in respect of certain newspapers controlled by him, and on further interrogation by the House of a.s.sembly admitted that the journals paid no postage.

Meanwhile, publishers in both Lower and Upper Canada also were working for the abolition of the Deputy Postmaster-General's privilege. In December 1830 a publisher of Montreal, Mr. R. Armour, approached Sir Francis Freeling, declaring that the subject might eventually involve a question of high const.i.tutional importance, viz. "to what extent the Post Office of Great Britain is authorized by law to regulate the internal Post Office establishments of the Colony, and to draw a Revenue therefrom." He received no satisfaction from Sir Francis Freeling, who replied that the charges were "the long established and authorized perquisite of the Officer in question (the Deputy Postmaster-General) and that all Newspapers circulated by post in British North America otherwise than under his privilege are liable by Law to the charge of the full rates of Postage."

Mr. Armour then pet.i.tioned the local Legislature, and towards the end of the year a Committee of the House of a.s.sembly was appointed to consider the whole question of the management of the Post Office in the province of Lower Canada. The Committee found it impossible to obtain any useful information concerning the finances of the service from the Deputy Postmaster-General, Mr. T. A. Stayner, whose att.i.tude was a source of much irritation, resulting in great intensity of feeling both against the privilege of the Deputy and the administration of the service from London.

In 1832 the publishers in Upper Canada, who were working in concert with the publishers of Lower Canada, also succeeded in obtaining the appointment of a Committee of the House of a.s.sembly. This Committee, in its Report, challenged the legality of any postage charge whatever raised in the province under authority of the British Postmaster-General.

In 1833 the publishers in Nova Scotia submitted a pet.i.tion to the King, but obtained no satisfaction.[311]

In the Lower Provinces there was a sentiment in favour of the free transmission of newspapers, which had been encouraged, if not originally induced, by the circ.u.mstance that for a considerable period the holder of the office of Deputy Postmaster-General for those provinces, Mr.

Howe, took little trouble to enforce the payment of that postage which, when paid, was his perquisite, preferring to forgo the proceeds rather than incur the risk of odium which might attach to any attempt to enforce his privilege.[312]

In 1842 Mr. Edmund Ward, the publisher of the _Federation Sentinel_, pet.i.tioned the Lieutenant-Governor and House of a.s.sembly in New Brunswick for the abolition of the postage rate on newspapers, on the grounds that it was illegal, a tax on knowledge, and of no benefit to the public revenue, since the proceeds were retained by an official already adequately remunerated for his services. The pet.i.tion was submitted to the Home authorities; and the Solicitor to the Post Office advised that, since the Act of 1837 repealed the Act of the 4th of George III, cap. 34, the charge on newspapers made by the Deputy Postmaster-General in North America rested on no legal basis, and long established usage and custom was the only justification for allowing newspapers to pa.s.s by post at less than the legal rate. The House of a.s.sembly in New Brunswick also took up the question on their own account. Like the Nova Scotians, they were anxious to facilitate the distribution of newspapers. They regarded the charge for postage as an odious tax on knowledge, and in 1844, in a joint Address to his Majesty, recommended its abolition.

In 1842 the House of a.s.sembly of Nova Scotia also pet.i.tioned for the abolition of postage on newspapers and pamphlets, contending that the proceeds of the postage rate, which was collected from the country districts, on which it lay as a heavy burden, did not benefit the general revenue, since they were appropriated by the Deputy Postmaster-General, and that the newspapers were well-nigh the only vehicle of information in the province. In reply, the British authorities pointed out that since pamphlets were charged as letters in England, the Treasury could not sanction free transmission in the colonies; moreover, even with the existing rate, the number of newspapers sent by post was increasing so rapidly that it was becoming a matter of some difficulty, on account of the bad condition of the roads in the province, to provide for their transmission from place to place.

Free transmission was therefore not conceded; but in July 1844 certain changes were made in the general system of rates, and the Deputy Postmaster-General's newspaper privilege was withdrawn, a uniform rate of 1/2d. per sheet for transmission to any point in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Canada, and Prince Edward Island being established.

When the Post Office service throughout British North America was unified and transferred to provincial control, the then existing rates of postage on newspapers and pamphlets were continued, but power was reserved to each Legislature to authorize transmission within its respective province free of postage. By virtue of this power Nova Scotia in 1852 abolished altogether the rate of postage on newspapers, taking pride in the fact that they were the first authority in British North America to grant the boon. New Brunswick soon followed suit. But the result of this, coupled with the reduction in letter postage at the unification, was adverse to the finances of the service in these provinces. For several years the accounts showed a deficit, which was met by the provinces cheerfully as a contribution of no less value than contributions made for roads, bridges, and schools.[313]

In connection with the changes introduced at the time of the Confederation, a charge for the transmission of newspapers by post was made general throughout the federated area. The charge met with considerable opposition from the Maritime Provinces, which thus lost the boon of free transmission.[314] It was justified as nothing more nor less than a simple charge for freight, the remission of which would be to offer a bounty to a particular industry. The possibilities of usefulness of the Post Office would, it was argued, be greatly reduced if the service were loaded with the burden of the gratuitous distribution of newspapers throughout so vast a country; since, if from the diminution of revenue which such a course must produce, the department were forced to look to Parliament for a.s.sistance, Parliament would be disposed to discourage the establishment of new offices in the thinly settled districts, where it was of the greatest importance that they should be found.[315]

The arguments of members from the Maritime Provinces were somewhat diverse. They said there was an essential distinction between letters and newspapers, in that letters were private communications between individuals, while newspapers were in some measure the organs of communication between the Government and the people, and furnished the only means by which to acquire that acquaintance with the law which everybody was presumed to possess. Newspapers occupied a similar position to that of schools, and presented one of the easiest channels of enlightenment. In many cases, for the ordinary folk no other means of education were open. On them the tax would be an imposition which might be contrasted, it was said, with the favour accorded to the commercial and wealthy cla.s.ses by the reduction in the postage on letters.

It was further argued that in the existing state of the Dominion, owing to the presence of a certain amount of sectional feeling and mutual hostility between different portions of the country, which could be attributed largely to the lack of that sort of information which newspapers could provide, it would be folly to hinder the freest possible distribution.[316] Moreover, a postage charge would fall unequally. The large towns and thickly populated areas would be able to obtain their papers by means of the railroad or other agency at little cost; but the outlying districts, which ought to be treated with special favour by the Legislature, would have no alternative to the payment of postage. The large newspapers would be able to distribute their issues by express, while the smaller ones would be compelled to use the post.

The "tax" would yield only some $25,000 a year in Nova Scotia; and for such a paltry sum it surely could not be wise to levy this "tax upon knowledge," which "of all the heavy burdens laid upon Nova Scotia was the most oppressive."[317]

These arguments were ineffective, and a rate which averaged half a cent a copy was imposed. In 1875 the rate was modified, and made a bulk rate of 1 cent a pound, an extremely low rate. The average weight of newspapers at that time was so small that, in the case of certain typical papers selected by the Government for the purpose, it was found that the numbers required to make up a pound were from ten to fifteen.

In 1874 the total yield under the old rate had been only some $36,000.

The new rate was therefore likely to yield only some $6,000 a year, and the advocates of free transmission argued that as such a small sum would hardly be worth the trouble of keeping the accounts, the Government, having gone so far, might well have taken a step further and abolished altogether the postage on newspapers. The Government defence was that the rate proposed was the lowest possible, and to mail free the papers published in the various parts of the Dominion would be to impose too heavy a burden upon the public treasury.[318]

The Canadian people had only to wait a few years for the boon. In 1882 an Act was pa.s.sed "to provide for the free transmission of Canadian newspapers within the Dominion." No discussion on the measure took place in Parliament, and authoritative statements of the reasons inducing the adoption of so generous a policy are not to be obtained;[319] but in well-informed quarters it is held that, in general, the leniency shown to newspapers is not due solely to the acceptance by Parliament of the arguments usually advanced in their favour, plausible and convincing as they probably are to many minds, but has always been dictated more or less by fear of the political power wielded by them; or, what is really the same thing, as a result of direct pressure at Ottawa by the newspaper proprietors, based on their influence with the electors or the chiefs of parties, and exercised in their own interests.[320]

In this view, the ultimate step taken in 1882 marked no concession to popular sentiment, but the climax of the power of the newspaper interest, and a consummation for which they had long striven.

At the same time the total abolition of postage on newspapers was in accord with the widespread feeling, which had from an early period found expression in the Legislatures of the Canadian provinces: the feeling that newspapers are of great educational value, especially in new countries and in countries with an extended franchise, such as had been the Canadian provinces almost from their first organization; that in such countries it was necessary to educate the sovereign people; and that newspapers afforded the best and most practicable way.[321]

During the period of free transmission, which continued some seventeen years, the number and gross weight of newspapers sent through the post increased enormously, and the privilege was considerably abused.

Numerous publications were constantly appearing demanding free transmission, and in many cases they were of very questionable character; that is to say that, while conforming to the letter of the requirements of the law, they were often not genuine newspapers at all, but mere vehicles for the distribution of trade advertis.e.m.e.nts. The vast increase in the cost of dealing with the quant.i.ty of newspapers sent through the mails became a question for serious consideration. Heavy demands were being made by the railway companies for increases in the amount of their remuneration for the conveyance of mails, on the ground of the increase in tonnage due to the very large numbers of newspapers being sent. The actual statistics of the Post Office traffic in Canada are illuminating on this point. In 1897 the total weight of newspapers pa.s.sing in the mails was 16,500,000 pounds, and the estimated number of newspapers 175,000,000. For the same year the total number of letters pa.s.sing through the post was 123,000,000, and their total weight 5,000,000 pounds.[322]

In 1898 the Canadian Government desired to reduce the internal letter postage, which still stood at 3 cents, to the almost universal rate of 2 cents;[323] but the loss of revenue which such a reduction would entail was so great that they were driven to seek fresh revenue to meet the deficiency. In view of the abuses of the newspaper privilege, and the generally unsatisfactory position which had developed, this was thought to be a suitable occasion for the reimposition of postage on newspapers.[324] The rate proposed was 1/2 cent a pound. Opposition to the change was made on the same grounds as in 1867: that newspapers were the real educators of the people, that the dissemination of intelligence, particularly of political intelligence, was of the utmost importance, and that no impediment should be put in the way of their freest possible distribution.

The great necessity for a new source of postal revenue made it impossible, however, to continue the free privilege in its entirety, and the 1/2-cent bulk rate was carried. The free privilege was continued for local papers distributed within a radius of ten miles, in order to enable the country papers to compete with the papers of the large towns.

The country papers are very jealous (and perhaps somewhat fearful) of the great city papers, although the telegraph has given the country papers an advantage in point of time. This is of great value in a country of enormous distances--especially in the case of daily papers--but is yet not of vital importance in the case of weekly newspapers, which do not rely so much on late news. The compet.i.tion of the weekly papers of the great cities is severe; and the radius of compet.i.tion even of their daily papers is considerable. The letter-carriers of Ottawa were at that time daily engaged in carrying free enormous quant.i.ties of newspapers published in Montreal or Toronto.[325]

The rate fixed in 1898 was not intended to be permanent; and in 1900, when the revenue had become sufficiently buoyant to warrant the step, a Bill was introduced to reduce the postage on newspapers to 1/8 of 1 cent a pound for transmission in the province or territory of distribution.

The general purpose of the Bill was to reduce the rate for limited distances, and the province or territory was adopted as the most convenient unit of area. Newspapers were being posted literally by the ton, and the department thought it unreasonable to convey car-loads of such mail from ocean to ocean for the same rate as for any shorter distances within a province.[326] The Bill pa.s.sed the Lower House, although it was severely criticized as introducing the vicious principle of provincial legislation; and "a serious aggravation of the tyrannical injustice" was that a distinctive tax would be placed on city publications, while preferential privileges would be given to country newspapers.[327]

The Postmaster-General explained that with a bulk rate it was possible to make nice distinctions of rate in regard to distance travelled, which would be quite out of the question with a rate such as that for letters charged separately on each individual item; the charge for the transportation of a letter for a short distance would be so small that no division of coin could be found to correspond to it, but with matter mailed by the ton and wagon-load, and paid for by the ton and wagon-load, the charge could well be adjusted for distance: but he admitted that he had made no calculation as to whether the 1/8 cent a pound would cover the cost of newspapers within the bounds of each province.[328] The Bill was rejected by the Senate on account of the undesirability on general political grounds of introducing any sort of distinctions based on the provincial boundaries.

The proposal was revived in another form in 1903. It was then proposed to reduce the postage to 1/4 cent a pound on newspapers when the distance of transmission did not exceed 300 miles. The Postmaster-General said definitely in Parliament that the rate would not cover the cost, and, further, that the reduction would involve a loss of revenue of from $50,000 to $75,000 a year on a total revenue from newspapers of from $100,000 to $125,000.[329] The reduction was carried; and in 1908 the reduced rate of 1/4 cent a pound was extended to all newspapers pa.s.sing within the Dominion, when posted in bulk. The privilege is availed of by the publishers of many periodicals which are virtually nothing more than advertising media; but this abuse has not a.s.sumed serious proportions, and with the finances of the department in a flouris.h.i.+ng state, it has not been felt necessary to curtail the privilege, although it involves great loss.[330]

NEWSPAPER POST (SECOND-CLa.s.s MAIL) IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A system for the distribution of newspapers by post, a.n.a.logous, though not identical, with that which grew up in Great Britain, existed from an early period in America. There the privilege of franking newspapers was a perquisite, but it was not the perquisite of one officer, as in England. All postmasters exercised the privilege as part of their general privilege of franking all their correspondence, the arrangement being part of their emoluments as postmasters; and post-masters.h.i.+ps were much sought after by newspaper publishers, who were thereby enabled to obtain free of charge the advantage of the distribution of their publications by what in most cases was the best, if not the only, available means.

The most notable example was Benjamin Franklin, who was for nearly forty years connected with the Post Office in North America, first as Postmaster of Philadelphia, and afterwards as joint Postmaster-General for the northern part of North America, and who, throughout this period, was able to circulate his publications by post free of charge. The Post Office, especially in regard to the exercise of this privilege, is regarded by Americans as having been an important factor making for a general understanding between the colonies, and a conception of the possibility of common action.[331] As early as 1757 the Crown authorities in the colonies were looking with a jealous eye on the unrestricted distribution of newspapers, and were contemplating measures for preventing the dissemination of objectionable ideas.[332]